Released in 1971, the Eventide Instant Phaser began the studio effects revolution by successfully simulating tape flanging, an effect that’s been at the core of legendary albums for the last five decades.
Reminisce back to a phaser with analog personality, smooth modulations, and inherent musicality. Outfitted with a complete host of control options, the Instant Phaser Mk II is out of the rack and into your plugin arsenal. This new emulation of the classic effect accomplishes the same legendary sound notably used on hits like Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and “Presence”. The capabilities have been expanded, and now you can even take your phaser on an excursion from the 70s far into the future with the delightfully characteristic “Age” knob.
New Age, Old Age, and Everything in Between
As hardware phase-shift networks get older, they don’t line up as well as they used to, revealing their analog character. The resulting effect is less exact, for tracks where imprecise nature is desired. While component drift and unintentional effects are usually omitted in hardware emulation, we’ve decided to put the ball in your court. For a phasing sound that’s straight out of the factory, set Age to 0%. To capture the sound of the same phaser 47 years later (present day), set Age to 25%. The remaining 75% allows you to discover the Instant Phaser among the wreckage of a dilapidated studio hundreds of years from now and check it out on your new single.
Change the Feel, Switch the Mode
The Instant Phaser Mk II offers three different sonic characteristics that change the amount of phase-shift sections, simply labeled “Shallow”, “Deep”, and “Wide”. When “Wide” is selected, the Instant Phaser Mk II gives you a different amount of phase-shifting on both right and left channels, resulting in a slightly different effect in each ear. You can use this to turn flat mono guitars into huge stereo leads, or make your single channel synthesizer fill out the sides of your mix.
Different Ways to Phase
The Instant Phaser allows four distinct methods to control the phasing:
Manual allows precise automation of the phasing. Oscillator modulates the phasing at a constant rate that you decide. Envelope changes the phase whenever your signal passes the specified threshold. The plugin accepts a side chain input for this control method. Remote maps the phasing control to a modwheel for tactile manipulation.
Features
Add Age for component drift and electrical leakage in your phaser Offers three different flavors of phasing with the Mode switch: Shallow, Deep, and Wide Utilize one of four distinct methods to control the phasing Depth allows you to combine the phased signal with the dry signal Added Side Chain function allows you to trigger the Envelope Follower from a separate source in the mix for inter-track mingling Exercise total control of the Oscillator with Sync and Retrig controls Use Feedback control for a more pronounced sound Includes standard gain input and output
The Story of Pioneering a Household Modulation Effect
Historically, the terms “phasing” and “flanging” were used interchangeably, and described an arduous process whereby the output of two slightly offset tape recorders were mixed together. Eventide’s debut effect, the Instant Phaser, was the first studio rackmount effect box to accomplish a similar sound. Because of this, the original manual spent a decent amount of words introducing the idea of the phaser effect and its purpose, explaining, “The Eventide Clockworks Instant Phaser was designed specifically to eliminate the costly and tedious job of setting up and implementing the special effect known as ‘phasing’ or ‘flanging’. In addition one can electronically control it to produce new and desirable effects.”
At the heart of what made that original tape flanging sound was a dry signal combined with a slightly delayed signal. When the Instant Phaser was designed, there was no such technology to achieve delay artificially. This being the case, the effect was only able to approximate the sonic quality of tape flanging by using allpass networks. The sound is similar, but is created by using a method which is fundamentally different.
A few years after the Instant Phaser hit the market, the Instant Flanger made its debut. The Instant Flanger manual delved into the differences between the electronic processes of phasing and flanging, and said about phasing, “Since its invention or discovery in the mid 1960’s, the special effect known as ‘phasing’ or ‘flanging’ has been one of the most popular additions to the mixer’s repertoire. Phasing was introduced to the mass audience in the song “Itchycoo Park” by Small Faces and has been used (yes, and overused) to some extent by virtually every artist since that time.”
Todd Rundgren with a Heap of Eventide Instant Phasers
