Get spacey with Mojo Hand’s Nebula phaser
Mojo Hand’s Nebula Phaser is a rather unassuming pedal. It comes in a plain white box, and wrapped with a little bubble wrap. Underneath the wrap is a small enclosure splashed with a cool purpley-black sparkle paint job that bursts greens and reds in the light. There are no instructions with the two-stage Nebula, and why should there be? It is single knob stomp. The more you turn it to the right, the faster the modulation rate gets. Below the knob and above the sturdy foot switch is the Nebula name in a cosmic cursive script. WTDP? got a chance recently to put the Nebula through its paces to see if it was more than meets the eye.
Who says effects need to be complicated to be good? Hmm? No really, who says that?! Not the folks at Mojo Hand. The Nebula phaser is a sweet little stomp based on the old MXR Phase 45 pedal. Like the 45, the Nebula is a subtle, gentle effect that isn’t a tone vampire like some boutique phasers. One old online review of the 45 I read recently said it best – ‘One knob. Turn it. If it doesn’t sound good, it isn’t on.’ The same can be said for the Nebula.
When I first plugged in the Nebula, I was struck by its smoothness. As I noodled around a bit, it struck me. This thing screams for Pink Floyd! I started working on what little Floyd I know… mostly from Dark Side, and the Nebula held up its end of the bargain. I opted out of Floyd for the clips, instead going with a simple pattern to better showcase the range of the stomp and compare its effects on both humbuckers and single coil pick-ups. With the Les Paul, we’ll take the Nebula around the clock. Starting from clean, we’ll go to 9 o’clock, then noon, over to 3 o’clock and ending pegged all the way right. Take a listen…
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The Nebula gives off a sweeping yet subtle vibe. The lack of depth control isn’t as big an issue as one would guess. The Mojo Hand team did a great job dialing in the sweet spot offering a nice phasey wow and flutter as you increase the rate. Even at the higher rates, the Nebula never gets harsh or choppy. It stays warm and true to the effect. Swapping out the LP for the Strat, we’ll run the same exercise with the neck pickup.
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Obviously a much different, more chimey coloration off the neck pick-up of the Strat, but the Nebula maintains its subtle wave. The effect appears even more ‘laid back’ with the single coils than the humbuckers.
The Mojo Hand Nebula is a curiosity among the army of boutique stomps equipped with toggles, switches and internal pots. This one knob phaser is no head-scratcher, it’s built like a tank and sounds good no matter where you dial it in. That’s our take anyway… your mileage may vary.
Special thanks to Brad at ToneFactor.com for the loaner Nebula.
PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo amp with 1×12 extension cab. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.
