Ross Phaser

Two knobs and a switch. 'Recycle' (depth), and 'Rate'. Couldn't be simpler.

Really nice. The sound is thick and warm. It doesn't have the irritating volume drop of a EHX Small Stone, and much less of a one-trick pony than a MXR Phase 90. Like all Ross pedals, it's similar to an MXR, but with improvements. It can do nice and subtle, and massively saturated and wooshy. It has a lovely analogue sound, INFINITELY better than a digitech digital number I used for a while. It probably doesn't sound as good or do as much as a Mutron or a Moogerfooger, but I wouldn't know, I've never tried them. I have a black Taiwanese one, but I can't imagine the US versions being much better (although I bemoan the absence of an internal trimpot to tweak). It has one drawback in sound - NEVER use it with an adapter, it sounds pretty rubbish. Unless using a battery it sounds much thinner and does a strange ring modulator type noise at the lowest point its cycle. This can be useful when looking for funny noises, but it makes for a pretty crap phaser. With a battery however, it's nigh on perfect. Sounds much deeper when thhrough a valve amp too.

Built like a rock, and I don't see any need for a backup. I have a couple of niggles with it - because of the recessed knobs (great when you're stamping on it) it is practically impossible to take to bits. Also the little rubber feet and the screws they are on keep falling out, which is indescribably irritating.

Sadly Mr Ross has passed on.

So much cheaper than the bigger names, and better than all the other phasers I've tried. I haven't tried any really fancy ones, but they'd have to work pretty hard to beat this.

fairly easy two knob operation similar to a chorus pedal

Sound quality is the key here. I own an orange model. I would have to give this thing a 10. The words lush, buttery, organic, come to mind. This is a true phaser pedal that will mezmerize your audience with it's warm dynamic
swirls and depth. Another great thing is that the swirls are silent when you are not playing. This truly amazed me for a pedal on ebay that sold for a 100 bucks. I am a true beleiver in the best bang for the buck in stomp boxes. (i would also so recommend the boss ce-2 for a chorus pedal $75-$100 + robert keeley mod)

I do have one problem with mine. I hope i may get help from this review. I get a pop with engaging and disengaging the effect. If anyone has delt with this problem please email me @ g_capel@hotmail.com . I would rather know how to fix it than open a can of worms trouble shooting it myself. I would think i could put a bleed resistor from the return and ground, but im not familiar with the ross pedals.

If you have ears you can use this, (I guess a brain would help to).

It has an extremly thick, wide and sweet sound for a compact phaser. I purchased the black version as the orange ones where going for silly money on the e-bay and I absolutely love it. It is totally silent when turned off. The only reason I did not give it a 9 was there is a very (and I mean VERY!) minute gain drop when turned on. Plenty of different usable sounds from this li'l honey ranging from vibesque madness, to wonderful clucky subtleties that funk up rhythym parts soooooo nicely!

Its almost 20 years old and still kicking so it gets full marks.

n/a

In addition to the sweet tone, the typical nuclear bomb shelter design/construction of the Ross case deserves mention. As well, the trim pot allows you to further tailor its voicing. Gotta say this thing is the bees knees on the bang for the buck level. If you are a phase nut, try this one or the Mutron phasor II which kills this thing, but comparing the two would be like comparing a Ferrari to a Mustang.

This pedal is very simple - 2 big, chunky black pots in a cast-aluminum case, 1 for rate and another for recycle, plus the typical Carling-type bypass footswitch.

The sound is classic phaser, everything from a light, almost chorus-y sound to flange-like wooshing. It's pretty straight-forward to dial in the sound you want, although if you're going for an exact phase rate for tempo-matching or something you'll have to dork around with it a bit.

I play this with my '67-69 Danelectro Dane (?) (original lipsticks!) and a late-'70s Ampeg VT-40.

The phaser does have a bit of background hiss, but that's the nature of the beast with phasers. The sound is distinctly yummy.

This pedal is built like a tank. I would plan on using it after dropping it out of a Jeep at 70mph. (No, I would never actually do that to this pedal.)

As far as I know, they no longer exist.

I bought it from a buddy - thus the rock-bottom price.

This was my first effects box, and it'll quite likely be the last to go if I ever sell my gear. It's wierd, funky, and I love it.

Two knobs, rate and recycle (depth). Extremely easy to use.

This is the best sounding phaser that I've ever heard, period. Bar none. I have the black Taiwanese version. Man I'd love to hear the orange one if the black one sounds this good! Most phases sound like they just add a phasing signal on top of the dry signal. This one sounds like it's taking the actual signal and phasing it around, like a true phaser is supposed to. I can't begin to describe how heavenly this thing sounds.

The casing is really thick and the knobs are recessed. It seems very sturdy. The friend that I aquired it from used it for several years, and it never gave him any problems.

Can't really say, seeing how Ross went out of business years ago.

What a kickass phaser.....I would definetly get another if it was lost or stolen. I love this thing. If you're looking for a phaser, nothing else out there comes even close. Screw the Small Stone, especially. Look for one of these instead.

this is a very simple pedal to use in that it only ha two knobs, but like all good phasers a bit of tinkering will be required to find your sound. that said within aout 5 minutes of knob-twiddling i found my dream sound.

i play an old battered us tele with a dimarzio at the bridge, thru an ibanez fat cat, the ross phaser and a boss dd3, into a selmer treble'n'bass 50. this pedal fits my rig perfectly, doesnt make any noises it shouldnt and doesnt colour my tone either. i use it more than i really should, but it just sound so damn good! paired up with the fat cat it produces the smoothest phase imaginable, really deep and wild. i play everything from garage rock to psychedelia and this is the perfect phaser for me.

damn right i'd rely on it. i've used the same gear (except the dd3) for 10 years, and its wasnt even new when i bought it!

no idea, i think they are no more

i have tried mxr, boss, and electro harmonix phasers and nothing even comes close to this pedal. i cant imagine not using it, in fact i recently bought a second one on ebay (which at #90 i consider a bargain!!) i dont know what ele to ay other than the FACT that thi i the greatest phaser EVER!!!!

two recessed knobs, one for depth and one for recycle. very simple to get the desiered sound out of. i picked this up in a straight swop for one of those terrible zoom boxes....what a result!! this is one of the old orange ones, i think it's US.

i use this like so : gordon-smith SG> boss ds1>tubescreamer>ross phaser>boss flanger>carlsbro 50 top. it's quiet when off, sounds great either on it's own or with distortion. i've used a boss super-phaser before, but found it very harsh and over-bearing, but the ross is much more suble and analogue sounding. i play sabbath/stooges dirt rock, and this pedal is perfect for a cool spacey sound. works equally well on riffs or solos. lovely!

havent gigged it yet, but construction seems sound. i guess it's 20 years old, and it's in good nick. sturdy metal casing, and the knobs are recessed, so i'll be confident to take it on-stage.

i think the company is no more. any other reviewers know anything about them?

this is the best phaser i've uesd, it certainly blows away the boss and dod! i collect pedals, and this one will be staying in my collection. it's so smooth and subtle that i can see it fitting into any style of playing. hard to find (this was the first one i'd seen), but a recommended buy.

2 nobs...

Well, nothing gets a 10, right? GREAT phaser though. I have owned a great deal of modulation effects and this pedal really shines.

MXR Phase 90, ok this pedal have more control...
Small Stone, no volume drop...
BOSS/DOD/Other mass produced phasers, ha ha ha the ROSS has a full, non sterile sound (yeah I'm looking at all you green BOSS pedals! lol )
Multieffects, next....

So in conclusion, is latin dead, oh sorry that was another speach....(if you know from what movie email me, I would like to talk with you!)


Good sound. A Keeper...

Looks sturdy, feels nice

Hmmmm.... nope

Great sound! 9 is as high as I go!

Two knobs and one footswitch. It has a a rate knob and a recycle knob. Enough said.

This is a very beautiful sounding phaser. It is one of the orange USA made phasers. I imagine the Tiawanese pedals were the same pedals with different paint and cheaper labor, but I've never tried one. It gets a very warm, rich sound. Here is what I did. Inside there is a trim pot. I am not quite sure if it is a depth control, tone control, or possibly a delay time control. After tweaking it a bit, I got a more fluid sound. I tried it next to my rotovibe pedal, and it has a vibey sound when teaked. Overall, you can't go wrong with one of these old phasers. I'm giving it a nine because there is always something nicer like a Moogerfooger.

This is way solid. It is built like a tank. I have heard that for some reason these pedals were MXR knockoffs. I can't speak for the sound totally, since I don't have a Phase 90 or 100, but If so, then, Ross didn't emulate crap so more power to them. The design of the box is unique in that it has recessed knobs, which are safe from clumsey feet. The box slopes down in front for easier switching, or it at least looks cool. This pedal is sturdy and running strong after 20 plus years.

Ross is no longer with us.

I play mostly power based bluesy guitar God rock this week, although I may start playing prog rock next week. I like a large amount of distortion, echo, swirlet stuff and loads of wah. I own too much gear to go into complete detail, but in a nutshell: Trace Elliot TVT9 rack preamp, Boss GX-700, MXR Digital Delay II, Roland RE301 tape delay, Ibanez AD202 Analogue delay, EH Electric Mistress, EH Frquency Analyzer, Rotovibe, Morley Bad Horsey wah, Old chrome Morley fuzz wah, Old thomas Organ Crybaby etc. etc. I beleive that Ross is a sleeper company. They made really good products from what I know and hear. You can pick these pedals up cheap, and get a great tone. I am giving it a ten since I notice the words, fantastic value, appear in the little scroll thing. It is a fantastic value. The Ross phaser is a much more than adequate phaser. I used to own a Boss Ph-2, which sounded sterile in comparison. The Ross is very lush. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another. I thought of getting an old Mutron as a main phaser but I beleive this sounds as good as if not better then most any old analogue phaser out there. I used to own a script phase 90; and while I don't have it here to compare, I cannot day it sounded better than the Ross as best as I can recall.

One footswitch and two knobs. One know is for rate, one is for recycle. Depth is constant. Easy to use because it sounds good no matter how it's set.

I use various guitars through a couple of vox valvetone pedals (which are awesome, I use two)a crybaby wah,the ross, a small stone, and an akai headrush which is also very cool. It all goes into a crate VC50 with 2 twelves. The whole set up sounds pretty damn good. The ross was originally purchased when my small stone broke and was in the shop for a year and a half. Without the two side by side, I figuered that it would just be a back up and when I got the small stone back it would be sold or put on the shelf. Not so. This thing is damn cool and it holds its own next to any phaser out there. A mellower sound then the small stone, bright and shimmery especially with high recycle levels. Not so weird but more of a phase 100 put through the wash to clean up the sound. Absolutely pristine and beautiful. Adds to the sound but doesn't take anything away. Slight background noise when on, does not effect the signal at all when off. Great variations are possible with this effect. Wonderfully useful and good. Makes a boss pedal sound fake. I sometimes combine this with the small stone for ultra weirdness. Doesn't effect your wah sound, which is a problem for some phasers.

When I bought it, it apparently had a crack in the circuit board but still worked. That should tell you something. I accidently blew it out one day by inserting a reverse polarity power supply (this will kill any vintage pedal). But I sent it to the shop and it was back in a week. Incidently, this, like many other vintage pedals, is very hard to repair. Most shops won't touch it. But the casing is very solid die cast metal painted orange. It was made 20 years ago and still sounds great. As far as gigging without a backup, this thing is my backup for my far more intense small stone.

Do they even exist? No warranties for pedals this old.

This is a very versital pedal. You can probably use this for just about anything except straight ahead country. I like it better than the MXRs that I've tried, although I have never used a script phase 90. If you see one, definitely pick it up. They are cheap used, and they sound great. And they are bright, bright orange.