Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter

I toyed around with it for a while and it was easy to understand. Though I still don't understand what the tap tempo does...

This won't give you the best phaser sound out there, but it will give you a lot of great options. If you just want a great phaser sound with nothing unique about it, go get MXR M101 Phase 90 Phaser or Maxon PT999 Phase Tone Pedal. If you're looking for a pedal that can give you different phaser sounds and speed, depth, and resonance. Than this is it. Levels, 4,8,10,12 will attempt to copy other phaser sounds. Their good, and very useful, but I've heard better. The rise,fall, and especially the step is very unique and fun. Because of all the options with the pedal, I'd say that it is the best one out there, that is of course unless you like to be limited in your sound.

it's boss... need I say more?

don't use it

ONE OF THE BEST PHASER PEDALS OUT THERE. EVERY GUITARISTS INTERESTED IN PHASERS SHOULD AT LEAST CHECK THIS ONE OUT, MANDATORY.

Easy enough to use - simple controls. The tap tempo is a nice feature but as stated in other reviews it is not practical to be used live.

My setup live is as follows: Gibson Hawk --> boss hr-2 harmonist --> boss ph-3 phase shifter --> moogerfooger ring modulator --> boss dd-6 digital delay --> marshall jcm2000 dsl 50.


The 4, 8, and 10 stage all sound quite good. My personal favorite is the 4 stage - has a very classic feel to it. The 12 stage in my opinion sounds like junk. It sounds way too overproduced and unnatural. The rise and fall settings are a cool idea but i get alot of feedback with them. They do make some strange sounds with the rate cranked up though. And finally, the step is also a really good idea, and you can some great sounds out of it but, as in the 12 stage, it sounds very overproduced. Another complaint with this unit I have is the quick break in the sound when switching it on and off. This can sound very cheesy when trying to get a professional sound.

Some nice settings that i've found are:
on the 4 stage setting - rate 10 o'clock - depth 1 o'clock - res 2 o'clock..
on the step setting - rate and depth all the way down and res all the way up..
also try cranking the rate up on the rise, fall, and step settings to get some crazy sounds. other than that its a typical phaser.

This unit stopped actually stopped working for me for about 2 hours once but then it started again. Odd seeing as how it's a boss. Also I sometimes have problems with the input jack - nothing major it just comes unscrewed easily. Other than that its a tank.

I play in a hard rock band but I personally play many styles of music. This is a great pedal if you're not too worried about having a phenomenal phaser but still want a good phaser sound. If you're looking for a top of the line phaser this obviously is not your unit - but be prepared to drop some serious cash. Overall I like this pedal, I dont love it but I like it, and it gots the job done well.

This pedal is pretty easy to use. It has four controls: rate, depth, resonance, and the fourth knob has various modes for you to dial in including the new "rise," "fall", and "step" modes. Playing around with a pedal and testing your imagination with it is pretty instinctual, even if you're window-shopping.

I do not on one of these myself, but I have a friend who does and he let me borrow it before. At first, I was very enthusiastic about the pedal. What I was really excited about was the depth in the phase (similar to the depth of the PH-2, which I really like). Also, new options always seem to lure me right in unless they sound totally ridiculous. However, when I finally got to mess around with it, I began to grow more and more disappointed in the sound with every passing minute. For some reason, this pedal's sound has almost no identity. I know a lot of you are going to think that's a ridiculous thing to say, but it doesn't. It just seemed real lifeless and bland. I tried every setting (including the step, which was a bit over the top) and nothing seemed to work.

Actually, even though Boss pedals are known for their reliability and their durability, this pedal one day just decided to burn inside when my friend turned it on.

Boss didn't seem to be too helpful. It was sent to the company for repair or replacement, but was sent back claiming that my friend had let liquid in it. That can't happen unless you play with this thing in a puddle or open it up and our stuff into it. Now my friend has a nice looking dead pedal.

It's an ok pedal, but I personally suggest the Boss PH-2 phaser over this one. It sounds better and isn't such a hassle when it comes to batteries (the PH-3 eats them up because it's all digital). As far as the pedal burning out, I seriously hope that this was one of the duds, because I'd like to keep the notion that Boss pedals are comletely reliable.

Latest BOSS phaser with the usual Rate/Depth/Resonance controls, plus a seven position mode switch for 4/8/10/12 stage phasing plus rise/fall/step modes. Has a tap tempo function which, as others have noted, is rather clunky to use especially with all the distractions of playing a gig. Also has an expression pedal input.

This pedal, unlike previous BOSS phasers, is all digital. Batteries only last a few hours with this one.

Not too hard to use in general, if you start with the suggested settings in the user manual.

I've previously owned two phasers (MXR Phase 45 and reissue Phase 90) and I have played through an original Small Stone. My gear is high quality (Anderson, Mesa, George L's, boutique pedals etc).

Positive: Very flexible and versatile. Fairly quiet. The step mode is a bit gimmicky, but the rise/fall modes (rise being my favourite) can sound quite beautiful and ethereal if dialed in properly. The pedal produces a few cool weird sounds as well for you Radiohead disciples.

Negative: Not quite as 'chewy' as some analog phasers. Displays some zipper noise, mainly when adjusting the Depth control. Awkward tap tempo function. Playing with the band, on some settings I noticed the guitar dropped out of the mix (particularly using 4 or 8 stage phasing and/or using high resonance levels). There is a very slight (milliseconds) signal dropout when changing modes or bypassing the pedal.

Don't forsee any problems here. BOSS is usually bulletproof.

Don't need it.

No the best, not the worst. Certainly good enough to play out with. I've never had anyone come up to me at a gig and say "your phaser sucks!" so it must be OK. Make sure you have a good power supply though (the Godlyke Powerall is great and 1/4 the price of a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power).

A good choice if you want versatility. If you need analog, get a PH-1/PH-2 or buy another brand. I really wanted a Lovetone Doppelganger, but for the amount of phasing I use (a few times a set) I couldn't justify the stupid price they're selling for.

Ummm...duh, genius! 4 knobs. How hard could it possibly be? Tap tempo was a neat feature (that and the expression pedal input jack may be the only 2 features I miss)

Current Setup: Fender Squier Strat (stock single-coil pups) > "modded" Proel Wah (see review of that one for the "mod") > the PH-3 > Boss DS-1 Distortion > Peavey Rage 158...I owned it for a full day. There is a good reason for this. I could not stand what it did to my tone! Maybe I was picky, but I don't care. A person's tone is sacred to them, whatever the preference may be. I may not have my dream Fender ProTube Pro Reverb yet, but hey...I can manage some respectable tones out of my amp & guitar duo (just not with this pedal in the chain).

Seemed reliable. I mean c'mon, don't expect too much from the fragile little thing...it's only a BOSS lol! (obvious sarcasm)

Never dealt with 'em, but keep reading to find out why I think Billy at Ontario Music in Ontario, California kicks arse.

I had the CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, but wanted something a bit more 'rotational', so I tried this. Seemed okay in the store, but just wasn't what I wanted after all, so the next day, went back and got my beautiful and lush chorus back (still don't know WHAT the hell I was thinking). And why is Billy such a good sales guy? I traded a Boss OD-3 Overdrive for the chorus. He was totally cool with all the trading, and indeed made me a happy customer! *kisses his CE-5* (and yes I reviewed it here, too)

I'm giving this thing's ease of use a 1 only for the tap-tempo function, and it's usefulness (or lackthereof) onstage.

I assure you, you will look like a geek attempting to tap out tempos in front of a crowd-- accidentally turning it on and off, stomping on your pedalboard like a moron (a horse counting with its hoof is more like it), and generally blowing your vibe. The function is screwed up in two major ways:

1. Engaging it takes too long. You have to stand and hold it for what... 3 seconds? Tap in your tempo. If you're very good, you're done in 2 measures. There's another 5 seconds. Then hold it another 3 seconds to lock it. That's 11 seconds. Onstage, it's more like forever. Even if you skip the lock-in part, it's still close to 10 seconds. And this is also assuming that you've done everything ecactly right, applying the right pressure and timing to not turn it on and off while attempting to set the tempo.

2. This is the really annoying part-- it seems to me like each tap equals an eighth note, so the speed is FAST and seriously spasticated. I'm probably exaggerating, and each tap equals a quarter note, but if you're playing a fast song the results of such wacky speed are musically useless. Soooo... if you tap out the tempo on the first and third note, or on the 1 only, guess what: You're time tapping out the tempo baloons out to 15 seconds or more. Forget it.

BOSS: please improve this!

It sounds okay. It is very different from the PH-2 (a pedal I really like, by the way), so kudos to BOSS for not selling us the same product a second time with added features. Still there's something about the sounds that lack identity. You can always spot a Phase 90 or a PH-2 on a recording when you hear one... there's nothing that unique about any of the PH-3's sounds, though there's plenty of them, and they're all of good quality. The 10-Stage Mode is my fave-- I think it really stands above the others on this box. The 6 rating I gave is a bit harsh (6.5 better reflects my feelings), but I need and depend on a phaser for some of my tones, and I'm a picky SOB. That, and there seems to be a lag when you disengage the effect-- like it turns off a second *after* you stomp it. That's no good.

By the way, anybody know if this sucker is analog or digital?

Hah! The best, toughest pedal design yet devised.

Never talked to 'em, probably will never have to.

S'okay. Don't use the tap tempo in front of anybody who paid to see you.

easy enough... you just have to memorize knob positions as optimum settings are not global when switching modes-if you don't use more than one it's even easier.

my favorites are the modern settings-the regular staged modes are pretty good also but i prefer other things(like an ultravibe)for slower swooshy sounds. if it weren't for the rise/fall/step modes or TT i'd have not bought this-it was just something to try for more interesting/contemporary textures...

...boss

...

it would have been nice to compare to something else but as far as i know there isn't anything else(except the digitech pedal but it seems like a bit of a copy of this one)...i wanted to try something different and like all boss modulation pedals this is no nonsense and useable for at least something no matter what the style-i usually use an old bassman head or deluxe reverb with gibson,g&l or hamer guitars.

It was pretty easy to get started with this thing. Experimenting with it taught me a lot about this pedal quite quickly. It wasn't hard to get a good sound, but (guitarists like me anyway) you should keep in mind that it's easy to overdo the effect, but I guess that's personal. I glanced at the manual, because I'm too impatient to read a manual anyway. It had (among other things) eight examples for the patches, not that much I think.

I don't know why some people think it messes up your sound. First of all, it's supposed to do that. Second, on my setup (Ibanez guitar, Fender Deluxe 112 amp) it sounded just great. On some occasions, escpecially when much depth was applied, it filtered out too much of the high frequencies. But that's easy to avoid by reducing the depth and or reducing the resonance.
I noticed that when you put the ph-3 before a distortion/overdrive, the effect diminishes. If you first distort/overdrive your guitar signal and then put it through the phaser, you can produce over-the-top synth-like sounds.
The range of the type of sounds you can create with this effect is very wide. From subtile phaser-like sounds to deep phaser-stuff. You can add a slight tremelo or create a underwater sound. It sure is versatile.

It's a Boss. It's 'got five years of guarantee, but probably will last longer than I will.

It's moderately easy...just fiddle around with them realy you gotta love the options on this thing;

Rate (speed of phasing)...depth (the frequency range being
affected)...res (changes how obvious or transparent the actual phasing is)...and phasing modes...*deep breath*

4 - 'vintage' (less high end)
8 - bright (less low end)
10 - MXR-like phase (to me anyway)
12 - drastic phase
fall - only falling waves
rise - only rising waves
step - phasing happens in steps

teh tap tempo featrue is a bit tricky...stomp on the pedal and hold for two seconds and the LED turns green, then just tap one measure (1, 2, 3, 4...) in the tempo you like and the phasing goes according to that tempo.

My setup is an Ibanez RG170 or Godin SDXT, through this pedal, into the input of a Fender Princeton 65 DSP (thats got the echos, flangers, tremelo, chorus, etc).

THere are alot of potentially good sounds on this thing, you gotta love the options it has. The best ones in my opinion are the 4-step and the rise/fall. Step is cool for just screwing around on with sounds, and most of the other phases (8 10 and 12) alter the tone quite a bit.

I wanna set the record straight about the differences between the MXR Phase 100 and the Boss. At long and mcquade I directly compared them, using the same guitar and amp.

The MXR, while limited in options, doesn't affect your tone at all. I wouldn't say it's 'true bypass', but I'd say overall the tone is intact still. Particularily the high-end. Once you stomp on the pedal the only range that seems to be affected is the mids, the high end and low end are pretty much unaffected.

On The boss pedal I noticed a little bit of a loss in treble...especially on the 4-stage setting. However, my Fender has tons of treble, so it's a godsend that the boss phaser gets rid of some of those extreme highs. So it works well for me, but I'd understand why those guys with the huge stacks behind them opt for the MXR, because it retains 'clarity' a little more.

The Boss really shines when its BEHIND the amps distortion (or a distortion pedal). The sound you get when playing this through distortion is awesome, in fact it's remarkably WAH like, particularily when using the 4-stage mode. I didn't really like the 8-stage mode...a ton of bottom end gets lost.

In front of distortion (throuh the effects loop) it's a different sound entirely, and I slightly liked the MXR better when used like this. However I went with the boss because I liked its features, tonal options, and how awesome it sounds through distortion.

er umm.. Boss pedal here

Great great value for $140...the MXR Phase90 was the same and it only had one knob...the Boss gets the job done its an awesome pedal!

Fairly straight-forward and simple controls. Easy to figure out what control does what to the sound. You can spend lots of time tweaking this thing, and you can find alot of usable settings.

Sound quality on this thing is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!! This is the phaser's HUGE downfall. On every setting, it sounds like there is some sort of tone filtation going on that totally degrades and ruins the sound of the instrument. Bottom line is, it doesn't matter how many features an effects unit has or how flexible it is, if using it ruins the tone of the instrument and makes it suck!! And that's exactly what this thing does!

It's a Boss, so it's built like a brick s**thouse.

N/A

If you want an expensive noisemaker, use this thing on some of its' extreme settings and you can get some weird, whacked sounds out of it. (The "step" mode is very cool-sounding). But if you want great PHASER tones, forget this unit completely. Go with the MXR PHASE 90, which is nowhere near as flexible, but which sounds 1000% better.