3e7777c294b9bcaa5486 …… · created date: 6/13/2011 3:43:53 pm

ErlnRtuttttHAHDWIBE SP' STIREO PHASEH

THE SP-7's on,/offfootswitchdoublesasatap control . Use i t l iveto setthe pedal 'smodulat ion speed toyour band'stempo

LlKEthe rest oftheHardWire range, theSP-7 Stereo Phaserisdesignedtotake agood seeingtoat gigsand rehearsals

vintage two-stage phaser- say, anold lD(RPhase 45 -while 4 STG isa four-stage number such as the]\D(R Phase 90. Modern is a moreintense four-stage job, Boutique isa six-stage phaseL and 10 STG is avintage 10-stager. Envelope andDlnamic are triggered bytheintensity of your playing.

We reckon the fust two settingson the type knob willbe the mostoften visited. That's because 2 STGoffers a subtle effect, perfect for60s obsessives and counryplayersIooking to colour clean tones,while 4 STG is the choice for a 70sVan Halen tone. The great thingwith the SP-7 is thatwhere Eddiehad justone knob to playwith, youhave speed, depth and feedbackcontrols at your disposal.

Something really cool happensto a phaserwhen you mix itwithoverdrive. Lead lick become thickand soupy, false harmonicsthrillingly unpredictable. TheDynamic setting is a blast too.Crankthe Speed, Depth andModifyknobs and hit a powerchord. The phaser doesn'tkickinuntil the chord begins to fade. It's abit likeBobo ORileybyThe Who.By the way, 10 STG is great if you

want an over-tne-top watery-sounding phaser. The SP-7 has allangles covered.

The tap tempo function allowsyou to set the modulation speed ofthe SP-7 with a few stabs of yourfoot. It's great for live performance,naturally, butyou can get freakywith it too. Try accelerathg thespeed at the climax of a solo. Wedid. It sounds great.

You're not going to use a phaserall the time, so spending a fewsheets shyof f 150 mightseemlikea lot to add some occasional tonalcolour to your signal chain. Yet theSP-7 challenges the supremacyof abee's kneecaps. Fewpedals offersuch awide range of crackingvintage and modem phaser tones,with true bypass, delivered in aneasy-to-use package. Trust us, thisisn'tjust another phase you'll begoingthrough.EdMitchell

I ITTIITII ITIIT***

I

- -

I

-

I

-

I

- -

I

-

I I

- -

152 lbtalcuitar jUNE 2011

THIS stompbox comeswithsevenphasermodes,from 6ospsychedeliato modescontrol led bythedynamicsofwhatyou're playing

WHENtrI':ffiYwhat a phaser pedal sounds like,*rey say'swirling','swooshing'and, 'like a flanger but doesn'tsound as much like a jetplanetaking off'. Well, a phaser is thevital tonal ingredient in Eddie VanHalen's Eruprron, country outlawWaylon Jennings' Telecastertwang, and Brian May's huge toneon Queen belte rs, We WiII RockYouand We Are The Champions. Nowyou're up to speed.

The new HardWire SP-7multi-stage stereo phaser pedalhas rue bypass circuitry, a tap

tempo function and four knobs,three labelled Speed, Depth andModify and the fourth being usedto select the type of effect. Funnilyenough, Speed controls the rate ofthe phase effect and Depth altersits intensity The multi-functionModifuknob acts as abias,feedback or sensitivity controldepending on which type of phaseyou select.

Speaking of which, the morestages a phaser has, the greater thenumber of 'notches' in thefrequency spectrum, resulthg in amore intense swoosh to the phasesound. So 2 STG replicates a