Phasers are a fun modulation device used extensively by Keith Richards in the late 1970s. Listen to Shattered on the Some Girls album and many available live versions of Beast of Burden. The effect is created by cloning the signal, shifting the phase of one copy, and then combining the two into a single signal again. Certain frequency are canceled out and those notches in the signal are swept through the entire frequency range. Most people think of phasers as creating a swirling, erie type sound. But Richards used them in a variety of different settings. They can be particularly useful on leads in jangly songs to fatten up a relatively clean tone. Billy Joel also used one to great effect on his piano on Just the Way You Are.
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