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Flower Pedals Castilleja Phaser Review

Name: Castilleja Phaser
Brand: Flower Pedals

Classic 4-stage sounds are just the tip of the iceberg for this uncommonly powerful stomp—but its looks can be deceiving, too.

Waveform knob facilitates an alluring variety of phase tones. Lots of parameter control.

Secondary functions can be difficult to keep track of. Some sounds don't feel as rich and dimensional as the classics.

$249

Flower Pedals Castilleja Phaser
flower-pedals.com

3.5

If you're looking for a middle ground between straightforward, vintage phase sounds and the parameter depth of a programmable device, Flower Pedals' Castilleja could be a godsend. Its orange exterior hints at classic 4-stage phase sounds of yore, but its multifunction controls are more powerful than they appear.

Of particular note is its ability to blend between adjacent waveforms (up-ramp, sawtooth, sine, square)—my favorite feature—to open up sounds ranging from lush and hypnotic to trippy and disorienting. There's also tap-tempo and expression control, momentary and "drift" ramping modes, and switchability between phase and vibrato/chorus modes.

Recorded using a Squier Jaguar with Curtis Novak pickups (neck clean, bridge with fuzz) into a SviSound germanium fuzz, SoundBrut DrVa MkII and Ground Control Tsukuyomi boosts, a SolidgoldFx Electroman MkII echo, an Anasounds Element reverb, and then into both a 1976 Fender Vibrolux Reverb miked with a Royer R-121 and a Fender Rumble 200 1x15 miked with an Audix D6, both feeding an Audient iD44 then into GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.

Those who crave vintage phase richness and simplicity with a little more flexibility may wish Castilleja's many functions were a little easier to follow (e.g., with more labels on the unit itself) or involved fewer switch maneuvers and LED colors. And, depending on your phase tastes, the 3-position feedback/resonance control's oft-sqwonky tonality and auto-wah-like effect in drift mode may feel a little redundant with other effects on your board (or with effects you intentionally don't have).

That said, the opposite may well also be true: Castilleja's almost-dizzying tweakability may eliminate the need for other devices and facilitate a unique blend of modulation sounds you might not otherwise find—with fewer foot maneuvers and less real estate, to boot.

Test Gear: Gretsch Broadkaster, Squier Telecaster with Curtis Novak JM-V and Tele-V pickups, '76 Fender Vibrolux Reverb, Goodsell Valpreaux 21

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Kernom Elipse Review

Analog modulation guided by a digital brain willing to get weird.

Fun, fluid operation. Capable of vintage-thick textures at heavier gain settings. High headroom for accommodating other effects.

MIDI required to access more than one preset—which you’ll probably long for, given the breadth of voices.

$369

Kernom Elipse

kernom.com

4.5

If you love modulation—and lots of it—you can eat up a lot of pedalboard space fast. Modulation effects can be super-idiosyncratic and specialized, which leads to keeping many around, particularly if you favor the analog domain. TheKernom Elipse multi-modulator is pretty big and, at a glance, might not seem the best solution for real estate scarcity. Yet the Elipse is only about 1 1/4" wider than two standard-sized Boss pedals side by side. And by combining an analog signal path with digital control, it makes impressive, efficient use of its size—stuffing fine-sounding harmonic tremolo, phaser, rotary-style, chorus, vibrato, flanger, and Uni-Vibe-style effects into a single hefty enclosure. Many of the effects can also be blended and morphed into one another using a rotary control aptly called “mood.” The Elipse, most certainly, has many of those.

Pickin’ Like Paisley: Use Those Open Strings!

Advanced

Intermediate

Learn how to incorporate open strings all the way up the fretboard.
Build velocity in your playing without practicing speed exercises.
Discover an easy way to steal licks from the pros using YouTube.

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It’s universally known in the guitar community that Brad Paisley isn’t just some guy that strums a guitar and sings country songs. He’s widely respected as one of the best players in the country music scene and takes an unusual approach to achieve the sonic insanity that spills out of his guitar. From Telecasters, G-benders, and cranked Dr. Z amps to instrumental records and wild guitar solos getting mainstream country radio airtime, Paisley has solidified his place in the discussion of all-time greats, and not just in the country world. In this lesson, we’ll dive into one of the cornerstones of Brad’s playing that makes him so unique: open strings.

Jackson Introduces Lee Malia Signature LM-87 Pro Series

Unleash your inner metal icon with the Jackson Lee Malia LM-87, a high-performance shred-ready axe designed in collaboration with Bring Me The Horizon guitarist Lee Malia. Featuring custom Jackson signature pickups, a fast D-profile neck, and a TOM-style bridge for rock-solid stability, this signature model is a must-have for commanding metal tone and smooth playability.

Flower Pedals Castilleja Phaser Review​

Classic 4-stage sounds are just the tip of the iceberg for this uncommonly powerful stomp—but its looks can be deceiving, too.

Analog modulation guided by a digital brain willing to get weird.

Modulator With Many Masks

Enunciation Modulation

The Verdict

Ex. 1

Ticks

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Brad Paisley - Time Warp (Live on Letterman)

Ex. 4

Brad Paisley - Water

Ex. 5

Brad Paisley - Water (live ACM Awards 2010)

Features Include:

Unleashing the Pro Series Signature Lee Malia LM-87 | Jackson Guitars - YouTube

Flower Pedals Castilleja Phaser Review