Twice the phasers, twice the fun?

 Today, we continue with the next instalment in the long-running series titled “Behringer’s lawyers are certainly earning their keep.”

This time, we’re looking at the Behringer Dual Phase — formerly known as the Bi-Phase — a pedal that is very clearly, ahem, “heavily inspired” by the legendary Mu-Tron Bi-Phase. And when I say inspired, I mean lovingly, meticulously, and with an eye on exactly how far one can push things before legal letters start arriving.

Behringer are more than happy to tell you that this pedal contains 12 opto-couplers, which I’m assured is very important if you want to recreate the wild, swirling madness of the original. Somewhere along the line, however, someone in a suit must have cleared their throat, because the name quietly shifted from Bi-Phase to Dual Phase. Much like the saga with the mythical horse-themed overdrive that eventually became the Zentara, Behringer have a habit of colouring just inside the lines… until someone reminds them where the lines actually are.

Now, onto the pedal itself.

You do not accidentally buy a Dual Phase.

First of all, it is absolutely enormous. It is, without exaggeration, about the size of a fully grown human face. I even took a photo of it next to my own head, and it pretty much eclipsed the lot. Choosing this pedal means committing a serious amount of pedalboard real estate. This is not a casual “I’ll just pop a phaser on the end” kind of decision.

Then there’s the power draw. Those opto-couplers don’t come cheap — electrically speaking. This thing demands a whopping 700mA. Not asks. Demands! So not only does it take up half your board, it also insists on the finest quality current you can provide. You’re not choosing this pedal by mistake. This is a deliberate, intentional life choice.

If you’ve got the relevant cajones (or cajonas — I am definitely inclusive 😂) to make this your modulation of choice, there is an absurd amount going on under the hood. With more knobs and switches than a small aircraft cockpit, this is a long way from your set-and-forget Phase 90.

The left side handles what you might consider the “business end” of the operation. You’ve got rate, depth, and feedback — everything you need to sculpt your phaser from a gentle, shimmery swirl to a thick, chewy warble. The feedback control lets you tiptoe right into those glorious 1950s B-movie sci-fi laser sounds too, which is always a bonus. You can also switch between sine and square waveforms, adding either smooth movement or a more abrupt, choppy modulation feel.

The right side, however… this is where things go completely off the rails.

Alongside similar controls, you get access to Sweep Generator 2, which fundamentally changes the voicing of the phaser. Sweep Generator 1 is the “normal” phaser — lush, musical, and familiar. Sweep Generator 2 is its unhinged cousin. It leans hard into weirdness, chaos, and full-on sci-fi nonsense. If the left side is business, the right side is very much the party.  It takes the logic of the humble mullet.

And of course, being called the Dual Phase, you’re not expected to keep these two worlds separate. Engaging both sides at once is not only possible — it’s actively encouraged. This is where the pedal truly earns its place, unlocking sounds you probably didn’t even know you wanted, and finally justifying why you’ve dedicated half your board and most of your power supply to a single modulation effect.

Is it practical?

Absolutely not.

Is it for everyone?

Definitely not.

Is it huge fun?

Without question — and with an emphasis on huge.

It’s also still far cheaper (and likely far more reliable) than hunting down an original Mu-Tron on the used market. If you’ve ever wanted to dive headfirst into the deep end of phaser madness, the Behringer Dual Phase might just be the most gloriously excessive way to do it.