Chase Bliss Billy Strings Wombtone Analog EnveloPhaser

The Chase Bliss Billy Strings Wombtone Analog EnveloPhaser is a limited edition phaser pedal that revives Chase Bliss's discontinued Wombtone as the company's first and only signature pedal, built for bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings¹². It is an analog, envelope-controlled phaser: the phase sweep can be driven directly by your playing dynamics rather than only by an internal oscillator, so the effect tightens around your pick attack³⁴.

The story behind it is unusual. Chase Bliss discovered that Billy Strings had started collecting every Wombtone pedal he could find before the pedal was discontinued, which led to the collaboration³. The result keeps the original's digitally controlled analog signal path, with a 100% analog audio route and digital brain handling presets, MIDI, and control³⁵.

An analog phaser that follows your playing dynamics

The core idea is the envelope follower. Instead of the phase sweep running on a fixed rate, an envelope circuit tracks the level of your signal, so the phasing moves with how hard or softly you play. Pedal of the Day's reviewer described it as letting you "control the phasing directly with your playing, for responsive and tightly-synced movement"³. Gearnews called it "a dynamic phase with the kind of modulation depth, you've come to expect from them"⁷.

The envelope follower circuit has three controls responding to pick attack, an update Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson called "a brilliant update to the Wombtone Analog Phaser"⁸. Beyond the envelope mode, the pedal collects multiple styles of phasing in one place, covering classic and modern phase sounds, envelope filtering, and more experimental modulation¹³.

How it differs from the original Wombtone

The regular Chase Bliss Wombtone was discontinued, and the Billy Strings edition is a reissue with variations rather than a straight copy⁵. The changes Chase Bliss made include:

• An improved input stage using Burr Brown op-amps⁵
• Increased headroom⁵
• A new envelope-triggered mode⁸³
• A new slow mode⁵

The control panel layout follows Chase Bliss convention: six dials and four switches². With ENV mode off, the pedal works like any regular phaser, so a player who just wants a classic sweep can ignore the envelope side entirely⁵.

Presets, MIDI, tap tempo and expression

The digital control layer is where the pedal earns its flexibility. Pedal of the Day's spec rundown lists the connectivity³:

That makes it at home on a larger board alongside other MIDI pedals, with an expression pedal sweeping parameters in real time, or in a modular rig through CV. Delicious Audio grouped it with Chase Bliss's "advanced connectivity and customization options including Envelope control, MIDI, CV and Expression control, presets"⁵.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on 9V DC, center negative, drawing about 200 mA¹. That current draw is well above a standard 100 mA output on a basic power supply, so it needs a higher-current output or a dedicated supply. I/O is mono in and mono out, with no stereo option³.

Why it is only sold in the US

The run was limited to 3,000 units and sold only in the United States⁶. Chase Bliss has not given a reason for the US-only availability, so players outside the United States have no announced way to buy one new.

MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted the restriction plainly: "sadly, it is a US exclusive"⁶. The pedal was priced at $399, available to order from late August 2024, shipping mid-September⁶.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the pedal in September 2024 and came away positive, both about the return of the Wombtone line and the sound itself³:

The reviewer also noted the pedal has far more capability than a demo can show, given the preset, MIDI, CV, and expression options layered over the analog phasing³. Guitar World covered the launch as Chase Bliss's first-ever signature pedal, calling its six dials and four switches "a comprehensive control panel"².

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