Thomann 353890 Empress Effects Phaser User Manual

Thomann 353890 Empress Effects Phaser

Specifications

• Product Name: Phaser
• Intended Use: Enhancing guitar tones in live performances and studio recordings
• Manufacturer: Empress Effects
• Website: www.empresseffects.com

Product Usage Instructions

Safety Guidelines
Before using the Phaser pedal, ensure you follow these safety guidelines:

• Danger for Children: Dispose of plastic bags and packaging properly to keep them out of reach of babies and  young children. Avoid choking hazards by ensuring children do notdetach small parts like knobs.
• Electrical Shock: Inspect the pedal for exposed wires or damaged components before use to prevent the risk of electrical shock. Seek professional repair if damage is detected.
• Power Supply Issues: Use the correct voltage and current for the pedal’s power supply to prevent damage and safety risks. Avoid overheating by not stacking pedals or placing them in confined spaces.
• Tripping Hazard: Secure cables and place the pedal firmly to prevent tripping accidents.
• Volume Spikes: Be cautious of sudden volume spikes when adjusting pedal settings.
• Allergies or Sensitivities: Some materials used in the pedal may cause reactions. Discontinue use and seek medical advice if needed.
• Fire Hazard: Keep the pedal away from direct heat sources and open flames to prevent fire hazards.

Product Contents
The Phaser pedal package includes:

• Introduction manual
• Quick Start guide

Quick Start Guide
To quickly start using the Phaser pedal, follow these steps:

1. Set the knobs and switches to match the provided picture.
2. If the blue bypass LED is off, press the bypass switch to engage the phaser.

Phaser Settings
The Phaser pedal features the following settings:

• Stages: Selects the number of all-pass poles. Choose between 2-pole, 4-pole, and 3-pole settings for different phaser effects.
• Speed Range: Controls the range of speeds available on the speed/ratio knob.
• Mode: Set to control the speed using either tap or knob. Choose auto mode for dynamic phaser control based onaudio input.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Q: Where can I find further information about the Phaser pedal?
  A: Visit our website at www.empresseffects.com for detailed information, including downloads, keyword search functionality, and customer support details.

• Q: What should I do if I encounter sudden loud noises while using the Phaser?
  A: If you experience sudden loud noises, check the pedal settings and connections. Adjust the settings to reduce the noise level. If the issue persists, contact our Customer Support team for assistance.

• Q: Can I use the Phaser pedal with other instruments besides guitars?
  A: While the Phaser pedal is primarily designed for enhancing guitar tones, it can be experimented with other instruments to explore different sound effects. However, ensure proper compatibility and adjustments for optimal performance.

Phaser
User Manual

Further Information

On our website (www.empresseffects.com) you will find lots of further information and details on the following points:

Download
This manual is also available as a PDF file for you to download.
Keyword Search
Use the search function in the electronic version of this manual to find your topics of inteterest quickly.
Customer Support
If you have any problems with the device our Customer Support team will gladly assist you.

Symbols and Signal Words

immediate dangerous situation that will result in death or serious injury if it is not avoided
CAUTION!| This combination of symbol and signal word indicates a possible dangerous situation that can result in minor injury if it is not avoided.
NOTICE!| This combination of symbol and signal word indicates a possible dangerous situation that can result in material and environmental damage if it is not avoided.
Warning Signs| Type of Danger
---|---
| General warning sign
| Electricity Hazard
| Hot Surface
| Sudden Loud Noises

Intended Use
This pedal is designed for enhancing guitar tones in live performances and studio recordings. Use as outlined in the user manual. The manufacturer is not liable for damages resulting from improper use or use under non-recommended conditions.

Safety

**| DANGER! Danger for children**

Dispose of plastic bags and packaging properly to keep them out of reach of babies and young children to prevent choking hazards. Ensure children don’t detach small parts like knobs to avoid choking. Never leave children unattended with electrical devices.

---|---
**| DANGER! Electrical shock**

Risk of electrical shock from exposed wires or damaged components. Inspect pedals for damage before use. If damaged, stop use and seek professional repair.

**| DANGER! Power Supply Issues**

Use the right voltage and current for your pedal’s power supply to prevent damage and safety risks. Check the power supply’s condition, and for multiple pedals, opt for a dedicated supply to avoid overloading by daisy-chaining.

**| CAUTION! Overheating**

Avoid overheating. Do not stack pedals or place in confined spaces. If a pedal overheats, stop using and let it cool.

**| CAUTION! Tripping Hazard / Pedal Placement**

Prevent tripping: Secure cables and place pedals firmly to avoid slips and falls.

**| CAUTION! Volume Spikes**

Beware of volume spikes and unexpected sounds when adjusting pedal settings

**| NOTICE! Allergies or Sensitivities**

Allergy Alert: Some pedal materials, like adhesives and coatings, may cause reactions. Stop use and seek medical advice if needed.

---|---
**| NOTICE! Fire Hazard**

Keep away from direct heat and open flames.

Introduction
The Empress Phaser was designed to give you maximum control in a small, manageable package. We’ve combined features that will enable you to realize all your phasing dreams.
You’ll recognize the tap feature from our other pedals. And, with the Empress Phaser, we’ve also introduced the universal control port. Now you can control your phaser from a control voltage (CV), an expression pedal, an external audio input, external tap switch, or via MIDI.
Under the hood we’ve included a couple switches which allow you to change the pedal’s configuration. There’s a switch to enable a vibrato mode and a switch that adds some pleasing harmonics to the signal if clean and pristine isn’t your thing.
To help you get the most out of this product, we’ve put up some brief instructional videos on our website: www.empresseffects.com

Quick Start

Set the knobs and switches to match the picture above. If the blue bypass LED is not already lit, press the bypass switch to engage the phaser.

Operating Modes

The Phaser has three modes: knob mode, tap mode and auto mode.

• Knob mod e: The speed of the phaser is set with the speed knob and the speed range switch. The fastest speed range will give you ring modulator type sounds.
• Tap mode: The speed is set by tapping in a tempo with the tap stomp switch. The speed of the effect will be the tapped tempo, multiplied by the ratio set using the ratio knob. For example, if you set the ratio knob at 1:2, the speed of the phaser will be twice as fast as the tempo tapped.
• Auto mode: In auto mode, the effect parameters are changed based on how you are playing. We’ve set out an entire section in this manual to explain this very cool and deep mode. You will also find a handy reference chart printed on the front of the pedal.

Auto Mode
In auto mode, the effect parameters are changed based on how you are playing. The changes follow the envelope of the input signal, or are triggered by sudden changes in the signal volume.
Effects parameters are changed in one of two ways when you use auto mode:

1. Envelope Follower
   When following an envelope in auto mode, the pedal tracks the input volume and changes a parameter to follow the changes in the volume level. The envelope follow approach is used in submodes 1 through 4.

2. Trigger Detection
   When detecting a trigger in auto mode, the pedal tracks the signal and when a sudden, rapid increase in volume occurs, it changes the parameter from a low to high value. The kind of actions that would set off a trigger might be an aggressive strum on a guitar or a chord hit on a Rhodes. The trigger detection approach is used in submodes 5 and 6.

The Attack and Release Controls

In submodes 1 through 4, the attack switch determines how quickly the pedal reacts to an increase in input signal volume.
For example, with submode 2 selected and the attack set to fast, a sudden increase in volume will increase the phaser rate almost instantly. With the attack set to slow, it takes much longer for the speed of the effect to increase.
The release knob controls how quickly the pedal reacts to a decrease in input signal volume. Set fully counter-clockwise the release time is the fastest. Set fully clockwise the release time is the slowest.
A slower release time generally sounds a bit smoother and a faster release time, more abrupt and jarring.
In submodes 5 and 6, the attack switch sets the speed at which the parameter moves from its minimum to maximum value. The release knob sets the speed at which the parameter returns back to its starting value.

Sensitivity
The sensitivity knob controls how the pedal listens to your input signal when in auto mode. For softer input signals you should set the sensitivity to a higher value. For louder input signals it should be turned down.
In an auto mode that uses trigger detection, the red LED above the tap switch indicates that a trigger has been detected. If you find the auto mode is missing some of the triggers, increase the sensitivity. If you find the auto mode is triggering when it shouldn’t be, decrease the sensitivity.
When the pedal is in a submode that uses envelope detection the red LED above the tap switch will light up when it is detecting maximum volume. Ideally, in envelope based submodes, the LED will only light up when you’re playing your absolute loudest. This will ensure you are experiencing the full range of parameter sweep.
Setting the expression switch to ‘speed’ will allow you to control the sensitivity with an expression pedal.

The Submodes

There are eight submodes available in auto mode.

• Submode 1: Phase Shift Follows Envelope
  The center of the phase shift changes according to how loud you play. Hitting the tap switch inverts the phasing motion for a different tone.

• Submode 2: LFO On Envelope
  The speed and the center of the phasing effect are both increased as the input signal grows louder. The tap switch reverses the changes as the signal grow louder.

• Submode 3: Speed Follows Envelope (Sine Waveform)
  As the instrument signal gets louder the speed of the phasing effect increases. The waveform selected for this mode is a sine wave with a width of 50%. Press the tap switch to have the speed slow down as the instrument volume increases.
  Try the attack and release set fast so that the envelope tracking is very tight. The sensitivity controls the fastest speed that will be reached when the signal is loudest.

• Submode 4: Speed Follows Envelope (Random Waveform)
  Similar to submode 3 except it uses a random step waveform. The louder the input signal the more frequently a new speed value is chosen at random for the effect. Hitting the tap switch reverses the action so that a louder signal causes the waveform to slow down.

• Submode 5: Follow Trigger
  A peak in the volume of the input signal will trigger the effect to shift from maximum phasing to minimum phasing. Hitting the tap switch inverts the phasing motion for a different tone. The LED above the tap switch turns red when a trigger is detected.

• Submode 6: Trigger Random Level
  When a trigger is detected the amount of phase is shifted to a new, random amount. This mode sounds close to a random waveform, but the changes can be controlled and triggered by how loud you play your instrument. In this mode, the release knob determines how quickly it shifts from the current random level to the next. The attack toggle has no effect.

• Submode 7: Rhy thm Mode
  Cycle through preset rhythm patterns by turning the ratio knob. Each ratio represents a different pattern. You can change the speed of the rhythm pattern by hitting the tap stomp switch. There are five different rhythms available for you to explore. The release knob determines how quickly it shifts from the current random level to the next random level in the rhythm. Here are the different patterns:

Submode 8: Direct Control Mode
Without an expression pedal plugged in to the control port, this mode operates like submode 5, except that it triggers only when you hit the tap stomp switch. Hold down the tap switch and the sweep will keep rising to its maximum value. Release the tap switch and the sweep will return to its starting value.
If you plug an expression pedal into the control port, this submode will allow you to control the degree of phase shift with the expression pedal. The speed knob, width knob, and expression switch are ignored in this mode.

Mix/Blend and Vibrato Configuration

The Empress Phaser allows the blend knob to be configured either as a blend knob, or a mix knob.
It ships configured as a blend knob. In this configuration there is a constant amount of dry signal. As you turn the blend knob clockwise, wet signal is added in.
In mix knob mode, with the knob turned 100% clockwise, you hear only phased signal. When the knob is in this position there is no dry signal being added to the wet signal so you’ll get a vibrato type effect. The more you increase the width and speed, the more pronounced the effect becomes.
To get a regular phaser sound when the pedal is in the mix configuration, set the knob to the 12 o’clock position. This adds the dry and wet signal at equal volumes giving you maximum phase cancellation.

Changing the Mix/Blend Configuration
To change the mix/blend configuration, open up the pedal and locate the DIP switches labelled ‘BLEND’.

Harmonic Enhancement Circuit
The Empress Phaser has a clean and pristine sound by design. In some instances, a dirtier sounding phaser may be desired. To accomplish this, we’ve included a circuit which adds subtle, yet pleasing, even order harmonics to the wet signal.

Engaging the Harmonic Enhancement Circuit
Engaging the circuit can be done by opening up your phaser and locating the ‘BLEND’ dip array. Switching DIP1 on or off turns the harmonic enhancement circuit on and off accordingly.

Universal Control Port

Configuring the Control Port
The control port configuration is set using the dip-switch array inside the unit. When you open the phaser, you’ll see a set of 3 dip-switches labelled ‘CON JACK CONFIG’. On power up, the configuration will be changed to the new setting. Here’s a table of the dip settings for the various configurations:

Expression Pedal Configuration
The pedal ships in this configuration. Plug an expression pedal into the control port, and use the expression switch to select which parameter you’d like to control with the pedal. You can select speed or width when using knob and tap modes. In auto mode the speed and width switch positions will control sensitivity and release, respectively. The expression pedal varies the parameter between zero (or fully counter-clockwise) and the setting on the knob. In other words, the knob sets the maximum.
Any expression pedal used with the Empress Phaser should have:

• Tip – signal
• Ring – power
• Sleeve – ground

Control Voltage Configuration
In this configuration, width and speed parameters can be controlled by an external control voltage. The Empress Phaser works with control voltages which sweep between 0V and 5V.

External Tap Switch Configuration
In this configuration you can plug an external tap switch into the control port to set the tap time. This is useful if you have more than one tap-tempo pedal, so that you can set them all with one switch. The Empress Phaser is able to accept both latching and momentary external tap switches.

External Audio Configuration
In this configuration you can plug an audio signal into the control port to override the normal input. The auto modes will use the external audio signal to detect triggers or generate the envelope rather than the signal at the input. Try connecting a drum machine to this input.
In some cases, plugging in an external audio source may create a ground loop. If you hear hum introduced in the output signal when an external audio signal is plugged in you should lift the ground of the incoming signal.

MIDI Control
The Empress Phaser allows all of its digital parameters to be controlled via MIDI control change messages, and to have its tempo changed with MIDI clock messages. To use MIDI with your phaser you’ll have to:

1. Attach the Empress Midibox using a ¼” patch cable to the control port. This is a simple device which converts the signal on a standard MIDI cable to a ¼” cable you can plug into your phasers control port. (Not included with the phaser)
2. Configure the pedal for MIDI control by setting the internal control port dip switches to the MIDI mode.
3. Configure the unit’s MIDI channel by setting the internal dip switches labelled ‘MIDI CH’. Select a channel that won’t conflict with the other devices in your MIDI rig.

MIDI Channel Dip Configuration

Control Change Messages
The Empress Phaser can be controlled with MIDI control change messages. Almost all MIDI controllers or digital audio workstation software will be able to output these messages. Refer to your product’s documentation for help on how to do this. Below is a table that shows which MIDI control change message controls each phaser parameter.

knob completely counter clock-wise, sending 127 is equivalent to fully clock- wise.
Width/Release| 21
Waveform/AutoMode| 22| Sending a value of 1 will set it to waveform/auto-mode 1; sending 2 waveform/auto-mode 2, etc.
Mode| 23| Sending 1 will set it to tap mode, 2 knob mode, and 3 auto mode.
Speed Range/Attack| 24| Sending 1 will set it to slow, 2 medium, 3 fast.
Tap Switch| 35| Sending a value of 127 simulates the switch being pressed.

Sending a value of 0 simulates releasing the switch.

Bypass Switch| 36

Direct Control

| 40| Sending this message overrides all other digital settings (speed, width, waveform, mode) and lets you set the amount of phase shift directly with MIDI values. Sending a value of zero would correspond to minimum phase shift and 127 the maximum.

This mode would allow you to draw your own waveforms in a digital audio workstation and send them to the phaser.

Exit Direct Control| 50| Sending this message with any value will cause the pedal to exit direct control.
MIDI Clock Listener| 51| Sending a value of 0 causes the pedal to ignore MIDI Clock messages. Sending a value of 127 causes the pedal to listen for MIDI Clock messages.

By default, the pedal listens for MIDI Clock messages.

MIDI Clock (aka MIDI Beat Clock)
The Empress Phaser will respond to MIDI Clock messages when it is in tap and normal mode. MIDI Clock specifies quarter notes, subdivided into 24 MIDI Messages. Each quarter note corresponds to 1 period of the phaser’s waveform.
Warning: Changing the speed/ratio knob when MIDI clock is being sent will confuse the phaser. It will momentarily switch to the knob setting, and then switch back to the MIDI clock setting causing general chaos.

Regulatory Compliance Information

FCC (USA)
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Responsible Party in the USA
Americas Compliance Consulting LLC dba certified
1001 SW Disk Drive, Ste 250
Bend, Oregon 97702 USA
FCC_sDoC@icertifi.com
icertifi.com
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

ICES-003 (Canada)
CAN ICES-003(B) / NMB-003(B)

CE (European Union)
This declaration of conformity is issued under the sole responsibility of Empress Effects Inc- 105-62 Steacie Dr, Kanata Ontario K2K 2A9. The device identified on the front page of this manual is in conformity with the requirements of the European Union’s Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU, in accordance with the following harmonized standards:

• EN 55032:2015/A11:2020 – Electromagnetic compatibility of multimedia equipment – Emission Requirements
• EN 61000-3-2:2014 – Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) – Part 3-2: Limits – Limits for harmonic current emissions (equipment input current ≤ 16 A per phase)
• EN 61000-3-3:2013 – Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) – Part 3-3: Limits – Limitation of voltage changes, voltage fluctuations and flicker in public low-voltage supply systems, for equipment with rated current ≤ 16 A per phase and not subject to conditional connection
• EN 55035:2017/A11:2020 – Electromagnetic compatibility of multimedia equipment – Immunity Requirements

Name: Colin King
Title: Design Engineer
Company: Empress Effects Inc
Date: August 19, 2023
Location: 105-62 Steacie Dr, Kanata Ontario K2K 2A9
WEEE (2012/19/EU) This product must not be disposed of with regular household waste. In compliance with WEEE regulations, please take this product to a designated collection facility or return to the supplier for proper recycling. Comply with local laws and regulations for disposal. Contact your local authority or support@empresseffects.com for specific information.

Disposal of the packaging material
For the transport and protective packaging, environmentally friendly materials have been chosen that can be supplied to normal recycling. Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of. Do not just dispose of these materials with your normal household waste, but make sure that they are collected for recycling. Please follow the notes and markings on the packaging.

Specifications

References

• icertifi.com
• Empress Effects – Empress Effects Inc.

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