Of all the guitar effects we have at our fingertips (or should I say at our toe tips), none are more fascinating than the modulation effects, which include flangers, choruses, tremolos and, of course, phasers.
While hardcore gearheads will argue that parametric EQs and noise gates are the true gems of the guitar pedal world, there’s really nothing more fun than making weird, wild noises with your modulation effects and frightening anyone who might be within earshot.
A while back, I made a video about the greatest wah-pedal moments, and it was a fairly easy list to compile, which it probably would be for most guitar players. Tackling the phaser effect, however, had me doing a lot more research to find tunes that made the cut. I learned a lot about certain guitarists’ rigs and also brushed up on my ear training by hearing a lot of flangers that I originally believed to be phasers—and vice versa.
So, without further ado, I present my favorite phaser pedal moments in music. Feel free to let me know what songs I left out.
Tyler Larson is the founder of the guitar-centric brand Music is Win. His insightful, uncomplicated guitar lessons and gear demonstrations along with entertaining, satirical content about life as a musician receive tens of millions of video views per month across social media. Tyler is also the creator of the extremely popular online guitar learning platform, Guitar Super System. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Tyler has been teaching guitar for over a decade and operates a production studio in Nashville, TN.
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