KEY FEATURES. Optical Photocell-based Phaser Design. 6 Stage Analog Sweeping. 5 LFO Wave Shapes Plus Manual Mode. Expression Input for Sweep, Speed & Manual Mode. Vintage Vibe with Jewel Lamp Indicators $399.00 Spaceman is a unique company out of Portland Oregon, building one of a kind limited-run boutique pedals.
Each one is hand wired and soldered, with a cool stamped serial number plate attached to the backside. The first thing you will notice on their website is that the majority of their products are already sold-out. Once these limited number pedals run out, the prices go up on the open market. It’s a very out of the box approach in this modern world of mass outsourcing to China etc. The focus is quality not quantity. They do dig up some spare NOS parts from places unknown, but they’re all built-by-hand to military specs right here in the USA.
The Explorer Deluxe Phaser is one of their newest must have pedals. It’s an all-original design, loosely inspired by such classics as the MXR Phase 100, Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and the Small Stone Phaser.
Spaceman considered their favorite things about each classic, and came up with their own unique pedal design that’s very distinct and musical. OUT OF THE BOX: The Spaceman pedals come with a cool presentation. The white cardboard box has an astronaut on top, and stickers with serial numbers and logos adorning the four sides. Inside are instructions, a 3-year transferable warranty card, an astronaut sticker, a Spaceman logo sticker, Rubber feet and a spaceman pin. The pedal comes wrapped in a space age silver metallic drawstring bag, with an astronaut printed on the outside. Copper Body This attention to branding and detail shows that there is a lot of thought, pride and love put into each pedal.
There are five different case options for the Explorer Deluxe. They all have the same engraved white on black vinyl face plate, but the five Aluminum enclosure options are as follows: Silver aluminum body and Solid Black powder-coated body both with a red/blue jewel indicator (shown above), a White powder-coated body with an opaque indicator, a Chrome body with red/blue jewel indicator and custom knobs, and finally the coveted Copper body with an actual NASA circa 1959 aerospace dimmable indicator, and custom engraved knobs. On the Right side are the Input and Expression. The Output and 9-24v DC Boss type power jack are on the left.
Mu-tron (short for Musictronics) developed a series of highly innovative effects throughout the '70s, including the popular Mu-Tron III envelope filter. The Mu-tron Bi-Phase was a two channel Phase shifter with two 'Sweep Generator' sections. Mu Tron Bi Phase Manual High School. 7/13/2017 0 Comments Setting the mood for a night in usually involves dim lighting, soft music, and a comfy place for a couple to cozy up. Unless you and your loved one both happen to be.
The higher voltages will add increased headroom, mostly noticeable in the resonant control feature. On Top are four large knobs Resonance, Speed, Range and Shape.
The Shape knob has 6 possible wave shapes: Sine, Saw-Up, Saw-Down, Triangle, Square, and Manual mode controlled via expression pedal. There are also two mini knobs for level and mix.
In the middle are those cool jewel light indicators like on a guitar amp. And below that a heavy duty TPDT true bypass footswitch. Inside the pedal you will find a trim pot for use with a higher output signal like a synth, also a switch to turn the speed/rate indicator LED off in Bypass mode.
The Speed control has a wide range from super slow to blazing fast. The Resonance knob adjusts the amount of frequency focused resonant feedback. This gets you to those classic vintage Phase tones. The Range knob uniquely affects the low-frequency phasing extension. At lower settings to the left, the focus is high frequency phase. As you turn it to the right you go to low frequencies for deep sounding phasing.
The Explorer Deluxe uses a custom analog optical circuit that lives right underneath the jewel indicator. This allows you to see the interplay between the light & receiver and how the wave shape is affecting the sound. IN USE: The first thing I usually do is open a pedal up & peek inside. The Spaceman is impressive. It’s completely packed with two PCB boards loaded and stacked on top of each other, with picture perfect wiring.
They even have added wire relief in case you have to ever replace a jack. I find the Explorer Deluxe to be very musical. The Optical circuit has a rich, smooth and organic sense about it. The pedal is user friendly in general, and it’s very quick to get the vibe you’re looking for.
The Sine wave mode gives you that classic deep, lush even phase especially at slower speeds. If you bring the Resonance down with the Speed and Range at 12 & 1:00, its suddenly transforms into a sweet vibrato. Flipping through the different wave patterns you can get some unique outside the box approaches to vibrato.
The Saw-Up, Saw-Down and Triangle are recognizable and perfect for funk guitar. The Square setting is very rhythmic and at faster speeds has a choppy synth-like arp vibe, especially if you play arpeggio patterns. As far as the Expression pedal input goes, it’s fantastic in the studio.
In Manual mode it’s kind of a wah thing, or in the five other wave modes it’s a LFO speed control. I like the ability to control the intensity going from a slow wobble to strawberry fields speed with the pedal.
I’ve always loved the sound of distortion going into a phaser. I ran my guitar into the Spaceman Titan Il Fuzz, (we’ll review that next month), before the Explorer. It sounded super throaty and psychedelic. Instant inspiration! On bass it is equally delicious. It’s got the clarity of high-end studio gear, and gives you that 70’s funk with a modern twist. The low end is tremendous when you crank the range knob up.
I tried it with a Roland System 8 in Mono and it was killing on both staccato rhythmic stuff and for leads. CONCLUSION: I am a fan of Phase pedals. You can do a lot with them. I’ve had engineers complimenting the sound even subtly in the background. Subtle is easy to do on this pedal with the mix knob. Phasers are also fantastic at adding movement to swells and ambient stuff. To my ears the Explorer Deluxe is one of the best phase pedals out there.
It sounds super fat, and has a quality about it that separates it from any digital competition. You can’t deny the rich analog tones and ease of dialing in the classic patterns that phaser fans love. It’s fantastic on bass and synths. I would pick it over any vintage Phaser that I’ve ever heard. It’s quiet, has a rich bottom end, and can do so many things. You can get a lot of mileage with the Explorer Deluxe.
I hope you get a chance to hear one before they run out.
Bill Murphy of Premier Guitar magazine once honored the Mu- Tron III used by Bootsy Collins as one of the “Ten Stompboxes That Changed the World,” saying that Bootsy “took to the Mu-Tron like it had been custom-designed for him.” The Mu-Tron III was invented by Mike Beigel, a pioneer in the design of effects who has a new company intended to go even further with some of his concepts. “I was a pretty good musician in high school and had a choice of going to music school or engineering school,” says Mike. “I was interested in both, but I ended up going to MIT.” He earned a dual degree, becoming the school’s first electronic music graduate. While still in college, Mike worked with classmate Izzy Strauss on music synthesis, and they sold a synthesizer-system design to Guild Musical Instruments in 1970.
After the tragic death of Alfred Dronge, Guild’s founding president, in a plane crash, the company’s new management backed away from its electronic projects. Mike then partnered with a former Guild executive, Aaron Newman, to form Musitronics Corporation. Their first product was the Mu- Tron III, an envelope-controlled filter derived from Beigel’s MIT synthesizer project. It had a distinctive “auto-wah” sound, and it worked with bass, guitar, keyboards, wind instruments, and even percussion. The prototype was well received, and Musitronics began production in a converted chicken coop in Rosemont, New Jersey. The Mu-Tron III hit the market in 1972 and was immediately endorsed by guitarist Larry Coryell.
Sales took off after Stevie Wonder ran his clavinet through a Mu-Tron on “Higher Ground” and Jerry Garcia began to use the device regularly with the Grateful Dead. And Bootsy got his hands on one.
More Musitronics products followed, including the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, Octave Divider, and Flanger. They were a hit with musicians, but the company struggled financially. “Musitronics did not ever make much money,” says Mike. “I think we showed a profit one year.” After a failed attempt to produce an electromechanical device called the Gizmotron, designed by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley from the English band 10cc, Musitronics sold the Mu-Tron line to the synthesizer company ARP—which promptly went bankrupt. After that, Mike focused on consulting and research, developing electronic products for a number of companies, including radio-frequency ID chips used to track animals. “I’ve always had the ability to invent things,” he says.
“It has to do with seeing something that’s not there and bringing it into practical physical form.”. Mike never lost his interest in musical electronics, and in 2013 he launched Mu-FX, with the goal of “recreating the products from the original Mu-Tron product line in a smaller size, with improved sound quality and reliability.” The first Mu-FX product was an updated version of the Mu-Tron III called the Tru- Tron 3X. It was followed by the Octave Divider and Boostron 3, with more to come. Mike is constantly improving his products, which has caused some production gaps, but he remains focused on advancing the devices he originally developed for Musitronics (some of which are still selling for premium prices on eBay). And he remains attuned to what really works for musicians. “There’s an interesting question about how much responsiveness a musician wants from an effect,” he says.
“Most musical effects are devices that don’t intrinsically change their characteristics when you play into them. An envelope-controlled filter is an exception, because it does change how it responds depending on how you play.”. Mu-FX products are made in the USA and sold directly through the company website, which has information on availability and upcoming releases. They have premium prices, but Mike says he plans to introduce another line that will be “accessible to more musicians, while we continue the high-end line that we presently sell. That, I hope, will stabilize the company enough for us to do a lot more R&D.” And that’s a good thing, because Mike Beigel is an innovator who combines deep knowledge of musical electronics with a knack for designing products that enhance musical expression.
As Bootsy once said, “He can give you more of what you’re funkin’ for.” For more about Mu-FX, go to. Jim Roberts was the founding editor of Bass Player and also served as the magazine’s publisher and group publisher. He is the author of How the Fender Bass Changed the World and American Basses: An Illustrated History & Player’s Guide (both published by Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard).