Aria Phase Shifter Ps-10 Pt. 2 - A two stage process

Aria Phase Shifter Ps-10

Pt. 2

 

Two Stages of Wow

I had this pedal for under twenty four hours when I wrote the first part of this blog post. Finest Guitar Pedals' entries shall grow alongside my pedal collection. This is my latest acquisition. Before this lovely green-striped grey box, I had the Mooer Micro Looper, the Fender Competition Delay pedal, and the Marshall Bluesbreaker 2. To put it bluntly, I can make my guitar go 'Womp', then 'Womp Womp', then a screechier 'womp', and then record it for up to a 30 minute loop. Fun! These pedals are all coming from local music stores. The looper and the phase shifter are coming from Shem Creek Music. The delay and the overdrive are from Mt. Pleasant Music. I'm in the process of making that Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ synth mine - It'll be the far left of my pedal board. The Aria ps-10 pedal however... this will be my most used. It has taken me about ten hours worth of working with it to understand its strengths and weaknesses. With any pedal, there's a need to do hands-on research. You really need to understand what you will get out of your investment, and the best way to pick that out from perusing the music shop is to have a strong concept of what you're wanting to convey. The electric guitar is 100% conveyance. You want to be clear. You don't want to be muddled. You don't want to be choppy. You don't want to peak. You don't want the amp to hum. When you find a pedal that'll either modify or add to that clarity, then think about what you can convey with that pedal.

 

The good pedals will blow past the conveyance stage quickly. That's how I knew I had a good one. Even though I had this pedal for under 24 hours, I knew at the shop that the strength of what I can do with it won't come until I purchase it and have it working in my current rig for a while. It added motion to the simplest of my riffs. I knew if it would add motion to those simple riffs, then it was worth the $25 I dropped on it. Now, what sold me; its two stages. I love this pedal because there's a metal latch under the black metal stomp plate, which allows it to lift up. This is where the battery is held. Wow! Easy 9volt replacement, and no need of a screwdriver! 'Well how do I get this back together?' I thought to myself. It took four seconds to realize that I can hold the metal latch out, which I pushed to get to the battery, to get the pedal back to stomping shape. I set the pedal down again, feeling quite accomplished with myself, and I get it under my toe. Before I had just stepped on it to turn it on. The Stage 1 light came on, which was pretty cool. I thought I was playing Megaman for the Nintendo Entertainment System. There was a whole 'nother layer of what I was messing around with to get to. This time, I stepped and I held it down - this brought me to Stage 2.

 

 

The Rate Knobs

So when I had 'wowowowowowowow' in the last post, that is to demonstrate via onomatopoeia that emulates what this pedal will do to your sound. When the rate knob is towards the left, it will pass like 'wwwwwoooooooooooooowwwwwwwww'. With time and practice, you can have lower end leads coming out one side, and then the high-on-the-neck leads coming out of the other. Its very slow and subtle. It's painting your dream lick two-tone. I love it. With the knob towards the right, it passes like 'wwooowwwooowwoooww'. Very distorted, very cool for a psychedelic effect on how you approach lead or rhythm. Now, you can see the Stage 1 rate knob. That's the big one, next to the depth and the feedback knobs. The smaller, pinwheel-like knob handles the rate for Stage 2.

 

Depth

You can have this pedal with a very small footprint on your tone, which has a very small impact on its usefulness. It's cool to tweak it to perfection, but I'd suggest to have this all the way to the right to get the maximum effect of the Aria.

 

Feedback

This is the closest control to a volume knob you'll get on this thing. It adds a small portion of distortion, but it also controls the amount of feedback coming from the second signal this pedal is generating. Everything this pedal is generating is feedback, technically, so when it's towards the left, your guitar will sound softer.

 

You can have two different rates of Phase Shifting with this thing. You can easily change between the two rates, and turn it off, quickly. There's no hassle. What I started doing, was having a slower rate on Stage 1, and then holding down for a faster rate coming off of Stage 2. Sounds freakin' cool. You're just sitting there, jamming with a backtrack from either your Mooer Micro Looper (or something else entirely), you have your overdrive going, and you kick on the Aria. There's now a dynamic approach to your soloing. You want to get a lot done in between the shifting phase. You can, because it's slower. You're building up to a wicked hard release of notes, so you need to put your foot down; time for Stage 2. Woah! You can shred and it's going to sound like a big ol' dragon is walking into your practice area, swinging its tail to and fro, trying to dance about to your majestic jams! You can do this. I'm not doing this. ;)

 

I have Stage 1 rate rather high, and Stage 2 rate as low as it'll go. When I have the Aria on, I'll be sure to hold down to introduce my lead. When I'm wanting to transition back to a rhythm aspect, I'll release my foot, which will produce a cool effect as it switches between Stage 2 and Stage 1. This twang enables one note to add some flair to what I'm doing. I like that. I like this pedal. You'll like this pedal too.



Aria Phase Shifter Ps-10 - wowowowowowowowowow - Pt. 1

Aria Phase Shifter PS-10, Pt. 1

What is Phasing?

Wowowowowowowowowowow. 

That's the best I can put it for you. Wowowowowowowowowowowowowowow. To make a lot of presumptions about my audience, ever listen to Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd? If not, go youtube Pink Floyd - Brain Damage real quick, and you'll get a solid sample of what a Phase shifting pedal will do to an electric guitar. 

To get technical, phase shifting takes the signal coming from your electric guitar, adds another signal, and offsets that by a small fraction of time. Phasing is a time delay effect. There's a lot of different effects on an analog signal. Here's what you need to know right now;

• Electric guitars produce an analog signal
• analog signals can be altered by the addition and bypass of other analog signals
• This is not a computer synthesized effect; it is a modulation on the analog signal

The best way I can put this, is phasing causes the sound to phase into the left side, and phase out of the right. This gives the feeling that your music is moving forward in a direction, because the sound is moving from the left side to the right side. It is a very small effect, but it has a huge impact on overall tone of your guitar. The cool part is, these same rules apply to say, synthesizer pianos. Anything that has a quarter-inch jack out, can be plugged into an analog effect pedal. Keep this in mind for this first blog. I just got my taxes done, and I'm feeling a bit frustrated about not doing my taxes myself when I was younger. There'll be more in depth on this particular pedal tomorrow

Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine - Get it simply for the Cathedral synth

B9 Organ Machine by Electro-Harmonix

Castlevania in the palm of your hand

This is a synthesizer pedal, which means you can make your guitar sound like an organ - a B series tone wheel organ. In particular, this organ:

Guitarists don't hold down more than four or five notes at a time to play a chord, whilst organ players hold down seven or eight. Those keyboard chords take two hands! You'll be able to play House of the Rising Sun just like the Animals. The types of configurations you can get with the Dry, Organ, Mod, and Click knobs enables you to mimic well, and transform your own tone well. This pedal allows for you to have a dynamic take on what you're playing. The Dry knob is the tone of your guitar going into the stompbox. The Organ is, of course, the volume of the organ synth that's being added on top.

The Dry knob means you can add an organ underneath the tone of your guitar, which will play alongside of it. This is very useful, if you're wanting to be a versatile rhythm guitarist. This pedal might jump out at the indie rocker kids, which might seem distasteful; don't be fooled. This pedal is for a guitarist who's related to a pianist. There's a certain spot this pedal hits in the brain where, when you close your eyes and focus, you can truly emulate the instrument you're synthesizing. When the Dry knob's all the way to the left, you are simply playing an organ. Keep this in mind.

The Organ knob's the volume knob, really. This controls the computerized synth program running off of which voice you've selected. Since these synths are computerized, you'll have to give it about half a second response time; don't try to shred out the notes. This is the center of your new addition to your tone, so get comfortable with how this knob impacts your amp. 

The Mod knob will modulate the particular voice you've got selected. Each program has its own impact with this knob, but what I've gotten out of the Fat and Full is you can change the harmonics from lower to higher. Basically, where you are getting a seventh out of the chord you're playing, you can mod it into a ninth. Each preset has a distinctive tone, with ample time to be had trying out different levels of Mod for each one. What I started noticing is how having a lot of modulation on the octave voice enabled me to have a very chorus-like sustain effect. 

The Click knob is the coolest part. The older electric organs' clicks would usually get recorded. There wasn't a way to cancel out the sound of the keys being pressed, so this pedal includes an entire knob for that percussive aspect. It's cool. With a little bit of this knob, and the right kind of approach, you really will sound exactly like an organ. This click feature, from what I was experiencing first hand, put a lot of emphasis on your downstroke. For a really elusively written lead, the amount of click you'd want would really sell the piece as being for an organist. Finally, there's separate channels for the Dry and the Organ on the left side of the B9 Organ Machine. This means you can have the Organ synth coming out of its own amp. 

This is a newer pedal, and therefore it's in the $200 range. Definitely worth it. 

1. You'll need a 9 volt power adapter
2. You'll need additional guitar cable

Marshall BB2 - Overdrive? More like Balancedrive

Marshall Bluesbreaker II

Punch. Body. Cut.

As of 10:00 pm, tuesday march 1st, I'm seeing this pedal online for around 70 dollars used. I'm also seeing a lot of youtube videos comparing this one to a Boss overdrive pedal, and Ibanez's tube screamer. If you want to play lead, and sound like you mean it; watch some of the comparisons yourself. This overdrive does its job. 

this post is not going to get broken down into three morsels for you to digest. That's not what this pedal is. This pedal, when configured correctly, will make the notes you play cut through the plastic exterior of television reality. You will no longer feel like a rockstar, you will be a rockstar. What the bluesbreaker mk. 2 has going for it, are its modes; you get a very prominent boost feature, as well as you get a modifiable volume/reverb quality out of the blues feature.

When I first got this pedal, I was a bit confused with it. This is because, buying it used, the pedal's knobs had been reattached incorrectly. I didn't get the luxury of configuring it off of my eyes with watching the notches, I had to configure it off of my ear. The time I spent playing around with the different configurations is where I felt out my investment. It all started with the drive knob.

The boost mode relies on the volume knob and the drive knob. The drive knob modulates the amount of gain going to the guitar from the amplifier. Older tube amps can acquire this quality naturally, and overdrive pedals exist to mimic this effect for non-tube amps. You'll know if you have a tube amp, because it'll probably be from your dad or mom. They aren't generally made anymore. The more drive you have on the knob, the more punch you're going to get from playing one string. For doing lead, have the drive knob up to max or almost max. For playing very rockin' rhythm, have the drive knob to medium or a little under. The body this pedal packs is undeniable. It's got a full sound from how it modulates. There's no air, there's no hollowness. You really feel like you're breaking your blues when you're using this for lead. This full-bodied quality lends itself to a natural sustain it generates. That note will be held out for quite a while. I'm a fingerpicker, and the bluesbreaker II enables quick plucked leads to come through exquisitely loud and clear. It also handles palm muting quite well; gently resting the edge or the palm of your hand against the strings to cut down the excess noise generated by playing. For the amount of tonal chaos you're generating, you're able to control that chaos incredibly well. Rockstars control chaos, well.

The blues mode relies on the volume knob and the tone knob. Most of my experience with the pedal has solely been with the boost mode; there's still much more to explore. What I'm able to do with this mode, is hone down the tone I have coming off of my guitar and amplifier naturally, and give it a little bit more roundness or a little bit less volume. This pedal can actually make your guitar softer, if you use it right. "Why would you want to make your guitar sound softer?" Well, so I can boost the volume straight from the guitar without making the amp peak. To put it curtly, this mode makes my guitar sound cleaner. When I have the tone all the way up, there's a very minor reverb quality that comes through the signal.

Like always, if you're purchasing this offline, you'll need some extras

1. philips head screwdriver to take off the baseplate
2. 9 volt battery OR 9 volt wall adapter
3. recommended 5 ft ~ 10 ft quarter inch cable

Fender Competition Delay Pedal - It'll trigger your combo 'ooo'

Fender Competition Delay Pedal

'Ooo. Ooo. Ooo. Ooo. Ooo.'

That's a combo 'ooo'

The first 'ooo'? The cost. 79 dollars. The second 'ooo'? It's also a reverb pedal. Third 'ooo'? It has mono and stereo output. Fourth 'ooo'? When you change the delay timer knob, it'll have a really cool effect on what it's delaying. Fifth 'ooo'? big foot pedal, so it's easy to engage and disengage. I'm going to break these down, in reverse order.

1.Pedal Design

What I'm very fond of with this particular delay pedal, is the ease of use while you're actually standing and playing. The Repeat, Delay, and Mix knobs have a grippy material covering them. This pedal is very adaptive between acting like a delay pedal, and acting like a reverb pedal. The main distinction is going to be how you have your Mix knob set. That's why the grippy material is very useful; you could even turn the knob with your socked toe. 

Another big plus, is how wide the stomper is. It's annoying with a smaller button for a delay pedal if you're going between a delay heavy rhythm and into an overdrive lead IF YOU MISS. It's so frustrating if you're trying to be the cool rockstar, and you miss that step. Practicing remedies these kinds of mistakes, but when the pedal's designed with ease of use in mind, the guitarist ends up winning.

2.The diverse effects you can get

You have to play around with your pedals. There's no getting around it. The money you're going to spend on even one pedal - that'll be a 100% force multiplier on your overall guitar tone. I'm in a healthy habit of getting a sense for what every minor change in every knob will get out of a pedal. Out of this Fender Competition? You get a lot. You can get up to a three second delay with one repeat, if the Repeat is all the way on the left, and the Delay is all the way to the right. If you have this pedal, use this configuration first. Hit that low e string. Notice how it's playing that same note, only once three seconds later? Ooo. Now, this'll be difficult because you'll need to do two different things with both of your hands; one hand turns the delay knob, the other hand is plucking that low e. Beeeoooooooooo. Did ya hear that? Isn't that a cool sound? When you change the delay, it actually tunes the pitch of what it's delaying down, to let you know that the delay's being shortened. 

3.Mono and Stereo output

So let's say for some reason you've found this post, and because of that you just had to buy this pedal. When you get this pedal to your doorstep, you'll notice that there's the word 'out' with an 'm' and an 's' along the left side. These are your outputs, and the chord coming out from your amp will plug into the mono channel. What's really fun about this pedal, is you can run one pedal through two amps. This means your fun big amp can be combined with your beginner tiny amp through one delay pedal. Two amps working in sequence means a more definitive tone. The fact that this particular delay pedal will enable you to take your approach to tone to the next level in this manner for its price, is 'ooo'. 

4.Delay/Reverb

To loop this around to the beginning, that Mix knob changes this pedal from a delay pedal to a reverb pedal. There are other delay pedals out there that can do this as well, but this is a Fender. It sounds cool. So, to put the pedal ahead of the overall volume of the Amp, you want the Mix knob towards the right. If you want the pedal to act as a reverb pedal, you want the Mix knob towards the left. When the pedal's not fully mixed into the sound signal, that delay effect is muted, which gives a lot of warmth to the projection of what you're picking. As you 'ooo' when you turn the Mix knob from the reverb left position, to the prominent right delay position, you'll get a feel for how much control you get out of three small knobs. This leads me to that first sound of joyful curiosity;

5.79 dollars

It's worth it. Since it's a Fender, there's a high possibility that there's one in a music store around where you live. This also means that it didn't get bought, and you might be able to get it for a little less than 79 dollars. If you've made a commitment to this baby online, then keep these bullet points in mind.

• It doesn't come with a battery. You can put in a battery, but you'll need a philips head screwdriver to take off the bottom plate to put in a 9 volt battery
• you'll need an additional cable for every pedal you get
• ooo eee ooo, killer tofu

 

Mooer Micro Looper - A practicing essential

 Mooer Micro Looper

                            

This is an attachment for the electric guitar/amplifier rigs that guitarists or guitar enthusiasts might have laying around. Once purchased, or salvaged, or found, or landing from being dropped out of an airplane; you plug the chord coming from your amplifier's 'Input' jack, and into the left side of this loop pedal. You'll need another chord to plug into the right side, into your guitar (granted there's a hole to plug into).         

When acquiring, whether or not the intent of this post will call you to immediately google 'Mooer Micro Looper' do keep this in mind while you purchase - you'll need a little more than just this pedal.

1. 1/4" (quarter inch) cable, preferably 5 to 10 feet

2. 9 volt power supply

Playing lead on the electric guitar means you need to have rhythm in the background. This loop pedal enables me to have that rhythm. The best part of having this little sucker, is that I managed to get used to having that rhythm straight out of the box. I didn't even need to look up directions. It's that intuitive. What should be noted is it doesn't have the ability to take a battery; you'll need a 9 volt power supply. It's very small~ some would even say miniscule. You step on the shiny silver metal button protruding out of the white candy wrapper-like exterior, and a red button will come on; this means everything coming out of that amplifier is currently being recorded. I'm going to emphasize this point with very effective underlining techniques.

1. When you step on the button, the blank light will turn RED

      this means you are r e c o r d i n g.

Keep this in mind. The Mooer micro looper can store up to thirty minutes of a single loop. It doesn't store multiple loops. I feel that this is a plus. Even when I had my Boss RC-30 Loop Station (another pedal for another day) I wasn't storing any of the loops; I just wanted to provide myself something to play against. 

2. When you step on the button and the light is RED

     this means you have s t o p p e d recording

               the light will turn BLUE

What I love about this pedal is its got a very fast response time. You don't have to compensate for any kind of 'delay of action'. When you stop recording the loop, it will stop right there and immediately begin playing the recorded loop. If you're rabbiting that lucky foot of yours right, there won't be any noticeable beginning or ending to the loop you've recorded. Guess what? You're done? You're unplugging that pedal because it's time to go out for a steamy hot slice of macaroni pizza from Cici's? Well guess what, if you gave yourself an A++ on that loop you've just recorded, the micro looper will recall that loop - even after being powered off.

Bass notes are a very effective first go-through on this tiny baby. Once you have the bass down, the next part comes; Overdubbing

3. When you step on the button and the light is BLUE and sound is playing, you can step on the button AGAIN to record an overdub

                 the light will turn RED to record your additions

                           step again to turn the light BLUE and run through the loop

You can't add to the length of the first loop, but you can add to what you've previously recorded - an almost infinite amount of times. The most I've taken it to is about seven times with one three minute loop. Less is more. Always, always, always with a loop pedal - less is more. Live it. Learn it, if you haven't thus far. Love it, for it will make you love your electric guitar that much more. Play the exact same rhythm for about 5 overdub takes. This'll give it a lot of depth and warmth for your rhythm loops. 

4. When you STEP TWICE IN QUICK SUCCESSION AND HOLD DOWN yeah this is the only part that's not intuitive you will erase your loop

This is what I absolutely love about this pedal. Oops! I'm not perfect at recording! What hoops do I have to jump through to erase the fact that I fail at the guitar sometimes? Just hit that little metal button twice with your tappity tappin' shoe/foot, and the blue light will go away. This means you are able to restart from step 1, and try again.

It's worth the money. I'm looking on its website.

http://www.mooeraudio.com/?product/201410164920.html

It's like 98 bucks. If you're getting serious about working on your tone with that Strat in the corner of the room? This is your pedal. You're going to get a lot of experience with yourself - in a very healthy way mind you - out of this investment.