Electro-Harmonix Bad Stone

Way Cool Boston filter if you use it correctly

OK, put this puppy in manual and hit your 12th fret G harmonic. Now sweep the manual knob until you get the filter to enhance the harmonic, just about a quarter turn or less. Now place the unit before a good overdrive unit and EQ filter the signal after the OD to low bass, High Mid Bass, Middle Mid, Low Mid high, and high Highs.
You now have Tom Sholz and are tuned for mtaf...now adjust the manual sweep back down to the low stop and you got smokin. With a good OD and a chorus, you can sound just like a rockman. Effects are for the ears man, use um.

Although it is certainly a complex box there are a lot of good sounding sweet spots and radical effects by tweaking some parameters. The manual is more focused in describing the box than to guide to user to achieve specific sounds. In conclusion: It is a quite complex effect devise that is able to deliever an overwhelming amount of interesting sounds and textures. BE CREATIVE

In order: CUSTOM FENDER STRATOCASTER - MXR DYNACOMP, IBANEZ MODIFIED TUBE SCREAMER, VOX WHA.WHA, ELECTRO HARMONIX FLANGER HOAX, ELECTRO HARMONIX DELUXE MEMORY MAN - FENDER BLUES DEVILLE AMP.
The box is really noisy in some settings but average in general.
Talking about the sound of the box is dificult because to my ears and mind almost every sound comming out of it is pretty usable, but it may be a lot of twisted-minded sounds that may hurt some people concept of a flanger....it delivers point zero flanging sounds that are really trippy, i dont know if someone famous use this kind of effect with guitars but it is common to hear this on electronic musicians. My only complain is that in some interesting settings the noise comming out of it makes them difficul to use on high output amplified enviorments.

Dont know really since i have a couple of weeks with it but in fact i allways break electro harmonix footswitches...hope it doesnt happends with this.

Dont know really, never try

Definetly an interesting trick box, for humans experimenting with machines...not for everyone though.
If you like to mess and get creative you are going to find yourself interested for hours and hours with this little box.

This is a review of the 3-knob version. I don't know which was the first, the 2-knob or the the 3-knob. Anyhow, no one should have any difficulties operating this pedal. It has two modes (with a switch to select between them): Manual phase control (with a knob to control the phase frequency) and automatic control (the standard way, from an LFO). Other than that it has a knob to control feedback. Strangely, the potentiometers are upside down, so that min. effect comes out at 2 o'clock and max. comes out at 10 o'clock.

I've only used this with various electronic instruments in a studio setting. It's a bit noisy, mostly because the phase effect reduces your overall volume so much that you have to increase the gain on the mixer a lot. It also "eats" up your bass drastically, especially at high feedback settings. I usually crank up the bass at least 10dB on my mixer. This is the only reason I'm not giving it 10 in this rating, because the phase effects are brilliant, fantastic. Very airy, swooshy, fat but with lots of definition, and quite sharp sometimes. It sounds like a 6-stage phaser, ie different from the 4-stage Small Stone. I especially like the manual setting, which lets you sweep through an incredibly wide range very quickly. Also, the modulation speed can go up well above 20 Hz, which means into the audible spectrum, and this produces cool ring mod-/FM-style effects.

Seems rugged, and I've never had any problems with it.

An extreme, dramatic phaser, full of character. It's very versatile, with the feedback control, the manual mode and the wide-range modulation speed. I've even used it to process drum samples! The only thing I miss about it is an external control voltage input, to be able to control the phase frequency or the modulation speed from an external device like a MIDI-to-CV converter. But this is usually reserved for big studio phasers like the Moog 12 Stage... Like most EH products the prices are a bit wild, but in this case I think it's justifiable.

Firs of all:Sorry for bad english, I'm german. ->This cool thing is very easy to use, but it has no description for input output and voltage on the backside plugs! This means, if you have one you must find out. And another "bad" thing: the potis (manual shift, feedback and rate) are turned around (0 should be on lower left and not on upper right position!)
For all who have problems or sth. like that, i've repaired mine by myself. And if you want a better sound out of it, when you put in newer IC's, the ones inside are 3MHz bandwith and the last produced are more than 4MHz (you'll hear the difference!)
For any intrests contact me.

A great "Made in USA" product of the 70's. It's very robust, if you tune it a little bit.
Next time you open it for inserting a battery or so, wire the potentiometers pins again and look, if there is any cable wired badly.
And you can solder out the resistor thats at the output cable on the board between the condensator and the groud(gives better and louder sound for effect)! And last, glue a isolation to the end of the board, where its next to the metal bottom(or it will connect to the
metal in future and youll have a shot circuit). If any questions, contact me.

They where very nice and they even sent me the schematic, some weeks ago, when i needed it!

The model I have is the second, one battery/three knob version of the Bad Stone with the black and orange writing. The three knobs are labelled rate, feedback and manual shift. Rate is self-explanatory but needs to be adjusted carefully as it seems to accelerate the further round you go. Feedback isn't really a typical depth control, it just adds, well, feedback to the phase. The unit also has a button at the back to disengage the rate and feedback controls, allowing the manual shift to set the effect to stay at a particular point in the phasing loop - very cool indeed.

The phasing isn't quite as deep as I would like - not as deep as a Small Stone (but that pedal does seriously suck your tone) and not as 'chewy' as an MXR Phase 90. However, it is certainly more versatile than either - with full feedback you get a very watery, over-the-top jazz/funk/disco type of effect and with feedback at a minimum you get a more typical early 70s rock type effect. You can't really get that SRV 'Cold Shot' sound (which you can with a Phase 90) as maximum rate gives you something like ring modulation (not a sound I make much use of).
I do love the manual shift option - when combined with a fuzz pedal (I use a Voodoo Lab Bosstone and an old Companion Fuzz Box) you can get some monster fat tones that otherwise would be pretty impossible to achieve. I can even make the neck+bridge position on my Tele sound like a Strat's 2nd and 4th out-of-phase positions. I don't know of any other pedal that offers this (although someone like ZVex probably makes one that does).
I do have two gripes, however - as with the Small Stone, there is a slight loss of volume when the effect is on (especially as you increase the feedback) and there is some audible sweeping when you aren't playing (which becomes audible clicking as the rates nears its max).

I only got the pedal a week or so ago, but it's already lasted about 20 years and is built like a tank so I have no worries.

At first I was a little disappointed - I like my phase to be chewy and choppy and the Bad Stone isn't particularly that. However, it is very versatile, does a reasonable Hendrix at Woodstock uni-vibe impression (which is always good) and that manual shift is just excellent. Would I buy it again? Only if I could find it relatively cheap (I certainly wouldn't pay the $200 that some people are asking for these things!) I think I'm still going to get a Phase 90...

This is a review for the 2 nob version
Very easy to use, only 2 nobs. Great phase, with the color switch, you can really change the style. There is an on/off switch at the top, which can fool you into thinking your pedal is broke if you don't check it before you start playing (I made that mistake before!) I mess around with it alot, always finding a new sound. I can even move the rate nob with my foot!

Excellente' sound! This is the best! I had a Small stone, and it was great, but this thing is better! True, it is pricy, but the sound is well worth it. Much better than any other phase pedal out there. It is just no contest! Can get very weird to very normal, not something you can get in all phasers. Sounds even more interesting through a delay.

It's old, and scratched up, and the battery changings are a pain, but it is well worth it. It doesn't look like it will fail me...

we all know what happened to EH...

This is the best phaser out there! I got what I paid out of it, and more! The review below even got me into that ring modulation thing...it's really cool with distortion! I don't think I would ever give this thing up, it's just too classic! If it was stolen, I would be very mad, simply because I have never even heard that a 2 nob Bad Stone exsisted, until I saw the one I bought. I bet finding one for sale would be harder than the whole "needle in a hayfield..." story. Simply put, its the best. If you can find one, buy it! It may look beat, but the sounds are amazing!

This box has 2 nobs: rate and blend as well as a 2 position color switch. Plus an on/off switch at the top and a footswitch on the face. Some cool graphic, too. I got a crazy guy or somthing next to the footswitch. I got mine used and it is pretty beat up, but works fine. A silver metal case keeps the good stuff in. Changing batteries is a pain because you have to open the whole thing to put them in. Oh, yeah...them, this thing take 2 9v batteries. Pretty easy to use once you get it all together. Complicated as far as getting everything together in the correct way. Don't worry, if it's not right when you put it together, it will give a nice scary *klunka* when you step on the footswitch.

Well, I had this for a while and it was hit of miss because the unit wasn't quite "right" with all the wirs inside, but since I got that straightened out, it's fine. I have mine set with the rate at 7 o clock anf the nlend at 4:30 and the color switch to the left. Instead of phasing, I get a great RING MODULATION weird fest. Really neat. This helps me get more of a sonic youth/devo tone to my guitar. This pedal compliments my set up very well: customized strat copy guitars into an MXR DynaComp (ri), Arion stage tuner, Maestro fuzz, Boss aw-2, Electro harmonix(s) Small Stone (ri), this pedal, and a Big Muff (ri). Great sound.

A lot of problems possible, but hey, its an old pedal. I am sure it will be fine as long as I take car of it.

not for this pedal, I guess

Great weird pedal, very fun. Lots of great phasing. Sounds like a small stone, but a bit off. Sounds like a back/forth phase...small stone has the great up/down swoosh. But, like I said before, I use it for the psuedo-Ring Modulation. Works great. I hope this pedal will help me make new tones and squeels for many years to come...