The Golden Small Stone is a limited-edition phaser pedal from Electro-Harmonix, released in 2025 to mark 50 years of the company's original compact phaser, the Small Stone. It re-creates the original 1970s circuit using now-obsolete NOS CA3094 chips, in a full-sized Small Stone chassis finished in gold12.
The run was limited to 600 pedals, and Electro-Harmonix now lists the edition as sold out1. It launched in January 2025 at a price of $3003.
A limited 50th anniversary Small Stone
The Golden Small Stone exists because of a lucky find. As the 50th anniversary of the original compact phaser approached, Electro-Harmonix unearthed a stock of now-obsolete CA3094 chips, the part at the heart of the 1970s circuit, and built this edition around them1. The company describes the result as "that smooth and sweet phase shifter sound loved by millions"1.
The edition is a collector's piece as much as a player's pedal:
- Limited-edition golden reissue of the Small Stone, marking 50 years of the original compact phaser1
- Original 1970s Small Stone circuit featuring NOS CA3094 chips, now obsolete1
- Analog circuit, built to re-create the smooth and sweet phase shifter sound of the 1970s1
- Footswitch toggles between effect and True Bypass mode, with a status LED that lights in effect mode and is off in True Bypass1
- Sold out1
Guitar Pedal X covered the launch and took a skeptical view of the edition's fate, describing it as attractive but potentially shelf-ware, with concerns about scalpers and trophy hunters2.
"The edition is described as attractive but potentially shelf-ware, with concerns about scalpers and trophy hunters."
The controls: Rate and Color
The Golden Small Stone keeps the two controls of the original, Color and Rate2. That is the whole control surface, and it is all a classic four-stage phaser of this design asks for.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| RATE knob | Adjusts phasing sweep speed. Turn clockwise for a faster sweep.1 |
| COLOR switch | Changes the character of the phase shift: a full, robust phase shift in the lower position, a more pronounced phase shift in the upper position.1 |
The footswitch toggles between effect and true bypass mode, and a status LED lights when the effect is on and goes dark in bypass1.
Power and connections
Setup is mono and simple: your instrument goes into the INST jack and your amplifier connects to the AMP jack1. There is one input and one output, no stereo path4.
Power comes from a 9V battery or an optional 9VDC AC adapter capable of delivering at least 50mA1. The adapter must have a center negative plug that fits a 2.1mm center pin, and Electro-Harmonix recommends its own EHX 9.6DC-200 adapter1. Current draw is 12mA4, light enough that a battery is a realistic option for a pedal this size.
The Golden Small Stone is sold out at the maker, so any unit found today is secondhand. With only 600 made and serial numbers laser-etched on the back, the edition is likely to trade above its original $300 price13.
How it differs from a regular Small Stone
The differences are mostly about the finish and the chip. The Golden Small Stone uses the full-sized Small Stone chassis but in gold, with the laser-etched serial number, and inside it runs the original 1970s circuit built on NOS CA3094 chips rather than a modern recreation1. The standard Small Stone Phase Shifter and the compact Small Stone Nano carry the same two controls, Rate and Color, in the current line, so the playing experience is familiar; the Golden edition is the one with the vintage part and the gold paint.
Videos
The Pedal Picassos
Luke V Loops
That Pedal Show
Sources (4)
- Golden Small Stone, Electro-Harmonix (www.ehx.com)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-01-22
- “The fates aligned”: Electro-Harmonix launches 50th anniversary Golden Small Stone phase shifter, Guitar.com, 2025-01-22
- Golden Small Stone, Electro-Harmonix (www.ehx.com)
