Modulation

Phaser

A 2 to 12-stage phaser with feedback.

Get the pack Manual, PDF

Phaser window — Phaser, the main screen.

Overview

The swirling notches of a phaser: more stages, more notches.

Getting started

Choose the number of stages on the left, set Frequency, Rate and Depth.

Controls

Stages	2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12.
Rate, Depth	Speed and width of the sweep, up to two octaves each way.
Frequency	The sweep’s centre, 100 Hz to 4 kHz.
Feedback	Deepens the notches.
Spread	The sides out of step.
Mix	Phaser against dry.

Settings

The gear in the header opens the settings panel; it covers the lower panel until the gear is clicked again.

Shape

Sine or Triangle LFO.

Phaser: Phaser, the settings panel. — Phaser, the settings panel.

What the screen shows

The phaser’s response now, moving with the LFO.

Tips

Four stages and slow rate: the classic gentle phase on keys.

Technical notes

Changing the number of stages crossfades, so it never clicks.

Common to every plugin

The header	Every window opens with the same header. On the left a dot-matrix display shows the main reading large and the details under it; text that does not fit scrolls. Next to it a hint with a coloured dot says what the plugin is doing or what to do next. On the right: Undo and Redo arrows (up to 100 steps of everything done in the window), the Bypass button, and the gear, which opens the plugin's settings panel when it has one.
Bypass	With Bypass lit, the plugin lets the sound through untouched. It is the same switch as your DAW's own bypass for the plugin, so either can be used and automated. The input is held back by exactly the plugin's latency, so the timing stays right, and switching fades over 10 ms, so it never clicks. Bypass is not part of Undo.
Input and Output	Most plugins have a column on the right with a pair of VU meters for the input and the output, each with its own gain knob (plus or minus 24 dB). Analog shows the classic VU scale, dBFS the digital one. A click on a meter opens a large view of it. The CLIP lamp lights when a sample reaches 0 dBFS.
Knobs	Drag a knob up or down to turn it. Knobs that go both ways, or that have a natural middle, catch briefly at their centre. A double-click returns a knob to its default.
About and the demo	A click on the xsidfx logo in the footer opens About. In the demo version the plugin's name ends in (demo), its settings are not saved with your project, and About opens each time the window does.