The Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser is a phaser and fuzz combined in a single pedal, made in Japan in the mid 1970s. As Premier Guitar put it, "Roland packaged phaser and fuzz together in in the AP-7 Jet Phaser"12, and PastFx notes that "The AP-7 was unique for its time, incorporating a fuzz and phase circuit within one pedal"2. Its Jet modes produce what the PastFx manual describes as "thick swirling phase and faux Leslie rotary speaker effects"3.
Phaser and fuzz in one pedal
The AP-7 runs a fuzz into a phaser, and its six modes, four of which are called Jet, made it one of the first multi-mode pedals ever released5. The Jet stage is the circuit best known from the standalone Roland AF-60 Bee Gee, which Aion FX calls "the standalone version of the 'jet mode' of the legendary AP-7 Jet Phaser"6. On the AP-7 itself, the tone control is simplified into a two-position switch with only "full bass" and "full treble" settings, where the AF-60's tone potentiometer is, in Aion FX's words, "much more usable"6.
When it was made and where it came from
The AP-7 Jet Phaser now attracts high prices from both artists and collectors alike3. That collector interest is one reason the pedal has been revisited by builders making their own versions, covered below.
Who played it
The pedal is most closely tied to Larry Graham, bassist of Sly and the Family Stone. GuitarPlayer.com's Christopher Scapelliti writes that "The pedal was a favorite of Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham"7, and Pedal of the Day calls it a "classic 70's phase shifter made popular by Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone)"8.
Price and recreations
PastFx states plainly that "The Ap-7 now attracts high prices from both artists and collectors alike"3. Several makers have since built their own takes on the circuit:
Because the original AP-7 now attracts high prices from both artists and collectors alike3, several builders have offered their own takes on the Jet Phaser concept:
Videos
TheJRGuitars
voodoowrench
I Berner
Questions
How many modes does the Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser have?
The AP-7 has six modes, four of which are called Jet. With those six modes it was one of the first multi-mode pedals ever released, covering thick swirling phase and faux Leslie rotary speaker effects alongside its fuzz stage.
When was the Roland AP-7 made?
Roland produced the AP-7 Jet Phaser from 1975 to 1978, according to Josh Scott of JHS Pedals and Yoshi Ikegami. It followed Roland's 1974 AP-5 Phaser and was discontinued the year after the 1977 launch of the Boss compact pedal series.
Who played the Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser?
The pedal was a favorite of Larry Graham, bassist of Sly and the Family Stone, and it is the 1970s phase shifter most associated with his sound.
Has the AP-7 been recreated by other makers?
Yes. Warm Audio released a Jet Phaser recreation in 2020, PastFx published a manual for its Jet Phaser reproduction in 2021, Loud Button Electronics announced the Morphine Dream phaser with fuzz based on the AP-7 in 2012, and Fuzzrocious designed the Electric Ocean fuzz and phaser with inspiration from the AP-7.
Why is the AP-7 so expensive on the used market?
PastFx notes that the AP-7 now attracts high prices from both artists and collectors alike, since it was only made from 1975 to 1978 and remains the pedal behind Larry Graham's phase-heavy bass sound.
Sources (8)
- Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean Review, Premier Guitar, 2021-11-01
- JFet Fuzz Phaser, PastFx, 1970
- PastFx_Jet_Phaser_Manual_2021.pdf, PastFx, 2021
- BEFORE BOSS WAS BOSS, JHS Pedals
- Warm Audio Jet Phaser, Delicious Audio, 2021-07-29
- Antipode Vintage Fuzz / Roland Jet Phaser Fuzz, Aion FX, 2019-11-28
- Warm Audio Jet Phaser Review, GuitarPlayer.com, 2021-01-18
- Warm Audio Jet Phaser, Pedal of the Day, 2021-01-23
