Not just a multidimensional phaser!

I used to think Strymon pedals weren't for me. I have nothing against boutique pedals, far from it, but for me, Strymon was like a Rolex, a sign of success, no doubt, but not really the idea of something exciting, something gritty... especially since I like pedals with a maximum of three or four knobs where you can immediately find the sound you want and hardly ever change it.

But it turned out I was traveling in a mid-sized city in the United States, and the store right across from where I was staying was THE Strymon dealer in the region. Was I going to cave in? Well, yes: after trying an Ultraviolet (great), a Lex (also great, but not really for me), I walked out with this marvel on which I got a $50 discount (still quite expensive, though!).

So, what is the Zelzah and why did I give in? Well, in fact, while the pedal presents itself as a dual phaser (4 stages on one side, 6 stages on the other), it offers much more than that.

On the left, the 4-stage section. We're in Phase 90 or classic Small Stone territory. A typical '70s sound, but that's not all. Strymon offers some out-of-the-ordinary options. First, there's the mix knob, which ranges from unaltered sound to pure phaser (midway) to vibrato (the phaser sound, but not mixed with the clean sound). This already allows for a wide palette of sounds. But that's not all because there's also a selector that switches from classic phaser to a "barber" option (instead of going up and down, the phaser sound seems to eternally rise... like watching a drill bit spin endlessly, to give you an idea). Then there's the "envelope" option, where the phaser starts sounding like an envelope filter with the depth adjusting the filter sensitivity and the speed its range. So, you get a sort of auto-wah. On the right, the 6-stage section, there are even more options with a "voice" knob that shifts from phaser to flanger (12 o'clock) then to chorus (fully turned) and everything in between. It's absolutely incredible. There's also a "resonance" switch, reminiscent of the Small Stone, that enhances the phaser's feedback effect with different outcomes depending on where the voice is set. So, you get an infinite variety of modulation sounds, not just two phasers, but – to recap – flanger, chorus, vibrato, and auto-wah. Plus, both sides are independent and can be combined. Add to this stereo capability, a USB port for MIDI control, the possibility of adding an expression pedal, etc., and you have the modulation pedal to end all modulation pedals. I'm not saying you have a CE-2, a VB-2, and an Electric Mistress at your fingertips... but the range of possibilities is still very extensive.

And yet, the designers have done everything to make the settings intuitive so that it is easy to find highly satisfactory sounds. In addition, whatever the settings on the left and right, they naturally blend into each other. No position is ugly or too extreme. It's as if all possible configurations (hundreds, no doubt) were designed to remain musically relevant.

In the end, the only flaw lies in the very quality of the product: you switch from one sound to another and you always want to change (the auto-wah is, in my opinion, the most fun effect... it sounds like Jerry Garcia's Mu-tron, but it can also be set to make a kind of cocked wah for playing "Kiss" by Prince, you get the idea).

In short, apart from the fact that you need to shell out at least 300 euros for this type of pedal and my lack of interest in some of the possible options (yes, you can edit almost everything, update the firmware, etc.), I think I have the most amazing modulation pedal I've ever played. A real Swiss army knife and not just "the Strymon phaser."

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