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Topic: playing a push/pull with a phaser effect pedal |
Luke Schneider
From:
Nashville
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 3:30 pm |
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Its probably a long shot posting this question here but i figured i'd try anyway. I play a '67 push/pull and i'm having trouble finding the right phaser pedal to use with it. I'd like to add a nice, thick, buttery phase to my steel sometimes. I used to play an old MSA and that guitar worked pretty well with a vintage MXR script 90 phase pedal. However, now that i've stepped up to the push/pull, the signal coming out of the guitar is SO HOT that it overloads the pedal which makes the phase effect sound more distorted.
I did some research and found a boutique phase pedal made by retro-sonic. their pedal, they claim, sounds like a script 90 phaser but they removed the distortion that myself and apparently others complain about with the MXR. I got this pedal today, and unfortunately it still distorts.
Does anyone know of a good sounding phaser pedal out there, boutique or otherwise, that would sound good with a push/pull specifically? TIA |
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Jack Goodson
From:
new brockton,alabama (deceased)
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 3:57 pm session 500
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| luke: this is not answering your question about a phaser pedal, but if you want the best phase sound get a session 500 amp. i use it with any guitar and it works great with no distortion. my problem is that i cannot carry the amp anymore...thanks jack |
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Robert Parent
From:
Gillette, WY
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 4:15 pm
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| Have you tried a Boss pedal from Roland? I have never been disappointed with their products. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 4:41 pm
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Hey, Luke, most pedal steel pickups are too hot for lots of guitar pedal inputs. One thing you might try is staying with one of the pedals you already have, if it sounds good other than the distortion, and sending in in for modification to one of the guys who mods effects pedals. Tell him what you're looking for and I'll bet you can get just what you need. I can recommend Mark Humphreys.
http://www.haudiomods.webs.com/index.html |
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Ron Funk
From:
Ballwin, Missouri
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 4:54 pm
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Try experimenting with an old Electro Harmonix "Small Stone" EH 4800 Phase Shifter.
The one with the 'color switch.' |
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Cliff Kane
From:
the late great golden state
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 7:37 pm
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| I play a push-pull through an old block logo MXR Phase 90 and it sounds good. There may be a little dirt to the sound, but it sounds natural and not bad . I used to use an old DOD Phase and that pedal did distort in an unpleasant way with the steel, but not with a standard guitar, so I guess the MXR has more headroom, at least the block logo pedal. |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 5 Oct 2010 10:48 pm
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| What amp are you using? Is there an FX loop? |
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Scott Swartz
From:
St. Louis, MO
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 7:24 am
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An analog phase shifter circuit needs a electronically variable resistor to work, and there is no perfect technology to accomplish this without distortion.
The cheapest way is an OTA or a FET as used on the Small Stone and MXR Phase 90 (OTA for the Small Stone and FET for the Phase 90), but both of these technologies are both prone to distort at high signal levels, not a lot can be done about this.
A better way is LDR (light dependent resistor) architecture such as the Mutron Bi-Phase and the Ibanez PH99, these are less prone to distort at high levels, so you may want to check those out.
The phasing can be accomplished with DSP or other digital technology (I believe the Boss PH-3 is DSP based), these could theoretically be better from a distortion perspective, but I have not personally tried any of these.
_________________
Scott Swartz
Steeltronics - Steel Guitar Pickups
www.steeltronics.com |
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Luke Schneider
From:
Nashville
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 7:43 am
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wow, thanks everyone for the great responses.
Mark thanks for the recommendation. I was considering writing to the guys who make this retro sonic pedal and asking them if there was anyway they could mod it. I'll also look into the gentleman you mention.
Scott, thanks for the great info! |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 9:37 am
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I use a Maxon PT-999 with my tele.
It has internal trim pots and sounds good.
I have never had to adjust the internal gain on mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R91tlT-QEKM
_________________
MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 9:51 am
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| If it is a gain structure problem, why not put a pad in front of the MXR 90? |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 10:14 am
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| Like Lynn says, that's another idea. For years I played a Pre-RP Mullen with effects units and various pickups all gave me some input distortion. I buitl a little clip-on box with a simple 500K pot in line, and just rolled the pot back enough to dial back the distortion. It worked really well, with not too much tonal change. Cheap fix... |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 6 Oct 2010 4:25 pm
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Yup. Guitar boxes are made for guitar-level signals, which might top out at 10 ohms. A George L pickup, or some others may put out twice that. I like to use effects, so the simplest thing for me is to just cut my steel guitar's output, so that I can use any of my guitar effects without too much twiddling. Right now, I'm using an old DOD FX80-B compressor on steel, but it's set to not compress - it just dumps the output enough.
I also have an old-style Hilton volume pedal with a volume control on the bottom, and it can accomplish the same thing. This is far simpler than trying to find a whole alternate set of stompboxes, just for Miss Finicky Steel. BTW, a MXR compressor won't work - it distorts it's own self!  |
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