Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress

The Electric Mistress is more of an advanced pedal to use since it has three knobs and unlimited combinations. There are many good sounds, just have to dial them in right.

This pedal is the absolute best chorus/flange you can get. This is the original electric mistress, no power cord. Yes, there is a volume drop, but the sound makes up for that because it is that good. Chorus is thick and lush, usually set rate 2 o'clock, depth 8, and color 8. For more subtle chorus lay back on the depth. Flange is nice, for slow flange set rate to 12 o'clock, depth to 3, color 10. Can can phase tones if depth and color are low. Also leslie style with depth all way down, and rate all the way up. This pedal is very versatile. Can get Andy Summers, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton(late 70's-80's) sounds. I love this pedal.

This pedal is very reliable. The case is very durable, no scratchy pots.

If you like lush analog chorus and flange, this is it. Does not get any better.

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As a follow-up to my previous review couple of days back - and having had time to experiment a little more - it would seem that the context of equipment this effect is in chain with can make quite dramatic alterations in the perceived character of this pedal(I have filter matrix version). This may be another contributing factor to such wide ranging reports on this unit. Feeding it a broader frequency spectrum - lower, more bass - and/or - higher, more treble - - pushes it towards further extremes - as does pushing the EQ levels at the amp (output) side of things - with in particular treble gain drawing more grain and edge from the unit, and emphasizing more (in flanger mode - or manually applied sweepings of the matrix) breadth and character of sweep. Perhaps not surprising since it is ultimately a frequency shifter - but it really is noticeable with this pedal how differently it behaves under different conditions external to itself. This also means that if like myself you favour a mellow relatively clean or mildly crumbling neck position and prefer to pick at the strings with fingers rather than a pick - then what you will get from this unit is a world of subtlety. If on the other hand you like to whack up the distortion and fly at it with an axe hacking at hi-output humbuckers - then the unit will follow you all the way and become more pronounced and gritty itself. If you can place any kind of filter before this unit (and I'm speaking in particular to sound scapists and loopers who can get their hands free of the guitar), then some fine terrains can be explored by adding increasing hi-pass (thinning out the sound) whilst turning up the rate knob on the mistress towards max when in flanger mode. I was trying this with the e-h stereo memory man (hazarai) throwing out a loop and applying play to the filter control on this same pedal (which sweeps as a lo-pass in reverse from 12 oclock, and as hi-pass other direction forwards from 12 oclock) - combined with tweakings on the mistress had my head spinning off in a cloud. nice! I've also read reports elsewhere that it behaves differently when plugged towards a tube amp or a transistor - matched with tube it becomes less noisy and shades slightly differently. Having said all this though - I do still think, as hinted at in my previous review, that there may be many different sounding examples of this unit out there - and that much in terms of character or tonal disposition may depend upon the unit you come across, as much as upon the context of different playing styles, prior tonal preferences and surrounding gear.

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And speaking of reading reports elsewhere - type in a search for 'electro harmonix DELUXE electric mistress' here on harmony-central, and you will find a further 60 or so reviews - including advice on mods and theories about those internal user configerable trim pots - theories as to what they tweak. (One of them, apparently, will fix the level drop problem so often mentioned in other reviews here).

I have just bought this old electro-harmonix unit after playing with it for an hour in a shop. I didn't even bother to haggle the price down because sometimes you've just gotta pay to show appreciation. I found nothing but great tones from it, and overall I found this particular example of the unit contains worlds of subtlety, which I prefer, as I don't do space tunes or robots. Reading the other reviews lined up here I am surprised by the wide range of different reports on this model - I guess it has something to do with it's age and widely morphing geneology, as well as units being in different states of set-up or repair. (Please note there are user configurable screw pots inside the unit - although I wouldn't touch them on the unit I have just found). I don't know how old mine is - but it's a Deluxe with green background and knob setting radials, black pointer knobs, black border and script. Front loaded dials with flange/matrix switch at back. Built in LED which from internal inspection shows itself as original and not mod - and a direct mains cable (transformer inside). With this particular example I have found it extremely easy to dial in good sounds.

It hardly seems relevant to discuss what equipment I am placing around, as it would seem performance depends upon the unit that has landed in your hands - however the example I have sounds great using a fender standard (any pick-up)through the clean sound of a Kustom Quad 100 DFX 2x12 combo. One of the beautiful things about vintage gear can often be the quirks, when they are not presenting themselves as outside flaws. I have to agree that the filter matrix on this unit sounds amazing - easy to find a lifting and singing harmonic or a sonically rich darkening of tone, and all the textures between which create wide sculpting possibilities to the tone of the string, including hammered oriental. With the Filter Matrix switch slid half way, some strange null point occurs between the two states of flanger-or-matrix, which yields a pleasing lo-fi hiss and a tone unlike the present settings for either, and still somehow reliant upon the colour knob, but none of the others. The flanger setting, which utilises all three controls, gives a very fluid, warm and smooth flange - and this particular unit yields nothing extreme until all controls set high - when it only becomes at most a springy, trebly warble, but still rounded and smooth.

Can't say. I've only had it for one day.

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I play lo-fi, experimental, with alot of finger-picking through strange open chords. I also use loops and soundscape building at times, and so this unit shall prove great once performing hands free of the guitar, and can manually sweep through those filter matrix vibes. Messing with the flange/matrix switch whilst sending loop material through gives strange, and in the context of what I do, useful effects. I had the opportunity of comparing this one with a similar(vintage-old)(direct mains cable) black and silver model with no LED that was being sold for less money at another store - when I tried it, straight away I realised it had a different, more nasally and robotic quality of tone, with a more extreme palette of modulations and then it started screaling some kind of warped midband feedback and wouldn't stop until the guy in the shop unplugged it and mumbled something about repair. So I've seen at first hand how different these old units can be. (I wonder again about the user adjustable trim pots inside, and how much set up is important in this respect). And by the way, the one I took is covered in pit marks and scratches to the paint, and areas of surface rust, and has not been cosmetically well looked after at all, so don't ever go on appearance...... If anyone can give me any pointers as to the age of unit, based on description above, and any information at all would be much appreciated; e-mail provided.

The actual quality of the effect produced is great. The EM has a somewhat unique tone and can double as a chorus. Rumour has it that this is the 'chorus' pedal favoured by Andy Summers in his stint with the Police, and with the Range past noon and the Color down it's easy to coax chorus like tones from this box. It can also do standard flanger sweeps but they're not as intense as some other units I've tried (eg MXR flanger). Compared to the deluxe electric mistress this battery version is supposedly more hi-band flanging with greater swirl.

The catch is, the standard Mistress is noisy as hell and suffers from the worst volume drop I've ever heard on a pedal. Rolling the Range past noon would bring on a sea of hiss at the bottom of the LFO that sounded like the surf crashing upon the beach and was really noticeable whilst playing. This really limited the useable sounds you could get out of the unit. When turn on, the pedal would cut you volume about in half. Mine was an earlier unit (not a blue one, but with no dashes in the circles around the knobs). It's possible it was a lemon or else later models improved somewhat, but at the cost these are going for (the Gilmour/Summers connection means they regularly sell for US$150-200) you're better investing your money in something else, unless you're comfortable changing all the resistors and caps to lower noise ones. The current reissue Deluxe Electric Mistress will get you close and doesn't have the noise and volume issues. Howard Davis can even mod it to the battery Mistress tone if you want.

A lot of cool tones ruined by noise and volume drop.

A lot of people complain about EHX's build quality, but there's a lot of near 30+ year old pedals still floating around in good working condition.

I've emailed EHX a few times and they've always been quick to respond and do so courteously. However, I emailed them about possibly fixing the volume drop on this unit and was told that they don't work on them as, apparently, they no longer have a copy of the schematic. I find that really hard to believe. Anyway, Howard Davis who was the Chief Designer at EHX in the 70s (most if not all the "Deluxe" pedals are his designs, including the deluxe electric mistress) will service it. When he retires who knows how you'll get them fixed...

Unless mine was a lemon, this pedal is more a vintage curiosity than a modern workhorse flanger. The tone of the effect is great, but the volume drop makes it useless for live performances unless you boost the input, and the noise makes it virtually useless for recording. For under $100 you can just laugh it off, but I paid $150 for mine and I've seen them sell for $200 regularly. Unless you're swimming in funds I'd suggest you invest the money into an Deluxe Electric Mistress, ADA Flanger, MXR Flanger or the FoxRox TZF instead. They don't have the same tone as the battery Mistress, but they'll be far more useable.

My mistress is the Non-Deluxe 18V version (the one in the big muff pi case). Blue labels, 1979 version, black knobs with red pointer, one of the rarest mistresses around (i think). I use it with a 18VDC supply (Tip positive polarity), but you can use any voltages up to 24VDC as suggested in the original EH schematic, since it's regulated down to 12DC by the 741 op-amp and the bjt inside the circuit.

I have corrected some "mistakes" in the circuit (i'm an EE) and now it sounds amazingly without any volume drop (wich is a plague in this pedal, as it is for the old Eh Small Stone Phaser). I've also added a true bypass switch with an High Brightness led.
Sound quality before the mod was a full 9. After the mod is a 10+++.
Very thick and a kind of "liquid" chorusy sound comes out of this box. Great with Single Coil pickups, incredible sound with a Tele (Listen to Floyd's Run Like Hell).

The original Singapore Reticon Sad1024 still works after 28 years. Just give a special attention to the power supply polarity (tip positive), since there's no incorrect polarity protection in the circuit. You'll burn the 741 and the bjt for sure.
Mechanical parts naturally need to be replaced after such a long time.

This is certainly the most beutiful sounding flanger in history, but you have to accept his little defects (hiss, volume drop, little tone suck...). Killer sound after a distortion and alone. It creates beutiful ethereal sounds. If you find one of the old ones just buy it.

Piece of cake. It's fun to tweak. The knobs are huge and if you're gentle it's easy to push them a little with your foot while giggling to hit that perfect sound if you're not quite there.

It takes a little bit to get used to though and I usually find that I'm always finding sounds I like more than the last.

I love the sound of this thing because it's so thick. I also own a reissue that I bought because my original was broken and I heard the chip was no longer available. Well now the chip is found and I'm getting it repaired ASAP.

I like to do a lot of expiremental noise and atmospheric stuff. This pedal is great. It just adds a beautiful liquid feel to the guitar.

My rig
1972 Tele custom -> Daddy--> Boomer 2 or sometimes cry baby wah --> DOD supra distortion --> Boss dd-5 --> boss dd-20 --> boss ce-3

The flanger gets moved around, sometimes I put it at the end or sometimes right after the wah. It complements the boomer 2 really well when I draw it back for those wide sounds.

it's broken down before. I think the chip went out because of a bad soldering job last time but I'm not sure. Before that it only ever had bad connections, but it was kept in horrible condition before I had it.

I'd trust it.

EH doesn't work on these anymore

I bought the deluxe electric mistress because I thought this one was out for good and I was disappointed. I love this pedal

I wish it had an indicator light, but we can't have it all sometimes.

I play a lot of atmospheric stuff (I really like bands like explosions in the sky, appleseedcast, mogwai)

This is easy to use, but it does have alot of different sounds so it might keep you going for quite awhile.

I'm not a flange connoiseur but I love the sounds this unit makes. Warm, organic flange, great faux-leslie, sweet chorus and some wacked out sounds. Sounds great with clean or distorted sounds. I think the filter matrix is great for special fx or, with color at a low setting, a neat whacked out eq.
I have an older unit that I bought off of EBay - it looks like the reissue but the knobs are bell shaped with ribs. Also, it has a built in 2 pronged plug. I don't know what year it is and when I e-mailed EH they couldn't help me.
I like reading reviews on pedals because sometimes you can learn stuff about units that you otherwise wouldn't know. Almost all the reviews complained about the unit being noisy and I hadn't experienced that. Then I thought, I haven't really played the thing except in my apartment, and I have to watch my volume due to living above the wicked witch of the west (I suppose I can't really blame her for being noise sensitive)!!!! When I cranked my late 70's Fender Princeton Reverb, sure enough, the pedal got real noisy.
I then compared it to the flange on my Vox Tonelab SE. The Tonelab flange was also noisy but less so. Still, the EM sounds much more natural, more like, well, a real flanger as opposed to some digital simulation. I've never really liked any flange fx from the various multi-fx units I've had over the years.
So, as I am not currently in a band and can't play loud in my apartment, the noise factor doesn't enter into the equation.

I haven't gigged out with the EM, so I really can't say how it would hold up under gigging conditions.

EH did respond within a day after I e-mailed them. I just wish they could've given me more info on the unit's date.

I've been playing for over 30 years (god!) and am primarily into 70's progressive rock. Despite the noise issue, I love this unit. It's just organic sounding (whatever the heck that means)!!!! Because of the noise, I probably wouldn't gig out with it without a noise gate, but frankly, I'd be a tad nervous gigging out with it just 'cause I'd be afraid of it getting stolen or moshed by some psycho. For me, it's fine for home use or recording. It's one of those effects that you can get lost in for hours.......
I'm including my e-mail address with the hope that somebody out there can give me a clue as to the age of this unit.

Bought it new about 3 years ago, very straightforward. I love the sturdy wooden box it comes with, great for travel. It would take quite a smash to penetrate the wooden box to do any damage. And it has it's own power supply, never have to worry about batteries.

Color, range, and rate controls, very simple. You can easily adjust the rate control to sound good with a wide range of music, it's so sensitive you can really customize it to your sound. Has input, and a separate direct and flanged output, which is convenient.

My only problem is that there is no LED! It has true bypass, but I have to remember whether the pedal is engaged or not. Maybe I'm missing something here but I've never seen an effects pedal without an LED or at least some sort of indicator which shows when the pedal is engaged. So I can only give it a 9 for that reason.

This is the best flanger around, period. keep all the controls at 9-10 o'clock and it makes any guitar sound fuller, no matter the style of rock. Keep the rate and color low, and it adds a very subtle but awesome sound to your acoustic guitar.

I agree with someone who commented that it almost sounds like a rotating speaker effect(Leslie). Turn all the knobs up to around 9 or 10 o'clock and you'll get a spaced-out, trippy sound that I LOVE. play this with moderate distortion, high color and 3/4 rate and you're playing 'Any Color you Like' from Dark Side of the Moon. This has got to be the flanger Gilmour used for that track. Will also give you the warm sound of Andy Summers/Police.

Worth every penny. An essential part of my rig, I add it to almost any lead guitar part i'm playing. Adds so much to a basic clean sound that i rarely turn it off. Don't like it for 95% of my loud distortion riffs, solos, although when added it does sound almost exactly like the distorion on Pink Floyd's "The Wall"***.

***with the definite exception of 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Another Brick in the Wall pt.II'---these songs have 2 completely unique sounds).

Bottom line, in my opinion best flanger around, and most versatile. I am only giving it a 9 because there is no damn LED - I don't get it. But this pedal rules nonetheless.

Very easy pedal. Like all stomp boxes, plug it in, mover around the knobs to where you like it and thats it. the knobs are very clearly marked. Its very straightforward.

im running this through furman board with all vintage effects to my boogie amp. ive got an echoplex, original doctor q, original mxr dyna comp, original phase 90, ce-2, boss dd-20 and the mistress with a bunch of other stuff(not in that order). Ive read rewiews saying that people get noise from it. This is a very quiet pedal. The older ones are very noisey (the ones in the big muff style casing). I am a huge Police fan. Andy Summers is by far my favorite guitarist. at first i tryed recreating his big sound with the boss bf-2 flanger and it wasnt happening. Stay away from that thing. It sounds like a pulse, not a sweep. Their new phase shifter is also horendous if you like warm effects. But this pedal with a vintage mxr dyna comp sounds amazing. Its like haveing Andy Summers tools at your feet, since this is exactly what he used. THis pedal also gets a cool leslie sound which surprised me!

i would definitely gig with this. I was sceptical about buying another ehx pedal since ive used the old 70's muff and doctor q because they were known to use very crappy parts on the vintage ones. This is very strong. Built like a tank

Ive never dealt with the company, yet.

i play mostly reggae and Police esque stuff. This is theee ONLY flanger to buy. ITs by far the best. Ive Been playing for five years but have alot of knowledge of vintage gear and music because my dad was a musician and im always learning and using his vintage efects he had as a kid. I would definitely buy a new one if it were stolen. The Filter Matrix is pretty cool but again, this with the OLD mxr dyna comp sounds amazing.(ive compared many old mxr pedals to newer dunlop-made mxr pedals and the new ones are pretty bad. dont try puting a new phase 90 through the send return of you amp) Ive compared this to the bf 2 and3, a bunch of other stuff but i always knew summers used this one and i had to buy it. THis is the best investment on an effect ive made ever, next to the echoplex.

Very versitle easy use though!

The most important right! I get a glassy tone with this jewel. It can be used as a chorus or flanger/phaser. I use it as flanger. Crisp and clear with no loss of tone (clean or distorted). True bypass! What more could you ask for. The only other flanger that I found to be better is that reissure dunlop flanger. That jewel has this regeneration knob that does some weird pych stuff (Think the cure ). I love my eh though . It's probably the only eh i wasn't dissapointed in. I would advise staying away from boss,dod,etc in a flanger.

no problems so far. Just don't do anything stupid.

pych rock. floyd, tool, the cure, my bloody valentine.
I use it in a few original songs. I've been playing about 12 years.