 | | | | | | | | |  | |  | MXR Variphase CSP-001 - Custom Shop Phaser Pedal |  | | The MXR Variphase Phaser Pedal CSP001 is essentially a phaser built into the Dunlop ‘Crybaby’ casing - so you can use it like a wah pedal to control the speed of the phase. Unlike a Crybaby Wah, the Variphase switches on automatically because it runs on a spring-loaded system. When your foot is off the Variphase it is fixed in the heel position which is effectively like having the pedal switched off, as soon as you rock forward on it the phase engages, going gradually from slow to fast. There are two dials on the side of the MXR Variphase, one for boosting the volume of the pedal and one for controlling the amount of phase signal mixed with your guitar signal. Inside the pedal, just under the battery compartment there is another switch for changing between ‘deep’ phase and ‘shallow’ phase. The Variphase will sit nicely on a pedal board, weighing 1495g, it’s about the same weight as a Crybaby Wah. | |  | | | The sound of the Variphase is very reminiscent of the phat tone of the MXR Phase 90. In testing, we found that putting a delay pedal after the Variphase in the signal chain opened up a whole palatte of spacey tones. Jabbing the pedal forward to create a sudden ripple through a delay pedal set to roughly 400ms is highly recommended! We found a certain sweet spot in the settings, where the ‘mix’ knob is half way up, the ‘volume’ knob is set to not boost the signal and the switch in the back is set to ‘Shallow’. This made for some subtle, phat phaser tones that would sit well in a live or studio mix. You can of course boost the volume control for solos, which is always a useful feature. |  | |  | | So what are the advantages of having foot-controllable phaser speed? We found that this kind of phaser pushes you to use phase-shifting in different ways. Rather than using something like a stomp box phaser for a passage in a song or a certain riff, the Variphase really shines when it is used for subtleties. The major advantage of this kind of phaser is being able to engage it quickly with so much control. In solos you can get a good grip over having the phaser in time with your playing, bring it down for slower sections, or push it right forward for more intense tones. We found it particularly nice for adding subtle flavour to long, sustained notes.
It’s also worth pointing out that it’s easy to use this pedal for consistent phase speeds too. The slight resistance of the spring-loaded system makes it easy to hold your foot steady on the pedal. We would recommend this pedal to ‘phaser heads’. If you can’t get enough of a nice phase-shifting signal then you’re more than likely to have a lot of fun with this pedal, with a little knowledge of where a phaser sits well in a song, you’ll find the practical application of it to be pretty easy. If you’re new to phasers or just want a straight-down-the-line phase pedal, we recommend the MXR Phase 90 stomp box. | |  | |  |  |  | |  | Voltage:
9vDC - battery and mains Manuctured:
China Controls:
Volume +10db boost, Mix, Deep/Shallow switch Weight:
1495g Other:
Auto On/Off, Springloaded to heal | |  | |  | |  | |  | MXR Variphase Phaser Pedal CSP001 All MXR Pedals |  | |  | | The only slight downside to the pedal is that even when the ‘volume’ dial is all the way down, it still does boost your volume slightly. In live use this wouldn’t be a problem because it’s only minor, but for studio use the slight inconsistency of volume might cause issues. Our favourite aspect of the MXR Variphase is how it pushes you to use phase-shifting in different ways. Using this pedal as a subtle tool for adding flavour to signal notes or riffs is very easily done because of how simple it is to activate and control. We give this pedal the thumbs up to guitar players that are really into good phaser tone or players that are after something a bit different. | |  | |  | | |
