A flanger inspired by the Starlight DLX

The Starlight MKIII brings back some favorite features of the Starlight DLX and introduces exciting new ones, including through-zero flanging, MIDI control, and savable presets. With an ultra-wide sweep range (0-21ms), the Starlight MKIII offers unparalleled versatility, allowing you to dial in everything from smooth, classic flanging to boldly experimental.

Starlight MKIII Flanger controls:

The Starlight MKIII offers 10 adjustable parameters and 11 flanger modes for precise sound control. Obviously there are more settings than knobs. The EDIT MODE switch changes the function of the controls.

Edit MOD/PRESET: The EDIT MODE switch changes the function of the knobs. When set to MOD PRESET, the select knob is used to switch between different presets. The top three knobs function as the classic flanger controls, RATE, DEPTH, and REGEN.

Edit COLOR: When the EDIT MODE switch is set to COLOR, the top three knobs control MIX, MANUAL, and WARP. The SELECT knob allows you to choose from 11 modulation modes.
MIX adjusts from 100% dry to 100% wet. Fully wet is great for vibrato effects. Flanger effects are usually a 50/50 mix.
MANUAL controls the flanger sweep—often called ‘frequency’ on other flangers. For traditional flanger sounds, keep the MANUAL knob at noon or higher. Turning it left can create wilder tones, especially when REGEN is set high.
WARP alters each modulation mode in different ways, giving you even more options for sound design.

Edit FINE: For fine-tuning, switch the EDIT MODE to FINE.
The GATE control acts as a squelch, particularly helpful when using extreme settings with high REGEN and wide sweeps. It cuts the flanger effect when you’re not playing.
LPF and HPF are great for refining vibrato effects or stepped LFO modulation.

Typically, these last three controls are built into a flanger’s internal design. However, with the ultra-wide sweep and variety of modulation types on the Starlight MKIII, we wanted to give you full control rather than a curated experience. You fine-tune your sound or embrace the more experimental side. It’s okay to color outside the lines.

MIDI

All Parameters are controllable via MIDI. There is also optional MIDI clock sync, preset changes, automated bypass, LFO reset and more.

Feature rich Stereo Tremolo/Sequencer that keeps it simple.

The TremCoder gives you options but won’t require a masters degree in modular synth madness to operate. A variety of LFOs drive a stereo tremolo/panner and lock into your groove with tap tap tempo.

But wait, where’s the tap tempo switch? External input? Nope. You just tap the bypass switch twice and the tremolo starts on the following beat. Tap up to five times for greater accuracy. When tapping stops the effect turns on like magic. After two seconds simply press the switch once to turn the effect off.

How does stereo work with only one ouput jack? You’ll need a TRS Y cable for stereo panning.

Stereo tremolo demo:

Listen with headphones or decent speakers to get the full effect.

Controls:

Depth: Controls the effect depth.

Speed: Selects ratio for tap tempo in LFO modes. Selects sequences in sequence modes.

Shape: There are 9 LFO shapes and 2 sequence banks

• Short Pulse: Shorter on time than a square wave. 33% on time.
• Square: Same as Pulse but on 50% of the time.
• Long Pulse: longer time than a square wave. 75% on time.
• Sine wave: The classic modulation waveform for a tremolo effect.
• Triangle: Similar to the sinewave. Less “throb” or “bounce.” Especially useful for a wide panning effect.
• Ramp / Saw: It’s like half triangle and half square.
• 8 Step / 16 Step: These are similar to sequences, but particularly useful for panning.
• Sequences: Individual sequences are set by the speed knob and all have fixed ratios.
• Bank A: 1-3 are simple LFOs modulated by another LFO. For example Bank A Seq. 1 is a sine wave with the amplitude modulated by a slower triangle wave. This makes the tremolo effect fade in and out over four beats. A5 – A11 are simple rhythmic patterns. A10 and A11 are timed with triplets.
• Bank B: All 32 step rhythmic patterns that repeat over a four beat measure. Unlike Bank A, these are not depicted on the pedal. (See the Sequence B drawing.)

Pure analog tone with modern features.

Subdecay has been designing and building Quasar phasers since 2005. For the new Quasar we explored new territory. We love defying effects conventions and breaking the rules. The Quasar’s next evolution is here and we’ve built in so much more than before.

Many of the new features are normally only found in fully digital effects. A wide variety of options are under your control. Pairing the analog and digital world together means there’s no compromise of analog headroom or that organic swirl that digital units just can’t match.

Modes & Controls:

In most modes the controls do what you’d expect. The offset knob is the exception. The offset knob is mode dependent. It sets anything from the phaser sweep center point to synchronized modulation ratios.

Rate: Always controls modulation speed.
Depth: Controls modulation depth.
Color: Usually controls phaser resonance. In mode 5 it controls a portamento function.
Mode: Set to any of the eleven modes. Modes are broken down into four categories:

1-4 Cross modulation (X-MOD)
5-6 Step Sequencing (STEP)
7-8 Envelope (ENV)
9-11 Traditional

X-MOD:

Cross modulation is our fancy way of saying the effect is modulated two different ways at the same time.

1 & 2 -Triangle + Sine & Triangle + Square:
The phaser is modulated by a slow triangle LFO and a faster Sine or Square wave LFO.
Offset: Sets LFO ratio to 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.

3 – X-Fade:
A cross fade effect. This is kind of like when the radio DJ fades out from one song and into the next one, but instead this crossfades the phaser effect and the clean signal.
Offset: Controls how often the effect crossfades over each cycle of the phases. Set to a ratio of 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.
Depth: Controls the cross fade depth.

4 – Tremolo:
Synchronized phaser and tremolo.
Offset: Sets tremolo ratio to 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.
Depth: Controls tremolo depth.

Step Sequencer:

Rather than traditional smooth phasing these modes create rhythmic phaser/filter patterns.

5 – Step Pattern:
A stepping pattern based on a triangle waveform.
Offset: Sets how far steps skip ahead on the triangle waveform creating repeating patterns.
Color: Portamento control. Turn to the left to soften step patterns. Turn all the way to the left and modulation will smoothly glide from each step to the next step creating a myriad of unique wave forms.

6 – RND:
Random Phaser sequencer with volume chopper (square wave tremolo)
Offset: controls how long the volume is chopped per step. (0 – 50%)

Envelope modes:

Modulation is manipulated by touch dynamics.

7 – Envelope speed control:
A phaser effect where the modulation speed is altered by playing dynamics. (Similar functionality to our Vagabond Tremolo, and (discontinued) Siren Vibrato.)
Offset: slows down or speeds up modulation when you hit the guitar strings.

8 – Envelope Phaser:
Similar to an envelope filter… but with a phaser.
Offset: Controls phaser resting point.
Depth: Controls how much playing dynamics modulate the phaser (just like an envelope filter.)
Rate: Controls envelope attack and decay speed.

Traditional:

9 – Rotary / Vibrato:
Inspired by the long discontinued DOD FX22 with a deceptively huge range going from straight tremolo or vibrato, to very present filter/phaser tones.
Offset: Controls tremolo depth.
Color: Turn to the right for resonance. Turn to the left for a pitch vibrato effect.

10 – Slow Triangle LFO:
Long linear phaser sweep perfect for slow speeds.
Offset: controls center point of modulation.

11 – Fast Sine LFO:
A faster phaser using a sine wave LFO.
Offset: controls center point of modulation.

Pure analog tone with modern features.

Subdecay has been designing and building Quasar phasers since 2005. For the new Quasar we explored new territory. We love defying effects conventions and breaking the rules. The Quasar’s next evolution is here and we’ve built in so much more than before.

Many of the new features are normally only found in fully digital effects. A wide variety of options are under your control. Pairing the analog and digital world together means there’s no compromise of analog headroom or that organic swirl that digital units just can’t match.

Modes & Controls:

In most modes the controls do what you’d expect. The offset knob is the exception. The offset knob is mode dependent. It sets anything from the phaser sweep center point to synchronized modulation ratios.

Rate: Always controls modulation speed.
Depth: Controls modulation depth.
Color: Usually controls phaser resonance. In mode 5 it controls a portamento function.
Mode: Set to any of the eleven modes. Modes are broken down into four categories:

1-4 Cross modulation (X-MOD)
5-6 Step Sequencing (STEP)
7-8 Envelope (ENV)
9-11 Traditional

X-MOD:

Cross modulation is our fancy way of saying the effect is modulated two different ways at the same time.

1 & 2 -Triangle + Sine & Triangle + Square:
The phaser is modulated by a slow triangle LFO and a faster Sine or Square wave LFO.
Offset: Sets LFO ratio to 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.

3 – X-Fade:
A cross fade effect. This is kind of like when the radio DJ fades out from one song and into the next one, but instead this crossfades the phaser effect and the clean signal.
Offset: Controls how often the effect crossfades over each cycle of the phases. Set to a ratio of 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.
Depth: Controls the cross fade depth.

4 – Tremolo:
Synchronized phaser and tremolo.
Offset: Sets tremolo ratio to 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32.
Depth: Controls tremolo depth.

Step Sequencer:

Rather than traditional smooth phasing these modes create rhythmic phaser/filter patterns.

5 – Step Pattern:
A stepping pattern based on a triangle waveform.
Offset: Sets how far steps skip ahead on the triangle waveform creating repeating patterns.
Color: Portamento control. Turn to the left to soften step patterns. Turn all the way to the left and modulation will smoothly glide from each step to the next step creating a myriad of unique wave forms.

6 – RND:
Random Phaser sequencer with volume chopper (square wave tremolo)
Offset: controls how long the volume is chopped per step. (0 – 50%)

Envelope modes:

Modulation is manipulated by touch dynamics.

7 – Envelope speed control:
A phaser effect where the modulation speed is altered by playing dynamics. (Similar functionality to our Vagabond Tremolo, and (discontinued) Siren Vibrato.)
Offset: slows down or speeds up modulation when you hit the guitar strings.

8 – Envelope Phaser:
Similar to an envelope filter… but with a phaser.
Offset: Controls phaser resting point.
Depth: Controls how much playing dynamics modulate the phaser (just like an envelope filter.)
Rate: Controls envelope attack and decay speed.

Traditional:

9 – Rotary / Vibrato:
Inspired by the long discontinued DOD FX22 with a deceptively huge range going from straight tremolo or vibrato, to very present filter/phaser tones.
Offset: Controls tremolo depth.
Color: Turn to the right for resonance. Turn to the left for a pitch vibrato effect.

10 – Slow Triangle LFO:
Long linear phaser sweep perfect for slow speeds.
Offset: controls center point of modulation.

11 – Fast Sine LFO:
A faster phaser using a sine wave LFO.
Offset: controls center point of modulation.

Return of the Phase

The Quasar DLX is back in black. The original LFO waveforms return, with improvements in the phaser’s tone and usability.

Like many classic designs the heart of the Quasar DLX mkII is an analog 4 stage OTA based phaser. This phaser is made special by the features and functionality possible only with digital control. Eleven LFO shapes ranging from the tried and true sine and triangle waves to random sample/hold and even an argyle waveform. (Yes you read that right! Argyle!)

A phaser to control the world!

Control the LFO speed in three different ways. You can control the modulation speed by tap tempo, or hold down the tap switch for manual control and engage the DUAL ACTION SPEED KNOB. (Watch the demo to learn about the D.A.S.K.)  The speed ranges from a 45 second sweep up into ring modulation territory at nearly 300hz.

An expression pedal can also control the speed, or manually sweep the phaser like a wah.

Turning the color knob to the right increases the intensity of the phasing. When turned fully to the right it starts to sound similar to an early 80s Roland style Low pass filter. The color knob can have a dramatic effect on the output volume. Luckily there’s a volume knob too!

Human voice filter

Unlike most animals we humans have the ability to communicate with complex language. Complex language made possible with our ability to voice a wide array of sounds. The Vocawah captures the essence of our ability to articulate vowel sounds by using two parallel filters.

Like other envelope filters, the Vocawah uses your playing dynamics to modulate two filters. The parallel filters modulate in opposite directions. This creates a more intense and emotive effect than your typical wah or filter pedal. This is similar to running two wah pedals like Stevie Ray Vaughan did in parts of “Say What.”  No need to sit down and use both feet to rock the wahs. The Vocawah does all work for you. 

Analog design

An all Analog design offers advantages for resonant filters in terms of headroom, dynamic range and resolution. Sure, digital audio has come a long way since it’s early use in guitar effects, but this is one area where we feel analog is superior. Even the analog imperfections make filters sound more emotive instead of robotic and compressed.

Controls:

The Vocawah is super easy to dial in. The knob ranges and filter sweep are tuned to work well with guitar or bass, single coils or humbuckers.

• Manual- Manually sets the opening (or frequency) of each filter.
• Depth- Adjusts the sensitivity of filter modulation.
• Band-pass / Low-pass switch- Sets filter voicing. Low-pass retains lower frequencies which is often useful with bass guitar. Band-pass setting typically works better with guitar, particularly when used with overdrive.