tc electronic Helix Phaser

TC describe this pedal as 'The most flexible and versatile phaser ever' which is a very bold statement but I think they may be right.

Firstly the connections are stereo in and stereo out but it can also be run in mono. The inputs can handle high impedance guitar inputs and line level equally well which gives you a great range of connection options - not only just in the placement and ordering of this pedal in your effects chain but also in using this with keyboards or other instruments as well as for post-processing and mixer effects loops.

The three main settings from the toggle switch give you 'Vintage' which can be great for emulating phase 90 and small stone style phasing. 'Smooth' is a much more vowel like sound. The third mode is 'Tone Print' which is one of the most innovative features for effect pedals ever - if you've never tried a toneprint pedal I suggest you do. This allows you to 'beam' a configuration for the internal settings through your phone or PC or edit your own configuration through your PC.

Creating and editing your own toneprint is what truly makes this 'The most flexible and versatile phaser ever' as it is very simple to download and use and tweak to your heart's content. My only gripe with this is that there is no explanation of what the settings are actually doing it terms of how a phaser works - most are obvious but a few are not. Still, this doesn't stop you fiddling with them to hear the difference they make to the sound.

My only other gripe is that the stereo input and output jacks are reasonably close together so that two Hicon pancake style jacks will not fit next to each other, but all my other jacks are fine.

Overall, this is a truly versatile phaser which could only be made better by the addition of an expression pedal input.

A Phaser to me is an acquired taste and I like it. I was using an original 70s Electro Harmonix Small Stone for years and sadly it was only the rust on the casing keeping it together and had come to the end of it's gigging days, one more stomp wold have been it's last. So I was looking for a replacement.

The old EH only had one knob so it was either on or off so a mix level is a nice addition. Therefore subtle is the key for this pedal. It can make a creamy rich swirl thickening up a nice clean or distorted sound without being too in your face. As I say subtle as it can also produce vomit inducing sonic wobble if too much.

When the Helix is switched to the 'Smooth' setting it really makes a good if not better replication of my old Small Stone, unlike the EH it is built like a brick so it should last well. It has a very clean sound and little to no background noise.

The tone print is a nice feature, but as I have found with other TC pedals, I very rarely need something which is outside of the standard available settings and this is no exception, if you need sounds outside of the standard on this pedal then you must be playing really 'experimental' music.

All in all a very nice pedal, does the 'phaser thing' very well, so very happy with the purchase. Highly recommended.