MXR Phase 90

It has one knob: Speed. Effects can't get any easier than this! If you can't figure out how to use this pedal... you need to give up on effects pedals all together. All you do is plug it in and click it on/off.

I love the way this effect sounds on a bass! It sounds great on guitar too, but I think it sounds amazing on bass. It adds a little bit of an "underwater" tone that is just enough to give you an edge. It doesn't rob the low end, and it adds a sparkle that can be great for a slow melodic lines while still being equally effective for a greasy funk riff. The first time I tried this pedal I knew I had to own it!

This thing is built like a tank. I don't abuse my gear, but if I did... I'd guess there would have no issues with this pedal. It is remarkably solid.

I've never had to engage them so I have no opinion.

I think all bassists should try this pedal. It sounds great on a bass! I've had several pedals come and go, but this one will always be on my pedalboard. I have only one complaint: I wish it was true bypass. That's the only thing this pedal is missing... other than that it is perfect.

This particular Phase 90 is the "script" model or "reissue" model. Beautiful pedal and MXR did a fine job in recreating an original. The only added feature that this model has is the red LED, which is a plus over the original.

Easy to use out of the box. One knob. Tone it to your preference (speed). That's about it. Not much to say. I normally keep it at about the 11-o'clock position. Perfect for me without too much of a phase effect.

I never played the original Phase 90 (script) pedal but have heard about its legendary tone from great artists like EVH, David Gilmour, and others. I was hoping to recreate the tone from EVH's "Unchained" version but with my wimpy setup of a stock Strat and a 60-watt Fender Cyber Champ, it proved difficult. Plus, EVH uses a harmonizer, modified amps, and a freakish guitar setup to get that sound. Close, but no cigar.

The pedal does produce some nice, wavy, phase tones, but in all fairness, my setup isn't what I consider a "professional" setup. Simple Strat hooked-up to a simple 60-watt Fender. I was expecting a bit more, but that may just be my high expectations.

Decent pedal. Not earth-shattering. Will take time to "tone in" my sound I guess.

Here's where this pedal failed me. Literally.

This pedal failed after 10-minutes of use right out of the box. I first ran it with a 9-volt battery and all was fine when suddenly, the pedal started to fizz-out and sound weak. The red LED was lit up, but the pedal sounded like crap. A few minutes later, no phase effect at all was coming out of it, so we figured it was a weak battery. Just to make sure it wasn't the battery, we plugged it into a MXR adapter. Same result.

Here's the scary part. A few minutes after plugging it into the MXR adapter, we started to sense a "burning electrical parts" odor. Augh! Sure enough, the pedal's electronics were fried! The pedals LED was still on, but no phase effect and the bypass still worked. Bottom line, the pedal was dead.

I immediately called MXR the next day and got a RA (Return Authorization #) to have it replaced. The guy on the phone at MXR was understanding and didn't question it other than "What power adapter did you use?". He issued me an RA number and told me to expect a replacement back in 2-3 weeks. We shall see. I will update this review after I get my pedal back...if I ever do!

As mentioned above...we shall see.

I play mostly classic rock like Led Zep, Boston, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc. Hoping to recreate some of the 70's sounds. Have been playing for about 10 years total (off and on).

Have tried other phase pedals but was disappointed by their tone. I was hoping this reissue would do the trick.

I'll give it another chance when I get my replacement. Only this time I'll put it thru a Les Paul and Marshall amp to see what it can do. As for the EVH sound, well...I don't have a monster rig so this will have to do!

Its one knob. Marked speed. If you have difficulty then there is something wrong with you.

Sounds great! I used to have a EHX small stone and before that a boss PH-2. The boss was too sterile: I can imagine wanting that kind of effect sometimes but its not really me; the small stone was ok, but the volume drop was a problem plus the colour switch down was too weak and the colour switch up too strong: the phase 90 falls somewhere between the two colour modes of the stone but without the volume drop: perfect! Nice and watery and very clearly analog, no volume loss (infact a bit of a boost! I'm told this can be got rid of with the R28 'script' mod). The distortion that people go on about is there, but its is NOT a big deal (Im told the R28 mod solves that too): I can only pick it up when strumming hard or when using a clean boost, its a small price to pay! I use it in the following setup:

Fender jazzmaster/Gibson les paul faded special--
-Barge Concepts BB-jr fuzz--Keeley proco RAT--Boss Blues driver--Loop Pedal (Loops in--Korg DT10 tuner--Boss PN-2 tremolo--EHX small clone--MXR phase90--)--Boss DD-20 giga delay--Fender Blues deville 212 60W combo

This pedal completes my setup... I want to stop spending money!

Never had an MXR pedal before last week...seems sturdy...wouldn't be suprised if I have to replace the footswitch in the future (its not true bypass at the moment...would probably get a good quality 3DPT footswitch when it comes up, but bypass isn't a problem as I loop all my modulation pedals anyway.)

Not a clue. Doubt they'd be much help, more important stuff to do than dealing with the cheapest pedal in their range.

I play indie/grungey/experimental rock along the lines of sonic youth, trail of dead, silversun pickups, sleater kinney, ikara colt, nine black alps, minus the bear etc etc. This pedal does its one trick beautifully and is all I'll ever need from a phaser, but if you're after a several-trick pony I'd go for a boss PH-3 or something similar. if you're more plug in and play then this is for you! I got interested in it not because of van halen (though my brother says it sounds perfect for playing ****** 80s metal) but coz thurston moore used it in the final 15 min noise part of 'the diamond sea', just after the final (quiet) chorus (8 mins in?) when he starts picking that em7/9 chord. Go listen. Thats the sound.

Nice and straight forward - plug in, one knob to twiddle and you're away! The knob has a large rubber bit around the outside (can be removed) which allows you to adjust with your foot while playing in a live situation - handy that!

Good analogue sounds with quite a lot of variation as you turn the knob. I go for about 2 - o - clock myself. Works well distorted and clean, and all points in between, though I'm rarely extreme. I use Marhsall heads, 4x12 cabs, a boost pedal and a tremelo, with a little reverb, using old teles, strats and SGs. All sorts of music covered from rock to punk to blues to alt country.

My only criticism is that the pulse gets too noticeable on a lot of settings. To me it has the one sweet spot, although the extreme stuff is great for short term efect.

Mind you, it's my third choice behind a 1977 Boss PH-1 and an electro harmonix small stone. Having said that, those are tough acts for anyone to follow, and I'd use no other than these three now(but not at the same time...).

Very reliable. Never let me down. Nice and small on the pedalboard as well, though battery access is a pain (4 screws)/

Not needed it!

Works well with a load of styles as long as you keep it in the sweet spot(though Eddie VH made it famous).

Works well distorted and clean, and all points in between, though I'm rarely extreme. I use Marhsall heads, 4x12 cabs, a boost pedal and a tremelo, with a little reverb, using old teles, strats and SGs. All sorts of music covered from rock to punk to blues to alt country, and I've been playing live for over 30 years.

1 Knob! if anyone gives this less tahn 10? whats going on :)

I have a 1982 Version and it sounds great! I get no distortion at all which people complain about with the re-issues :) I have never used the latest model? all I know is that I get a very warm and lush clean Phaser sound on whatever setting I put it on :) This nails Pink Floyd! well, Mr Gilmour used this pedal :) anyway, if you listen to dark side of the moon album, thats the sound I get out of this pedal! I don't know if the 70's script sounds any different? but this early 80's version is top notch, I don't think I will buy another Phaser pedal again :) I also own the Dunlop reissue MXR Phase 100! it doesn't match the quailty of my older phase 90! makes me feel annoyed! why don't they build the modern pedals with the parts they deserve to have! re-issue owners are missing out on something that should have never been messed with from the start! im not saying the new stuff is rubbish, you can mod a phase 90 :)! im just saying when the original MXR made something so great! why did Dunlop have to mess with cutting costs on parts etc! it stinks! I think people deserve to have what started the popularity in the first place! I will add that its good that Dunlop have added a DC input on the new stuff :) my pedal has something different? a small hole? one of those different type inputs for power

Can I say I think this is tougher than a boss! seriosuly, this thing is solid like a tank! no signs of weakness!

I own the 1982 version, this pedal gives me the phase sound I like :) I won't be selling it or buying another phaser :)

It's a one knob wonder. you twist the knob to a point where you're happy with the sound and you're set. It helps a lot that the pedal sounds good at almost all of the settings.

I'm using it in between an epiphone goth thunderbird bass and an ampeg b2r head. It sounds incredible with the knob at about 11:00, theres a nice slow wash, I use it on about 1/3 of all of my bands hard rock originals (www.myspace.com/ataraxia1). There isnt any noise or hiss.

It seems incredibly reliable and I've never had any problems with it. I would gig without a backup to it.

I bought the effect from Chris Chiandusse at Guitar Center who was incredible to deal with. Very friendly and definately stands behind the products he sells. If I ever had any problems with the pedal I would take it back to him before trying to go through MXR.

I play bass in Hard Rock songs in the same vein as Disturbed, Black Label Society, and alice in chains. The pedal fits in perfectly with a lot of the cleaner passages in our songs.

If it were stolen I would buy another one in a second from Chris at GC imidiately. The pedal definately plays a part in my creative process, It just sounds great.

Simple to use, one knob. Just plug in and kick the switch.

When I first tried it. I gasped! What the heck is the clipping and unwanted distortion from a $70 unit, it sounded like rig and my $2000 Les Paul cost $2.
Then I did some research about the R28 "script" mod, and tried not to panic. I thought, "if I use this live stock, my band will laugh at me" it sounds like *&%$.
First I toyed with returning it for the $130 EVH Phase 90...
Then I sucked it up, got ballsy and went ahead and did the R28 mod myself and removed the R28, C11 and C12 resistors.
I tried just the R28 first, but it still distorted for me, bummer. So I was even ballsier and removed the C11 & C12 also. I reluctantly put the orange beast back together, having thoughts of, Oh no! what did I just do! I though I just threw away $70. WRONG! I just successfully did the 'script' mod myself and it sounds better than ever, this is now the custom shop script for a third of the price, perfect!

It's built like a tank, compared to the cheap plastic weak Danelectro chicken salad "univibe" I just replaced the this MXR.

Don't Know

The rating went from a 1 "pre-mod" ...
to a ten "with mod" I lucked out big time and saved money.

One knob and a switch...ok? Ok...then let's begin.

I bought a stock one from Dunlop for the sole purpose of doing the famous R28 "Script" mod. I played around with it pre-mod to get a feel for it. The phasing was very upfront and syrupy...pretty cool overall. I didn't notice a whole lot of clipping or distortion that is a common complaint, but I didn't really pound this thing too much. There is plenty of range in the Rate control. I can't believe I didn't order one of these sooner.

So I pulled that bad boy apart, snipped the R28, C11 and C12 whatchamacallits and went back to work. This time, the swirl became broader but more subtle. At lower rates below 12 o'clock, the way the whole thing glides and turns over is fantastic. I really like the movement it adds to chords and single note lines alike. The signal was noticably cleaner.

While I definitely like it better post-mod, pre-mod it's excellent as well. I kind of wish the post-mod version had a little bit more depth to it, but I still dig it nonetheless. I think it's a winner whether you keep it stock or do the mod. I may even by a second one and keep it stock just to have it. My best advice is that if you like it well enough stock, it's perfectly respectable to keep it that way. If you want to clean it up a bit and bring the depth down, the mod is the way to go.

This thing has earned a ride on the pedalboard. I love it.

No issues here.

I've been playing longer than I haven't been playing and I've hit all styles at some point. I like Fender guitars and Vox amps. I have lots of other MXR effects and really dig them all.

This is one of the better effects purchases I've made in a while. I like having a lot of effects around to experiment with and suffer from G.A.S. the same as anyone, but this is something I can see myself using for a wide variety of things. I can definitely see the reason why this thing is considered a classic. At $70 it's a worthy investment.

The R28 mod is a hugely popular mod for this pedal, and it's very clear why. It does give it a vintagey old school sound that I imagine is pretty close to the original Script versions (I've never heard one in the flesh, but if the descriptions of the originals I've read and heard are accurate, this seems to get real close). But whether it's really all that necessary is up to you. This thing is great right out of the box.

one knob...can it get any more easy than that?!!!

the battery compartment is inside, and 4 screws must be removed. that can be a pain, i am sure if i play live with one of these and ran out of batteries, i would have to just unplug it. i may invest in a dunlop "brick" power supply.

oh, and if you are thinking about using that rubber knob grip that slides over the knob, do not use it, unless you are planning on leaving it on there forever! Because you have to use the wisdom of solomon and the strength of sampson to remove it!

sound quality. nice. you see, i have 2 of these. and that legend about the r28 mod is more than a legend, it makes it "script" just like they say! i have 2 phase 90s, and one of those was pre-modded when i bought it. and the bandwidth, and range of harminics is so much wider and more brilliant....GORGEOUS! i think i am going to do this mod to my other one!

2 of these pedals, set almost exactly the same, perhaps just a slight difference in rate, sounds INCREDIBLE! ANALOG BABY!!!

i see it as dependable. as i said previously, i think i want to get that dunlop "brick". a higher milliamp supply does improve the sound quality and reliability! i am not sorry i bought these!

follow the instructions and you should be fine. dunlop only will honor a waranty if it is the neglegance of them and not you. all i can say is, even if it does void the warranty, have the r28 mod done...it will be worth it still!

i am not with a band, per se. but, i do some home recording, writing songs, etc. i have been playing for over 20 years, longer than i havent, really. and i must say, so far, mxr and electroharmonix are my favorite manufacturer of stomp boxes!

Very easy to useEven with all the presets (kidding)

Any thing from EVH to Led Zepp,no Quarter

29 years and still going

Mine is a REAL MXR Phase 90 but Dunlop is pretty cool, They fixed my old Vox Wha for me back in 1989 for free

There is a way huge difference in a real vintage MXR, Has to be from the 1970's Some of the Dunlops can sort of sound OK,but with that red LED it does somthing to them,that why all great fuzz box's Never have a LED.So if you buy a new P-90 better check all in the store and try to get the best one.But if you want that EVH or Led Zeppelin sound,get out the visa and pay trew the nose for a Real one.And if you try to get one on ebay,be VERY careful,most are reissued ones from the late 1990's A real one will say MXR and the date and year on the POT,so be careful on ebay Beat to go to a vintage dealer or guitar show and pay the $150.00 to $200