Blackout Effectors Whetstone Phaser

This review is about the Blackout Effectors Whetstone Phaser pedal . I'm still learning about it . It's a new acquisition . So far I'm crazy for it . My lust for old vintage phasers has died away . This thing sounds vintage in every way but has some crazy modern features . It is Analog . It has five knobs and five switches . looks cool . Sounds cooler . It does much more then what you would think of as phase effects . It retails for $265 . It could easily sell for more . The price is very nice .


BUILD - Nice build . metal case . Super cool paint job . Kinda a sparkly red , darker then candy apple red but near that shade of red . 5 white knobs that remind me of knobs from an SSL console . 5 toggles switches . An another stomp toggle for ON/OFF functions . An LED .

FUNCTION - The five knobs are as follows - Feedback , Rate , Depth , Level , Range (Normal/Pads/Ring/Fix) . The Five toggle switches are - Stages (2 and 4) , vibrato/phased , Asymmetric/Symmetric , low pass/all pass , sweep (shallow/wide) . Wild ! That's a good amount of features on an analog pedal . With the low pass you can set the depth of phaser sweeps or limit your frequency range . You can pitch bend with the vibrato mode . The Asymmetric/Symmetric toggle allow for smooth or irregular wave shapes . You can achieve all those classic phase sounds . the range knob allows you to change speeds from more traditional phase effects to ring modulation and more . You can get some Leslie-esque vibrato effects going on . From Cocteau Twins to Funk to Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads , Alt country and beyond . Cool stuff . I wish it were stereo . I wish all pedals were stereo though e .

SOUND - Sounds like many classics and new hybrids in one new affordable box . A small bit of noise. On some extreme settings it's more noticeable so I guess that's classic to ! At any rate it won't kill your tone or take away from your playing enjoyment . It's ability to go from ring modulation to a Univibe phase sound to a Leslie simulation with fat analog tone is brilliant .

CONCLUSION - Man , I love that there are affordable analog options these days that allow the multi functionality that some digital modeling pedals do . You don't need to spend $400 or more for a Strymon pedal and your tone sounds honestly analog . This is truly a golden age for effects pedals . At this price I can't see this pedal being a secret for to long I'm a big fan !