Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress

On the bad side, the sound is somewhat thin and transparent. The controls don't have a great range of sound, although there is a variety of sounds that can be created at different settings and if you add a distortion pedal or have a decent amp you can beef up the sound. There is also a problem with the volume drop when the effect is switched on.
On the good side, the quality of the sound is excellent. I've tried a boss flange before and it wasn't even close. The deluxe unit has a second output for stereo (I think this is the difference between the deluxe and regular models). The stereo output carries the unchanged guitar tone and adds some headroom; you can also do some interesting things with other effects on this output. If you turn up the rate and range knobs way up you can get a detuned effect that sounds good when mixed with the unflanged stereo output.

The two EH effects I have bought didn't completely work when I first plugged them in, but they came to life after taking off the cover and probing the wires a bit.
If you pull the circuit board off the cover, you will see 5 trimmers that can be turned with a small screw driver. I had to play with these a bit to do some fine tuning.

I have seen these things in guitar shops for over $200. As plentiful as these things are, you should be able to easily find one at a guitar show, like I did, for $80 (make sure you know how to contact the seller if the thing is broken); If you buy one in a store, you shouldn't have to pay more than $120, otherwise I would do business elsewhere. The reissue seems to have the same problems, so I assume there is not much difference in sound from the vintage models.

the thing is pretty simple to use, 3 knobs, many sounds are possible, nothing i really like though

I Usually use this unit with a Fender Lefty strat, with a trusty boss DS-1, along with a Chorus pedal, a run it to a pretty cruddy amp that needs replacing, I dont really like this effect, its just too thin and as some described perfectly "nasally", it takes too much volume away when its on, its just not loud enough, with my own material, i usually find myself playing nirvana + hole, this thing dont work for NIRVANA at all, the only thing that you can come close to is the flanging parts for "Scentless Apprentice"

one good thing about this pedal, it does seem pretty reliable.

i bought this pedal new from an online dealer, i got a warranty card, but if this thing does ever break i wouldnt bother sending it in too get fixed, its not worth it

I play punk rock grungy stuff, it can make it fit for solo's on some setting, to play my typical noise solo's, I'll give it the pass for that, other then that, its pretty useless, has the Filter/Martrix switch thing, which is pretty cool, but it can sound pretty "electronic" which sucks. if it where stolen i wouldnt give a shit, well i would right now since its only less then a month old and i did pay for it, but if i had it for over 5 months i would just laugh and thank the person who stole it, your better off trying to find a Echoflanger, or poly chorus, but seeing the prices on those just makes me sick, and yes just cause kurt happened to favor them, the price goes way up there, whatever...

This thing takes awhile to get use to. Take a night off and learn it because the possiblities are endless.

The pedal has three knobs(Rate,Range,Color)and a Filter Matrix.The RATE controls the speed of the flange or how quickly it sweeps. The RANGE controls how deep the flange gets. the COLOR is probly described better as a feedback knob. This controls the pitch shift of the effect. If you put the Rate up high it gives you a cool rotating speaker effect.When I say High I mean under 3:00 if you go over that the pedal can get bizarre. I personally don't use the color knob much unless I want to do very Loud noise jam because if you turn it up all the way you get alot of sharp sounds. Two sounds that I like to use is 1)Rate:10:00 Range:2:00 and Color: very slight or not at all. 2)Rate:2:00 Range:10:00 Color:anywhere under12:00. These settings are very good for a nice flange effect while strumming.For soloing the oppertunities are endless.This pedal has a ton of different sounds.
The Filter Matrix a is pretty cool. This sound is the kind of sound heard in Nivana's In Utero album like in the opening riffs of "Scentless Apprentance". It's like playing thru supercharged reverb amp that's being played thru a metal garbage can. Actually it sounds like your playing tru one paticular pitch of the flange mode.In this mode the RATE knob is inoperative. The Range kinda picks the pitch and the COLOR adds a chime sound. To get the reverb effect just turn everything high.Like I said it's pretty cool. Really this pedal shines in LIVE NIOSE JAMS with a really loud distortion pedal. All kinds of sounds can be obtained if you just turn everything up.

Nothings happened to it yet but its been 2 years and its built pretty tough. I've dropped it a few times and its still OK. And I never use a back up for anything, except for distortion.

Never had to deal with them.

I play all sorts of stuff, from Jazz to Blues to Hardcore Punk to Rock and this pedal meets any needs. I play this pedal through a varity of Fender guitars and pawshop prizes and it sounds good through my setup which is a Big Muff, DS-1, this pedal, and a couple of other effects. My amps are Princeton 1/12 and a homemade 4/12 celestion vintage 30 cab with a shitty head. The problems with this pedal are 1)It does suck up some output but if you run it loud enough no one can tell. 2)It is a little noisy when you want it to be clean but you could fix that with a effects loop. 3)The Damn thing is pretty big so forget putting it on an effect board. Overall Sovtek/Electro Harmonix did pretty well on this pedal. If it were stolen I would buy it again or maybe I'd get a polychorus. By the Way don't get dicked around Don't pay any more than $125 if anyone tries to sell it for more than that go elsewhere cause $125 is a pretty common rate for it.

easy to use . three knobs ... hm.... hard huh ? i don't think so .

sounds great ...12stringy sounds obtained , noisy on drive channel .

12 days after i bought the thing the color knob wouldn't work ... one more day ... the entire pedal failed .

too rare to be fixed locally , or in canada for that matter ... top store in canada gave me their ny factory addresss .. experienced repairmen needed . no beef with the actual company though

awfull . anything that breaks that fast is not worth the cash .... the originals seem to be better , this reissue is UNRELIABLE , i would never gig with it . should have bought an ada .

The sounds are all usable, but the best are for those who tinker about a bit. The manual is thin, but provides a few seful settings.

Very good sound, I use it with a Fender Twin & Tele. It can be wuite noisy with high distortion, and the effect can be weak if not treated correctly. Good for the sound from Made Of Stone by The Stone Roses, for John Squires solo

Very unreliable, I wouldn't take it to a gig if I could avoid it!

never dealt with them

CAn get the best effects out of it, its just a little to unreliable. If I lost it I think I would replace it with a boss unit, as they are ultra reliable!

Three knobs and a switch, don't mix them up!

I was a little dissapointed with the sound. I got this thing to play Nirvana, and it does ok but the sound is a bit thin and nasally. When I use it I have to turn up my amp because this pedal is quieter than a direct signal. That sucks, because if I'm playing distorted and loud, then hit the flange, it feels like the bottom dropped out on my volume. The pedal is also extremely noisy. An everpresent AC hiss is something I had to get used to. The filter matrix mode is next to useless, all I can get out of it is a thin, tinny sound entirely lacking warmth and presence. I suppose a techno band would like it--I don't.
This pedal is a reissue, so that may be part of the problem.

Seems to be built very well.

I would not buy this pedal again. If it had a volume control, I might, but probably not. The effect is just too thin and nasally for me. I want a flanger with a strong presence and thick, watery effects. This pedal isn't the one. If I had bought it new and paid $200.00 for it, I would be pissed, but for $100.00, I can't really complain. It was a good value.

Pretty easy to use,only has 3 knobs(color,rate,range)and a switch for filter-matrix.You can really only use it for four different effects:"jet plane" sweep,regular flange,pitch shift,and vibrato.The pitch shift is kinda' weak though.

Great sounding flanger, you'll just want to sit around and make funny noises all day!You prabably wouldn't want to use it live though, flanger pedals are just for fun(so don't spend too much money on them).I would rather have an ADA because they are so much stronger,but they cost $200 fucking dollars!( I'm broke! )Filter Matrix is kinda' neat-it takes out the sweep so it sounds like you are banging on a trash can!But I rarely use the filter.You can also get a slight phase out of this box!

This thing is built like a bitch!It's an origanal and probably over 25 years old,I am only 16!(makes me feel young).I picked it up at a guitar show from Bruce Barr at Sound Bariier(a great guy), it is pretty beaten up and there are scratches all over it. But I think that this pedal will last for an eternity.

Never called them for repairs, but they are really friendly + They will be able to repair it since they are making reissues of this box.

Great pedal buy this thing, unless you have the money for the ADA.Hey, NIRVANA fans(thats right,YOU!,admit it!)don't waste your money on buying the polychorus, it's a big rip off(Kurt mostly just used the flanger section anyway)To play RFUS and HSbox,get this pedal use the heaviest distortion possible and buy a cheap $20 slapback echo box. Now JAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple as any other stompbox. Knobs for Color, Rate, and Range, and a switch for filter-matrix.

My Mistress is an original one, from the 70's. It's beat up bad, has duct tape all over it, is missing a knob, but the sound is just fine. I use it with a yamaha guitar, peavey amp, DOD classic fuzz box, and an ibanez wah. When i first plugged the Mistress in, i had all the knobs cranked. It sound *extremely* weird, twisted, and detuned like this. You need to back off on the rate knob a bit. It's not that hard to get a good sound, and i don't even find it that noisy. I'ts really cool to crank up the distortion and hit big fat power chords, just to hear that crazy-ass swoosh. I was about 5 minutes getting a wicked Rage Against The Machine live sound.

Haven't had it long, but judging by how much it's beat up and how good it still sounds, i figure i can trust it.

?

It's pretty good for a RATM style swoosh, and you can getting some seriously screwed up sounds for noisy solos. If you don't use it w/ distortion, it's cool for clean tone chords (ie "Lightning Crashes"). I find it makes me play different, and it's yet another step towards a 100% unconventional style that i'm going for. I don't know if i would buy another one if mine broke, cuz i got mine for free, and new ones cost so damn much. BTW, it's not as noisy as some people say it is.

This pedal has 2 modes, a flanger and filter matrix. There is a switch for which one you want and 3 pots; color, range, rate. Any sound on the flanger sounds great. The filter matrix takes a little longer to get a good sound out of. On high range settings the filter causes octave overtones on the higher strings. The color knob controls the wet/dry mix of the effect. The range is how deep it goes and the rate is the speed. Since mine was made in 1978 there is no manual for it.

This pedal is surprisingly quiet for an old analog pedal. It makes very little noise, sometimes none. When it is off it is completely silent and when on the extra noise is very small. The flanger always sounds great. The filter matrix is somewhat weak but it is worth getting the deluxe model for it to get the extra sounds. Also a great chorus can be obtained using the flanger mode. It sounds almost identical to the Small Clone.

If its lasted this long I don't think it will break. I've heard about some other old E-H models having slight problems on the inside that can be fixed very easily but mine is working fine. And who is gonna go try to find a pedal that hasn't been made for about 15 years just to have as a backup?

E-H busted in the mid 80's. Sovtek may be able to fix it now though. Not that it would be needed.

I would buy it again if I ever had to, but I don't think I will. The flanger is probably the best one ever made, not to mention the great chorus sounds you can get out of it. The filter matrix could use improvement. I don't know about the reissues, I heard they sound identical almost. But with the originals being around the same price go with an original their bound to go up in value too. I compared it to a T.C. Electronics SCF and a Boss Flanger. The Boss flanger didn't compare. The SCF was a very good pedal, but over twice the price. It didn't look as strong as the electric mistress and I have heard they are somewhat unreliable. Also I prefer the filter matrix to the SCF's pitch modulation.

It's pretty easy to use. You just need to fool around with the knobs. Since it only has three, it's quite simple. The manual is usless for the most part, because it's a 5x7 piece of paper. Finding a good sound is pretty simple. A lot easier to use than the DOD flanger.

It sounds awesome. I've only had it for a day and I've already gotten some awesome widesweeping sounds. The only thing that keeps it from a 10 is the hum it has from being plugged in, but if you put distortion first, it's not bad at all.

I have a Sovtek amp, and it's a truck. I have no doubt this pedal will last. It's made of brushed steel and seems really strong. I'd definately gig with it.

Never dealt with them.

Other than the hum, this is a kickass pedal. It is far superior to the DOD and the Boss if you're looking for a thick deep flanging sound. You can also get some crazy space sounds and some nice reverb sounds too. It's awesome.

Very easy to get good sounds out of it. Spirit of the Radio and Lightning Crashes tones. Filter matrix mode is weird and you can achieve chime sounds on particular notes. The manual says you can immitate a leslie with it but I haven't been able to - close but not quite.

With clean tones it is dead quite. However, with distortion, particularly solid state, the interference from the 110 volt step down transformer (DEluxe model only - built in to chassis) becomes amplified. THis problem can be solved by replacing the wires leading to the footswitch with shielded wire. Mine is silent now. THe bypass mode seems to be very effective; little if any coloration.

Nothing has gone wrong yet. I did have to re-solder the shield on one wire though.

Hell yes I would buy it again!!! It's fucking awesome.

10 every setting is good.

if you want an analog flanger with great control, this is the pedal for you. If you want crazy sounds- go for the AD-A

I would definately buy it again. however, I have seen them for upwards near $200. I don't think any vintage pedal (except the mu-tron bi-phase and the EH micro-processor) are worth $200 if you are actually going to use it. It's worth $125 easy.