Emerald Phaser

Guardians of the analog

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
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This week's build reports in my boss collection comes by way of Aion and is the emerald phaser and is a clone of the ph1-r phaser. The ph1-r is in a lot of ways the evolution of the phase 90 4 stage jfet phaser. I have been using ota phasers for years and I revisited the phase 90 earlier this year and built one with many of the features that this circuit features. I like 4 stage phasers. 2 is too subtle for me, more an on/off switch. 6 or more stages is too synthy for my taste, so this one works well for me.
I like having the depth to control the width of the phasing and the resonance knob can add the feedback of the output back into the input and can make it more dramatic or subdued depending on the the mood you want to set. The range of the speed knob is broader than a phase90 but not as extreme as a small stone. A very versatile phaser. One common complaint of the ph1-r like the phase90, is the perceived volume jump caused by the mixing of the dry and wet signals at the output stage This is made more apparent with higher resonance settings, as the higher peaks will drive the output more. This is handled with the volume knob. Full CW is the stock setting and rolling back will attenuate the volume to unity depending on what settings you have.
The build itself was simple and straightforward. I decided to order the matched set of jfets because I did not want to go thru all my smd jfets. Word of advise to anyone who builds this, watch the mounting of jfet adapter boards to the main board as there is a 100n cap under them. I like things neat and clean so I addressed this with headers and angled pins to clear the cap and keep everything lined up. This is also the cleanest wiring I have done on an Aion build and will do it this way from here on out. I went with a lawn green tayda enclosure and UV print. Instead of doing the typical green characters I went down the road less traveled and used Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis aka the Man-Thing.
If you're looking for a smooth versatile jfet phaser that has more options and tones than the typical phase90 then this is a great project you should check out.
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That's an elegant solution for the SMDs. Going into the ole' trick bag, that one.

I'm even more impressed by the soldering skill on that 3PDT, precision work there.
I'm always looking for the cleanest way to do something. I hate the lead clippings because they always look so janky. Sip sockets are the worst too, nothing feels secure in them.
Love it dude! Great use of the Man-Thing! Love the font as well!
Thanks, man-thing is so cool as is his back story. The font I lifted from the werewolf by night Halloween special and it's being used on one more project in this series.
 
I would have mistaken that for the Swamp Thing. Gotta hand it to Marvel and DC Comics for the confusion between those two characters.

Great looking pedal and very neat build.
The story behind that is really funny. Man-thing and swamp thing made their debut by DC and Marvel months apart from each other. Their respective creators were coincidentally roommates, so your guess is as good as mine as to who copied the other's homework 🤷
 
This week's build reports in my boss collection comes by way of Aion and is the emerald phaser and is a clone of the ph1-r phaser. The ph1-r is in a lot of ways the evolution of the phase 90 4 stage jfet phaser. I have been using ota phasers for years and I revisited the phase 90 earlier this year and built one with many of the features that this circuit features. I like 4 stage phasers. 2 is too subtle for me, more an on/off switch. 6 or more stages is too synthy for my taste, so this one works well for me.
I like having the depth to control the width of the phasing and the resonance knob can add the feedback of the output back into the input and can make it more dramatic or subdued depending on the the mood you want to set. The range of the speed knob is broader than a phase90 but not as extreme as a small stone. A very versatile phaser. One common complaint of the ph1-r like the phase90, is the perceived volume jump caused by the mixing of the dry and wet signals at the output stage This is made more apparent with higher resonance settings, as the higher peaks will drive the output more. This is handled with the volume knob. Full CW is the stock setting and rolling back will attenuate the volume to unity depending on what settings you have.
The build itself was simple and straightforward. I decided to order the matched set of jfets because I did not want to go thru all my smd jfets. Word of advise to anyone who builds this, watch the mounting of jfet adapter boards to the main board as there is a 100n cap under them. I like things neat and clean so I addressed this with headers and angled pins to clear the cap and keep everything lined up. This is also the cleanest wiring I have done on an Aion build and will do it this way from here on out. I went with a lawn green tayda enclosure and UV print. Instead of doing the typical green characters I went down the road less traveled and used Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis aka the Man-Thing.
If you're looking for a smooth versatile jfet phaser that has more options and tones than the typical phase90 then this is a great project you should check out.
1D8jaHh.jpg
o0nejV5.jpg
3ToLq9P.jpeg
10qBQxb.jpg
Thanks for sharing your build. Your idea with mounting the SMD fets is brilliant. I will likely borrow your idea!
 
I don't even know where to begin on this one...
  • Awesome build...
  • Love the enclosure...
  • I love this pedal / board as well - I've built about 3 so far and it's pretty much my "go-to" phaser at this point (though I have 2 or 3 more I'm planning on building)
  • Like how you did the JFETs - I went a similar route on my recent builds and I'm never going back!
 
So fresh and so clean!!
And those pics. :love:
Thanks Nick, I learned from the best!
I don't even know where to begin on this one...
  • Awesome build...
  • Love the enclosure...
  • I love this pedal / board as well - I've built about 3 so far and it's pretty much my "go-to" phaser at this point (though I have 2 or 3 more I'm planning on building)
  • Like how you did the JFETs - I went a similar route on my recent builds and I'm never going back!
I was really surprised by this one. I had a PH-2 in the 90s but that's totally different. I really like this and plan on keeping it on my board for the foreseeable future.
I've been using those right angle pins too but didn't think to use the headers. Thank you, sir. I even have some on hand.
This is my real contribution to the hobby. My work here is done 😂
 
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