What is Audiofaze ?

chas_kit

G45 Legend
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
Certain early '60s records credit a copyrighted effect called Audiofaze. Was this a piece of equipment?

Phase effects were created in the early '60s by splitting a tape signal or playing two identical tapes on separate machines and varying the phase on one. But Audiofaze seems to have been some kind of process or box. Or just a marketing ploy? Anyone know?


 
It certainly sounds like proper tape phasing - no effect boxes can replicate phase shifting very well (even though there are some that sounds great) and I don't think there was any phasers/flangers manufactured before the 70's. Maybe it's som gizmo with tapes where you could manipulate the speed with a control on one "channel" and create phasing. I.e. something similar to tape echo units.
The chorus effect in my Roland 301 is similarly made with the tape and the audio heads... and it sounds a 1000 times better than any box I've ever heard (I don't like chorus but the effect in the tape echo is another thing... it easily re-creates things like Stacy's guitar sound from Bull of the Woods, and sounds great on vocals for an under water sound, for example)
 
...or it's just some early name for the effect one gets from tape phasing. I have a girl group 45 from '64 (The Drake Sisters on Chattahootchee) that is "recorded in phase-o-phonic sound" according to the label. Heavy phasing all over the place. Sounds like The Shangri-Las on acid :)