Audiority releases Dr Phase, a freeware guitar pedal VST plugin modeled after the vintage MXR Phase 90.
A phase shifter, more commonly known as a ‘phaser,’ is a modulation effect that generates filter peaks and modulates their center frequencies by sweeping them up and down the sound spectrum.
This leads to a sound that is similar to a chorus or a flanger.
The original MXR Phase 90 pedal by Jim Dunlop was known for its simplicity, where one could choose between a subtle and shimmery effect to a high-velocity swooshing sound.
Audiority’s Dr. Phase is visually similar to the MXR pedal. But the functions have been digitized for our convenience.
Changing the ‘speed’ dial on the plugin changes the frequency of the phaser. Setting it to a lower speed will give the sound a subtle shimmer, and a higher rate will yield a more wavy sound.
Just like a stompbox, you can turn the pedal on or off using the switch below the speed dial. This can be helpful during automation when you don’t necessarily want to run the pedal throughout your track.
The ‘Toolbar’ allows you to manage plugin presets and set global parameters.
The ‘HQ’ button enables oversampling. This can help reduce aliasing when your signal is saturating.
There is a ‘vintage mode’ that gives you sounds reminiscent of the 70s and 80s when guitar players extensively used a phaser in their music. This removes the feedback resistor from the circuit for a smoother phasing effect.
The global controls include ‘in,’ ‘out,’ and ‘mix.’
If you are a guitar player, then this plugin is definitely for you. While the MXR pedal has a kind of warmth that can be hard to emulate digitally, the plugin saves you the hassle of recording an amp and the excess noise that comes with it. You can record a clean channel and adjust your sound to give it the phase shifter effect.
A phaser, however, is not just limited to guitar and bass players to give their sound an edge.
Adding a phaser to drums can give it an additional gritty texture that can sound great if you make electronic dance music.
When a phaser is added to synth leads and even brass, it can yield exciting results too.
The plugin is available in 64-bit for both Windows and macOS users. It is VST2, VST3, AAX, and AU compatible and requires 2GB of RAM.
You can download Dr Phase for free from the Audiority website by signing up with your email address.
Download: Dr Phase (64-bit VST2/VST/AU/AAX plugin formats for Windows & macOS)
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12 Comments
Scherbenfabrik
on“(…) and requires 2GB of free space.”
System requirements on the website states 2GB of RAM, not disc space (which would be a bit much for something simple like a phaser plugin). ;P
Georg
onYep, the VST3 version in Windows takes up a bit less than 5 MB. Really lean program with many uses, much appreciated.
Tomislav Zlatic
onCorrected! :)
Georg
onThank you Suyasha!
Nice little plugin.
PureFire
onThanks so much Suyasha, BPB & Audiority.
This sounds pretty kool 😊
Wing Yee
onI still have the original pedal. Nice to have it as a plugin. Thanks!
Michal Ochedowski
onToo bad that Audiority keeps making these unnecessarily big interfaces. The same thing was with excellent sounding Dr Drive last year. Whenever I tried working with it, I had to juggle the interface out of the way to see anything else. Reaper users have easier life, because they can assign special command to a key to get certain plugin out of the way. But for the rest of us it’s a bit annoying.
frozenjazz
onOk for “Drive” with all the lost blank space, but this one is totally resizable which is super cool!
I wish all VST were resizable like this one is!
Tomislav Zlatic
onA big THANK YOU to BPB reader Christian H. for the info about Dr Phase!
mx
onit is aax as well, though it is not mentioned neither in the bpb-article nor the audiority website.
but in the installation pack there is an aax version included and installed in the process if you choose to.
i wonder why this information got lost somehow, because usually as far as i know audiority always has an aax version too, i own some of their plugins for that reason.
thanks for the nice freebie!
mx
oni just checked again on the website and must correct myself: they mention aax on the website
(though i was sure that some days ago it wasnt saying…)
Tomislav Zlatic
onHey mx, thanks for noticing that. They probably added AAX in the meanwhile (after the article was published). I’ll add the info. Thank you!