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 Post subject: REVIEW: EHX Polyphase (XO Reissue)
PostPosted: March 11th, 2008, 5:49 pm 
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Joined: March 9th, 2008, 6:01 pm
Posts: 66
Location: Santa Clara, CA
This is definitely one of the more unusual phase shifters I've had the pleasure of playing with. Thanks to a friend of mine at a local shop, we were able to give it a nice, thorough test-run with both bass and guitar (a G&L L-2000 and a Fender Jazzmaster, respectively).

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To say the least, I'm very impressed with it; if I had a use for a phase shifer, I'd have bought it already! Just as a word of warning... we had a bit of trouble trying to figure out what some of the controls do, but thanks to the manual, we figured it out. This isn't the most extensive review, but it should help give you the idea of what it can do.

PRICE: Around $200.00 USD new.

SIZE: Same as the new Q-Tron+, Holy Stain, and Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai. It's approximately 6" x 4.75" (in other words... wider than an EHX Little Big Muff, but just as deep).

POWER: 24VDC, 100mA wall wart; It's the same adapter as the Q-Tron+ and the Bass Micro Synthesizer.

INPUTS / OUTPUTS: Mono input, stereo ouptuts. It also has an expression pedal jack (more on that feature below).

CONTROLS: It has six knobs and a toggle switch. The Feedback knob, according to them manual, controls the amount of signal fed back into the pedal. It makes the phasing sound more pronounced at some points of the sweep, and works on all modes. It's a bit of a weird control. Anyhow, the Gain knob controls gain similarly to how it's done on the Q-Tron+; it drives the signal harder, which is extremely useful in Envelope mode. It only works in Envelope mode. The next knob is the Mode knob; you can select between an envelope-controlled phase mode, an LFO mode (the traditional approach to phasing), and an Expression pedal-controlled phase mode that lets you control the sweep in real time, as if it were like a wah pedal. The Start and Stop knobs control the sweep range and direction of the phase shifting; setting the Start at a higher setting than the Stop will cause the pedal to sweep in reverse. The last knob is the Rate knob, which controls the speed of the sweep; it only works in LFO mode. The toggle switch is a two-setting switch that works only in LFO and Envelope Mode; I'll explain how it works below.

One thing I forgot to mention - the Feedback knob does NOT cause self-oscillation, contrary to what the name might lead you to believe. It doesn't go that far.

OVERLOAD LED: Consider this your friend in Envelope Mode - you want it to light up :D. If it lights up, that's not bad at all - it's a benefit for a brighter, more pronounced phase shifting sound. To mellow out the envelope response, turn down the gain until the light doesn't come on (or doesn't come on as often).

SOUND (Envelope Mode): This was an awesome mode! It reacts just like an envelope filter would, triggering the phase shifting only in response to your playing. Unlike a traditional phase shifter, it won't cycle on its own; each of your attacks will engage the sweep. With a broad sweep range set, you can get a really funky phasing sound that has to be heard to be believed; I can't think of an envelope filter that sounds like it, and really, that's how it's supposed to be - it's still a phaser at heart, after all. Increase the rate, and the sweep ends quickly. It sounds especially cool with the Gain turned up to produce a more pronounced phasing response, and with the Start and Stop knobs set to produce a downward sweep. If you want a fast sweep, toggle the switch from "Slow" mode to "Fast" mode; it's funkier this way.

SOUND (LFO Mode): The classic approach to phasing involves an LFO to manage the cyclical sweeping we so often expect from a phase shifter. In the past, it's been mentioned that the Polyphase seems rather subtle and dark compared to the Small Stone; IME, it doesn't seem to be so, although you can certainly make it darker or subtler by toying with the Start and Stop knobs. It can sound similar to the Small Stone, but with more flexible controls. You can narrow the sweep for a more subtle effect, or even reverse the sweep for sounds your ordinary phase shifter won't give you. The toggle switch works to change between sawtooth wave mode (which sounds like a traditional phase shifter) and square wave mode (a colorful sort of "tremolo"). In square wave mode, you can narrow it to only cycle in a particular range using the Start and Stop controls. Square wave is a bit weird, but I bet it'd shine with distortion.

SOUND (Expression Pedal Mode): Plug in a good expression pedal, and set it to this mode to control the actual sweep of the effect, as if this were a sort of wah pedal! All the other controls function as they always do (the Rate and Gain, of course, don't apply), allowing you do come up with a variety of tones controllable in real time. Hold the expression pedal in one place to essentially have a "frozen" phasing effect, or set up a broad sweep range to make the most of your expression pedal.

EXPRESSION PEDAL IN OTHER MODES: The expression pedal can surprisingly be used in both of the other modes. In both modes, when the expression pedal is toe-up, it doesn't affect the signal at all. But push it toe-down, and it'll narrow the range until it reaches the frequency set on the Stop knob. Bizzare, but cool if you want to dynamically adjust the sweep range.

NOISE: None that I noticed while I was toying with it. Seems pretty clean to me.

SUMMARY: A flexible phase shifter with some really cool modes. A bit confusing to work with at first, but fun to play with. Square-wave LFO mode is a bit odd, but it could be promising with distortion. Size and power are always a drawback, but the pedal is by no means gigantic. If all you need is your standard LFO stuff, you'll probably be fine with a regular phase shifter like a Small Stone, but if you need reverse-sweep phasing, envelope-controlled phasing, or the wah-like sounds of expression-pedal-controlled phasing... this is the pedal for you!

OVERALL: :D :D :D :D :|

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Bassist: Letters to Ruin
EBMM Stingray | GK Fusion 550 | GK Neo 212
MXR Blowtorch | MXR Carbon Copy | EHX Stereo Electric Mistress


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