Hello Guys,

can anyone recommend me a good VST Phaser?
I am looking for the sound of e.g. the Boss Phaser PH-2 (what is unfortunately hardware).

I am running Cubase, but I cannot make friends with their stock phasers.
Tried Kuassa, better than Cubase, but not close to the Boss.

Any tipps are appreciated!
Thank you!

 

Fazortan 2 or Godfazer by D16

https://d16.pl/fazortan2
https://d16.pl/godfazer

 

thanks, will try this out.

 

Be shure that you´ll never find a software phaser that sounds like a hardware one. The closer i´ve been is with Big Rock by Arts Acoustic and more recently Arturia Bi-Tron. Also Phase-Vibe Rack from Nembrini Audio. Good luck.

 

Thanks, good to know....I also tried the Waves stuff but that didnt give me the result I was expecting too. Will also try the ones you mentioned here.

 

Bi-Tron phaser in the Arturia Modulation Bundle is not bad. Nomad Factory APH2S-3 is pretty nice.
I don't think either are going to sound like a Boss pedal tho.

Did you try the BomShanka Aardvarkk Phaser yet? I haven't had reason to really check it out yet.

 

https://www.timpetherick.co.uk/downloads/classic-phasers/

for the sound you are looking (hw) I'm afraid this is your only option. Otherwise, those mentioned do a ok job of their own, I guess..

 

How about Guitar Rig phasers? seem to be plenty here: https://www.rogueguitarshop.com/collections/guitar-rig-essentials/phaser-pedal

 

Fazortan is good, though, IMO! The first preset ("Funktronique" or something like that) is my go-to Phaser on everything.

MOTU's DP has also a really nice Small Stone emulation called Clear Pebble that sounds really nice. They also do an MXR 90 "Script" emulation but to me it sounds kind of weird. https://motu.com/en-us/products/software/dp/plugins/guitar-effects/

 

https://plugins4free.com/plugin/2257/

 

https://www.adamszabo.com/vstplugins/phazor/
it's free

 

Soundtoys PhaseMistress?

 

+1 Big Rock

 

Blue Cat's Phaser - Free
https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_Phaser/

However if you really need it to sound like a Boss,
best thing you can do is get any guitar FX VST like Amplitube, TH-U, Guitar Rig, Bias FX, Helix etc..

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2021

what about noiseash action phaser?

 

If you're looking for classic 60's era tape phasing... good luck... I've been search for years. Closest I got is Waves MFlanger. I think that's what it's called. Starts with an M anyway. Maybe Metaflanger? Either way if some one knows a real tape flange effect let me know.

 

Also TAIP can be used for this. Dom Sigalas showed this in his latest YouTube video

 

There's a trick how to make even the most digital mod FX sound analog, that basically amounts to "put it on a send, slap RC-20 on it and don't overdo anything".
In long, you make it pitch-drift a bit (no more than 5-10 percent, with flux around 25%) and saturate it (diode or iron, no more than 10-15%), then add some analog hum (once again, around 10%, routing to "Post") and finally cut off some of the subs and highs. Viola, your phaser is analogue.
The point is to know what differentiates digital mod FX from analog ones and try recreating the difference.

 

If you go for Fazortan 2 and want to buy it, I'm selling it at the moment.

Here's another useful link about phasers:
https://soundsmag.com/top-phaser-vst-plugins/

 

So I've been testing many phaser plugins side by side and thought I'd give my personal opinion. Context of use: vintage disco with reference to Yellow Magic Orchestra.

• Eventide's Instant Phaser: just glorious. It was the first Eventide plugin that drew my attention and to this day I find it their best product. I can't imagine how someone would copy this sound using different devices or methods. It only goes to show that each processor is unique, that it makes little sense to talk about 'all EQs being the same' and that hardware believers may have a strong point.
• D16's Fazortan: the opposite of 'musical'. Don't get me wrong, it sounds amazing, but it's hard to master, maybe just because it's too powerful.
• D16's Godfazer: an unfair comparison, because it's more than a phaser, but I do believe that if you *really* know what you're doing, you might perhaps get closer to any phaser sound with this beast. Its degree of control goes a little beyond for my purposes and taste, but if you're into experimental music, this could just be the thing.
• Sinevibe's Whirl: very modern-sounding, with a minimalist quality to it. Like everything by this developer, it combines depth with unbelievable clarity and simplicity.
• Softube's Fix Phaser: I really wanted to like this one, as I've really liked so many Softube's products I tested (the A-Range, TSAR-1, Drawmer 1973 and Model 72 to name a few). I remember seeing an interview on YouTube with the creator of the model this was based on. Maybe it's not Softube's entire fault, maybe I just wouldn't care for the original device anyway. In any case, it sounds superficial, as if it were being applied 'above' the signal somehow.
• Fazertone's Phaser74: this seems to be a favorite! I found it very simple, almost like a stock phaser. It surely gets the job done.
• Audiority's Dr. Phase: this one belongs to the same category of Phaser74, but it's way, way richer. I'd single this one out, because it's not the kind of sound I'm going for (this is based on the orange MRX Phase 90), but within this class, I'd rank it above everything else. The P45 (2-stage) and Vintage (removes feedback resistor) buttons can make it very beefy.
• Overloud TH-U's Phase Stone: TH-U has many phaser pedal emus, but this is the only one I found valuable. And it's great. For its simplicity, I'd say it knocks the previous two out of the park. Don't miss out on the color knob.
• IK's Amplitube: Amplitube is the opposite of TH-U in the phaser department, as it's hard to pick one. My favorite one is the Small Phaser (I do have a bias towards Electroharmonix in general), but I think you can find interest in all of them. Phase 9 marbles well with the source and Phase 10 has accentuated formant characteristics, with that classic pre-puke effect of formant filters but not enough to be close to a Bassballs. Having said that, I find it hard to test Amplitube's pedals because I can't really understand how to clean the signal flow and never cared enough to read the manual.
• Arturia's Mu-Tron: like everything from Arturia, it looks so beautiful! It looks powerful and surely you can dial in many different parameters. Sound-wise, I'd say it only tops Sotube's.
• ArtsAcoustic's Big Rock: the winner, by far. It's amazing that such an ancient little piece of software would topple all these big names. If you want, it can make a signal sound deep, spread out and at the same time retain a little or a lot of the original signal characteristics, even if 100% wet. This is something I couldn't find in any other device. All in all, it just sounds so live and organic. Maybe it's just me, I'm a phaser lover, and I'm sure I left out some other good phasers, but this thing just has the 'magic touch'. When you listen to hardware tests online, you start to understand why we don't need another 1176 in the digital domain; we need more phasers!

 

Last edited: Sep 9, 2024