Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter

Too many modes, the 4 stage settings are all different, yet none attain the richness of the older PH-2. The rise and fall settings are an interesting twist and redeem this pedal somewhat, and the external pedal controls sweep speed. Theoretically this could simulate a leslie, but for reasons below, doesn't convince. I would have preferred selecting a static position, like a wah wah, rather than speed. But it's a pedal and is still reasonably simple to use.

I found 4 stages the most phaser-like. However, even in this setting, the comb filter is more flanger than phaser. Another disappointment is that the sweep is not symmetrical, at least not subjectively. It sweeps in, goes "woyong", then goes out into orbit again for a while before coming back in. No "Manual" position control to help center the sweep. Reducing Depth also doesn't help. Again, the PH-2 is better. I think the designers are not aware that a phaser and a flanger have different comb filter characteristics.

I kept this PH-3 for the rise/fall settings; else I might have returned it. My PH-2 will remain my main device, tho' for that moving reggae guitar sound. PH-3 just doesn't cut it. Am mostly disappointed. If I lost it, I wouldn't care.

This takes a looooong time to find the sound you're looking for, but that's only because there are so many modes, which I guess is a good thing.

Signal chain: Cort G290 (EMG SAs and 89)>TU-2>Whammy>Cry Baby>NS-2>OD-20>Zoom PD-01>CH-1>PH-3>BF-3>DD-6
I hated this pedal at first, as it coloured my sound so much with distortion. Then I realised that I shouldn't use it in a transparent fashion, I have my BF-3 for that. Now I just use it in clean and for weird riffs. THere is a volume drop on certain settings but I've found that the resolution seems to control the volume as well, which is rather unhelpful.

It's a Boss.

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I bought this mainly to play Incubus and Audioslave style things, but I use most of my pedals in my own compositions. I love the sound of this thing, you can get almost any phaser sound from it, and although it sounds a bit digital and very thick, it never sounds cheesy. For the price it's excellent.

Getting a good sound (say...one you've heard on a professional recording), isn't quick. Out of the box, it'll make your guitar sound like a dying robot. It takes a little while of fiddling with it to get what I consider a usable effect. The manual is pretty vague concerning what the differences between the Stages are. You CAN hear a difference between the Stages...but that doesn't mean you'll understand WHY they're different. Knowledge is power and I would've liked a better explaination of what the different stages are so that I can aim for a specific tone instead of having to wonder around on the knobs trying to dial one in. Resonance is another dial vaguely described. It's sort of an intensity control. Rate and Depth knobs...well, if you used an effect pedal of ANY kind, you've probably run into Rate and Depth knobs before.
You need to put this pedal between your guitar and your amp. If you put it in your effects loop, it gets noisy...and VERY metallic/robotic sounding. In the effects loop, you'll likely end up fighting with the RES knob and it doesn't get along with distortion too well there either...unless you're into some really far out sounds.
Put before the amp, it is quiet and you can dial a good effect in without fighting with the Resolution knob...sounds good with OD or distortion if you put this pedal BEFORE your OD/distortion and before the amp.
DON'T GET ME WRONG...this pedal doesn't sound bad. It just takes a little more to control it than some other effects (e.g. a chorus or tremolo or something)

I'm using this with an American Std Fender Strat w/Seymour Duncan pickups (HotRails, CoolRails, JB Jr.) into a Marshall Valvestate combo.
Again...run this BEFORE your amp. When using it in your Effects Send/Return loop, it drops your volume when you kick it on. Running it before the amp, I haven't noticed a volume drop.

Typical Boss pedal, it tries to suck your tone and replace it with a digital/robotic Boss tone. But typical of a Boss pedal, it can be controlled and it doesn't sound bad. Just watch out for the RES dial...it can get weird in a hurry. Otherwise, it sounds pretty cool! While it's not something I'll use on every song, it's definitely a keeper!

I really like the options and variety available on this pedal. With so many stages to choose from, you can really get this pedal to go from a vintage '70s phase shift (e.g. 'Barracuda' by Heart) to some unique--almost experimental sounding--effects.

I'm glad Boss pedals are tough as nails--'cause their Customer Service sucks!

Of course I would gig without a backup...I don't have enough money to get a back up.

I would NOT gig without the AC adapter!
Batteries are for smoke detectors...not effects pedals!

Their Cust. Svc Dept. seems to be manned by Attorneys with broom handles up their asses rather than helpful SERVICE people. Keep your paperwork (orginal receipt, boys & girls) for the whole 5 years of the warranty period. They cover their asses, not their pedals.

If it were lost or stolen, I MIGHT buy another one. The BOSS PH-3 is NOT a cheap pedal...even on eBay (where I bought mine). I would certainly buy some other effects first because this isn't something I use often. I have not tried other brands of phase shifters so before I bought another one, I would try some others out. I'd probably shoot for an analog pedal since I don't like the robotic sound of the digital pedals (that damned RES knob again! Watch out it's a tone killer!).

I can't say it really helps ME make music. I mostly toy around with it. I've used it with one of my guitar students because it inspired him a little and helped HIM make music. Hey, if it makes you want to play...then it's a good pedal for you!

My recommendation: Shop around, listen, and compare this pedal to other phase shifter pedals before you lay out the money. Boss pedals are overpriced, in my opinion.

This is the first boss pedal where I have been unable to get a good sound out of it just by reading the manual. Even the presets that boss suggests sound pretty crappy too me . . . they're all super thick and suck the tone out of your guitar. After a couple of evenings playing around with it, I did discover that all those classic phasing sounds that you and I know and love are still here in the pedal, you just have to work the knobs right. Put the rate at 12:00, the depth at 10:00 or 11:00, the resonance completely off, and select either mode 1 or mode 2. Boom, there is the pink floyd/eddie van halen/everything I love about vintage phasers! I have ended up turning the resonance off or nearly off for every setting that I use this phaser on, and it sounds great now. The tap tempo thing is a great idea, and really the only reason that I'll give any points at all in this category.

Currently using a Gibson 335 with some seymour duncan pickups ('59 neck and Seth Lover bridge) into two old handwired tube amps hooked up in stereo. I am running my guitar-> ph-3-> boss BD-2 (Keeley)-> Dunlop 535Q Wah -> Marshall ED-1 Comp-> Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem-> Boss PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay-> Boss PSM-5 (used to split the signal to the amps). This is a very silent effect as far as noise goes, as I've come to expect from Boss. While the effect is a little overpowering with the resonance up, overall I'd say it sounds great. No problems getting nice funk/reggae tones, easy to nail Pink Floyd stuff, and I can do the whole distorted phaser thing pretty well too.

I trust my boss pedals.

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I like to play a little of everything, tons of covers, which is why I like to have a broad pallette of sounds with my guitar. If stolen I would get another one with no hesitation. Before buying this pedal I had no idea how often I like to hear a little phasing . . . now I'm screwed if I ever lose it.

Pretty simple, 4 knobs, you just have to spend alot of time finding the sound you like. The manual has everything you need to know, plus some sample settings.

I run a Epiphone Les Paul Standard through a Volume Pedal, TU-2, DS-1, this and a DD-20, and it sounds great. You can do some cool swells with delay, Phase and the volume pedal, i play it alot in my sets.

Its boss, if some where down the road, effects pedals get replaced by something futuristic, Boss can go into the tank building buisness.

Never delt with them, only had it for a month though

I play lead, i use alot of delay and volume swells, this addition with the Phaser has made my setup sound so much more mystic, i love it. One thing you might want to think about is a tap pedal for it to change the rate, instead of having to bend down and change it by the knob, but other than that it is amazing.

Four knobs: rate, depth, resonance, mode. Manual a bit jargony, needed quite a lot of time tweaking and playing around before this pedal made any sense. But it paid off eventually.

Hated the pedal at first. It's definitely not one you can just pull out of the box and get great sounds instantly. But the rewards of patient tweaking for what you want are there to be had. You just need the time, you can get damn near any phase shifted guitar sound you like.
I wanted it specifically for a fast rate, deep phase as used by shoegazer bands like Slowdive, Moose, mid period Cocteau twins. It took a long time to get there but I nailed it in the end, i.e 10 step phase mode, rate at 2 o'c, depth at 4 o'c, no res. The 4 step mode will give you a passable MXR 90 for you Van Halen impersonation, if you like that sort of thing. Also very good for shoegaze/wafty/aethereal sounds are the rise and fall modes. With Hi rate and depth, low res. and a long reverse reverb (Digitech digiverb) you can send your strummed/picked chords into orbit! I haven't had the Ph3 for long, I'm still experimenting with it and I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of the possibilities.
I use a squier strat into Boss od1- proco rat-PH3-digiverb-2x dano PB and J delay-Boss Rv5 reverb, the latter usually on the modulated setting. All into a cheapo Soundking 30W combo amp.

Built like a cross between a brick and a tank, as in all Boss pedals. But eats batteries like nothing else on this earth. Even a Duracell lasts no more than 30 mins before the led begins to fade. A PSU is a must.

Never dealt with Boss. Never had to.

See above. Good for what I like to play, e.g Neil halstead/ Robin Guthrie/ Kitchens of Distinction shoegaze ethereal. Probably good for lots more too. Just spend some tweaking time and all will doubtless be revealed.

This pedal rocks! You can dial in most any sound in just minutes. The manual is very simple and the website offers up to date info too!

Gibson Les Paul Studio - Epiphone Explorer - Gibson Flying "V"
Peavey Half Stack / Spider Speakers & Marshall Valvestate 150 1 x 12 Cabinet. Pedal works well with top quality cables. If you use cheap Sam Ash bargain cables expect some noise. I have managed to recreate some pink floyd, frampton, and even the Ramones with this pedal. I spent a few hours and was able to find many cool sounds!

This peadal is just as solid as any boss pedal. Screw the extended warranties, you will never need it unless you treat your gear like a siamese whore in Bangkok.

Never had to because they make an awesome product!

I play rock, jazz, and blues. I have used this pedal for rock & roll with incredible results. I have been playing for 16 years and I gig regularly. I would replace right away as I have all my gear insured whic is the right thing to do. I make money with my music so I insure it. Many bands do not. Want a cool phaser, get this one. You want to Make Eddie Van Halen even richer, buy the phase 90 EVH model.
It is worth the extra money to have a cool paint job and an extra button that does nothing! Yes I am being sarcastic!

Very easy to use - its a pedal for goodness sakes.
The manual helps & the Boss corparate website (the japan one) lends some good reference points as well. Turn the knobs and go.

This is always a tough one cause sound is so subjective. That being said, I like this phaser. It has a lot of versatility - you can go from chewey to a more subtle phase. The real perk is the Real-time control you can get with an expresson pedal like i do. i never realy mess with the tap tempo. its a little digital sounding but hey - it is digital, i am not worried cause i have good tube amps and that definitly helps.

Duh

never had to deal with

I play Rock/Blues/Fusion for 20 years now. Its a good phaser and thats all ther is to it. You just need to spend a little time with it to get what you like out of it. Dont think that it will immeadiatly sound like a Phase 90, cause it wont. Boss never tries to sound like anything but Boss. I have an old Ibanez 9-series Phaser that is very nice but lacks the versatility of the PH-3, so it wins out and remains on my board.

Very easy to get a great phaser sound of the unit.
Editing the pedal is very easy and clear, good manual (Englisch)

I use this pedal with : PRS Custom 24, Ibanez TS-808 RI, Fulltone OCD (!!), Boss PW-10 Wah pedal, Boss Pedal Tuner, Xotic RC Booster,
Boss PH-3, and finaly into an old Electroharmonix SmallClone Chorus - to my Boogie F-30 Combo.
The pedal is a bit noisy when in "on" mode, but that's typical for a phaser effect. The effect is not weak, and it doesn't give you a volume boost. (that's the way I like it)
I can get a very cool "Saturday-Night" (Herman Brood - Danny Lademacher)- sound of it ! (Set to the "10" stage mode)
In the "off" mode, the pedal do not sucks tone. (not in my case, because I use the Xotic RC-Booster for extra dynamics an to compensate "bad-tone" comming from the amount of pedals I use)

Boss quality, you can always be sure, that it's working !
I use it for rehearsals and live set-up.

Fine, no comments.

I play in a Cover-band (pop, rock, soul, funk, blues, R&B,...)
an I play also in a Blues Band. (I use the pedal only for the cover-band) The phaser-effect is not usefull to play the blues..
I have also a Electro Harmonix Small Stone Phaser (vintage from the 70's) but that unit sound not as good as my new Boss...

It is relatively straight forward to use (though the tap tempo is a pain, so get an external footswitch). Anything that seems confusing is spelled out in the manual. Experimentation is way more fun though.

setup: Ibanez SZ540qm, 536q wha, boss super chorus, boss phase shifter, boss dd5 digital delay, Ibanez LF7 filter, Crate blue voodo.
Sadly, this pedal falls into the trap of offering alot without doing alot of things particularly well. MY biggest complaint is the way it colors the tone of the guitar, and alters my carefully set EQ. However, it does do alot of things you wont find on many other phasers (rise, fall, it's random, bubbly setting). I have dubbed this my "strange noises" phaser, because it does unique phasing better than classic phasing. But that is not really a selling point to the average guitar gear consumer.

It is BOSS, do they ever die?

never delt with them.

Though it can do some unique and entertaining things, this pedal really doesn't do an acceptable regular phase, dispite the brand name and large collection of available options. Plus the coloring of my tone makes me angry. I like BOSS, but this just isn't a particularly good phaser.