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Clip 1
White Queen – inspired
Guitar: Brian May Red Special
Gear: Rock You Treble Booster, Red Badger, Vox AC30
Mode: Custom (B)
Speed: 1/10
Clip 2
Keep Yourself Alive – inspired
Guitar: Brian May Red Special
Gear: Rock You Treble Booster, Red Badger, Vox AC30
Mode: Custom (B)
Speed: 3/10
Clip 3
Killer Queen – inspired
Guitar: Brian May Red Special
Gear: Rock You Treble Booster, Red Badger, Mr. Deaky (direct to DAW)
Mode: Custom (B)
Speed: 2/10
Clip 4
Van Halen – inspired
Guitar: Fender Stratocaster HSS w/Floyd Rose
Gear: Red Badger, Eruption, Cornford Roadhouse 30 (Clean)
Mode: Standard (A)
Speed: 5/10
Red Badger Phaser is designed to recreate the classic vintage phase-shifting tones that were very popular in the 70s, designed with a very specific reference: the sound of Brian May live in the second half of the 70s.
The Phaser
One of the most controversial topics in guitarists’ discussions is the difference between certain modulation effects such as Chorus, Flanger, and, of course, Phaser. Since the first two are effectively similar in concept, the Phaser has very little in common with Flanger. On Phaser effects the principle is to add the dry signal to a phase-shifted copy of itself, modulating it via an LFO. Therefore, no delay circuit is used, as with Chorus, for example.
The phasing effect was born between the 1960s and 1970s as a standalone effect and was only explicitly developed as a full-fledged guitar pedal in 1974 when MXR Phase 90 was released.
Brian May and the fOXX Footphaser
The exact release date of the fOXX Footphaser is unclear. One thing is sure: despite being a pedal complete with a wah-wah-style treadle, it wasn’t designed as a true guitar effect: the input and output jacks were both positioned on the same side, and analyzing its circuitry, both the input and output stages hadn’t a typical stompbox configuration, causing some slight issues for guitar use.
Brian May most likely bought his fOXX Footphaser in 1975, since during Queen’s famous Live at the Rainbow ’74 there was no phasing effect of any kind and in the archives there’s even a picture of the pedalboard from that concert in which the fOXX was not yet present. Archive photos show the first picture with the fOXX Footphaser in 1975. An effect that accompanied Brian May throughout the 70s and was often active for the entire duration of his live performances.
The Red Badger Phaser
Undeniably inspired by the fOXX, the Red Badger isn’t intended to be a clone; several copies of the original exist on the market with convincing results. With the Red Badger, we wanted to recreate the same phasing sound as the fOXX, solving some small issues and adapting the circuitry to be used as a classic guitar pedal, compatible with any pedalboard.
The input stage of the fOXX Footphaser is designed to receive a signal with a lower impedance than the guitar, and the first gain stage, not being configured as a buffer, can cause annoying interference if used with a treble booster in front. In the Red Badger, the solution was to maintain the phasing behavior unchanged, resulting in a much more linear guitar-effect matching. The fOXX’s output stage was also not designed to be connected to a guitar amplifier, resulting in a very annoying pop (or bang) every time we activate or deactivate the Phaser. The Red Badger uses a PNP output stage to address this and other issues with the output stage.
The concept of the Red Badger, from a layout perspective, was also to make it user-friendly without sacrificing the functionality of the original fOXX Footphaser: continuous control over the fOXX certainly offered greater expressive possibilities by being able to control its speed in real time, but it also required surgical precision with the foot on the treadle to achieve the desired speed. So we decided to create the Red Badger with two different modes, each with the same sound, and both can be selected via a dedicated footswitch. This allows you to always have two modes at your fingertips without having to calibrate anything.
Speed A (Standard mode): When the pedal is set in this mode, phase speed control is complete; the speed can be adjusted from extremely slow to extremely fast, much like other standard MXR-style phaser pedals (we’re only talking about LFO speed, not sound).
Speed B (Custom mode): This is very similar to the treadle travel of a fOXX set to slow (Brian May’s favorite). When set to minimum, it’s like having the treadle at minimum on the fOXX, and when set to maximum, you don’t reach the extreme speeds of the Standard mode, but you’re still within the range of the fOXX’s slow position.
These features were introduced to make the Red Badger highly versatile and adaptable to any type of use: two distinct speeds; a more traditional and a more aggressive phasing; the ability to simulate a treadle, and much more. No need to calibrate anything.
Why devote so much time and attention to an effect from another era? Luca Colombo shares his thoughts.
“As a Queen music enthusiast and a fan of Brian May, I’m not the only one considering the guitar sound of the late ’70s concerts the most majestic, regal, and aggressive in the entire history of Queen and Brian May. For years, I thought it was exclusively due to the particularly successful Vox AC30 series used in those years. That’s probably true, but I never paid particular attention to the effect that undoubtedly contributed to the creation of those sounds: PHASER. A Phaser used before a saturated amplifier —as it should be used— not only creates the typical cyclic effect, characteristic of LFO-based devices, but adds depth and sustain, contributing to a more massive sound. Therefore, I wanted to undertake this sonic, technical, and musical research, seeking to improve a device conceived, nowadays in 2025, over half a century ago, while maintaining its flavor and timeless characteristics.”
