Are Aion Quadrotron (Doppelganger) & Lectric-FX Countdown (Final Phase), the better big box phasers to build?

tegendemuur

tegendemuur

Well-known member
As with all my DIYs, I am looking to build two per type, as to cover almost all my needs between two. This time, it's phasers! Anything else out there that could be swapped for one of these to get an even broader range? The other big boy out there is the Aion Redshift (Blackout Whetstone), but it doesn't seem to hold much of a light against these two?
 
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Can’t talk ab phasers with out throwing in the PPCB Duophase. Maybe not AS tweakable as the other two, but does cover a lot of juicy phaser tones. Also would suggest the Deadend FX Calypso. Runs off an Electric Druid Stomplfo chip so you have multiple waveforms to choose from.
 
I’ve got the Quadratron and the Redshift in my ‘to build’ PCB pile.

The other one I have in my to-do’s is the Madbean Glasshole. I’ve actually got an enclosure designed for that one, so it’s a little closer to reality. Don’t know what it sounds like yet, but it sounds real cool on paper;)
Might be worth a look if you’re doing a “deluxe phasers” round-up.
 
I've always thought the Lectric and Lovetone to be the least "normal" of the phaser world so you could build both and still look at the Glasshole and/or the Whetstone/Redshift. Ironically I think I have all of them but very little need to play a phaser in a live setting so have always relied on the L6 MM4, which does it quite convincingly (if a bit artificial), and does a real nice job with subtle.
 
My vote's for the Duo-Phase, especially if you're not averse to modding. Even stock, it's incredibly versatile, sounds great, and is a relatively easy build


The Glasshole is also fun, but I dig the Duo-Phase a bit more for circuits from that lineage.

The Madbean Polytrog is another rad build- it gives you envelope control over the phase tones, and can cop some funky vibes.
LectricFX Altered State is awesome in that it strips every external control except a few preset footswitches. This one basically just does the bog standard swoosh n swirl though
 
The MXR phase 90 is my favorite in terms of phasing sound, and it's the best one to pair with overdrives and fuzz, in my experience. No need to spend time turning knobs, it just sounds great before or after most dirt effects, very straightforward. The sweep texture sounds very satisfaying compared to other phaser circuits i built. I would recommend a version with an extra Depth control.
There are many Phase 90 clones available in the diy community. There' s also an easy mod, lifting a resistor with a toggleswitch to make the sweep more subtle, if i remember correctly.

www.musikding.de

The Phaser - Phaser kit, 29,00

The Phaser is based on one of the most famous Phaser pedals Unlike the original it also features a Deep knob This kit contains all parts you need to bui
www.musikding.de www.musikding.de

The Phase II (Mu-tron phasor 2) sounds amazing too, but in my experience this phaser works at its best with clean guitar signal. Not as easy to use on overdriven or higly distorted signals as the Phase 90, but that's just my humble opinion.

I also built the redshift and the posibilities ar far greater. We can get some singular and pleasant sounds thanks to the various toggleswitches. It's an EHX Small Stone with all the most popular mods made over the years by the diy community. The ability to switch between two Rate settings on the fly with a footswitch is also very welcome.
 
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bear in mind, lots of options doesn’t always mean it will sound or suit your tastes the best.
sometimes the simple basics just work.

like the madbean stagefright (maestro MP1 phaser) - sounds so good, easy to build and no tedious optical bullshit.
 
DGWVI said:
My vote's for the Duo-Phase, especially if you're not averse to modding. Even stock, it's incredibly versatile, sounds great, and is a relatively easy build


The Glasshole is also fun, but I dig the Duo-Phase a bit more for circuits from that lineage.

The Madbean Polytrog is another rad build- it gives you envelope control over the phase tones, and can cop some funky vibes.
LectricFX Altered State is awesome in that it strips every external control except a few preset footswitches. This one basically just does the bog standard swoosh n swirl though
Click to expand...
I recently switched back to the polytrog after a long honeymoon with my duo phase.
 
The Redshift (BoE Whetstone) is to the Small Stone what the Fuzz Factory is to the Fuzz Face, only perhaps more-so.

I've worked out all the mods that BoE added to the Small Stone and subbed them into a build plan for the Phase 90.
While both are 4-stage phasers, the Small Stone is OTA-based, Phase 90 utilises bog-standard op-amps with matched JFETs — so they do sound different and respond differently.

Since you're doing two of them, perhaps it'd be easier to go the OTA route. Then again, if you find a perfectly-matched set of 8 JFETs... you'd still run into some other component-tolerance deviations, but negligible?

Consider an altogether different type?
function-fx.com

Guitar Phaser Pedal Types: JFET, Optical, OTA, and Others - Function f(x)

How does a phaser pedal work and which phase shift type is best for guitar? JFET vs OTA vs Optical phaser comparison.
function-fx.com



Oh, and for anyone that cares to do so, here's the mods needed for making a Small Stone a Whetstone (or a Phase 90 a Whutstoned):

GREEN CHECK ✅ FOR EVERY WHETSTONE FEATURE THAT CAN FIT INTO A PHASE 90 (or similar) BUILD — some other notions, too​
​
WHETSTONE CONTROLS:​
✅🕛FEEDBACK (also known as resonance regeneration)​
✅🕛RATE [BIG]​
✅🕛DEPTH [just the WET SIGNAL]​
✅🕛LEVEL / VOL [COULD ADD A SMALL BOOST, BEW’S IS MOSFET]​
✅➢ RANGE :: NORMAL/ PADS/ RING/ FIX (the latter may have to be a toggle, two togs vs 1-rototone)​
✅📍𐄞 STAGES II/IV WIRING THIS TO A POT: DEPTH’s (V)R.​
✅📍𐄛 VIBRATO/PHASED ie DRY-KILL switch [HAVE THIS RE-ROUTE DRY TO “DRY OUT-JACK”]​
⁉️📍𐄞 ASYMMETRIC/SYMMETRIC :: [AFAIK, THIS IS “VIBE” CAP VALUES—could go all separate SWs]​
⁉️📍𐄞 LPF ON/OFF​
✅📍𐄛 🕛SHALLOW/WIDE [MAKING THIS A POT “SWEEP”]​
✅🔘𐄡 STOMP ON/OFF​
✅🔘𐄡 2ND SETTING STOMP = SPEED✅◉ 2ND SETTING (2knobjob✅🔴 RATE LED​


Haven't had time to implement any of that yet.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I definitely have to shift around my ideas a bit... Looks like I'll be actually getting more by looking at phasers with less knobs! <3
 
try a phase ii, if that doesn’t satisfy you just do a phase 90….ive built deluxe this and that with phasers but simpler is always better for whatever reason
 
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