Crazy Tube Circuits Cyclone: Four classic phaser voices in one boutique pedal
Crazy Tube Circuits’ new pedal, Cyclone, is an all-analogue phaser effect with a classic vintage phaser tone. With its four voices mimicking classic phaser pedals from yesteryear, Cyclone is an attempt to go all-out on an organic analogue feel.
Based in Athens, Greece, Crazy Tube Circuits has built a reputation as a boutique brand selling hand-built effects pedals, including effects like the Limelight fuzz, the Falcon overdrive and the Golden Ratio Phi. Cyclone is very much in that mould, a neat, stylish and compact blue box providing four distinct phaser voices. And there’s a very useful tap-tempo feature as well.
Crazy Tube Circuits Cyclone Phaser · Source: Crazy Tube Circuits
Modulation
Now, we all know that a touch of modulation can make a guitar tone stand out. Some of the greatest guitar recordings have used phaser pedals to do just that. Put on some classic Pink Floyd or Van Halen and you can hear some great phase tones. Having four voices in one pedal sounds like a good proposition.
Reading through the product descriptions, there’s more than a hint of MXR, EXH and Lovetone in this compact pedal.
The 45 setting is voiced “after a classic 2 stage phaser born in mid 70s”. It’s all about what CTC calls “dreamy ambience” and a “warm, organic phaser and a rotary speaker effect”. 90 emulates a “classic 4-stage phaser from the 70s”. It’s a bit heavier than the 45 voice, going “from subtle warm, shimmering modulation to jet sounds and all-out high velocity swoosh”.
ST is recreates the “1st implementation of another classic 4-stage phaser design of the 70s”. This ratchets things up a bit, with “stronger and dirtier mid frequency notches for a whirling and pulsating phaser effect”. Finally, LT mode aims for “a highly sought-after boutique phaser pedal” from the 1990s with four phase shift notches (read: Lovetone). This effect mixes a phaser with a vibe-y effect.
With all these classic phase pedals on hand, you should easily be able to dial in some phenomenal phase tones to add your guitar tone. I’m a big fan of phaser pedals and modulation in general. I find it adds just enough movement to make simple guitar lines stand out in a mix. Where would Pink Floyd’s Have a Cigar be without that chewy phase tone on the intro?
Control
The Cyclone also has an expression pedal input to control the rate (speed) of the LFO. It can also be set to receive clock signals (0-5V). This allows you too easily integrate the effect with synths and drum machines as well. The Cyclone hastrue bypass switching via a high quality relay and operates with external 9V DC power supply.
I think this type of effect works well with not just on guitars and bass, but could also be a source of inspiration in the studio when writing. Just listen to the demo videos below to hear the new Crazy Tube Circuits Cyclone in action. It packs in a lot of features for such a compact pedal. At this price, I it could be a bit of a bargain.
RRP – EUR 189
More Information
Video
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