The Fender company is best known for their guitars. That’s because their guitars are pretty much everywhere. However, Fender also makes a line of effects pedals, and though they’re not as common as something like BOSS pedals, they’re quite formidable.
I recently got a chance to play the Fender Classic Series Phaser Pedal, an effect from Fender’s series of vintage-style effects.
Here’s my full review of the Fender Phaser Pedal.
Looks and Functionality – The Fender Phaser is a pretty discreet pedal. It’s a simple black, with a single switch to turn it on or off. The phasing is controlled by a movable circle control in the center of the effect pedal. There’s a little blue and red light around this circle control, and this shows you the rate of the phasing. It’s pretty cool to look at, and functional, too. There’s a big advantage to seeing a visual representation of the phasing–it’s easier to know when the sound you’re going for is tuned up correctly, before you begin playing. It’s a great feature for an on stage pedal.
It’s also very cool that the circle can be turned easily with your foot. There’s nothing I hate more when playing guitar than bending down on stage to change a control on any of my effect pedals. It makes you look less cool, and sometimes there’s just not enough time between when you’re playing on a song. The Fender Phaser is designed to avoid this, which is very helpful for gigging guitarists.
Sound And Price – The sound is, of course, very vintage. That’s why it’s part of the Fender Classic series. I could see it being really cool in psychedelic or surf rock music, or even in some metal songs. The range of the phaser pedal is very wide, so you can get a lot of cool effects. A second control might have been nice to provide a bit more variation in sound, though.
The big downfall of the Fender Phaser is the price. $159 is going to be hard for most guitarists to justify. If you use a lot of phasing, it’s worth it, but if you’re looking for a supplemental effect, this pedal’s far too serious for your needs (unless you’ve got boatloads of disposable income, of course).
I would have like a little bit more control from the pedal, but the Fender Classic Series Phaser certainly gets the job done, and it’s better for the stage than something like a BOSS or Danelectro phaser pedal. Just don’t expect a cheap pedal, and only spend the money if you’re a big fan of phasing effects. If phasing’s for you, this is a fun, great, gig-ready effect pedal.
If you’ve tried the Fender Classic Series Phaser Pedal, we want to hear from you. Post your thoughts in our comments section below.
