Description
The Explorer from Spaceman's Cadet Series is a 6-stage optical phaser that nails that classic liquid swirl but goes way beyond what you'd expect from a traditional phaser. It's built for players who want vintage warmth with modern flexibility-great for studio work, experimental textures, or just adding movement to a clean tone. This is a compact reissue of Spaceman's original Explorer phaser, keeping all the deluxe features but trimming the footprint to make it pedalboard-ready.
You've got deep control here: six stages of phase shifting, five LFO waveforms (plus manual mode), and a wide-ranging RATE knob that goes from ultra-slow sweeps to fast, percussive chop. The MIX knob is especially useful-it lets you blend in dry signal or go 100% wet for pitch modulation. There's also RES (for feedback), RANGE (to push phasing into low or high frequencies), and even expression/CV control that can act like a wah-style manual sweep. If you power it up with the footswitch held down, you unlock even more waveforms, including stepped and arpeggiated modes that push things into synth territory.
Despite all that flexibility, Explorer is easy to navigate and built to be reliable on any board. It takes up to 24V power for added headroom and uses true bypass switching. We like how it can go from subtle shimmer to full-on sci-fi, and it does it all without losing the warm, analog character you'd expect from a great phaser. This is one of those pedals that can surprise you every time you plug it in.
Specifications:
- Width: 2.6 inches / 66 mm
- Depth: 4.73 inches / 120 mm
- Height: 2.17 inches / 55 mm
- Weight: 10.5 ounces
- Input Resistance: 1Meg Ohm
- Bypass Current Draw: 26 mA
- Engaged Current Draw: 51 mA
- Input Voltage: 9-24V DC, negative center via the 2.1mm jack
Sku: CAD-EXPL
