MXR Phase 90

This pedal is one of the simplest pedals on the market couldnt get any easier.

My set-up usually is my 80's Hamer standard-->Electra 602 C compressor-->MXR phase 90--> Marshall MG series 15 watt amp but it varies depending on tunings and what I'm playing. I have the MXR-P90 at 11 o' clock the effects sound amazing at all times. I can get tons of the EVH sounds, country, funk,and some cool metal ones too... sound great if teamed up and looped with a Boss CE-3 rate 2.5 o'clock depth 2 o'clock stereo mode at the left dot.

I can depend on it so much i would put my life on it. But just in-case a freak accident i would have a back up.

I haven't had to deal with MXR yet.

I mostly play Metal and this is a great match especially for those tapping solos!But i do play all kinds of music I feel this pedal is pretty universal.
I have been playing for around 5 yrs now and I am the proud owner of 5 guitars all electric all 6-string.90's ibanez,Zakk Wylde Gibson LP w/guitar heads active p-ups switched them to put the EMG's in my Jackson RR,80's Hamer, and a Dean VMNT Dave Mustaine w/ live wire actives.
Pedals - Electra 70's 602 C compressor - MXR Phase 90 - Boss CE-3, Dunlop Cry baby GCB-95 - Digitech Death metal - Boss DS-1 keely moded - Boss OD-2.

If this were lost I would go right out and buy another in a heart beat.
I love this pedal because it is simply the best phaser I have ever heard and it helps me create music.

If you are thinking about getting a phaser get the Phase 90.

MXR's gear is built to really last.

It's extremely easy to use: You've got one knob. If you can't figure this one out you're retarded.

This is where it gets shaky...
I have a 1980 Phase 90 that I bought off a friend. I like it a lot, but when I turn it on, it sucks out my treble and gives it a very muffled sound. The effect itself sounds great! But the fact that it sucks out so much tone is very disappointing, but I guess that's what you should expect from a 30 year old pedal.

It's very reliable. I have had no issues with it not working. My only worry is that it has no power plug, so the only way to power it is with a 9v, which I just don't trust. I've had the same battery in for about 6 months now, and the pedal still sounds great, but I just don't like that it could quit on me at any time.

Never had to deal with them.

I play a lot of blues/rock, but I have gotten into some psychedelic Pink Floyd like stuff, so the Phase 90 is great for that.
I play through 60th Anniversary Strat-Boss TU2-Line 6 DL4-Ibanez DE7-Phase 90-Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It sounds great for what I use it for, but something I don't use often, and would trade for something else if given the opportunity.

Like many have said before, it doesn't get easier than this. 1 Knob, 1 on/off switch. So dead easy to get a good sound then? Theoretically, yes...

This is my setup:

Fender MIM Tele - Crybaby - RAT II - Little Big Muff - BBE Orange Squash - Boss ME50 (For the stuff I can't afford seperately! :D) - Phase 90 - Boss RV5 - Orange Crush 30R Hughes and Kettner Edition Blue 60R.

So, first I tried it solo, just guitar-phase-orange.


Biggest disappointment ever.

There is a horrible boost effect when the MXR is activated. Not the useful kind of boost - the pedal makes everything louder, but muffled and overly bassy. This effect occurs no matter what speed setting you use. This is NOT what anyone wants from a pedal.

So then, in the vain hope it might do something else, I put it on my pedal board and tried again. Exactly the same sound as before. It was clear that for clean use it was PATHETIC, but what about with overdrive on? I turned on the RAT. Where before the sound had been sharp and snappy with just od, the phaser made everything sound... I think mushy is the best word to describe it - unusable sound. Then I tried it with the compressor and the Muff - same thing again, just slightly different volumes obviously. Somehow, I made a pretty passable attempt at the phaser guitar sound at the start of "This is the place" (RHCP), although there was still that horrible gain boost there.

Can I depend on it? Yes. It's definately tough, I'll give 'em that. I would use this on a gig with no backup, except of course I wouldn't want to hurt the crowds' ears with such an awfull sound!

Never dealt with MXR - while reading reviews on the internet after a few hours of frustration, I discovered that this was what it was meant to sound like. I would consider doing the mod which everyone says works a treat, but I wouldn't know where to start and would probably break it.

I play anything from Bloc Party to White Stripes, Chili Peppers, Arctic Monkeys etc etc. I have been playing 3 1/2 years. If this was stolen, I would go straight out and buy another (hopefully decent) phaser pedal - just not this one! I love nothing about this pedal - it was a waste of ??70. Can't believe they charge so much for a piece of junk like this. I didn't compare it to anything else - wish I had now - as I reckoned that, this being MXR's (probably) most famous pedal, it had to be gopod, right? WRONG. Anything I wish it had? Decent sound is first on the list.

DO NOT BUY THIS PEDAL!!!!!

I had a ten quid behringer phase 90 clone before - sounded MUCH better! MXR needs to get their act together and seriously lower their prices.

1 Knob for controlling the speed, very easy. It also has an internal pot for controlling the depth (stock is at 9:00, I increased it a little bit, about 11:00).

I've got the reissue. Out of the box doesn't sounded very well. When kicked on, the volume increased a lot due to a midrange kick. Not a subtle effect, not very vintage. Rate for stock is 4.

But I've done the R28+C11+C12 mod (the easiest in the world, it only takes 10 minutes) and the effect became glorious. The best phaser I've ever had, very subtle, very vintage sounding.

(Gear: Gibson SG's -->> Boss CS-3 (modded) >> MI Audio Tube Zone >> Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer >> MI Audio Crunch Box >> Boss GE-7 >> MXR Phase 90 >> Ibanez AD-9 Analog Delay -->> Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12" + 1x12" Marshall cab loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30).

A tank, try to destroy it, you won't be able.

I've never contacted MXR/Dunlop, I don't know...

Remember: the mod is indispensable

1 knob, 1 switch, bright LED. It doesn't get easier.

Here's my rig:

Epiphone Sheraton II >> MXR DynaComp >> Vox 847A Wah >> MXR 10-band EQ >> BBE Green Screamer >> EH Big Muff Pi (Russian) >> MXR Phase 90 >> Boss TR-2 Tremolo >> EH Holy Grail Reverb >> MXR Carbon Copy Delay >> BBE Boosta Grande >> BBE Sonic Stomp

Before the mod, this was maybe a 5 (charitable) because it had an ugly mid boost and abrasive distortion if either at high volume or with any gain stomp boxes on.

After R28 mod (also clipped the two capacitors, I forget which at the moment) the mid boost and distortion was gone and the sound takes on a nice phased warble/shimmer (depeding on Speed). I like to use the Phase 90 with the EH Big Muff Pi, it has a very psychadelic, trance-like sound. (Worth noting that the R28 mod is about as simple as a mod can get; you simply remove a resistor and two capacitors. At the same time, it DOES invalidate your warranty, so be careful.)

The simplicity of the pedal is nice, however you do sacrifice a lot of control since you only have Speed rather than Depth control. This wasn't a big deal for me when I first bought it, but after a while it has become a slight issue; I have been considering a Phase 100 for this reason.

The Phase 90 is not true bypass (and I've heard that modding it to be so is a pain in the butt, for you modders out there) but I notice little tone difference in bypass mode.

Well built, like all MXR stuff it comes with a nice knob cover that allows you to adjust the Speed with your foot in a gig situation without breaking the knob off.

The switch it pretty sensitive, I have accidentally turned the pedal off immediately after turning it on and vice versa a few times. On the other hand, if you can develop a soft touch (or step, or whatever) this might help the switch last a little longer.

Not dealt with them

Can't get a much better analog phaser for this price.

I have been thinking about buying the EVH Phase 90 and using this as a backup; I recommend demoing both if you get the chance.

Well worth the price if you don't mind that it doesn't give you a lot of options to play with.

ultra easy

I got this pedal and took it to my strat+tube amp at home. Playing at regular volume sounded great. I was very happy. Took it to a rehearsal, with amps cranked up, and then when hitting the button, there it was! that mid boost that made it unusable. Came home disappointed and started reading this forum and others. Then, I learned about the r28,c11,c12 mod.
As the pedal was unusable for gigs, I took some tools, a diagram on the web, and proceeded to open the thing.
I have never done this before, but I read some horror histories on the web and I was very careful. The tricky part was to clip the little legs of the bugs. A nail clipper (not the biting part) did the trick. I took one leg out of each and left them pointing up (standing).
Put the thing back together, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! The sound was clear, smooth and subtle. I could not let go of playing for the next 2 hours at least....with Mod this gets a 10, without mod 7

solid, build like a tank, will live forever

I destroyed the warranty by applying the mod....I would say 10 just for the dealer word of having it back if not happy.

Get this asap.

It only has one knob and it sounds way too good for me to care that it doesn't have more. It's way easy to get a good sound from it.

It sounds killer. The reissue is a hair more trebly and has a slight distortion and midrange addition to it when compared to the vintage 74 reissue but I love how that sounds. The pedal is all in all way more extreme sounding than the vintage 74 reissue. Don't believe me? Go to you tube and check out the shoot outs that people do. There's no need to spend a ton of money on a killer phase sound. People get way too caught up in the vintage nonsense. Listen with your ears and not your eyes.

I can totally depend on it.

I love it. It sounds great on clean or high gain settings. It's way more extreme than the script version. Listen to the you tube shoot outs and hear what I'm talkin' about. The reissue is the way to go for someone who wants an extreme phase sound. No need to break the bank for the more subtle reserved script version.

It's so easy to use. Press button once and effect is on press again and it's off. There is only one control knob on the pedal (speed.) Battery life is good. Doesn't come with a manual (why would you need one?) Many people don't like the block logo phase 90 but I think it's great. I don't use effects very often and I use this when I need a bit of character in my sound.

My setup is Shure PGX14 wireless to Fender HSS Strat/Fender 40th Anniversary StratGibson Les Paul/Fender Tele/Peavey T26 to Dunlop Crybaby Classic -> MXR Phase 90 -> Rocktron Banshee or homemade talkbox (changes nightly) -> Line 6 POD (for distortion only) -> Peavey Windsor head (for Rock/Blues) or 1970 Kustom K200B-5 (country/latin rock) -> Behringer BG412F 4x12 straight cab. It's only noisy if the battery is low (like all Dunlop/MXR pedals I have used.) The phase sound is very good. I set mine at 9 0-clock always. My band play Classic Rock, Southern Rock, Classic Country, Modern Country, Texas Blues, Bristich Blues, Latin Rock, Reggae, a bit of Disco, some Alternative Rock and Bluegrass. People seem to like the variety. I use this pedal on songs that need a little something more than a dry sound (we don't like using anything artificial). I don't like my POD's Flanging or Chorusing sounds so I use Phaser.

Very tough pedal. I don't have a backup phaser and don't think I'll ever need one.

As I said earlier we play just about ANYTHING and on the songs I use this it's great. It helps me get creative. If you want a great phase effect this is the one to get. People have been using this for 30+ years and it's still the standard and it's pretty cheap too!

It couldn't be any easier to get a good sound out of this little brick.

I'll give it a 9 because nothing's perfect, but I don't have any problems with this. It's a re-issue, and I think it sounds great, exactly what I was looking for.

Who knows? MXR stuff always feels like you could drop it off the roof and it would still work, but I had a Distortion+ in the 90s that crapped out on me after a few years of light use. Again, who knows?

Never had a need, and hopefully I won't have to anytime soon.

Frankly, guitar players get way too hung up on names, labels, "original" this, "better" that. "Oh, I would never play one of the re-issues", blah blah blah To me, that's all meaningless drivel. I have no interest in overpaying for an original Phase 90, this re-issue suites me just fine, and sounds great. I guarantee you that 99% of the cork-sniffing tone snobs out there wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and an "original" in a blind test. But who cares, play what you like. Just don't look down your nose at players who don't need to project the boo-teek contents of their pedalboard onto the back wall so that everyone in the audience will be impressed. Hey, I love gear, and I love talking gear, but it just gets ridiculous sometimes. I've been playing for 25+ years and get regular compliments from the tone generated by my pocketbook-friendly rig: Am Std strat into various pedals (Barber Ltd, Rte 66, Digidelay, etc) into a Peavey Delta Blues.

One nob and a switch

5 before the mods 9 - 10 after.

I bought the pedal with a strong assumption that I would be doing the r28 mod, but played with it before doing so. I knew that unmodded it might not quite be what I was looking for, but, when I plugged it in it was far worse than expected. It not only added phase, which is what it is supposed to do, but it totally changes your tone and sound, adds a mid range boost, and that nasty distortion when hit hard etc... I have other pedals to color my sound, distortion pedals, wahs, equalizer etc... The last thing I need is unwanted unadjustable tones from my phaser!! - Kind of wierd why they build it this way.

Anyhow, the good news. Given the above, I clipped the r28 mod, and plugged it back in. This made a substantial improvement, greatly reduced the mid range color and pretty much eleminated the distorted tones. One snip turned the pedal into something useable and musical, but, it still wasn't quite the phaser sound I had in mind, it was still a bit too much on the bottom of the phase i.e. it washed the tone too much kind of like an extreme backed off wah setting.

So, I proceed to clip the C11 and C12 caps. After this it was really sounding good, a nice sweet phase that didn't change the volume or color the tone when kicked in, but even more tweaking was in order. In researching the mods I picked up suggestions to play with the internal pot adjustment, especially if you do the C11 and C12 mod. I did, tried it in different positions and found that turning the pot a little bit more clockwise added back a bit of deepness to the phase without adding any unwanted tone changes. - I am very pleased now, I feel like I got a nice transparent musical phase that is much more akin to what you get out of more expensive units for $70!!

Rock solid construction

It is a fantastic value after the mods. If you aren't willing to modify the pedal, at the very least the R28 mod, be careful, the stock pedal really adds alot more than just phasing to the tone, you may like it, but I really didn't.

If you have questions, you can pm me on the Harmony Central boards under Mickslick