August 1, 2008

Rating: 8/10

The thing that made me finally say \'Yes, I will buy the nano small stone\', was Larry DeMarco demonstrating its sound on the EHX webiste. Go check it out--now, then come straight back. ( http://www.ehx.com/2008/ -> go to effects, modulation, nano small stone. )
Larry is just a regular bloke like you or me. There\'s is one point near the end of the clip where he grabs the tremolo bar that will bring on acid flashbacks even if you never had the stuff.

Eventhough I can\'t play guitar very well, I really like the sounds they make, and what better way to mask bad playing than with a bunch of pedals? As Larry says, the Small Stone compliments many different rig set-ups and can add a really nice, scuzzy 70s sound to your playing.

This pedal also works great with keyboards. Just look at Frenchman, Jean Michel Jarre. Look at him ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Michel_Jarre ). He relied heavily on the Small Stone when recording the top selling album, Oxygene, _in his kitchen_.

Simply put, when it comes to analog pedals Electroharmonix produce the best (affordable) options on the market, including the nano Small Stone.

If it was lost or stolen would I replace it? I\'d definitely spend a lot of time looking around for where I might\'ve lost it or whoever stole it.

Peter Madeley
November 14, 2007

Rating: 8/10

Do your pads sound lifeless. Have you ever fancied them sound animated as though they are trying to turn themselves inside out. The phaser is the tool for you. Not a new effect a all and used by guitarists for decades. Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd is a well known phaser user.

Before or after
Like any processor effect it can be applied before or after recording. Personally I find the sound of a phaser significantly affects the mood of my playing so I always track effect on. An alternative is to sequence a part then apply the effect during playback so that the dials can be controlled during tracking. A neat trick is to change the speed of the effect which although not providing a true Leslie cabinet effect gives a phased version which can be very effective.

The Jarre sound
Take a buzzy string patch with a little pitch modulation and patch it through a Small Stone Phaser with a litlle delay and you are transported right back to 1977 to JMJ seminal Oygene and Equinoxe album. http://www.perkristian.net/ (click on the studio to find link) For true Equinoxe authenticity you need to use the string sound from the much revered Eminent 301eu organ. Jarre also had his Small Stones modified by Michael Geiss to run from a 6v power supply so the internal LFO would run slower. http://www.jarrography.free.fr/details_equipement_audio.php?id_equi...

Original issue Elektro Harmonix small stones and their Sovtek Russian equivalents can be modified by Oakley sounds to further enhance the Jarre effect by replacing the colour switch with a knob appropriately called the Equinoxe mod £30. http://www.oakleysound.com/modify.htm (about half way down)

The original issue Small stones used a rather peculiar 2.5mm plug negative tip power supply. The Maplin universal 500ma variable supply with a selection of tips did the trick. There is a significant volume drop when the effect is switched. For guitarists switching in an out of effect this is a major problem but for studio tracking the issue is less of a problem. There is a further modification to overcome the volume drop by the replacement of two resistors. http://www.kyletompkins.com/wp/?p=191

The newer Nano Small stone doesn’t suffer from these problem but due to its smaller size cannot be modified in the same way as the older units.

The sound
To my ears the Nano Small stone sounds brighter though the depth of effect is the same. This might be due to the fact that my old Sovtek unit has been given the Oakley Equinoxe mod. I prefer the duller sound of the older unit but an identical effect can be achieve with EQ on the newer Nano stone.

Now I have both I am going to experiment with setting slightly different settings on each unit as left and right stereo channels. This give a wide swirling effect and if you apply short delay as well, the results is just gorgeous.

Starting for scratch I would say go for a Nano version. If you want the unit for a pedal board go for the Nano as well.

The nearest I have got with VST plugins has been using VST options Kajehaus Classic and Nomad Bundle Vintage phaser, though exact duplication of the Small Stone effect has not be completely successful.

Get a small stone and turn your sound inside out!!!

P