Empress Effects Phaser — MIDI Editor & CC Reference

Control the Empress Effects Phaser from your browser — MIDI control reference, interactive editor, and AI-generated presets. Free, no install.

Explore the Phaser controls in your browser and connect compatible MIDI hardware to send settings to your pedal. The reference below shows the controls mapped in Nitelite; available functions depend on the pedal and firmware. The default MIDI channel in Nitelite is 1. Browser MIDI control works in Chrome, Edge, Opera, or Brave — no install required.

Knobs

ControlMIDI CCDescription
BLENDNot MIDI-controlledControls the mix between the original signal and the phase-shifted signal. Fully clockwise gives the deepest phase cancellations. In mix-knob configuration (DIP-selectable), fully clockwise produces a vibrato-style effect with no dry signal. NOTE: this knob is not documented as MIDI-controllable in the manual.
SPEED/RATIOCC 20In knob mode: sets the speed of the phaser directly. In tap mode: sets the multiplication ratio for the tapped tempo (e.g., 1:2 = phaser runs at twice the tap speed). In auto mode: this knob becomes SENSITIVITY -- controls how the pedal listens to your input signal. Higher sensitivity for softer playing, lower sensitivity for louder playing.
WIDTHCC 21Determines how far the phase shift varies from the center position. In auto mode: this knob becomes RELEASE -- controls how quickly the pedal reacts to a decrease in input signal volume. Fully counter-clockwise is the fastest release; fully clockwise is the slowest.
WAVEFORMCC 22Selects between 8 different LFO waveforms (1=sine, 2=triangle, 3=asymmetric, 4=ramp down, 5=ramp up, 6=asymmetric/sawtooth, 7=square, 8=random/stepped). In auto mode: this knob becomes SUBMODE -- selects between 8 auto-mode submodes (envelope follow, LFO on envelope, speed follow, random follow, follow trigger, trigger random level, rhythm mode, direct control).
GAINNot MIDI-controlledControls the output gain. The point where unity gain lies depends on the pedal's other settings. NOTE: this knob is not documented as MIDI-controllable in the manual.

Switches

SwitchMIDI CCPositions
MODECC 23Tap / Knob / Auto
SPEED RANGECC 24Slow / Medium / Fast
STAGESNot MIDI-controlled2-Pole / 4-Pole / 3-Pole
RESONANCENot MIDI-controlledLittle / None / Lots
EXPRESSIONNot MIDI-controlledSpeed / None / Width

Footswitches

  • TAPCC 35
  • BYPASSCC 36

Special MIDI Functions

  • MIDI Clock Listener — CC 51. Enables or disables MIDI Clock listening. When enabled (default), the pedal syncs to incoming MIDI Beat Clock messages in tap and normal mode. Each quarter note corresponds to one period of the phaser waveform. WARNING: changing the speed/ratio knob while MIDI clock is being received will cause the phaser to momentarily switch settings.
  • Direct Control — CC 40. Overrides all digital settings and sets the amount of phase shift directly with MIDI values. Sending 0 = minimum phase shift, 127 = maximum. Lets you draw custom waveforms in a DAW and send them to the phaser.
  • Exit Direct Control — CC 50. Sending any value to this CC causes the pedal to exit direct-control mode and return to normal operation.

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