Colorsound Fuzz Phazer

The Colorsound Fuzz Phazer is a combination fuzz and phaser pedal made in England by Sola Sound, with the original version dating to 1973¹. It is a two-effect unit: a fuzz stage and a phaser section controlled by a rocker, in the manner of a wah or volume pedal. It belongs to the same family of Colorsound designs as the Colorsound Wow-Fuzz, which likewise pairs a fuzz stage with a filter effect, and the Colorsound Overdriver.

How it works

The pedal is operated with a rocker, like a wah pedal. On the unit photographed by TONEHOME, the rocker goes all the way across the filter sweep of the "Phazer", and it can sweep over either the dry or the wet signal¹. A switch mounted underneath the rocker turns the Fuzz on and off, so the fuzz stage can be switched out and the phaser used alone¹.

The phaser section does not sound like a conventional phaser, according to TONEHOME's reviewer¹:

The same reviewer describes the effect as appearing more like a wah or swell effect than a typical phase shift, and sums the pedal up this way¹:

TONEHOME also notes the circuit's unusual construction: "Interestingly enough this Phazer has a discrete circuitry unlike any other phaser I know."¹

The 1973 and 1976 versions

The Fuzz Phazer was made in two versions:

The later 1976 version came in a wider housing with an IC-based board layout built around the LM1458 op-amp chip, a departure from the discrete circuitry of the 1973 original¹.

Related Colorsound pedals

Colorsound and Sola Sound produced a range of fuzz-based effects through the 1970s, including the Colorsound Supa Tonebender, the Colorsound Tonebender Pro Mk II and the Colorsound FuzzPhaze. For more on the effect type, see Fuzz Pedals and Phaser Pedals¹.