Empress Phaser
Empress Phaser
You need this phaser. Maybe not for your board, maybe not to keep forever. But this will show you the future. This pedal is the most complete, versatile, and tweakable phaser we have ever played through. We know of no phaser that can match up. With so many unique and special sounds, controls, and parameters to mess with, you could lose yourself inside this little phase universe for days.
External Control: MIDI/EXP/TAP/REMOTE
Cost: $$$
HornFX Review
| Interface | Versatility | Clarity of Effect | Live Application | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/5 | 4.5/5 | 4.5/5 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Complexity: High
Interface: 3/5
This pedal packs a lot into just a few knobs and switches. It has unprecedented external control with its universal control input. There are a lot of settings, modes, and and multi-function knobs that must be memorized to fully understand the pedal. Sadly, there are no presets available even with the midi control.
Versatility: 4.5/5
This phaser can do everything under the phase heading. Its different wave forms and rhythmic settings are a nice way to greatly expand your use of phase. Not only does it do phase, but it has various envelope follower modes. Truly a unique and vast pedal.
Clarity of Effect: 4.5/5
This pedal can range from incredibly subtle to in-your-face. There is so much detail with which you can tailor specific sounds, that the effect can always cut through to your liking.
Live application: 4/5
There is so much this phaser can do. It takes a lot of memorization and learning to be familiar with the intricacies of this pedal. That can make it hard to manipulate on the fly. The lack of presets can be frustrating when there is so much one can change and so many parameters. However, this pedal can produce such a vast array of fantastic and unique sounds that it would be an excellent addition to any board.
- Killer Sound Quality - The Signal to Noise ratio is around 104 dB.
- 8 Auto modes - Envelope follower, center & speed, speed(sine), speed(square), audio sweep trigger, random level trigger, rhythms and direct control
- Tap Tempo with Ratios - Use tap tempo to set the phasers speed; the ratio selection makes fast tempos and triplet based phase times easy.
- 2 / 3 / 4 Stages - Select 2, 4 or, an empress exclusive, 3 stages
- 5 Rhythms - Rhythms let your phaser boldly go where no phaser has gone before
- Ultimate Control - Control over width, speed, resonance, waveform, and number of stages.
- 8 Waveforms - Phase through sine, triangle, asymmetric sine, swung sine, sawtooth, reverse sawtooh, square and step waveforms.
- True Bypass - The Empress Phaser Pedal employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it's not affecting the signal when disengaged.
- Gain - Set the output gain of the phaser to match your bypassed signal or use up to 6dB of boost to really drive your preamp
- Small Size - The enclosure measures approximately 4.5" by 3.5" by 1.5", which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
- Unsurpassed Connectivity - The Universal Control Port allows you to connect an expression pedal, external tap switch, control voltage, external audio input and MIDI all using a standard 1/4" jack!
- True Display LEDs - Extremely responsive LEDs always let you know what the phaser is doing and help you adjust the sensitivity in the auto modes.
- Power Input Voltage
- 9 - 18 V DC (Negative tip)
- Power Input Connector
- 2.1mm barrel connector (Negative tip)
- Power Consumption
- ~120mA
- Enclosure Material: Die Cast Aluminum
- Input connector: 1/4" Jack
- Output connector: 1/4" Jack
- Height (Enclosure only): 1.5"
- Height (including controls): 2"
- Length: 3.5"
- Width: 4.5"
- weight: 1 lb
- Poduct info from the Empress website