Diamond Phase User Manual

!

Phase

Two & six stage phaser / vibe guitar effect pedal

User Manual
v1.00 • December 31, 2007

Phase user manual v1.00! 1

!

INTRODUCTION

Thanks for purchasing a Diamond Phase 2 & 6 stage phase / vibe. The Phase provides the
ability to select either a deep ‘70s swirl 6 stage JFET phase shift effect, or a more subtle 2
stage alt-rock effect, with the added versatility of being able to remove the direct signal
path in ‘vibe’ mode for unique pulsing effects.

Remember to protect your hearing and wear appropriate hearing protection when play­ing loud…

DESIGN BACKGROUND

The Phase has been one of our
longest running ‘on the draw­ing board’ projects, with initial
development starting even be­fore the Memory Lane got un­derway in the fall of 2004. A
number of different underlying
phase shift topologies came
and went before settling on a
modification of the classic
JFET / opamp phase shift
stage. As design continued on
in early 2007, we also decided
to throw out our announced
‘Phase FM’ envelope con­trolled phaser design as too
complicated and finicky. In the
end, we decided on a simpler classic phaser design with several elements of added versa­tility: foot control of LFO speed, simple mono operation with separate direct out, overall
volume control, and a ‘vibe’ setting implemented by removing the direct signal path from
the mix. We were nearing final production PCB’s in the spring/summer of 2007 when a
customer suggested that the ability to provide either 2 or 6 phase shift stage operation
would be a really great feature. We quickly modded one of our prototypes, and fell in
love with the subtler 2 stage sound. Production came to a halt as we reworked the box
mold, screen print graphics and PCB and managed to get a revised prototype Phase out to
summer NAMM 2007. Moving forward through fall 2007, the Phase again fell victim to
the Memory Lane - this time development work on the new Memory Lane 2 kept the final
production touches on the Phase from happening until after winter NAMM 2008, when
one final frequency balance change was made to the design and the Phase finally began
full production.

Phase user manual v1.00! 2

!

FEATURES

selectable 2 / 6-stage JFET phaser

•
versatile control over depth, speed and feedback regeneration

•
Phase / Vibe mode switch (Vibe mode is also a kill-dry mode for use in amplifier parallel FX

•
loops)

output volume control

•
Pure sinusoidal LFO waveform, speed adjustable from 0.2 to 10 Hz

•
Auto-buffered direct signal output path - buffers a 2nd dry output channel only when plug is

•
inserted in DIRECT output, completely removes buffer for true bypass operation in mono

mode
all analog circuitry

•
LED indication of LFO speed

•
expression pedal control of LFO speed

•
Vishay JFET, Burr-Brown audiophile opamps and Panasonic polypropylene capacitors

•
genuine Hammond cast aluminium 4.7 x 4.7 x 1.0 inch case

•

CONTROLS

The Phase is an easy to use pedal - however, the user friendly control set allows for a
wide variety of phase and vibe sounds.

SPEED

This sets the speed of the Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) within a range of .2 to 10Hz­from a very slow sweep to a fast ‘wobble’. Speed can also be controlled via an expression
plugged into the EXT jack located next to the input. Note that the LED provides a visual
reference to the speed setting even when the pedal is bypassed.

DEPTH

This control determines the intensity of phase modulation. Low settings provide a more
subtle effect while high setting allow for very prominent ‘swirl’.

REGEN

This control allows a portion of the output signal to be fed back into the input of the cir­cuit. This feedback produces frequency peaks that alter the character of the effect.

VOL

This control allows the user to match the level of the bypassed sound and the sound with
the pedal engaged. Additionally, the range of the VOL control allows for an increase or a
decrease in level if desired. The VOL control is particularly useful when using the pedal
in VIB mode. In this mode the dry (unaffected) signal is removed from the mix resulting
in a lower overall level which can then be increased using the VOL.

Phase user manual v1.00! 3

!

SWITCHES

2 / 6 STG

This toggle alternates between 2 or 6 stages of phasing. 2 stages provides a subtle sweep
while 6 stages is a much deeper ‘swirl’ reminiscent of 70’s prog rock.

PHS / VIB

When switched to VIB the dry signal is removed from the output mix. The resultant
sound has more ‘throb’ and less sweep. VIB mode is also useful in conjunction with amps
that feature a parallel effects loop- because dry signal is being mixed with the effect at the
amplifier, VIB mode helps to preserve the phase effect.

ON / OFF

This switches the entire effect circuit between bypass and in-circuit operation, with a
green LED indicating that the effect is bypassed and a red LED indicating the effect is
engaged.

INPUT / OUTPUT JACKS

INPUT

The input jack is located on the right side of the pedal and is indicated by the “<“ symbol.
Plug in your guitar, the output of another pedal or the ‘send’ of your effects loop into this
jack.

EXP

The EXP or expression jack is located on the right side of the pedal below the INPUT
jack. Plug in an expression pedal to manually control SPEED ‘on the fly’.

DIR

The DIR output is located on the left side of the pedal and provides a buffered dry signal
to send to a second amp in a stereo setup or effects chain.

OUTPUT (mono)

This output is located on the lower left side and is indicated by the “<“ symbol. It pro­vides a dry signal when the pedal is bypassed and an effected signal when the pedal is
engaged. Plug the output of this jack into your amp, the input of another effect or into the
‘return’ of your effects loop.

POWERING

ADAPTER

The Phase comes standard with a 24V switching power supply. This power supply will
work anywhere in the world (some locales may require a simple physical adapter).

Phase user manual v1.00! 4

!

OTHER POWER OPTIONS

The Phase can also be powered using power supplies such as the Pedal Power 2 Plus or
Juicebox. Power supplies with a dedicated 18-24V output that provide at least 100ma of
current can be used. Note that the output must be center positive or a polarity reversing
cable must be used!! Power supplies that do not have a 18-24V output can be used with a
special cable available from www.diamondpedals.com that combines 2 9V outputs and
reverses their polarity. In order to use this method, the 9V outputs of your power supply
must be electrically isolated from each other. If you are unsure, please contact the manu­facturer of your power supply.

PRESETS

The Phase controls provide many tonal possibilities. As a starting point, here are a few
presets:

Spinning Rotor

Volume: 12 o’clock
Stages: 2
Regen: 12 o’clock
Mode: PHS
Depth: 3-4 o’clock
Speed: 3-4 o’clock

Vibey

Volume: 2-3 o’clock
Stages: 2
Regen: OFF
Mode: VIB
Depth: 12 o’clock
Speed: 2 o’clock

Throb and Swirl

Volume: 12 o’clock
Stages: 6
Regen: OFF
Mode: PHS
Depth: 12 o’clock
Speed: 2 o’clock

Phase user manual v1.00! 5