Boss PH-2 Super Phaser

Easy to use as any 3 knob phaser..the mode switch adds some versatility,

IMO the ph2 is a different type of effect to your classic 70s phasers.it sounds quite modern in a digital sort of way.if your after classic squishy phase 90/small stone/ph1(r) sounds get a phase 90 or small stone or ph1(r) .This is a very different beast.
Personally i wasnt keen on it on the whole but its great on synths and for really bendy synthy guitar sounds a la Korn especially mode 2.
mode 1 is a bit more normal phaser but still very modern sounding and a touch generic.
mode 2 is good for reggae and funk sounds and for the sounds of that guy from incubus as mentioned in other reviews.
overall id say it sounds good and should be seen as a different type of effect altogether instead of a substitute for a 70s phaser.

BOSS

You can still pick these up really cheap on ebay (even mij ones) so give it a whirl.if you dont like it just sell it on.Defo worth a wriggle....

Simple to use. Speed, depth and resonance controls. Mode 1 and 2.

I play either a Les Paul or EC Strat through the PS-2, Tube screamer and to a jcm 800 Marshall. I never cared for the mode 2 sound and only recently fell in love with mode 1 after performing the "white pot mod" talked about in previous reviews. Once this mod is performed the mode 2 is toast, but the mode 1 is fantastic. Minimal tone sapping, gives back the bass and adds a touch of glassy highs.

Speed at 1 -2 o'clock, Depth at 9 o'clock and Resonance at 0.

I turned the white pot setting only slightly from 1:00 to 2:00.

Hard to break!

Never had to contact Boss

Didn't like the PS-2 until I made the mod now won't play without it.

It's pretty easy, manual not necessary. this is a Japanese black label- I don't know the year its in average shape- some paint knocked off the edges. I bought this two years ago for $45 from my luthier. He repaired my ce-2 for $35 and I was floored. He knew I was into black label Boss pedals and fixed this one up.

metal/blues/heavy blues/prog. Playing since 1979. rig =Strat Hwy 1 & Dean Explorer> Cry Baby> Boss Tuner> FAB d-1> Ibanez turbo tube screamer>Boss hm-2> Ibanez fl-9> Ibanez ad-9> Boss ce-2> Boss ph-2> Boss noise gate> Furman pedal board> Randall RG100sc/combo/212 cab. This pedal is different, it reminds me of the phaser in that song, "who's that-a- lady" (Isley Bros?)it's real thin, wispy like a flanger with alot of regeneration. The intro to "lightning crashes" by Live is another good example. This is not a subtle pedal and will hamper your tone a bit. It's good for clean picking and light strumming but with anything heavy or with distortion it's a little over-bearing. The mode II is like mode I but more in your face and tone sapping. It has this funny eeeawwwerrrrra sound ( I tried) that will happen when you hit certain notes that's pretty cool.

boss-- heat tiles for re-entry space vehicles when they retire.

none

This is a one trick pony, and it will sap your low end and some volume. It's good for certian types of playing as people have said before- reggae or mood/spacefloydesque.

Traditional controls of speed, depth and feedback. The fourth knob is a simple on/off switch that engages modeII which is more intense.

I think this pedal is widely misunderstood. Unlike the classic rock phasers of the 70s, the Phase90, Small Stone, even the Boss PH-1, which are all 4 stage phasers, the PH-2 is a 12 stage phaser. 12 stages produce a somewhat artificial sounding 'in your face' tone that overbears your signal. Simply put, this phaser isn't really made for rock. It's for funk, reggae and similar or experimental styles. If you want a phaser that doesn't touch your tone but makes a subtle whoosh while you strum a few chords look elsewhere. If you want a crazy phaser that makes your guitar indistinguishable when it's switched on it's one of the cheapest you can buy.

However I'm mostly posting this review to warn other users against tweaking an internal trimpot in the effect, which some reviews have recommended doing to introduce more bass into the effect. Out of curiosity I decided to give it a go, thinking if I didn't like the results I could always set it back to how it was initially set. The tweak did introduce a fraction more bass into the effect, not enough that anyone who hates the effect would suddenly love it, but what was not mentioned in any of the reviews encouraging me to mess with my pedal was that my pedal would develop a momentary rushing whoosh that would sound each time the pedal was turned on - no more silent FET switching. Not liking this side-effect I tried to set the trimpot back where it was, but the pedal continues it's new whoosh regardless of where the trimpot is set - ie it's permanent. It was only after the fact that I learned that Boss pedal really do not like having their trimpots tweaked. Many a DM-2/DM-3 have been ruined by people mistakenly believing that Boss were hiding an extra 100ms of delay in these pedals, that could be accessed by simply turning a trimpot. These pedals are usually set by an oscilloscope, and once moved need to be reset on one. Perhaps other reviewer's pedals did not develop the annoying side-effect my pedal did, but I urge any owners thinking of tweaking the trimpot to reconsider as my pedal is now impossible to switch on mid song given the noise made. Tweaking the trimpot wont turn it into a PH-1R. It barely changes it. If you're on the fence about this pedal this won't bring you over. Better to just sell it.

I quite like this phaser. There are a lot of boring 4 stage phasers out there and this one doesn't sound remotely like them, so it's commendable on those grounds alone. I also have a Boss PH-1R which is more conventional, or an everyday or workhorse phaser. The PH-2 requires a bit more imagination and creativity to use. It's a pretty unique sound in the sub $50 price range. A Moog no doubt sounds better but it'll also cost you over $200 new.

easy to use...very straight forward..speed.depth and resonance

I found this pedal to be very generic bland and boring as in "ya that's a phaser alright."It doesn't have any flavor of its own just like boss overdrives and distortions. I've owned a number of phasers eg maestro, univox, SIB fazedelic and Ibanez PH7>the PH7 sounds a 100 times better and can be had just as cheaply.

Boss pedals don't break very often

never dealt with them...their website looks comprehensive.

I play indie rock both hard and spacier psych stuff and play both guitar and bass. This pedal is really, really boring played with either instrument. Buy something vintage or get an Ibanez PH7 if you want real flavor. I sold it real cheap and said good riddance

It's a boss pedal, mess around with a few knobs you get a great sound!

This is a great pedal with my favorite classic phaser sound in it. I also own a Boss Ph-3 and i'll say this thing is way better than that. It has such a rich phaser sound to it. I use one on my distortion amp to get a low end type feel with the resolution and depth knob set low to get a really cool tone. Then i have one with my clean amp to get a rich phaser sound.

This unit is really old and has never givin me trouble. Reliable..I think so.

never had to deal with them.

I perfer the ph-2 over the ph-3 cause i can get a better sound with it. Even though the Ph-3 has "more" types of setting i perfer the Ph-2. It's to bad that they discontinued this one it's so great.

Getting a good sound is as hard as you make it; if you have a clear idea of what you want, you can find it within a few minutes. The only confusing part is the resonance knob, which blends effected signal back into the second IC of the pedal. It tends to thicken the sound and deepen the sweep, but gets really boomy really fast and can make your speaker sound like it's being sick. The mode switch selects between six and twelve phase stages.

I bought this pedal because I love Thurston Moore's tone on "The Diamond Sea". He uses a 1970 Ludwig Phase II, the second rarest effect pedal ever with a $5,000 price tag. Since I knew that was out of the running, I just went for the cheapest alternative that offered 12-stage phasing. I use it with a Fender Duo-Sonic and Mustang, right before an EH Big Muff and a PV Bandit of Fender Bassman. The effect is very obvious and intense, which is exactly what I wanted. It tends to mask what you're playing with a wall of "WA-WA-WA". I personally like it, even the whooshy noise that comes through when you're not playing anything, but it won't be to everyone's taste. If you want 70s phasing, buy a Small Stone. If you're looking for something different, get this.

It's Boss. HOWEVER, this thing is not a simple circuit and has a 150+ part count that includes several ICs. There is ample reverse polarity and over-voltage protection built in, but it is still not going to be as resilient as a DS-1 or other simple effect. It has worked fine so far.

Never tried and the manual isn't posted on their site yet.

I play free jazz and avant-garde music. This is a good match because it sounds unconventional yet good. I set it to be an imitation of the guitar sound at the beginning of "The Diamond Sea" and have found it to be very inspirational. It makes everything I play sound a little alien and unique. I would never use it for everything, but it's fun to have once in a while. I use it clean to add some stutter to different parts and with distortion to make some noise parts a little more flavorful. If it was stolen, I would buy another or maybe splurge on a Mu-tron Bi-Phase; I've discovered that I like phasing a lot more then I thought I would.

Dead easy - but spend some time twiddling with it properly as there are lots of different sounds to be had.

As much as I generally dislike Boss stuff (apart from a few of their early pedals) I think that the PH2 is pretty good.
Whilst it will not do that chewy, 70s vintage type phasing, it is fantastic for over-the-top reggae/dub comping (especially in mode II), and for badass disco/jazz-funk rhythm playing.

Four letters - B O S S

I have a few phasers, my favourite of which is my original script logo MXR Phase 90, and this pedal could never replace that, but the PH2 is definitely a more versatile unit, and, unless you are after that vintage sound, may be a good choice, especially as they can usually be had pretty cheap nowadays.

very easyyyyyyyy...no settings can make this sound Bad

definately it deserves a 10, or even more

sound so warm and lush, JUST DON'T change FACTORY TRIM POT SETTINGS", or it will be difficult to put back to the original positions.... and will sounds either too trebly or too bassy

mine is Made in Japan one, people was always come to me after I'd done a gig, and ask about how could i Put out the sound that actually comes out from the PH 2, Man.... sound so good in just practically any settings. simply my favourite. Phewww....O yea...

very reliable

A must have pedal for me, cannot live without it.... peace

Easy enough. The rate controls how fast the phase is. The depth controls how deep the phase and the resolution makes it sound like crap if you turn it up too high. There's two different modes of phase w/ mode one being the milder more usable one and two being the more extreme one.

The low score I'm giving in this catagory is not because it's complicated or difficult to you but because it's hard to get classic phase sounds out of it. It takes a ton of tweaking to really get something that's useful other than as an amusing oddity.

As far as I can tell, mode two is basically useless. It sounds tinny and thin, the phase garbles your playing and just generally saps every ounce of low end out of your signal. Fun for noise but definitely not very musical.

Mode one gets some usable tones especially w/ the depth and resolution set below twelve O'clock but the best sounds I get are w/ the rate really high like a vibrato but even then it's not really great due to low-end suckage.

Really, I just think this thing tries to do to much and the folks at Boss needed to make it w/ a less broad range of sounds that were actually good rather than a million kind of cummy ones.

Boss pedals break. About half of the ones I've ever known have broken so I guess that gets a five.

This just plain isn't a serious phaser. In the end, it's a fun toy if you're just starting out w/ a little practice amp and want to know what phase is like or if you want to crank the knobs to make ear splitting noise (always fun) but if you want to get those classic, thick phase sounds you need to get those pedals (Small stone, Phase 90, some of the boutique stuff) even if that means buying more than one.

Damn easy, but it you open the thing up and tweak to pots a little you can get the most of it.

Well, it's not awesome - I prefer analog for all uses and purposes. But I use mode II exclusively ahead of the amp with all controls at about 1/3 up (10 or 11 o'clock). I had to set one of the ajustment pots inside the unit to obtain this crazy thick saturated phaser sound which no combination of analog gear could produce. It's really the only awesome sound I could get out of this but it has found a way to stay in my all analog, all-tube rig. It's generally looped out, but when I need to make some serious ear damage...I love this pedal.

Never question this about Boss.

Generally replaceable with analog phasers, but that one sound I like is a keeper, though.

Three knobs and a mode switch. easy as...(insert word here)

Ok heres the thing. The first mode is the best IMHO, mode 2 is too bassy and i don't like Thick phasing any way. if i wanted that i'd buy something else. so since I only use mode 1 I'll just write a review for that. I like the phasing in this mode, it's a nice light phasing that doesn't overpower your chords. some would call this mode weak, but for me it's exactly what I want from a phaser.

I think I can depend on it.

I use this only with my clean sound. With distortion it just doesn't work with what i play. if i want something thicker I'll buy a Phase 90.

I just bought this pedal and it's my first so far,i really like it and it is easy to use but i can hear the modulation in the background really easily. I don't know whether that is normal or not. I bought it from a vintage guitar shop and i'm not sure wheather it's been upgraded.

I'm just using a small DRIVE amp. I think it sound best whith distortion and when you mute chords. Some times it doesn't sound to good but when you muck around whith it a bit, you can get a great sound.

i think it is dependable but i wouldn't rely on it for a gig whithout backup because at the moment i'm just using battery and i don't want it to run out on me.

i don't know about the company because i bought it second hand.

I think it suits the style of music i like and i have only been playing about a year and a half. I own a fender telecaster, a tennessee acoustic and a DRIVE amp. I think if it were stolen i would buy somthing differant. I really love the lime green and i don't really like the modulation in the background....i really wish it had distortion. I think it helps me write songs because it's easier to get a stong chord whithout making new ones.

Extremely Easy, its a stompbox, it's too freakin' easy!
If you can't figure it out, then maybe you should learn how to set the tone on your guitar first.

I bought it not exactly knowing how it would sound. It's the best pedal I bought, so far...but then again I love my other pedals.

I can barely hear the hiss. yes I hear the modulation at times, but thats when the amp is super loud and the distortion is all the way up.
I have a Jackson Js-1 Dinky into a Danelectro PBJ Delay, this Boss Super Phaser, and then Peavy Stereo chorus, and the into a Silvertone Vintage Amp, and a Crate 212. I can get a monster sound if i add a distortion.

I can depend on it.
If it breaks I won't go nuts..but I will buy another.

never dealt with them.

Ive been playing for five years.
I play everything, it matches anything I play, This pedal is insanely easy, and for 37 bucks its the cheapest one Ive seen in a while. I love all pedals, and this one is no disappointment. I would buy it again if broken, stolen, or lost, as stated earlier.
Awesome pedal.

It's a boss. If you don't know how to work this then you are either have a brain the size of a pigeon's brain or you're just a another newbie.

4 knobs ok!?

good analogue pedal. 'chewy' sounds unlike the digital PH-3/Phase-shifter. Sadly the mode II is just unusable for me it sucks my tone. I'm not using this on guitars - I'm a technohead and I use this with my juno2 to make psycedelic rave music (goa, acidhouse etc)
I love mode I with res half way up.

The noise ratio is a little high though but hey that's analogue for you.

built like a shit brick house

meh

I have used it for 1 year and I will never sell it. If it were stolen I'd just get another one, find the person who stole it and kill him haha! I love the green colour too, rather a tree green and I like trees cause I'm a hippy-raver.
my fave feature is the one where you forget about modeII it's useless. too thick and 'sssshky' or somthing ?

it's easy to use, but hard to get a good sound out of it.

I really don't like this Phaser. when you step on the pedal, alot of the bass gets cut off and all you're left with is a hissy, treble-y effect with very little of your original sound coming through. Mode two is almost unbearable on your ears, as it adds even more noise. It's like having an oscillating EQ pedal that goes around and around in a nauseating swirling motion, but it never touches upon any of the settings you like. The only setting I could slightly deal with is:

mode 1
rate at 2:00
depth maxed
res at 0

It's a poor man's Small Stone sound, but with very little bass and too much damn hiss.

yes, it's very reliable, Boss pedals rule.

I'm still searsing for a nice Phaser pedal that

1) allows the original signal to come through
2) doesn't cut alot of bass
3) subtle but rich

The Small Stone with mods is probably the way to go. The stock version is very watery and rich, but it cuts too much treble and has a little too mch effect and not enough dry.
Maybe I'll try the PH-1r and see if it lives up to it's subtle analog rep.

Extremely simple to use, it's a boss.

Not impressed at all by the Super Phaser. I've owned and played many phasers, and this one simply doesn't cut it for me. It's not versatile and has a very thin sound. It's unique that way I guess, and some people like it's sound - it reminds me of Incubus. The Ibanez PH-10 or the Moogerfooger Phaser, the Phase 90: these are quality phasers, the PH-2 is simply sterile.

It's a BOSS :)

It's a BOSS. I've never even heard of a BOSS pedal going bad.

I play everything from jazz to rock, funk and blues. I play on recording session of all kinds, on my own projects and live. I'm a professional musician in Los Angeles. I've been playing for about 15 years and have owned and played A LOT of effects - I'm very picky about sounds :)

This takes a lot of tweaking, at least with my setup. Still, it sounds decent when you find the sweet spots. Sounds GREAT clean or with chorus, a little more unweildy with distortion. You have to get two different settings, I think.

My rig:
Gtr: Schecter C1+ with Duncans. FX: Boss MT-2, CE-5, stored in BCB-3 along with this PH-2.

I got this New Old Stock from eBay, because I wanted to get a BOSS phaser. I bought the new digital PH-3 pedal and that sucked horribly. This is better, but it still feels like it's missing something. It doesn't eat your tone like the PH-3 did, but it's still hard to find a sweet spot that's not too over-the-top yet still sounds like something. Turning the Resonance control down helps.

Yet I still feel like there's no great middle sound that would work with both clean and distortion, the way you can throw in an MXR Phase 90. This pedal is not "chewy" as somebody put it. Yet it still makes some cool sounds. If you hate the PH-3, don't rule this one out. You can still get them on eBay, though because some guy from
Incubus uses one, every time they pop up there's 15 bids. I like this pedal. I think it's a keeper.

According to www.bossarea.com, Mode I (the one you can actually use in songs) is a 10-stage phaser (like an MXR Phase 100, and I've always liked that sound.) Mode II (the one you use to torture small animals) is a 12-stage phaser. Mode II hurts your brain. Even though the newer PH-3 has this "step" mode, and people think it's a cool noise box (said that myself, actually...) this pedal makes REAL noise in Mode II, practically unlistenable, good for making your singer shutup in the middle of a bandfight.

My wife (who's practically tone-deaf) said, "It sounds very '80s". I'm not sure what she meant, since Flanging and Delay are more '80s, but there it is, right from the people whose opinions we fear most: non-musicians.

Box
Overprotective
Start
Stomping

...er, or something like that.

N/A. Bunch o' keyboard playing wussies, if you ask me. Doh! I didn't say that. Nevermind. You didn't hear me say that....

This isn't bad. I may never find the perfect phaser. I like this one. It does what it's supposed to, and it fits in my BOSS-only pedalboard. Sometimes, when you get drunk and buy stuff on eBay, you score. I count this as a win. Five scotches, one "Buy It Now!"....

Hey! Forgot to mention! The color is MUCH better than the PH-3. The PH-2 is like a Tube Screamer green.

I'm sure you're convinced now. I still have an Ibanez PT-9, which is much more organic sounding, but a little weak by comparison. Nobody's built a phaser that makes me totally happy. In the end, this is what I've come up with, I think. The CE-5 is my ultimate chorus, though.

This is an update to my earlier review a few years ago. I had been using this pedal mostly in ModI for pretty strong Phasing. But I really wanted to capture the MXR Phase 90 EVH tone so I was going to buy one of those to do that. No matter what I tried it just was too strong of Phase tone, it needed to be more subtle to sound like early EVH. I even started using a blend box to get there which did a really good job. However, I just stumbled onto a setting that is really close and requires no blend box. First, put is before your distortion, yeah, thats how Eddie did it in the old days since he used his Marshall for distortion. Here are the settings to use [MODE I, Rate 2oclock, Depth 8oclock, Res fully counterclockwise]
Thats it, very simple. The key points are the Depth very low, almost off, and the Res turned off, and the box being placed BEFORE distortion/OD in the signal chain.

This product is very easy to get a good sound out of. Very easy to use. Thats about it.

i am using a Agile guitar into a fender blues jr. with only a couple other pedals. The noise is only heard if u put ur head up to the speaker on mode 2 and if your using it with distortion (but that isnt this pedals fault, its the distortion).

Mode 1: Warm, subtle phase that is closer to the sound of the MXR Phase 90(but not quite there). I would have bought it if it only came with this setting so thats saying something about its quality. It isnt good for any slow rising phase because it isnt really thick enough but its really good for medium to really fast phases. If u turn the RATE know all the way up it will sound like a cool sounding vibrato too.

Mode 2: This is probably the reason most people buy this pedal. It is a very trebly but thick phase that is best suited for slow phases. If you turn the RES and DEPTH knobs all the way up and the RATE all the way down it sounds REALLY good. You could use it for fast phases if you wanted a more obvious, pronounced phase as well.

Overall it sounds really good but honestly, if you want a vintage sounding phaser, you should get the MXR Phase 90 or the EHX Small Stone. Its good for what it does.

I got it off of ebay and I still think the world would explode before this pedal broke. Although i wouldnt want to risk throwing it against the wall or running it over, i really dont think it would break (not to give you any ideas....).

im not going to rate this because i never dealt with them

i play alternative rock and jazz. This pedal is a very good match for these styles and would be good for other things like reggae and blues too. i have been playing for 4 years and i would definatly buy it again although i dont think i would ever need to as mentioned before. my favorite thing about is the two different modes and my least favorite part is the extreme treblyness on mode 2 which is why i didnt give it a 10. I did wish it had all the features of the Digitech Hyper phase but with the SUPER PHASER sound quality. Hopefully that will happen with the PH-4...IM not saying im in any way disapointed though.

This is a VERY easy pedal to get a good sound out of. I bought it on ebay without a box or manual but didnt need it. I had heard many great things about it and just 1 or too bad..Recommended to all!

At 1st I thought it was just a tad to trebly but I read here that theres a trim pot inside that you can turn to the left to get more bass - AND it did!!!Thanks guys! Makes a lot of difference. Its perfect now!

Its Boss. Thats why I got rid of most my other crap-I fix/build effects pedals and I rarely have to fix these in comparison.

Never had to try.

I play a huge variety of music so this fit in here and there- but I also make it work in a few other places as well. Both modes sound great to me. The only other phase pedal I like better or as well as this one is an oldie (Nady Phase Shifter PS-019)But those are impossible to find anymore. The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of 10 is because i had to adjust the trim pot. To bad it wasnt already done like that for me.

Pretty easy: 4 knobs, the only tricky and overly sensitive one is the RESONANCE knob.

Great! Two modes is definitely a plus, and they are VERY distinct. It's like having 2 phasers in one. Mode 1 is more lush and deep, with quite a bit of range. It's more the "typical" phaser sound. Mode 2 is very trebly and metallic sounding. With a lot of distortion, Mode 2 can get some crazy, sweeping, almost filter-like sounds. Mode 2 is best when the rate is set very slow.

It's not as lush and deep as a phase 90, but that's a totally separate effet. If you want a phase 90 sound, get a phase 90, but it's not near as versatile as this one.

Perfect.

This pedal is perfect, especially for the price they sell for on ebay. I admit it, I got this because it's essential to play Incubus songs accurately. Mikey even owns two of these, and I can see why. If that's all you want it for, to play Incubus songs in your bedroom or whatever, even to just play a cover or two by Incubus, get this effect-it's A LOT of fun! You can dial in your own unique sounds too of course.

3 knobs, 2 modes. turn until it sounds good

i've been having some issues with it here. granted, i haven;t tried the trim pot mod yet, but it's only really noticable in the effects loop of my amp (traynor YCV40) and it's too wet in the loop. however, that's great for doing really extreme phaser sounds. it can also do a reasonable leslie sound, but it's nothing to write home about. as oit is now, it does the incubus phase sound very well and wacky noises even better. i'm still trying to get a warm, vintage-ish sound from it, but like i said, i haven't tried the mod yet

it's a boss

if you want a modern, incubus phase sound, the buck stops here. it's awesome for that. if you want weird noises, it works for that. if you want a vintage phase sound, i suggest sticking to your small stones, phase 90's and guyatones. perhaps the mod will get me closer to the warmer phase sound i desire

It's a very basic setup. The unit has four knobs, two modes, one input jack and one output jack, and a power supply input (see photo).

If you're familiar with phasing, you shouldn't have a hard time figuring this one out. Regardless, if you're an audiophile, or have sensitive ears, tread lightly. This phaser can achieve some (not to sound trite) extreme sounds, biting to the ear, which is why I consider this my "experimental" phaser.

I do not have the manual for the PH-2. My unit has not been upgraded.

I currently use a (laugh all you want) Fender Mexican Fat Strat into a Peavey Special 212 II amp.

Since I use a Boss NS-2 (gate), I get no background noise from this pedal. However, when the signal is not suppressed, this pedal gives off blatant background noise (especially on Mode 2, as well as any setting with high "Res"). The use of a noise gate with this pedal is highly recommended!

The effects are anything but weak. While I would say this phaser is generally more aggressive than mellow, it can produce a good variety. Let's discuss:

Mode 1
While I bought this pedal out of curiosity for Mode II, Mode I was a pleasant surprise. When my guitar/amp is set to a nice clean setting, I usually set the rate and depth a little past halfway, and the Res a little before, and I have a nice mellow setting (for Incubus-heads, think "Stellar"). If I bump up the rate, it actually achieves a very nice, rather smooth vibrato, adequate for reggae. One final thought, the PH-2's Mode I (on a balanced setting) is excellent with distortion. I expected it to swallow the sound, but it gave it just a little bit of edge, impressive.

Mode 2
Here's where this thing's character shows. This is where you'll love it or hate it. As mentioned before, this is my "experimental" phaser, and this mode is where the experimenting takes place. In a nutshell, Mode II takes the sound from the "woo-aa-oww" of Mode I to a more piercing "waa-eee-aoww". I've achieved some nice, weird sounds. With the Rate way back, and the Depth and Res maxed, you get that slow rising effect that culminates into that overblown, almost harmonic-driven phase (the "Incubus" thing). Recently, I discovered with the Rate and Depth at 0, and the Res maxed, I achieved a very hollow, biting, transistor-esque sound. It's all a matter of opinion, but I was very pleased with both modes (for my needs anyway).

As for artists using it (besides Incubus): Orgy, Sister Hazel, Ivy, Disturbed, Korn, Echo Orbiter, Charlatans, Spineshank, Bethany Curve, The Cure, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, and Tahiti 80.

I am a big fan of Boss' compact pedal construction. Hey, if those vintage effects fans still drop $175+ on those overrated DM-2's and DM-3's that look like dogs chewed them up, the construction must be good.

I would confidently gig without a backup. Take care of your pedals!

I have never dealt with Roland/Boss customer service or support. I have no need to get this unit upgraded or repaired.

I play a good mix of styles, predominantly ska/reggae (e.g. Reel Big Fish, RX Bandits), to modern rock (Our Lady Peace, Incubus), and even some more experimental stuff (Radiohead, MUSE). While the PH-2 can achieve a decent reggae-appropriate vibrato in Mode I's higher Rate settings, I use this pedal for more modern/experimental rock.

I've been playing for about 3 years, but have had experience with quite a few phaser units. No one cares what gear I use, but I will say that the PH-2 is a nice, aggressive complement to my very mellow, smooth Digitech XHP Hyper Phase pedal (the shining gem of the X-Series).

If it were stolen or lost, and I had the means, I would buy another as soon as I could.

I love that this is the most satisfied I've been out of my, well-it's-discontinued-and-I-heard-it's-pretty-good-and-I-might-not-see-another-one-so-I-might-as-well-buy-it ventures. This is actually the most satisfied I've been with any pedal, it's a great buy if you're looking to add add a more outstanding phase to your sound.

There's only one feature I wish it had: a footswitch! The two modes are so different yet so useable. And since I'm not going to by two (which some people have -- you're not Incubus!), I hope to be able to get it modified so I could switch modes hands-free. Other than that, I was very satisfied.

It doesn't help me make music, but it doesn't get in the way. It spices things up when you need it. It does exactly what I hoped it would...I was very satisfied!

Very easy. No manual needed. Just tweak it!

I either use it with very soft phasing or very harsh. I occasionally use it on very harsh phase when I make noise through my guitar during certain parts of a song. I use phase when I just need some color in chord work. I also like using it for a few seconds during some parts of certain songs, then turn it off right away. It's not too transparent, it is knida noisy.

Epiphone ES-335 >> CS-3 >> SD-1 >> PH-2 >> Digitech Time Machine Rack >> Line 6 AX2.

It can serve as a great bomb shelter for my pet roach.

nevert dealt w/em

I was fortunate enough to acquire this at such a good price. So using it occasionally is justified by the price I paid. You can't use this pedal too much in your set. Otherwise it'll be too noticeable, overkill. But when it is used, it sounds pretty cool.