Virtuoso Phaser

Vintage 1971 phaser with balls

 

   

 

The Virtuoso Phaser rack effect module compares to the original Maestro MP-1 phaser pedal.  Yup, the big, built-like-a-tank black and silver one with foot-wheel controls for Speed and Balls.  This is likely the phaser sound used in early Rush, Led Zeppelin, and other early ‘70s tunes.  Also used by Billy Corgan on Siamese Dreams and undoubtedly numerous other players over the last 50+ years.

 

Description

When the Maestro MP-1 phaser was released in 1971, the guitar pedal market was just developing.  Not many pedals were available, but that was soon to change.  While details about equipment used for specific songs and albums that far back is a bit sketchy, just due to the low number of effects available at the time, you can deduce that the MP-1 was likely the phaser used for many early 70’s recordings.  The first MXR phasers were released soon after the MP-1, which makes it hard to be certain though.  Since the MP-1 was only available for a short time before Maestro produced other phaser models, they are only available as rather pricey vintage units.  The MXR phasers are still produced today, however.  So, if you are trying to recreate 70’s tones with the MXR phasers and it isn’t quite right, the Virtuoso may be what you need.  Regardless of its 70’s tone, it is still a great-sounding phaser and could set your tone apart a little bit from others using more commonly available phasers today.

The Virtuoso is a 6-stage phaser with a control for the Speed of the phasing and a Balls control which adjusts the mix of wet and dry signal to change the intensity of the phasing effect.  You can go from very slow and subtle to quick and seasick.  The Virtuoso stays close to the original MP-1 design and sounds much the same as the MP-1.

 

Configurations

  • Virtuoso Phaser - Compares to Maestro MP-1 phaser

 

Options

  • Flashing LED - Add an LED that flashes with the Rate

 

Front Panel

  • On/Off indicator LED
  • Speed
  • Balls
  • rate LED (optional)

 

Rear Panel

  • Audio In
  • Audio Out
  • On/Off Footswitch
  • On/Off Override
  • DC Power
  • DC Power LED

 

Module Width

  • 1.5" standard
  • 2" left wing and 1.5" right wing available 

 

Power Consumption (aprox)

15 - 20mA

 

Base Configurations

Part # Description List Price
MOD-VIRTUOSO Virtuoso Phaser module $245

 

Options

Part # Description List Price
MOPT-VIRTUOSO-LED Flashing rate LED $19