The RM-29 Resly Machine is a vintage phaser pedal from the Japanese maker Shin-ei, the company better known for the Uni-Vibe. TONEHOME, the vintage effects reference site, describes it as "Shin-ei's cheeky take on the Oberheim Maestro PS-1 Phase Shifter," placing it in the same family of swirling, rotating-speaker-inspired modulation effects as that unit and the phaser pedals it inspired1.
The name is a piece of history in itself. The pedal was intended to be called a Lesley Machine, after the Leslie rotating speaker it was chasing, but the Japanese phonetic difficulty with "R" and "L" sounds led to the Resly Machine name instead1.
What it does
As a phaser, the Resly Machine sweeps notches through the guitar's signal to produce a moving, spacey modulation. TONEHOME's writer, who owned an example, summed up its character plainly: "But I like the bubbling, swirly sound of the Resly Machine."1 That places it in the same sonic territory as the Leslie-emulating effects Shin-ei was known for, rather than the sharper sweep of some other phaser designs.
Versions and availability
The RM-29 also appeared in a rebranded version for the UK retailer Rands, sold as the Rands RM-29 Resly Machine1.
The Resly Machine is a vintage pedal with no current production. Examples surface on the used market through eBay and Reverb listings1.
Sources (1)
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME - the World of Vintage Guitar Effect Pedals