If the Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser is one of the EHX family’s favorite sons, the original Bad Stone is the brilliant but eccentric cousin who disappeared to some mountain cabin after a failed attempt at prep school.

While EHX produced an early FET-based version, the Bad Stone most players know debuted in 1975 and remained in the EHX line till the early ’80s. It was a relatively ambitious phaser for its time, with six phase-shift stages (the Small Stone had only four) and a switch that enabled players to lock in on a particular point in the phase shift and rock that weird filtered frequency all night long.

Like so many pedals in EHX’s history, the Bad Stone was quirky and original, and it provided something players didn’t even know they wanted. Thankfully, EHX’s quirky urges have never gone away, and now the Bad Stone has been resurrected in a nano-size package with the same functionality as its illustrious, if weird, predecessor. (The only change, according to EHX, is a slightly broader rate control, permitting extra-slow modulation.)

Baby Badness The Bad Stone was unencumbered by notions of “pedalboard space”—it was as large as the full-sized Big Muff. That may have been a lot of steel for three knobs and a couple of switches, but it provided a killer canvas for graphics. The new nano version still looks sharp, retaining a sweet mix of utility and shag-lined custom-van grooviness. The line drawing of an ugly face that “graced” the original version no longer appears on the enclosure, but it’s memorialized on the PCB’s etching. But despite the extra graphic, the board’s compact layout leaves room for a 9V battery. Everything seems sturdy. My one concern: The footswitch feels a bit stubborn and occasionally engages with a pronounced pop.

The three-knob control set mimics the original. There’s a rate knob, plus a feedback knob that sets the effect’s intensity. The other two controls may be less familiar to the one-knob phaser devotee: the auto/manual toggle “freezes” the phase sweep, while the manual shift knob lets you dial in a specific sweep point, not unlike parking a wah in a particular position. This added function provides cool two-effects-in-one versatility.

Pros: Wide-range rate and feedback controls. Manual shift sounds awesome with fuzz.

Cons: Slightly metallic and “binary” phase voice.

Electro-Harmonix Bad Stone ehx.com

Dig The Frozen Phase Craze Players who use a wide range of phase rates will find much to like here. At low feedback levels in particular, this can be a wonderfully subtle but rich effect, especially for slow chord arpeggios, atmospheric lead lines, and even chugging quarter-note rhythms. Increasing feedback levels can be tricky at these slow speeds. I found the best fits to be feedback settings between noon and 2 o’clock (which, incidentally, most closely approximate the richness of a vintage Small Stone). Feedback levels outside these marks often highlighted the more metallic, less contoured aspects of the Bad Stone’s phase voice at all rates.

Thankfully the binary qualities of the Bad Stone’s voice work best at the faster rates where phasers are most often employed. At the speed of a slowly rotating Leslie speaker, the slightly metallic overtones lend a cool peak emphasis almost reminiscent of ’60s studio flange. And while traditionalists might cringe, cranking the feedback can guide pedestrian faux-Floyd riffs in unexpected directions.

The surprise treat is the manual shift function. While it can have a thinning effect on clean tones, it sounds super hip with fuzz and high-gain overdrive. The filtering characteristics are different from a typical parked wah: There’s less quack and immediate pick attack, depending on which phase region you isolate. But it’s also a less familiar effect, and the knob’s range makes it easier to dial in a specific frequency to suit a given part or song.

The Verdict The multi-faceted Bad Stone offers a lot of phaser for around 73 bucks. It may not have the richness and gently contoured harmonic nuance of a vintage Small Stone, but at the right feedback settings, it gets very close. The feedback control is useful for moving from vintage flavors to more experimental phase tones that leverage the Bad Stone’s metallic resonance, while manual shift mode transforms the Bad Stone into a unique filter. It’s is a powerful and intriguing sonic tool at a great price.

A faithful recreation of the Germanium Mosrite Fuzzrite with a modern twist.

From the years of 1966 to 1968, Mosrite produced two distinct fuzz circuits---one outfitted with silicon transistors, the other with germanium parts. Of the two, the germanium version is by far the most rare, with original designer and Mosrite employee Ed Sanner estimating that around 250 ever made it out the door. In that final year of production, Mosrite shifted exclusively to silicon parts, making germanium components a thing of the past. However, by 1968 the public was hungry for fuzz, having heard it on a handful of recordings, most notably "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly and "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock. These two buzzy, sinewy fuzz tones were part of a wave of psychedelic rock gaining traction in the mainstream, and both were recorded prior to the introduction of the silicon Fuzzrite.

Other purported users of this early Fuzzrite circuit include Ron Asheton of the Stooges, Norman Greenbaum on "Spirit in the Sky", Henry Vestine of Canned Heat, and many others. Catalinbread have a germanium version at their disposal, and we've used it as a benchmark to create an extremely faithful version with a modern twist. Just like the original, the Catalinbread Fuzzrite Germanium includes two NOS PNP germanium semiconductors with a polarity inverter IC so it plays nice with all forms of power. Unlike the original, Catalinbread added a toggle switch to shift into modern mode, significantly beefing up the low-end content to suit more contemporary rigs.

The Fuzzrite Germanium is out now and available for $179.99 at participating retailers and catalinbread.com.

The all-new HT series offers "heat treated" pickup technology along with the Cutlas HT, StringRay HT, and Sabre HT guitars.

The Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre HT guitar delivers an incredibly dynamic and responsive playing experience. The pickups are able to achieve an ultra-high-output, powerful low-end response while retaining a distinctively clean, clear tone and definition at lower volume control levels. The HT (Heat Treated) bridge pickup utilizes patent-pending heat-treated pole pieces with a large ceramic magnet and an overwound coil that gives the pickup higher frequency harmonics and excellent touch sensitivity. The Sabre's custom-wound neck humbucker also features a large ceramic magnet and has been wound specifically to pair with the Sabre's HT bridge pickup. In other respects, the Sabre HT shares many of the original Sabre guitar specifications such as a contoured Okoume body with a thick maple top, Schaller locking tuners, and 22 stainless steel frets. The Sabre HT is available in a Yucatan Blue, Raspberry Burst, Showtime, and Snowy Night finish.

The Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass HT showcases new custom Music Man pickup technology delivering an incredibly dynamic and responsive playing experience. The pickups are able to achieve an ultra-high-output, powerful low-end response while retaining a distinctively clean, clear tone when rolling back the volume control. This set of three HT (Heat Treated) pickups uses patent-pending pole pieces and a large neodymium magnet which provides remarkable definition. The bridge pickup has been wound with plain enamel magnet wire providing a strong, powerful tone, while the neck and middle pickups have been underwound with heavy formvar magnet wire for a more traditional voice. All three pickups have been crafted for a complimentary tonal offering across all five switch positions. The Cutlass HT shares many of the standard specifications of the original Cutlass guitar, including a contoured Alder body, a roasted figured maple neck, 22 stainless frets, Schaller locking tuners, and Music Man vintage tremolo. The Cutlass HT is available in a Showtime, Brûlée, Midnight Rider, and Raspberry Burst finish.

The Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray HT showcases new custom Music Man pickup technology inspired by over a decade of guitar string research delivering an incredibly dynamic and responsive playing experience. The pickups are able to achieve an ultra-high-output, powerful low-end response while retaining a distinctively clean, clear tone and definition at lower volume control levels. The Stingray HT (Heat Treated) bridge pickup utilizes patent-pending heat-treated pole pieces with a large ceramic magnet and an overwound coil that gives the pickup higher frequency harmonics and excellent touch sensitivity. The custom-wound neck humbucker also features a large ceramic magnet and has been wound specifically to pair with the Stingray's HT bridge pickup. This Stingray HT is outfitted with a stop tail Tune-o-Matic bridge which sets it apart from the Stingray's vintage style tremolo but shares a number of the standard specifications, including a contoured body, a roasted figured maple neck, 22 stainless frets, and Schaller locking tuners. The StingRay HT is available in a Showtime, Brûlée, Midnight Rider, and Raspberry Burst finish. HT Series instruments are available now at authorized Ernie Ball Music Man dealers.

Visit them online at www.ernieball.com and www.music-man.com.

Presets extend the flexibility of an already expansive and easy-to-use reverb.

Intuitive. Great range in all controls. Well-built.

Some digital artifacts at long decay times.

Walrus Audio Slötvå walrusaudio.com

Walrus Audio is a prolific builder, but, as the five reverb pedals in their lineup suggest, they have a real affinity for manipulating time and space. The beauty of the Slötvå reverb (which is derived from the company’s very similar Spin FV-1 chip-based Slö reverb) is how satisfying and simple it makes dramatic shifts between time/space textures.

Slötvå’s big departure from the Slö model is the addition of three presets, enabling quick switches between vastly different reverbs. But Slötvå’s interface is also pretty easily mastered and manipulated on the fly without using presets. And that operational flexibility makes Slötvå just as capable of delivering surprises as predictable, repeatable results.

Slötvå’s three algorithms all range to super-long decay times, especially when you hit and hold the sustain button. “Dark” adds a minus-one-octave signal, rise adds an almost reverse-like swell effect, and dream adds a latch function that effectively “freezes” the reverb signal. In all three modes, the octave content can reveal chorale-style overtones and discernibly digital artifacts at long decay times. Some players love and utilize these sounds to great effect. So, try before you buy if you don’t know where you stand. If you’re untroubled by a little shimmer at expansive settings, however, Slötvå is a fun, intuitive, and performance-practical way to source a genuinely expansive range of unobtrusive to ambient reverb sounds in a compact, easy-to-wrangle unit.