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NPD: Mojo Hand FX Nebula IV


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After posting GC's Used Effects link for RABid, I thought I'd take a look for myself. Out of everything else, a Mojo Hand FX Nebula IV Phaser caught my eye: think upgraded Phase 90. I needed a compact Phaser for my pedalboard, the Nebula IV got good reviews all around, and the price was right, so . . .

 

It got here last night, but I didn't really get around to checking it out until this morning. It's a three-knob box, Depth, Rate & Level. The Level control isn't steep; as someone else wrote elsewhere, it's not "0-100%"; Unity Gain seems to be right around Noon, although YEMV, depending on what else you're using with it. Even turned all the way up, the Level isn't likely to overdrive a clean Amp, but it's worth experimenting with. The Rate knob goes from slow sweep to space-gun throb, as you'd expect, and the Depth knob goes from subtle to just short of the seasick, pitch-warping wobble some Phasers generate. FWIW, none of the settings really go completely overboard, and it never overpowers the sound of your Guitar. For now, I get the sound I want with the Depth & Rate at right around 1 o'clock, and the Level set at Noon.

 

Obviously, it's not a clone of the Phase 90, it's somewhat more flexible, while staying true to the basic sound. There are no surprises here, no hidden features, nothing weird. It's a perfectly nice 4-Stage Phaser, with a cool Space Walk graphic on the box, and a bright Orange indicator light. FWIW, if I'd wanted a Phase 90, I could have gotten a brand-new Phase 90 for slightly less than the used Nebula IV, but I chose the Nebula. It seemed like more fun.

 

After a very hot week of landscaping work, mid to upper 90's with humidity you could drown in, we have a day with rain in the forecast, and slightly cooler temperatures, so I'm happy to take a day off and sit inside playing with my new, used Phaser. Happy weekend!

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Does it have dual outputs? That is a coveted feature in Kuru world, even if I don't use it much.

 

No, pure old-school design, one In, one Out, no Expression Pedal In. Nice sound, though . . .

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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The Nebula IV is mounted into my Pedaltrain Novo 24, and everything is working very nicely. I've got two Voodoo Lab PP2+'s mounted underneath to power the whole thing.

 

I tried to upload some photos, but I may have to compress them(?) for that to work. The current layout is, in order -

 

Digitech Freqout (Feedback Generator)

Malekko Sneak Attack (Attack/Decay Envelope Generator)

Malekko Scrutator (Bit Crusher)

Catalinbread Heliotrope (Ring Mod w/personality disorder)

Walrus Messner (Transparent/Low-Gain OD)

Walrus Warhorn (Mid-Gain OD)

Mojo Hand FX Iron Bell (Muff-style Fuzz)

Mojo Hand FX Nebula IV (4-stage Phaser)

Keeley Bubbletron (Dynamic Flanger)

Keeley Seafoam Chorus V1 (Digital Chorus)

Malekko 616 Analog Delay MkII (Analog Delay w/Mod)

Malekko Charlie Foxtrot (Granular Delay)

Catalinbread Bicycle Delay (Delay pedal inspired by LSD, no joke!)

 

Plugged into my Cherry Red SG, Eris, and my Laney LX65r, it all sounds great. Now, I just need to get out and play, somewhere . . .

 

BTW, you'll see that I don't have a dedicated Buffer, Compressor, nor an EQ pedal, in my signal chain. (The Messner can provide some Compression, but I don't use it as an "always-on"device, I use it as an OD.) May not be in keeping with conventional wisdom, but it works for me . . .

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I've been reducing the width of photos I post on here to 2000 pixels and then saving them in Photoshop Elements as a medium to high quality JPEG file.

Gets them under the 1mb limit every time.

 

That's quite a rig you have there!!!!

It would make my tiny brain hurt while I was playing...

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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On the photo front, get a membership at an image-hosting site like Imgur. Upload your images to your account, then copy/paste the link in your post with the IMG tags.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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@KuruPrionz - The Scrutator, Heliotrope, Charlie Foxtrot and Bicycle Delay are all Anarchy Boxes, or Chaos Generators, if you prefer, and I sought them out for their unique, um, qualities.

 

My board for performing with Novparolo is more stripped-down: a Roland GR-20 Guitar Synth with an Acoustic Imaginearing Q-Drive, Keeley Seafoam Chorus V1 and Malekko 616 Analog Delay MkII in the GR's S/R loop, all mounted on a Pedaltrain 1 in a HSC. Yes, those are duplicates of the Seafoam and 616 MkII, I have them in both my main 'boards. When something works . . .

 

I love Malekko's gear, in part because they think more like Synth designers, and I've been lucky enough to find used models for good prices. Their Manuals, however, are laconic to the point of being minimalist. If you're not sure what you're doing when you start out, you've got a good bit of dial-twisting ahead of you. Not for those seeking instant gratification, except for the 616, where I defy you to get a bad sound out of it.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I don"t have much Malekko, but based on my Helium, I should probably have more...

 

The Helium and Chaos pedals were originally made by Studio Electronics, and came in really long enclosures, like the size of a Volume Pedal. Not sure how they migrated to Malekko, but I've been looking for a used Chaos pedal for some time now.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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