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MXR M101 Phase 90
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MXR M101 Phase 90

Phaser for Guitar from MXR belonging to the Phase 90 series

heads on fire heads on fire

« Swooosh! Very nice! »

Published on 11/04/11 at 12:35
Very simple box.

Rugged metal housing, good quality stomp switch, one single pot with a neat knob. 9v powered or via an AC adapter. LED to indicate on/off status. 1/4 inch in and out.

One caveat is that the unit I have needed a pot replaced, so the durability of the pot itself is questionable. It's also a very odd value potentiometer, so I had to go with the next nearest value. Just know this going into it.

UTILIZATION

This is bone-dead simple to use. Plug in, stomp it, move the knob to the desired speed, and jam! With one knob, one switch, one led, it's about as simple as an effect pedal can get. As a bonus, it is in a pretty small Hammond-style enclosure, so it will fit neatly onto all but the most packed pedalboards. Nice!

SOUND QUALITY

The pedal sounds good at any setting, but different speeds can greatly change the feel of the unit. For instance, convincing faux-Univibe tones can be coaxed from it, as well as splashy and warbly tremolo-ish sounds. Eddie Van Halen used this pedal a lot in the old VH days, but the components seemed to have changed a bit since that time, as there is a "script" model offered now, which is supposed to give a closer tone to the older ones. I found a very easy mod to perform in which 3 resistors are clipped and removed from the circuit, and it did improve the depth of the sound.

My favorite way to use this pedal was to stomp on it during solos to add movement and depth - it brought the tone out above the rest of the band a bit more. Very cool.

OVERALL OPINION

This is basically a one trick pony, even though the feel can be varied. It sounds good on any speed. I would recommend looking up the "script mod" and getting surgical with it, but after doing so, you'll really love the resultant tone of the pedal.