The first issue Small Stone (SS) - the 6-chip version - had a genius aspect that I don't think is on any of the other issues. Coming off the LFO, there was a resistor/capacitor network that added a bit of lag and attenuation to LFO speeds that exceeded about 1.6hz. In other words it *automatically* dialed back the sweep width for faster speeds, which is exactly what a person would do with a 2 or 3-knob phaser that had a separate Rate and Depth control. Another aspect that is not widely appreciated is just how much the Color switch is doing, accomplishing several changes at once, with a simple flick of the switch. When filter or time sweeps are being produced, slower sweeps sound more musical if they pass through the low part of the sweep more slowly. This is a consequence of how our hearing, or perception of sound, works. The LFO on the SS can take on the more commonplace triangular waveform - steady up and down - *or* by tweaking some resistor values, become what many describe as a "hypertriangular" waveform; triangle at the "top" of the sweep, and sinusoidal at the "bottom". This results in the slowing down at the bottom of the sweep, to accentuate the movement of notches and resonances, and a speeding up at the top of the sweep. At the same time, one half of the Color switch also introduces more or less feedback, depending on position. So, one Color position is optimized for slower sweeps, implementing a hypertriangular LFO and introducing more feedback, while the other switch position reverts to triangle and lessens feedback, for a sound that is optimized for faster sweeps. Unsurprisingly the range of sweep speeds also changes a bit with the Color setting. Because of the electronic design, one of the nifty things you can do with it is change each phase shift stage to a lowpass filter, simply by moving one end of the capacitor in that stage. Forty-some years back, the late John Blacet did this with what he called the phasefilter, aimed at synth users. I realized one day that his could also be done with the SS (although NOT with FET-based phasers like the Phase 90), and installed a switch to turn two of the phase-shift stages into lowpass filter stages. The result is sonically ineresting. And if one lifts the dry signal such that you're left with two phase-shift stages in series with two lowpass filter stages, the result is delightfully swampy-sounding and dead sexy at the right speeds. It provides an intriguing mix of vibrato, auto-wah, and a sort of tremolo sound. I used to have a black Russian SS, and modded it with a couple of switches. I split the Color switch into two independent switches: one for feedback, and the other for waveform. I also installed a toggle to lift the dry signal to provide vibrato, and another toggle to reroute the capacitors in two of the phase-shift stages and go from phase-shift to lowpass or back again. The overall result was an SS that could take on a broad range of "identities" and produce sounds you wouldn't associate with an SS.
I'll just add that the black Ross phaser is more or less a clone of the SS, albeit with different chips, and a variable feedback control, rather than the 2-position toggle. Here's a nice demo someone did of one. www-dot-youtube-dot-com/watch?v=Y1NshJqESOM
My biggest problem with the SS - V2, second gen graphics - was the huge volume drop when engaged. The Boss PH-1r was the opposite, with a ludicrous volume leap when switched on. Now, I have a Boo Instruments clone of the PH-1r, which is quiet, doesn't play hob with the volume and sounds superb.
This is a very interesting study on dark to bright over the years, or perhaps from less resonance to more. The differences are subtle but they're there. For me the midbox USA reissue is the standout due to its balance of warmth and presence.
I had the big box one and it was noisy as all get out...but boy do I miss it. It was like...chewy? I don't know how to describe it. I have the modern nano as a replacement and it's fine, of course, and I'm sure no one else can hear the difference but...I can feel it :)
Phasers were set to stun for the whole demo. The first few seconds are just a real low roar with the Looking Glass set real low, but I think it shows how the input signal is very deterministic of how much phasing effect you get out of any of these pedals.
I don't think I've ever used the color switch "on" on my Small Stone, I'm in the "too much" crowd. Maybe cool with some other dramatic effects or a synth though. I have the 00's nano before the black version for what that's worth.
Would LOVE to see a review on that Reverend Eastsider S. I like the idea of a strat, but the shape just doesn't do it for me. Always thought this would be a cool addition if it can kind of fit that brief.
I've thought about doing a rundown of my guitars, and what makes me reach for one over the other. Just in case I never get around to it, here's my two cents; It has the body shape and controls like a Tele, pickups like what you'd find in a Strat, but the neck is very un-like any Strat or Tele I've ever played... it's a compound 10-14" with square edges, where most S/T-type guitars have a slightly rolled edge. So right off, it's something unique, and it took me a while to get used to it. It's not as Stratty as my Strats or the G&L Legacy I've taken a fondness to, and it doesn't have the raw simplicity of my Teles, and that middle-of-the-roadness kinda bothered me for a while until I brought it to band practice and basically said "I'm gonna play this thing until I learn what it's good at". The key was leveraging the full selection of pickups, including the push/pull pot which engages the neck and bridge pickup. I found myself bouncing between bridge or neck only and the bridge/neck combo, OR middle pickup and all 3 pickups for verse/chorus/solo modes. The neck feels amazing. Roasted maple is my jam, and it's the kind of neck that I bet will only feel better the more it's played. As with all the Reverends I've played, the Wilkenson tremolo feels and plays great, I don't know why we don't see them on more guitars. My three grips; I'm still not sold on the satin finish thing. I've got a Charvel, and two Reverends with satin finishes and the feeling of them under my playing hand still feels weird... that might change over time. Second, I found the guitar to be pretty susceptible to RF as it came to me. Fine at band practice, but at my desk, it just wasn't gonna fly. I spend an evening painting the cavities with conductive paint and now it's dead silent. A quick upgrade, not terribly expensive, but I wish more guitars came that way from the factory, especially considering how desk setups are becoming more frequent. Lastly, the G string slot in the nut seemed like it was cut too low. I'm sure they're not cut one-at-a-time by hand, but I couldn't dial a buzz out of the open G string without raising the strings way too high. Replacing it with a Tusq Strat nut fixed that right away. The buzzing didn't start until I put 10's on it (I think it came set up with 9's) and I also bought it used, so it might be a situation unique to my guitar, but just something to keep in mind. Overall, it's a really fun guitar to play. I especially enjoy playing it standing up, it balances extremely well, it's not too heavy but it also doesn't feel cheap. and not for nothing but I just think it looks hella classy. It gets double-takes as people assume it's a Tele, then notice the pickups and tremolo. It fits my needs for a hot-rodded Tele, as well as a "Strat with a Twist". I hope that was helpful!
Am I the only crazy one here or did the US reissue one have a off-kilter oscillation? Like a "wah-wa-wah-wah-wa-wah" kind of phasing where the Russian and the nano were more even in that regard. I dunno, but I heard that and like it better.
The USA reissue should be True Bypass as well as the Nano. My V2 and V3 benefit from buffers before and afterwards and don’t tend to find any volume drop to be worse than any other phaser.
Top speed is the main difference to me.ive had two v4s and a nano version with the stupid logo and the nano doesn't go as fast as the v4 and yes I do use the cool ring mod sounds you can get at such speeds on a v4
Big stones on that Small Stone.
"If you squint with your ears" is a great phrase.
The first issue Small Stone (SS) - the 6-chip version - had a genius aspect that I don't think is on any of the other issues. Coming off the LFO, there was a resistor/capacitor network that added a bit of lag and attenuation to LFO speeds that exceeded about 1.6hz. In other words it *automatically* dialed back the sweep width for faster speeds, which is exactly what a person would do with a 2 or 3-knob phaser that had a separate Rate and Depth control.
Another aspect that is not widely appreciated is just how much the Color switch is doing, accomplishing several changes at once, with a simple flick of the switch. When filter or time sweeps are being produced, slower sweeps sound more musical if they pass through the low part of the sweep more slowly. This is a consequence of how our hearing, or perception of sound, works. The LFO on the SS can take on the more commonplace triangular waveform - steady up and down - *or* by tweaking some resistor values, become what many describe as a "hypertriangular" waveform; triangle at the "top" of the sweep, and sinusoidal at the "bottom". This results in the slowing down at the bottom of the sweep, to accentuate the movement of notches and resonances, and a speeding up at the top of the sweep. At the same time, one half of the Color switch also introduces more or less feedback, depending on position. So, one Color position is optimized for slower sweeps, implementing a hypertriangular LFO and introducing more feedback, while the other switch position reverts to triangle and lessens feedback, for a sound that is optimized for faster sweeps. Unsurprisingly the range of sweep speeds also changes a bit with the Color setting.
Because of the electronic design, one of the nifty things you can do with it is change each phase shift stage to a lowpass filter, simply by moving one end of the capacitor in that stage. Forty-some years back, the late John Blacet did this with what he called the phasefilter, aimed at synth users. I realized one day that his could also be done with the SS (although NOT with FET-based phasers like the Phase 90), and installed a switch to turn two of the phase-shift stages into lowpass filter stages. The result is sonically ineresting. And if one lifts the dry signal such that you're left with two phase-shift stages in series with two lowpass filter stages, the result is delightfully swampy-sounding and dead sexy at the right speeds. It provides an intriguing mix of vibrato, auto-wah, and a sort of tremolo sound.
I used to have a black Russian SS, and modded it with a couple of switches. I split the Color switch into two independent switches: one for feedback, and the other for waveform. I also installed a toggle to lift the dry signal to provide vibrato, and another toggle to reroute the capacitors in two of the phase-shift stages and go from phase-shift to lowpass or back again. The overall result was an SS that could take on a broad range of "identities" and produce sounds you wouldn't associate with an SS.
I'll just add that the black Ross phaser is more or less a clone of the SS, albeit with different chips, and a variable feedback control, rather than the 2-position toggle. Here's a nice demo someone did of one. www-dot-youtube-dot-com/watch?v=Y1NshJqESOM
Dude, AWESOME info. It's gonna take me a while to digest all that, but I really appreciate the insight. Lots to think about.
@@StompboxBreakdown My pleasure,
Good read thanks!
@@TaurianAudio-io3jd You're welcome.
YES!!!! THE SMALL STONE EPISODE
Thanks for the video.
Giving a deeper look into the use of a phaser besides the pedal comparison
Loved the comparison. I see a Maxon CS 505 in the background. Can you please do a comparison between the early 80s CS 505 and the Maxon PAC 9? Thanks
Thank you, kind sir. This was very useful.
My biggest problem with the SS - V2, second gen graphics - was the huge volume drop when engaged. The Boss PH-1r was the opposite, with a ludicrous volume leap when switched on. Now, I have a Boo Instruments clone of the PH-1r, which is quiet, doesn't play hob with the volume and sounds superb.
This is a very interesting study on dark to bright over the years, or perhaps from less resonance to more. The differences are subtle but they're there. For me the midbox USA reissue is the standout due to its balance of warmth and presence.
I had the big box one and it was noisy as all get out...but boy do I miss it. It was like...chewy? I don't know how to describe it. I have the modern nano as a replacement and it's fine, of course, and I'm sure no one else can hear the difference but...I can feel it :)
Chewy is a good way of describing it for sure.
Whoa, that beginning jam was awesome! And that was before the phaser turned on!
Phasers were set to stun for the whole demo. The first few seconds are just a real low roar with the Looking Glass set real low, but I think it shows how the input signal is very deterministic of how much phasing effect you get out of any of these pedals.
@@StompboxBreakdown what?!
@@LeftHandedRightHanded huh?
@@StompboxBreakdown i didn't even know it was on from the get go lol
Hey,
I want to buy a Small Stone but I’m in turmoil in between V2,V3 standard and V3 Russian, which would you recommend?
Ah man that lfo speed up and slow down at the end of the first Jam, nice work homie
It gets percussive at the faster speeds, so delicious. Like waves lapping the side of a boat on a lake
I don't think I've ever used the color switch "on" on my Small Stone, I'm in the "too much" crowd. Maybe cool with some other dramatic effects or a synth though. I have the 00's nano before the black version for what that's worth.
Would LOVE to see a review on that Reverend Eastsider S. I like the idea of a strat, but the shape just doesn't do it for me. Always thought this would be a cool addition if it can kind of fit that brief.
I've thought about doing a rundown of my guitars, and what makes me reach for one over the other. Just in case I never get around to it, here's my two cents; It has the body shape and controls like a Tele, pickups like what you'd find in a Strat, but the neck is very un-like any Strat or Tele I've ever played... it's a compound 10-14" with square edges, where most S/T-type guitars have a slightly rolled edge.
So right off, it's something unique, and it took me a while to get used to it. It's not as Stratty as my Strats or the G&L Legacy I've taken a fondness to, and it doesn't have the raw simplicity of my Teles, and that middle-of-the-roadness kinda bothered me for a while until I brought it to band practice and basically said "I'm gonna play this thing until I learn what it's good at". The key was leveraging the full selection of pickups, including the push/pull pot which engages the neck and bridge pickup. I found myself bouncing between bridge or neck only and the bridge/neck combo, OR middle pickup and all 3 pickups for verse/chorus/solo modes.
The neck feels amazing. Roasted maple is my jam, and it's the kind of neck that I bet will only feel better the more it's played. As with all the Reverends I've played, the Wilkenson tremolo feels and plays great, I don't know why we don't see them on more guitars.
My three grips; I'm still not sold on the satin finish thing. I've got a Charvel, and two Reverends with satin finishes and the feeling of them under my playing hand still feels weird... that might change over time. Second, I found the guitar to be pretty susceptible to RF as it came to me. Fine at band practice, but at my desk, it just wasn't gonna fly. I spend an evening painting the cavities with conductive paint and now it's dead silent. A quick upgrade, not terribly expensive, but I wish more guitars came that way from the factory, especially considering how desk setups are becoming more frequent. Lastly, the G string slot in the nut seemed like it was cut too low. I'm sure they're not cut one-at-a-time by hand, but I couldn't dial a buzz out of the open G string without raising the strings way too high. Replacing it with a Tusq Strat nut fixed that right away. The buzzing didn't start until I put 10's on it (I think it came set up with 9's) and I also bought it used, so it might be a situation unique to my guitar, but just something to keep in mind.
Overall, it's a really fun guitar to play. I especially enjoy playing it standing up, it balances extremely well, it's not too heavy but it also doesn't feel cheap. and not for nothing but I just think it looks hella classy. It gets double-takes as people assume it's a Tele, then notice the pickups and tremolo. It fits my needs for a hot-rodded Tele, as well as a "Strat with a Twist". I hope that was helpful!
@@StompboxBreakdown awesome, great amount of details. Really appreciate the feedback!
Holy cow, the case on the Russian one looks heavy duty like a ProCo Rat case.
My Russian Small Stone has a pretty noticeable volume drop unfortunately.
There are differences, sure, but to my ears they all sound really nice. I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with the current production unit.
I definitely agree there. If one were headed to my pedalboard, it’d be the Nano
Am I the only crazy one here or did the US reissue one have a off-kilter oscillation? Like a "wah-wa-wah-wah-wa-wah" kind of phasing where the Russian and the nano were more even in that regard. I dunno, but I heard that and like it better.
my very favorite Phaser next to the PH2...RED N BLACK ftw
Awesome
I like the presenters style.
Thanks!!
I bet you’ll say in your upcoming phaser type breakdown, but is the phase 100 jfet or hwat?
Optical, actually. It’s got a bunch of vactrols in it.
i have the green sovtek version... super janky looking but sounds amaze ballz
The USA reissue should be True Bypass as well as the Nano.
My V2 and V3 benefit from buffers before and afterwards and don’t tend to find any volume drop to be worse than any other phaser.
I have a small stone, i am not sure on the age, it belong to my late father, he died in 1985 (well before his time!) so not sure what its worth etc
Fave without color on - reissue
Fave with - Russian
Top speed is the main difference to me.ive had two v4s and a nano version with the stupid logo and the nano doesn't go as fast as the v4 and yes I do use the cool ring mod sounds you can get at such speeds on a v4
I always thought that the “color” switch made my guitar sound like it was chewing gum 🤓
Good comparison!
Hail Queen Lizard....BigBoxBeauty
It sure it. Every time I take it out of the box I'm like "Please don't let this be the time I drop it"
The key difference I can hear is that the new design looks like a vomit accident.
I can’t wait until a boutique builder makes a Small Stone inspired pedal called The Vomit Accident
@@StompboxBreakdown only a matter of time!
the color switch is just a resonance control. i promise U, there's no supercharger components in this circuit.
*takes notes*
There is no "a" in psychedelic.
Whoops. I guess there’s no spellcheck when you’re hand-writing. I’ll fix it.