Pearl PH44 Phaser

This unit is simply a phaser. You can tweak it alot, but with 6 buttons, its a bit too confusing for such a simple effect - it doesnt need it. 2 or even 3 setting would have been fine. it also has 2 foot switches and a jack for a 3rd one. Too much monkey business...

I use mostly older effects (I like vintage stuff) I have had Pearl stuff here and there mostly because it was cheap to buy second hand. Some of their pedals sound OK, but Ive had some that have sounded downright stinky - best to try before you buy. I had an overdrive by them that I gave away because no matter how much tweaking you did on all those knobs, it usually sounded like crap. settings are hard to duplicate on these pedals too because theyre so tweakable.
With that said, I think the phaser sounds OK, but nothing special. I'd prefer two knobs to twist, and an outrageous sound - something like a Small stone. This Pearl is a whole different animal and i'm not sure its worth the fuss going through the process of reading what each knob does every time I want to change the sound a little. I also dont want to give you the idea that you can get this whole spectrum of weird sounds out of it just because it has a bunch of knobs... in the end, a phaser is a phaser is a phaser - you get the idea! I have heard better. If you can get one really cheap (like for pocket change)you might dig it for a while, but in the end you'll probably wind up buying something better (we all do). I'm sure there's a reason the Pearl stuff never really caught on, maybe its because they're a drum company. I always got the impression that beginners bought them when they were new...

The housing is metal and seems strong, but the knobs are the plastic type that make you wonder if you are going to break or lose them... They look cool though. I'll say one thing though, I have never had a Pearl pedal stop working for me though - Then again, I didnt like them enough to use and abuse them... Ever wonder why they're still in such good shape when you come across them 15 years after they were made?

How long did Pearl last? Hmmmm....

Like I said, they are OK if you just like to hack around... Most people seem to inherit Pearl pedals from other people they know who gave up playing or have moved onto other pedals.

the ph-44 have a five knobs (input, manual, feedback, slow speed and fast speed) ist not than ease of use like small stone phaser (only one knob!) the dificulty for me ist and don'n remember the positions of the knobs (no more cannabis!!!) i find great and gorgeus sound but after i don't remember the f.. positions.
have a two swicht: effect on/of and slow/fast speed
mono input stereo output
additional in for other footswicht (ditto swicht include in pedal)
18 f..cking volt transformer or two batteries (shit!)

these is my setup:
first my lovely epiphone (made whit pride and joy for children between 2 to 7 years in taiwan)cherry guitar after (as heaven will be my witness) boss oc-1, crybaby wha-wha, xxl distortion, boss sd-1, boss ds-1
whammy wha(qui wha?), pearl ph-44, dod digital delay-sampler(4 sec.) and dod vibrothang. all powered (excep the whammy and ph-44) by a custom "pailamilla" transformer (9 volt 1 ampere) all conected to my lovely epiphone (made in.....)25 watts amp (he is a treasure)
for live performance i use a peavy transtube bandit (80 watts) (kicking ass of the tube).
the sound fo this beauty (ph-44) ist like kiss the mayor lipps of Laetitia Casta (on heat)mmmmmm...soft and warm (shut the door in the face to f...ing digital multishit) very deep and versatile sounds. in stereo setting ist very spacial. id liked the posibility of a swicht filter like small stone (for most deepper sound)
the more interesting parameter is a manual knob, i used
a friend like slave for moving these knob while i playing or recording (thankyou yan-yan!). i planing use a volumen pedal for control "manual" but half a loaf is better than none (thankyou yan-yan!!).the "manual" knobe move the phase of sound (very, very psycodelic sound).

ist a tank! indestructible
after the total destruction of the planet the E.T. to collide whit pearl and boss pedals floatig in the space!

pearl pedals today? yes only drum pedals.

i played diferent rock stile from the spider Mick ro?onson to monster guitarrist kincho lopez (great influence in my country Chile, he played in Astrolabio band) also R.A.T.M. tom morello, Jimmi hendrix, cream, clapton etc. its a great inspiration for me.
these pedal its so great and distinguished like small stone or other classic phasers.
and sorry for my inglish i talk a rare inca dialect

the ph-44 have a five knobs (input, manual, feedback, slow speed and fast speed) ist not than ease of use like small stone phaser (only one knob!) the dificulty for me ist and don'n remember the positions of the knobs (no more cannabis!!!) i find great and gorgeus sound but after i don't remember the f.. positions.
have a two swicht: effect on/of and slow/fast speed
mono input stereo output
additional in for other footswicht (ditto swicht include in pedal)
18 f..cking volt transformer or two batteries
(shit!)

this is my setup:
first my lovely epiphone (made whit pride and joy for children between 2 to 7 years in taiwan)cherry guitar after (as heaven will be my witness) boss oc-1, crybaby wha-wha, xxl distortion, boss sd-1, boss ds-1
whammy wha(qui wha?), pearl ph-44, dod digital delay-sampler(4 sec.) and dod vibrothang. all powered (excep the whammy and ph-44) by a custom "pailamilla" transformer (9 volt 1 ampere) all conected to my lovely epiphone (made in.....)25 watts amp (he is a treasure)
for live performance i use a peavy transtube bandit (80 watts) (kicking ass of the tube).
the sound fo this beauty (ph-44) ist like kiss the mayor lipps of Laetitia Casta (on heat)mmmmmm...soft and warm (shut the door in the face to f...ing digital multishit) very deep and versatile sounds. in stereo setting ist very spacial. id liked the posibility of a swicht filter like small stone (for most deepper sound)
the more interesting parameter is a manual knob, i used
a friend like slave for moving these knob while i playing or recording (thankyou yan-yan!). i planing use a volumen pedal for control "manual" but half a loaf is better than none (thankyou yan-yan!!).the "manual" knobe move the phase of sound (very, very psycodelic sound).

ist a tank! indestructible
after the total destruction of the planet the E.T. to collide whit pearl and boss pedals floatig in the space!

pearl pedals today? yes only drum pedals.

i played diferent rock stile from the spider Mick ro?onson to monster guitarrist kincho lopez (great influence in my country Chile, he played in Astrolabio band) also R.A.T.M. tom morello, Jimmi hendrix, cream etc. its a great inspiration for me.
these pedal its so great and distinguished like small stone or other classic phasers.
and sorry for my inglish i talk a rare inca dialect

Strictly for the more educated! Instead of the MXR/EH one knob-approach pearl gives you six knobs: input,manual, feedback,.depth, speed (slow) speed (fast). Two switches: On/off and 'speed' that alternates between fast and slow settings. So you have real comtrol over aparameters, but not the foolproof method. Anything can go wrong and since this thing can go real deep and really really fast you could become seasick... Works on 2 batteries: 18 volt

Not really noisy. Slight background hiss -not a bad thing with phase/flange. The sound is very good. High standard pasing: deep and intense. With the manual knob you can adjust the sound from darker to brighter. Thsi thing gives a lot of high quality phasesounds. When youn change from slow to fast settings, the speed increases gradually -great. Not all settings sound great at both speeds, though!!

looks very good wellbuild strong box. should be no problem, except maybe for the in/outputs -they are hardwired to the main PCB. But the PCB is wellsecured.

No they make no fx anymore

A very good sounding phaser! In mono it 's quiet and very deep and lush. It is toprank, Pearl holds it's own next to the great Small Stone -though that is much easier to use. In stereo (it is stereo!) it is absolutely fantastic as its superwide modulation sweeps are really hypnotising. Modulation at it's best! Especially when you let it ascend/descend in speed...