Not a whole lot here, speed knob and two switches. Let me run it down for you:
1. Plug in guitar
2. Step on footswitch
3. Turn speed knob until it sounds cool
4. Flick Script switch to see which mode you prefer
5. Rock
First off, my favorite Phaser is in the Digitech 2101. But, since I have gone back to using pedals I needed something that would get close to the awesome chewy yet transparent sound I can get out of the 2101 without distortion, volume drops, or weakening my tone.
This EVH pedal gets damn close. I’d say about 90% of the way there, which is way better than any other pedal-format phaser I own. Strangely, the EVH sounds better than my old block MXR Phase 90. My old Block Phase 90 distorts everything and not in a good way. Anyway I wasn’t even going to give the EVH a chance due to my experience with the Block Phase 90, but a buddy I trust recommended it. I’ve been using the Boss PH-2 Super Phaser but I’ve never really been happy with it. The voicing of the PH-2 has an overly- nasal quality that I’ve never really dug, and it really messed with my distortion tone.
The EVH on the other hand added an extra Ooomph to my distortion tone and with the Script switch engaged it sounds really choice on cleans. You can get a really beautiful chorus-esque sound at about 9:00 that doesn’t have the pitch artifacts that I dislike in chorus pedals. I’m not really interested in getting Ed tones so I don’t know if you can cop his shit with this box, but it definitely superceded the Super Phaser on my pedal-board.
I really, really, like this phaser. There is something special that happens at the uppermost peak of the sweep that is way happenin’ tonally. It is partly a hint of distortion and partly mojo, whatever it is, I dig it. I wish I had given this pedal a chance when it was first released instead of limping along with the Boss for so long. The EVH doesn’t beat the phaser in the Digitech 2101, but it is definitely a contender, plus has it’s own really bitchin’ vibe.
Lastly when comparing it to my Block Phase 90 it seems like the sweep for the speed on the EVH is wider, that is very cool. More importantly, the EVH just plain sounds better than my old Block.
Well done MXR!
