DOD Phasor 201 Review – Going Back To The Roots

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There is a pretty interesting trend that keeps on repeating when it comes to effects pedals. If you look at any type of effect, there will usually be that one model which is as old as the effect itself, that is still going strong. When it comes to phasers, DOD Phasor 201 is one of those legendary phaser pedals that deserves a special place in any guitarist's collection.

There is a perfectly good reason for this type of reputation aside from the obvious nostalgia factor. Even though we are talking about a slightly altered reissue, DOD Phasor 201 still has that organic sound that you are just hardly going to find these days.

Features

Looking at this pedal might give you a sense that we are talking about a wrong model. After all, what can be so special about an old single-knob phaser, right? The truth is that this rather simple pedal packs a performance that will put a lot of modern phasers to shame. In terms of features, you are looking at a very clean and basic design.

One control knob, one stomp switch. The quality we're talking about comes from what is inside this beast. They've rearranged the components a bit in the reissue, but that didn't have an impact on how this pedal sounds. The true bypass feature was also added to the fully analog circuitry, giving the DOD Phasor 201 a bit more integrity and versatility.

Controls

A single control knob is something that is usually found on booster pedals or similar simple designs. So how does it work on a phaser of all things? Rather well, if we're honest. That knob controls the speed and depth of the effect at the same time, which might sound a bit crude, but it works great.

You definitely have to develop a feel for this one. Once you do, dialing a good phase configuration is pretty easy. After a while, doing this becomes second nature and that's why you don't see owners of this unit complain too much when it comes to controlling the effect.

Performance

Analog is not always better than solid state, but it is in this case. DOD Phasor 201 packs one of the warmest and most natural sounding phaser effects you can get. Even after all these years, it still has what it takes to blow your mind with organic swirls of pure goodness.

The best thing about it is that it sounds great whether you're using a clean channel or a distorted one. It just plays well with anything you throw at it. Add the true analog bypass into the equation, and you have a real performer that is simple to use and packed into a compact pedal.

Conclusion

DOD Phasor 201 is the type of blast from the past we would like to see more often. Reissue version is different from the original one in some aspects, which aren't necessarily bad. Even so, they've managed to retain the core of what made this pedal so awesome in the first place. It's warm, it's clear, it's just amazing. On top of that, it's fairly well priced making this old school effect available to the masses.

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