The original Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, introduced in 1974, is both enormous and enormously coveted. It's a dual six-stage phaser designed around a lamp/photocell circuit (a la that of the '60s Shin-ei Univibe) because of its wide dynamic range. It was also the very first phaser to feature rotary feedback control pots.
The Bi-Phase is perhaps the exact opposite of some of the other popular (and compact) phasers that were out at the time, like MXR's Phase 90 and the Electro-Harmonix Small Stone. This unit is far more complex, featuring a whole host of tweakable controls both externally and internally.
Because of its myriad of controls, this VCR-sized behemoth of a pedal became much more than just a tool to rest at guitarists' feet. Producers saw its potential, and now the Bi-Phase is known as much as a studio Swiss Army knife as anything else. In this episode of Funky Vintage, we wanted to explore that further.
Our friends over at Rock N Roll Vintage in Chicago let us borrow an original 1970s Mu-Tron Bi-Phase that's currently listed for sale in their Reverb shop. Since we know it to be one of the most sonically rich phasers in existence, we wanted to gather as much gear as we could get our hands on to run the Bi-Phase through. Check out the video above to hear how it sounds.