Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Mk4

I got it from a music shop down in london.
I think it was around £80 ($90-$110).

The "plug and play" type model has a brilliant sounding chorus which is great if you play in a bluesy type band.

The adapter for the pedal probably does'nt exist anymore and wear shoes because the switch does your foot in. You have to screw the bottom open to put the battery in.

Hard, lasted around 30 years, still in production.

Overall, good pedal, good construction and great sound. If you like the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan use's the E.H Small Stone.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Electro harmonics nano small stone phaser pedal is very like the MXR pedals. This one has a single control knob that just takes the effected phaser signal all the way up to pulsating signal. It's very simple design and extremely easy to use in overall it's a very cool pedal. The casing itself is right along the lines of the rest of the Electro harmonics product lines. It's just a simple silver or gray box as a usually use on many other other products. You also get a small little switch that changes the voice on this box. You can play around with this switch to better color your tone to you amp, effect pedals, and instrument. This pedal is one of the original boxes that they used with their effects series pedals. They has since re-sized the box to a smaller one which fits on the pedal board much easier. All the same tone and feel is in this box as the smaller ones.

UTILIZATION


This box goes more in line with the boxes EI uses for their Big Muff distortion/fuzz pedals. This is a very simple design as it only has a single control knob switch and a single color switch. This case itself is very small and fits pretty easily on any pedal board or rack unit. You don't really need a manual because it has one switch and one control an knob and any monkey could probably figure out how to use this devise.

SOUND QUALITY

The only reason to buy this one over the compact is that this looks like the old EI products. If you like the tone of the original MXR phasers then you will like the sound of this effect. They don't sound that great in a clean setting but when you give it some distortion then it really get a very usable and cool sound. If you have ever listened to any early Van Halen album then you have probably heard a phaser in action. Of course it wasn't this particular model but the sound is the same. It i a cool pedal to have on your pedal board to use sparingly but not all the time.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall this is a very cool pedal to own and I think every guitar player should own one of these at some point . Whether that be this one of another the phaser pedal is very usable and very fun to play with. This pedal is a very good quality item and at the price new you can't really beat that. You can find them for right at around 480 which is an excellent price for this unit.

This is a phase effect made by one of my favorite companies, Electro-Harmonix. It's an analog pedal that has been around for decades. It doesn't have any Mac/PC capabilities, and isn't MIDI-controlled or rackable.

UTILIZATION

The editing on this pedal couldn't be simpler. There's the basic 1/4" in and out. There's a knob that allows you to change the rate of phase shift. There's also a switch that changes between two color modes, which each have their own unique properties.

SOUND QUALITY

I like using this with my old-school setup, my Strat and Fender Twin. I like this phase because it has a classic vibe that I've heard in later Zeppelin and Floyd songs. These are some of the only records, along with a few other from their era, that actually have a phaser sound that isn't cheesy to my ears. This pedal has true bypass, so when it's off, it doesn't color your sound at all. It gives it a sound that will give your amp a color that isn't typical in phasers nowadays. It's a lot warmer and less "futuristic" sounding than you'd expect. It also doesn't make the sound "muddy" at all, which is what I hate in most phaser/chorus/flanger type effects. It's a bit more drastic than the phase 90, yet still doesn't go over the top. I've been able to emulate so many classic tones with it that I can't even count them all. Sometimes when cranked, it produces a little too much ambient noise for my taste, but this is easily avoided.

OVERALL OPINION

I like the fact that this pedal isn't particularly expensive (around $75 usually). I think that for that price, it's not a bad deal at all. I sometimes would prefer this to my usual go-to, the phase 90, when recording guitars (the Phase 90 is better all-around). The warmth and range you get with this can really be inspiring. I would be tempted to use this often, especially since it reminds me so much of Jimmy Page. I'm sure many people would find plenty to like in this pedal.

(Originally written by charlou la fouine/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Analog phaser.

It's great if you're looking for a phaser, so I give it a 10...

If you're not looking for a phaser, it's not the right tool ...

UTILIZATION

The configuration is too complicated. I had to call NASA engineers to get some help and we spent three months finding out how to turn a knob and depress a switch...

The possibilities are very limited for people who like to experiment, but if you're one of those you'd better buy a factory not this pedal. With this pedal there's only one way to go!

SOUND QUALITY

Good and warm effect but with some volume loss... This is the weakest point of the pedal...

I use it with my Flying V and my Yamaha RGX 620DZ connected to an Ashdown 60DSP amp head and it works pretty good... Except for the irritating level drop...

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for two years and I think it's a good phaser for people who want to try out this sort of effect. If you want more than that buy another tool (especially considering the level loss which is unbearable)... I hadn't tried out many other phasers before so it's a getting-to-know thing for me and in that sense it's ok...

A bulky effect pedal with average value for money. I don't think I would buy it again because I want another phaser sound, but I recommend it anyway...

One last tip to wrap it up: if you depress the switch and turn the control fully up you get a very funny "bubble" effect which is great to anger your bandmates during rehearsals.