SeriesMXR Phase 90

This is a simple setup: 1 on/off toggle, 1 knob to adjust speed, 1 button to change from tradition mxr phase to EVH phase. It is said to be true bypass. UTILIZATION Controlling the sound is ridiculously easy; simple speed control and EVH switch. I never read the manual as operation is completely intuitive. I typically run the phase with a speed setting at 8:30 and the EVH button engaged. Special wacky phase tones I set the speed up to 3 or 4 o'clock. SOUND QUALITY I use this pedal with a variety of guitars in a variety of tuning, including Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats. I put it towards the end of my pedal board: tuner>Wah>OD>Phase>Noise gate>Amp In bypass, the pedal scores high marks in keeping the signal pure, avoiding the usual tone suckage many other pedals present. Engaged, the phase sounds are fantastic! OVERALL OPINION I was hesitant to buy this pedal, thinking that the lack of controls would be a huge disadvantage. I thought a dry/wet mix feature and depth controls would be absolute necessities, so I hesitated. But I love EVH, so I made the plunge; I am thrilled i did! Once plugged in, the simplicity becomes a HUGE asset. The depth and wet/dry mix are actually perfect, as the tones of the phase yield a present effect without ever approaching an overbearing splash of "too much". The difference in the standard vs EVH push button are gentle, so typically i roll with the button engaged to EVH. The speed settings are easy to find great tones, as it sounds great in many areas, depending on the material. This pedal has become a set and forget it, as the effect sounds so great delivering classic EVH vibe. It is a pleasure knowing the effect will always sound great and you can spend more time playing and less time tweaking endless parameters. I usually find effects annoying and enjoy straight ahead guitar to amp tones...but this phase has a soothing effect on the listener making it real easy to jam for sustained periods without inducing the usual fatigue associated with phasers. MXR knocked it out of the park on this one and I am sure to try the EVH Flanger at some point in the near future.

I have played quite a few phase pedals and there are some great one out there. I really like the A/DA phasers and the stuff you get out of TC and Eventide. For me though I think it was about simplistic value. I am a very big fan of Eddie Van Halen and so getting something that I know he used was the way I was going to shop. If you notice the price I paid may seem high. I bought this from Analogman it is the hand wired version with added true bypass and LED. I have owned this pedal now for about 3 years and it has never failed me. I use this pedal often and has been on my pedal board since inception. It has a great range or sweep of phase that goes from simple phase to pulsating phaser. It only has one knob and it is as simple as it gets. It takes a 9v plug in. UTILIZATION One knob for control and that is all you need with this pedal. You would be surprised of how much variation the sweep range has with only one control. It isn't hard to figure out you have to use your ear to tailor it to your personal preference. I generally keep mine around the 9:00-11:00 range. It is somewhat subtle in this range but adds a nice sweet element to your overdriven tone. There isn't any need for a manual with only one knob. SOUND QUALITY The tone is perfect for me. When I engage it, it doesn't cut the volume of my original tone like many pedals do when engaged. That was a big selling factor for me. Since it doesn't have a volume knob I was a little leery of how good it will work without a volume control, but it has a great unity volume standard in the unit. I have used this with a number of guitar and amps. The current rig I have this week is a Les Paul going into a Splawn Quickrod and going into a vintage Marshall 4x12 with blackback Celestion speakers. I run this pedal in front of my amp. It sounds good in the effects loop as well but I think these MXR phaser pedal sound best in front of the overdriven amp. I many times couple this with a delay and I get some great early VH tones. I used a Wolfgang to get those tones. OVERALL OPINION This pedal like many of MXR's is so simple and easy to use. They as a company don't get to crazy with many controls and options. I think the tone of their products have such a sweet ranges of tones that I don't think you need a group of different controls. At around $119 this is a great priced pedal. If you need something simple and that will get you a great vintage phase tones than this is your pedal. If you want something with a little more options and for funky effects that take phasing to a whole new level then grab an A/AD phaser reissue. I would recommend this to anyone who wants keep it simple. One knob control is very simple and you'll love the tone you get.

I bought this timeless classic effect off of Musician's Friend for a mere $59.99 - I'd shopped around forever and believe me, it's the best price you'll get. The reason I purchased this unit is simple - it is a must have for musicians in every genre! I love the sound - it's timeless, classic, vintage . . . it can be incorporated into nearly everything from classic rock to contemporary to alternative to heavy metal . . . I find that it is very versatile and sounds great with just about anything. I can't think of anything that I don't really like about it. Guess it'd be nice if they were manditorily issued with every guitar!!! The construction is the simple vintage looking orange metal box . . . quality? Ask Jimmy Hendrix. The bottom line simply is, if you're a guitarist, this is a must-have effect and nothing delivers like the MXR Phase 90 (although, you could up the ante, if you're feelin' froggy and jump on the MXR Phase 100!) This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

There is a huge debate that has been going on in the community since forever, and I might as well set the record straight. Yes, script pedals do sound different. That said, whether or not they're worth it is very debatable. The pedal is a phaser pedal, and it's meant to only do one tone -- the classic phaser tone. You've heard this on all kinds of albums ranging from EVH's famous Van Halen and pretty much every single one of Pink Floyd's albums. It has been the staple of old school phaser tones, and it still remains the king to this day. UTILIZATION There's no need for a manual for this thing. It's so simple to use that anybody could figure this thing out. The more you crank the knob, the more pronounced the effect gets. It's really as simple as that. These are housed in the famous MXR housings, and they're known to withstand crazy amounts of abuse. I've seen these things thrown across the stage, smash on the floor and function perfectly fine. People jump on them as hard as they can and no problems ever really occur except for maybe the switch needing to be replaced. These can withstand 30+ years of abuse without any real issues, so don't worry about buying these if they have a few scratches on them (unless you're a collector). SOUND QUALITY This is the phaser sound that everyone has come to know and love. It has this warm and organic sound to it that other phasers can't seem to match. I like to run the rate knob pretty low and use it for leads. To me, this is where the pedal really excels, but some people don't like that. They prefer the more 70s kind of Pink Floyd sound with the rate up higher to make the overall sound more pronounced. This is very cool, too, and it works great with clean tones. With high gain, the higher rate starts to get a bit hectic, in my opinion. As far as tonal differences, these are warmer and smoother sounding than the later block logos, and that means the world to some people. OVERALL OPINION It's crazy how these pedals are still the king in today's effects world. The Phase 90 really is one amazing pedal, and the script version is probably the best model you can buy. The problem is that they're super expensive. I'm not sure these are worth it, and I actually tend to recommend people buy the custom shop model if they're not collectors. Some of these go for very high prices that I just don't feel is worth it, but it might be to some people. Either way, awesome pedal.

The Phase 90 is easily one of the most popular phasers to ever hit the market. It does one effect, and it does it in spades. There are two main versions of this pedal -- the script and the block. The block is the second revision, and the tone is slightly different than the script. This has caused tons of uproar with certain vintage collectors, and the prices reflect that as well. The pedal doesn't have much going on, to be honest. You have one knob -- a rate knob. There is a simple on/off button, and that's about it. UTILIZATION The pedal itself is built like a tank, and these things can survive pretty much anything you can think of. There are pretty much only two problems that might occur. One, the pot may need to be replaced. This is no big deal, and pots have a finite life span. It's just normal maintenance. The other is that the switch might need to be replaced. Again, normal maintenance once you start using a pedal for 20+ years. The housing itself seems to be able to withstand anything you can throw at it, and even the jacks last a long time. Ease of use is stupid easy, and it's impossible to not know how to use this pedal. You simply turn the knob until you get whatever tone you want. SOUND QUALITY The sound is where this unit falls in comparison to the original script model. First, let's talk about overall usage. The Phase 90 is great for all kinds of crazy phasey kinds of sounds. You can get a very slow and subtle phase going on with the knob turned all the way off. I believe EVH ran it this way when he'd do leads, but I could be wrong. If you start turning it up, you can get some really cool, warbly effects going on. This is great for clean tones and gain tones alike. When it's maxed, it's a bit too much for me, but some people might like it. Now, the main difference between this and the script? WIthout getting into the electronics aspect of it, the main difference is this is a bit sharper and a little thinner overall. It's not quite as organic sounding, and it seems to be a bit harsher on the top end. OVERALL OPINION The pedals do get a bit of a bad rap compared to the script models, but they're still solid phasers. Are the script phasers worth the price they go for used? Considering it's not that versatile, I'd say no. My favorite is actually the custom shop Phase 90 model, but that's just me. It needs to be modded for adapters, and an LED + TB would be nice, but it's not a huge deal. You can get these block logos a lot cheaper on the used market, and it might be worth checking out if you're not a phaser freak.