MXR Phase 90

One control, Speed. If you can't figure it out you are probably not a human.

Nice sound, works GREAT with keyboards or anything with a little more trebly sound. The effect can sometimes be buried in a mix, but this may be desireable. Note my review is of the ORIGINAL not the re-issue. I hear the original MXRs are all better than the re-issues. The effect does not color the sound too much (well it IS a phase shifter) and the level is balaced when it kicks in, can't even tell you turned it on, really. I use it sparingly on guitar because it takes over the sound, but it does do a great pseudo-Leslie-type effect a la Pink Floyd "Echoes" or track One of Beck's "Mutations" (though I think that's a wah, but you'll get the idea). The Phase 100 had more control I think but too bad there is no way to control the amount of phase. Again I really think this thing is MADE for keys; absolutely fabulous with my Rhodes (killer! - Don Fagen uses one live with his Wurlitzer - listen to Steely Dan "Royal Scam" or "Katy Lied" or see "Two Against Nature" live DVD), amazing with my Clavinet, and just phenomenal with any synthesizer, especially strings; makes any synth sound like an ARP. The slowest speed is like a slow whooosshhhh and the fast like a tremelo on the older Fender amps. Try varying the effect in real time for expressive vibrato effects on a solo (first add some white noise to your patch). Also works well with drum machines (remember to take the bass drum out of the mix). Not so good with vocals IMO as the effect is a little too wide I think. On the down side, when there is no signal and it is left on it will generate swish-swish noise, also the switch has a slight pop when activated, but nothing serious. Minus one for that.

MXRs pedals always kick ass for reliability. Does tend to eat batteries if you use it a lot.

no idea

Very useable and musical sounding pedal. I think for a better pedal you should try the Boss PH-2 Super Phaser (green). I hope to get one soon. I think I paid around $40 CDN originally, but I don't recall. Anyway it was in the early 80's.

Easy, one knob, well said below,

Running carvin guitars, morley bad horsey wah, digitech whammy2, phase 90, boss ph2, boss od3, into a fender deville, with a boomerang and digitech delay in the loop. I use this pedal for the vibe type phasing.

Looks good enough

I saw a local guitarist who had one of these, and he had turned the internal trim pot down so the crest of the phase was only barely above the bottom, and he had it going very slow, just enough to add a subtle vibe to his sound. I bought one the next day, and I think it's the key to that early fusion tone. I love it!

One knob. Pedal placement is everything--put it pre-distortion if you want a tone swirl, post distortion if you want a more or less typical phaser sound.

This is *THE* phaser that all other phasers sought to copy. It is more organic than anything else out there, although if you want really deep phasing go with the EH Small Stone.

I am running the following setup: guitar (Brian Moore i2) > Whirlwind Selector > Lab Series L5; channel A thru the selector is to a Small Clone Chorus, channel B runs to the Phase 90 and then to a DS-1. Simple setup, but good tone.

Solid chassis, but the on/off button is directly on the circuit board. Not too smart, but I'm sure a great cost cutting move.

A total classic. I love soloing thru this box, it makes everything just chaotic. Best phaser ever--period.

Very simple to use, no manual needed, many, many good sounds in it, despite only 1 knob!!

Using it with a Fender Strat, and Yamaha AES800, along with a Fender Silverface Fender Reverb, a Fender Champ, and an Epiphone Electar 10 (tube). It is not noisy at all, the effects are tremendous, warm, compelling, and usable. Very smooth phasing, I'm in love with this orange thing.

Seems very solidly built, thick metal casting, strong switch, solid knob, from reading about it, these things last for years, even with heavy usage.

Have no idea, haven't dealt with them.

Great pedal. I love this thing. Solidly built. Great, great tone. Really helps me be more creative in my playing. I have played on and off for about 5 years at this point. It made me wanna pick up my electrics again, after acoustic only for about a year. I thought of getting an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, but this seems more solidly built; reviews of it were better than other phase pedals. I tried the Danelectro mini-phaser, and wasn't impressed. I highly, highly recommend this pedal. I don't remember thinking a pedal was this cool since I got my Big Muff, which also is tremendous.

1 knob, how hard could it be? Mine is the original late '70s Block logo, still in mint condition with box and stickers.

My set-up consist of the ffg-
PRS McCarty Rosewood>Teese RMC3 wah> Whirlwind A/B>Boss TU-12H(1)>Fulltone FD2 TR100/Klon Centaur>Crowther Hotcake/MXR Distortion+('70s>Phase 90/P.E. Vibe unit>Boss DD-5>Boss CE-5> Matchless Chieftain. Not noisy at all in all settings. The Phasing is the best
I've heard. Compared to the Dunlop Reissues, it's lush and thick sounding, without being harsh and thin. Similar to the original Script logo without the exorbitant price. Running it with the Distortion +, conjures up images of Eddie Van Halen. All settings are
very useable. Very easy to tweak.

It's from the '70s and it's now 2002, so I think it'll hold up for a few more years. The foam inside is still in good shape but it's getting there. My only worry is that the input/output jacks might get
static over the years just as in my Distortion +, but that is easily
fixed.

If you run into trouble with this thing, you better have some know-how
in Electronics, 'coz MXR, the company , is no longer in business.

I play anything from SRV-based blues to Classic '60s-'80s Rock. Been
doing so since I was 15. This pedal seems to complement some of my
early heroes like Hendrix, SRV, and most notably, EVH. I included the
first two artist, 'coz the effect you get with this pedal is similar
to a Univibe. In fact it is. I tried comparing it with my Vibeunit, which in itself is a great univibe clone, it reminds me of Hendrix
playing the Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock. The sound is that close. And coupled with the Distortion+, you can get a sound reminiscent of Robin Trower. Did you say, Bridge of Sighs? At least,
that's what I hear when I play it through my Mesa Boogie or Matchless.
If this was lost or stolen, I'd be pretty bumbed out, 'coz I know I'll
have to shell out a couple of dollars to replace it. I love this pedal for what's it is intended for, classic 4-stage phasing. Compared
to its' two other brothers, the Phase 45 and the Phase 100, this is
what Phasing should sound like without going overboard.

Nothing to it - one knob twist it till it sounds good.

Very cool. It is very warm and chunky sounding. I run a Jackson Soloist through a boss compressor into a Line 6 Flextone head. The Phase 90 adds a little high end when you turn it on, but it sounds so damn cool you can't argue with it. The effect seems to be stronger when played on lower strings, while subtle on higher registers.

I wouldn't worry about it. It is a little brick house.

Never dealt with them

I play rock and metal with a bit of jazz. This pedal sounds good with a dirty sound playing jazz chords (reminds me of Steely Dan) and also for solos (think Dave Murray from Iron Maiden). Very warm sounding, simple to use, and versatile. Go get one. It is a great investment for any style.

Take a look at the picture-- one knob. And it's ALL YOU NEED. You don't need a manual.

Les Paul Standard/ Fender Telecaster/ Fender Mustang/ Fender Reissue Jaguar->MXR Dyna Comp->Thomas Organ Wah->Phase 90->Ibanez Tube Screamer->ProCo Rat->Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi->Danelectro DanEcho->Reissue Fender Twin Reverb. It is somewhat noisy when on(makes swishing noise constantly), but if you don't like the noise, switch it off. Doesn't take away a lot of clarity at all. Sounds great with all the effects I'm using. Allows you to get a really cool psychadelic sound a la Hendrix (Machine Gun) and Page (Dazed and Confused). The warmest phaser out there-- sounds like there's a tube inside it. I was paranoid about what I thought would be a lack of flexibility, but you can actually get a lot of sounds out of it. If you want less intensity, you can just turn the volume on your guitar down and the amp volume up, or re-locate it in your effects chain.

Built like a tank. MXR pedals can take a beating and keep rocking.

I play blues and rock and hard indie and stuff. Been playing for five years now. Own a lot of pedals, this is one of my favorites. I'd definitely buy this pedal again if I lost it or it was stolen. I love the warmth. I tried my friend's boss phaser, and this is SO much better. Boss pedals just sound so cold and digital. Their phaser is really hard to get a good sound out of, and it doesn't even sound as good as this pedal. Go out and buy one.

oh my god i cant believe im anwsering this question

i am going thru a strat to : boss cromatic tuner -> morley a/b switch -> (channel A) boss noise supressor(send) ->j.everman fuzz drive -> tech 21 sansamp classic -> vintage ibanez eq (return) -> dunlop univibe -> phase 90 -> 2nd morley a/b....(channel b) boss turbo distortion -> boss eq -> 2nd morley a/b and out to a marshall vs100 head rocking a crate 4x12

this is a sweet pedal ,a must have

totally

never had to deal with the company

Piece of cake!

This was a Reissue which boosts the signal and distorts the sound. Therefore i sent it back for a Small Stone USA Reissue so we will see which is better. Its got to be better than this thing. It has a nice phase sound but the problems with it i cant overlook. I also have a Pt-999 Maxon Phase Tone Reissue and it kicks this pedals butt! I am going to buy a vintage Script Phase 90 soon and i sure i wont be disapointed and wont have these distortion and level boost problems. I would say BUY A VINTAGE ONE!!!!!!!!

Just look at the sound quality review. I tell no lie!!!

Simple as can be, a one-knob stomp box.

As has been noted, this is a very retro-sounding effect that has a lot of use in the experimentations of the blues-based so-called psychedelic guitar players from Britain and the US in the 1970s. Consequently, it has a bit of a period-based sound. Since the effect is mostly there to generate that sort of feel anyway, I give it a 9 since it does its job very well. Overall, it's quiet and cool. I use older Ibanez guitars or a Cort hollow-body and a Crate amplification setup (other effects vary greatly). Sound is pleasing.

I must be really hard on my stomp boxes; either that, or I got a bum model. After two months' use, the switch stopped working inexplicably. Being an engineer, I preferred taking it apart myself and fixing it to attempting to wrangle with customer support/warranty hassles. The switch was easy enough to fix, and might have just been a bad one. However, no less than a week later, the knob breaks off. I'm really starting to wonder about how "tough" these things are, though to be honest there was an accident involving stumbling around in the dark after a power outage which involved trampling the pedal in a slightly unusual manner (apparently, I stepped right on the knob part and broke it). Since a stomp box is intended to be, well, STOMPED, this annoyed me. Determining that the pot was broken, I obtained a new pot and put it in. Nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. In fact, the pedal sits, broken and lifeless, in my "spare parts" box. Maybe some day I'll attempt to fix it again, though for the life of me I can't imagine what happened. It was completely re-assembled in the precise way it was, but to no avail.

They tried to help me, but ultimately were unable to do so. It takes a while to filter through the multiple layers of sales people they use for customer support to get to a knowledgeable person, but once you get one they try hard to help. Given that they still couldn't fix it (their suggestion was to buy a new one, since I hadn't registered a warranty or anything and, in fact, had opened it once before, I must have broken it myself). I might eventually buy a new one, but I'm still bitter about losing this one after less than two months' performance.

Loved the effect and sound, hated its ultra-short lifetime. Might replace it and use the warranty card this time. Stomp boxes ain't really stomp-able like they used to be.

CONTINUATION OF PREVIOUS POST:

As stated below, this thing has an internal trim pot. I do not recommend that you mess with it. It took me a long time to find it's original setting, and I had to A/B it with another one to get it perfect.

Also, I looked into a newsgroup to find possible mods to make the effect mellower. I found three mods in the newsgroup. I contacted Dunlop to confirm the mods and was told by them that they were accurate. Here are the mods:


To: customerservice@jimdunlop.com
Subject: Reissue Phase 90

Hi I was wondering if you could help me with a small problem I'm having with
my Phase 90. It seems to slightly boost my volume when switched on and also
seems to distort slightly at certain frequencies of it's phase cycle. Namely
the midrange tones. What can I do to "turn it down"?


There are few things you could try. First off, I do not know you technical
skills, therefore I hope the following maybe be helpful to you.

1) Removing the Pre and De-emphasis will result in a slightly higher noise
floor while raising the headroom at 1.3Khz +3dB and 7.2Khz +12dB. Procedure:
Remove C11 (.01MF) and C12 (680PF).
2) Removing the feedback around the Phaser circuit will diminish
regeneration. This will result in a mellower effect, reduce the midrange
frequency response, and sound more like the earlier SCRIPT MXR Phase 90s.
Procedure: Remove R28 (24K).
3) For lowering the overall effect output change R7 from 150K to a 100K
or -3dB reduction, R7 150K to a for -2dB reduction. This modification
should only be done in conjunction with modification #1.

Modifications #1 and #2 can be done separately or together.



I was only interested in the second mod, and could not find the resistor since it was so closely soldered to the board, and here was Dunlop's response:

Hello,

The resistor (R28) is the bottom resistor on top of the output jack to the left of
the stacked capacitors. This is if you're looking down at the board (top
view).

Contact Dunlop if you have any questions. Hope this helps.

One knob, but also a trim pot internal, so if you want to mess with that, it's a bit tricky.

Classic phase sound. Far better than the boss, which is metallic sounding, and doesn't work right with leads. Not noisy in my chain Strat >5 stompboxes >Super Reverb.

Originally bought a MXR Phase 100, but I didn't like the way it sounded. Not very natural and warm to my ears. This one is 10 times better.

No problems

Here's the scoop:

1. There is a trimpot internal to this effect. It's located at the top of the board covered in epoxy. I took the board out and was able to get to the pot from the other side. I was then able to remove the epoxy, reassemble and adjust to see what it did. Basically it kind of acts as a bias adjustment. If you turn it all the way to the left or right, there is no phase. Within the middle is where the phase is, and it's a very small portion of that middle, so any mild adjustment will have extreme results. The results are not one of effect level like some people think. What the pot does is make the phase wave inconsistent in its peak. Example, low peak, low peak, high peak, etc. Until you reach that sweet spot where the phase is consistent. Not having it set right also makes the effect sound rather thin and metallic, so after all of this fiddling, in my opinion, it's best to LEAVE IT ALONE (Hence, the epoxy, duh...). If you must tinker, be sure to mark where it was to begin with, because it will be very difficult to find since you don't have much room to play with.

2. Part of the reason why I messed with the pot was to determine if it had to do with level. EVH's phase always sounds subtle to me, and that's what I was going for -- one that I can use for leads that doesn't make people annoyed everytime I kick it on. After fiddling and that not working, I started searching the net on his setup to see if he had it modded in any way. I found a diagram of his setup, and noticed that he used it BEFORE his dummy load (back in the old VH), which was essentially providing his distortion. So, I put it before my overdrive pedal in the effects chain, and there you have it! A subtle sounding phase that works great for leads! Plus, it doesn't boost the overall volume in the chain either with it in front of overdrive. Having it after the overdrive allows for an overall boost, and the effect is much more dramatic and noticable, even at the lowest setting, so for whatever sound you are after, it is very important where you put this in the chain.

Its pretty confusing with all the knobs!!

I use les pauls and marshalls and some various old fuzz boxes and such. This pedal is perfect, Mine is a 1978 model right after the script logos. Kicks the shitty dunlop reissues right in the ass. Dunlop sucks eversince my crybaby stoped working, but thats another review. Anyway its real nice warm swooshy phasing and can sound good with any of the settings. To hear what it sounds like take a good listen to my god Jimmy Page's work on Physical Graffiti and Presence.
Especially "Nobodys fault but mine" and "In my time of dying". I think Dave Gilmour from Floyd uses one. I guess if I had to think of something bad to say it would be that it could maybe use a level knob.

This thing fells like a brick and I dont think it could break if you wanted it to!

I think MXR went belly up in the 80's so no comment but I will give a review for Dunlops shitty service. No one at that company gives a shit or knows a shit, which I experienced when I bought a crybaby.

Probably one of the best and most useful effect boxes ever. I play classic rock like Led zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Rush(by the way very useful in 2112)and its awesome. I would buy a new one in a matter of days. You should buy one!

Two words: ONE KNOB. Yup, my dog has been able to work this pedal with his paw.

one word: BEAUTIFUL. Gorgeous phasing, makes me want to spin in circles like a little girl.

Looks like it could take some hardcore stomps on it and still be okay.

I've actually dealt with Dunlop's Customer Support. SUCKS! They are quite quick on responding e-mails, but they tend to not answer much, and just send you a number to call. When you call, there is an infinite hold time, only to get a receptionist to answer, and LIE to you. I asked for a manual for my PHASE 90, just to have it, and the girl tells me "Suuuuure, what is your address so we can send you one". I give her my address and think, great, that was easy. I wait a month, I e-mail them, and they tell me there IS NO SUCH THING. They have NO manuals, they won't get done until SUMMER, they NEVER HAD manuals. Great huh? It's not a big deal, I just wanted a Manual, I have this thing where I need the Manual for everything just because it makes the product feel more complete. I just don't think it was good to lie to a customer like that, and for that, they get a 1.

This is a MUST have pedal for any guitarist, it just sounds pretty. Only two things suck, CUSTOMER SUPPORT, and the fact that it uses a 3.5mm ac adapter, which makes it pretty much impossible to add it on to a daisy chain for all your effects. If anybody knows of a way to save myself 15 bucks for ANOTHER AC adapter, please email me at Mvnkykee@hotmail.com. Other than that, sound is great. And you don't have to pay hundreds of dollars on it. Only getting a 9 because of Cust. Support.

This may be the wrong place for me to be writing this but, when I first got my Phase 90 I was using it with a strat type Pacifica with Seymour Duncan single coils and the sound was excellent.

Since then I have bought a Yamaha SG 700 with Seymour humbuckers and have had a real bad problem with distortion when the Phase 90 is on. So much so that I have to change guitar whenever I want to use the effect.

I have tried to rectifiy this by using coil taps on the pickups and even placing a compressor in front of the Phase 90. These solutions didn't work, the comp helped a bit but the Boss CS-3 I used seemed to suck too much tone from the guitar for me to use it.

Anyone else had this prob or know how to resolve it? i noticed another reviewer (tinebiter ) had experienced a distorion problem and maybe if he tried a different guitar it may solve his problem.

besides from this, with a strat type guitar I found the tone of the pedal to be very pleasing and it is so simple a child could use it.

DERRRR! One Knob come on!

Perfect! this pedal gives a slight increase in output so it adds a little distortion which works for this pedal. I feel the best way to use this pedal is with the speed knob at about 10 to 11 o'clock, here is where you will fin the sweet spot where it gives nice swooshing sound. the only song i can really imagine you would use this knob all the way up or almost all the way up is the beginning of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" by led zeppelin. Heres my setup.
Gibson Les Paul-->Phase 90---->Boss Chorus ensemble--->Maestro Echoplex--->Modified Mesa/Boogie Triple rectifier with Mesa cab loaded with Celestion vintage 30's.

There shouldnt be any problems with this pedal at all. I would trust it through a gig. It is very heavy for a little pedal so if it is dropped or something it should be pretty resilient.

never needed

If you play classics why would you buy any other pedal if this is the one they used? This should be the only pedal for phase it is perfect.

1 knob, couldn't be easier ... anual is useless (ahaha and in a box there was a Crybaby manual !).
Here's my setup: Fender American Tele std. -> Boss dd3 -> ProCo Turbo Rat -> Marshall Guv'Nor (MKI) -> Phase 90 -> Fender HRD.

Very nice sound, classic phase ... very low noise when turned on.
It's the sound i was searching: Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus ... they all use this pedal.
I can get very interessant sounds when i use it with my delay.
BUT this reissue boosts the volume when you use it ... so when i use it with a Rat it's ok, but with the Guv' there is a big volume boost which is very annoying.
Without this boost i would give it a 10 ...

Mine is only 3 months old ... but seems very reliable.

no idea.

I mainly play rock/alternatif/experimental music and this pedal feets me well.
I really like the sound, the ease of use and the true bipass.
If it were stolen, i think i would buy it again, but not necassary brand new.
I only give it a 8 beacause of the price: here in France those things are really expensive ... without this and the slight volume boost i would have give it a 9.

Bonehead simple. Come on people, ONE KNOB?!? I think the real test is where to put it in your signal chain. Mine goes first, because if I put it after anything else, I get a very non-musical phase sound, which hurts my ears. My signal chain goes like this: Parker Nitefly-M > Phase 90 > Akai Shred-O-Matic > Guyatone HD-2 Harmonic Distortion > Prescription Electronics Yardbox > Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeler > Reverend Hellhound.

Okay, there is the good and there is the bad. First of all, I'll start with the good. This pedal provides THE classic phase sound. It is also ultra quiet. I am not sure if it is true bypass, but it doesn't seem to degrade signal quality to any noticable extent. Now, as far as the sound quality goes, it is very good. Phase is a unique effect, and the Phase 90 is no exception. This is not a jet-type phaser, it's a more of a musical, tremolo-type phase that blends in very well with most guitar sounds. It is almost like a traditional tremolo pedal being run through a wah-wah, but not too dramatic sounding. Sprinkle on a little bit of swoosh and wobble, and there you go. Interestingly, I find myself keeping the Phase 90 on about 75% of the time at the very lowest setting. This setting gives me the phase effect without the noticable tremolo dip. The volume swell and loss of the tremolo part of the phase can be a little bit distracting, and at extreme settings the Phase 90 sounds a lot more like a traditional tremolo pedal. Now for the bad....not so much when at the lowest setting, but anything with the speed dial at 50% or more, whenever I play heavy strumming, I tend to get a muddy gain sound out of my Phase 90. I've posted this on some other boards and have been told that this is not typical of all Phase 90 pedals. But it can be very distracting, not to mention a bit disappointing. It seems most apparent when I have the gain on my Hellhound anywhere above 3. Other than that, I'm pretty pleased. I don't have any qualms about the lack of an output or depth knobs, I take effects for what the are, not what I think they should be. It's not terribly versatile, but what it does it does well. It's got the market on that clean, musical phase thing cornered. Again, I really love this thing with a clean guitar tone with the speed knob at the very lowest setting. Reminiscent of Siamese Dream Pumpkins, a la Rocket. Used sparingly and tastefully, this pedal would make a valuable addition to any setup.

Like all MXR pedals, this baby is built to last. I love the 'grainy' orange paint texture and the rubber knob that came with the Phase 90, to put on the knob for foot use. I'm currently using a battery, which is a small hassle to change out, but not unlike a ton of other pedals out there. Granted, it's actually better to have the battery secured in the actual box itself, keeps it nice and safe.

no idea.

As you could guess, I'm a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. I also dig Weezer, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, the whole early 90's alt.rock scene. I also have a flair for psychadelic surf music, a la The Mermen. Check them out if you love good surf guitar with a melodic twist. I've been playing for 11 years, and I'm very happy with my setup as it is, but I've still got a lot to go. I had to pawn my old set up, which showcased a Fender Custom Shop Vibro-King amp with A Stratocaster Plus with Lace Sensor pickups. Now I play a Parker Nitefly-M thru a Reverend Hellhound. The Phase 90 is a good pedal. Not spectacular, not life-changing, just a good pedal. It is the epitome of a single-effect pedal, it does one effect superbly, not a dozen variation of one effect adequately. It has its time and its place in any genre of music, and that is tits purpose. Not as a panacea, all-purpose device. If that is what you expect out of all your pedals, good luck. But the Phase 90 is one flavor of one effect. Nothing more, nothing less. And it does that flavor quietly, musically, with much tone and quality. Cool.

This is my second review for this pedal, and i must say that I get to love it more and more the longer I use it.

It's funny, I remember the first night I used it, I felt kinda 'seasick' just listening to the sound with the speed knob at the higher settings (i.e. 3 oclock and beyond).

But as the months went on, I dunno, I guess I've sort of gotten accustomed to that 'swirl,' which I've realized is that sort of quality that you can't find in other phasers or 'vibey' effects.

I have a friend who has a Voodoo Labs Microvibe and wasn't too impressed with its sound quality. As most of the reviewers on this site mentioned, the 'tone' quality varies from pedal to pedal. And my friend's vibe was not an exception. It kinda lacked treble.

Anyways, my fondness for the Phase 90 stems from that 'throbby,' pulsating swirl. When you develop tolerance to that 'seasicky' effect,you'll soon start hearing that effect in most of today's songs. Listening to most of the Motown and 70s records also made me more sensitive to that 'sound,' which I think this Phase 90 nails pretty well.

Now that I've heard Boss's VB-2 Vibrato pedal, I realized that the phase 90 actually has quite a variety of vibrato speeds crammed into that '3 o clock' to its maximum setting, so much so that the slightest turn of the knob makes a big difference in the speed!

Amazing! Really amazing! With a really good reverb unit, the phase 90 can stand alone as your sole 'modulation' pedal, and the different speed settings make it a gem!

This pedal i svery easy to use, i didint get a manual with mine but amonkey could wor it, i usually set it at 11 o clock to get a good swirl that wont make people dizzy

My main weapons are a gibson epiphone Les Paul and a Standard Telecaster >Vox Wah Wah >BOSS Chorus ensamble>MXR Phase 90> BOSS DD-% Delay> Marshall Amp. My favorite Bands are Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Stones,Guns n Roses,Bad Company, Hendrix etc etc.
I can get a perfect Jimmy Page sound with the mxr....well page sound circa physical graffiti and after, this little pedal was all over those albums.

There are 3 things i can depend on in my life...Taxes,Death,AC/DC never selling out, and this pedal not braking, its great

i get the pedal right away...never had to deal with the company so they get a 7

I play mainly classic rock or blues based hard rock, but i can play anything from folk to reggea to eastern influenced stuff.If this was lost id buy a new one... if it was stolen id hunt whoever stole and beat the crap out of them and make them buy me a new one because they use my old one, heh

Terrifically easy to use. One knob that affects the speed, but I think it also affects the depth as to always give a pleasing tone. I guess rather than to say it affects "speed" alone, I would say it should be called the "character" knob.

I play bass in an "alternative-metal" band. I'm using a Warwick Thumb 5 Neck - Through with an Ampeg SVT-III Pro head into a Genz - Benz 4x10 cab. One of my guitarists left and I needed to help thicken up the sound, since I wasn't using pedals before. My effects consist of Ibanez PD7-->Boss Bass Synth--->MXR Phase 90--->Boss DD3 Delay. The sound from this box is very good. I use a lot of boost from the preamp on the bass itself, so the high end is a bit overbearing at times. So I play pretty light, and focus on making the lows stand out.

Very dependable. Gigging without a backup is not a concern for me. Although, if you use batteries in it be cautios. It's not like a Boss pedal where it's easy to get the the battery area. That's right, it's screwdriver time...

Never dealt with them

The phase sounds are just what I was looking for. I like not having to tweak knobs to get the right tone. It's already there. Just match up the rate of the sweep with the song, or just make it close or whatever.

Yes, it's easy to use.

Okay, I'm using an American Tele into a Twin Reverb. I use this pedal with a Boss DD-5 and an Ernie Ball Volume. Well, this pedal sounds exactly as I thought it would...it's a very lo-fi phaser, but that's the basis of its appeal. When switched on, this pedal boosts the volume and has a tendency to distort your signal, and I think that's wonderful. It's not high tech, but at least there's no background noise when it's switched off. I think that the effect is kind of subtle when its set to slower speeds...it's kind of mellow when it's set that low. When you put the knob at 11 o'clock, you start to get that uni-vibe sound. At 3 o'clock, you get the underwater sound. These are all sounds that you've heard before, but people are always finding new ways to use this thing.

I have a Dunlop reissue, and I've had no problems at all.

You can use this pedal with pretty much any style of music imaginable. I play alternative/indie rock, jazz, and funk, among others, and this pedal is on constantly. It's simply an integral part of any guitarists rig. I do wish that the phase 90 had a depth control, because I would like to have the option to switch from smooth and mellow phasing to ridiculously intense swooshing (is that a word?). Overall, the phase 90 adds some very nice sounds to my setup, and sometimes it adds some unexpected ones (like distortion). You gotta love this quirky bastard!

This nice orange stomp box just has an on/off switch and a control knob for "speed". So, switch it on and turn the speed control up or down. For me the 10 o'clock position gave the best sound, a warm, slow deep phasing effect. If you want to, it can get very extreme, but with the deep control beyond the 3 o'clock position I got sea sick.

The sound quality is very good. I used it with my Carvin MTS3210 combo and a Charvel 475 Lefty. The effect sound is warm and is very clearly present, even with high gain settings on my amp. The only other phaser I used and can compare the Phase 90 with, is the one in my Boss GX700 effects processor. The Boss is no match for this stomp box. I tried to get some early Van Halen sounds with it and I must see I wasn't disappointed.

This thing is very reliable, it simply always works. And though it's small, the Phase 90 is built like a tank. No problem to use this one gig after gig.

I haven't had any problems with my MXR, so I can't tell wether they deliver good customer support or not.

Like some 99% of all guitar players my main styles are rock, blues and pop. Think Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore and a little Satriani. I've been playing for 12 years now. Besides the Phase 90 I use a Boss DD5 delay, a Boss CE5 chorus, a Boss BF2 flanger, a Morley Pro Series II wah, a Boss BD2 overdrive and a Boss GE7 equalizer. My guitar is a lefthanded Charvel 475, my amp a Carvin MTS3210 combo. The MXR is part of a setup with I can use to create every sound I want to, though it's not necessary to get "my sound" (for that, I rely on my hands, guitar and amp mostly). But if it got stolen, I think I'd buy another one.

There's just one knob for speed so it's pretty easy to find the sound you want. Didn't get a manual, but i can't imagine what it would have to say.

I play a fender standard strat with various lace sensors, and i use lots of different effects at different times. My amp right now is an old Peavey 15 watt, so the sound isn't going to be pristine no matter what I play. Still this pedal is pretty cool. You can get anything from slow, swirling phase to rapid machine gun phase and everything in between. I especially like using this on the clean channel. It really sounds warm, my first thought was "fake plastic trees' by radiohead. Especially when you use distortion there's a noticeable volume boost. This is cool for solos and stuff, but overall it's just annoying, and the one thing i really don't like about this pedal. I'm not an expert on true bypass, but i can definately hear a difference in tone when using it. just get a sonic maximizer or a boss enhancer off ebay. though it does boost your signal, the sound you get with distortion is pretty good as well. i'll usually run a big muff or a creamy dreamer through it, and it sounds cool. the tone coming out of it is very dirty sounding in my opinion, but that's just part of its character

these mxr boxes are tough. i wouldn't worry

never dealt with em

I like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Weezer, At the Drive In, Cocteau Twins. This pedal can do great things with the clean signal, especially when combined with a chorus and/or delay. As far as the electric sound, I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a dirtier type phase. if you want machina era pumpkins sound get the small stone instead. It sounds much cleaner and more polished than the phase 90. if you want the sonic youth sound get the phase 90. I know thurston uses one cause i saw it when they played in atlanta, and it makes sense. the sound from the pedal (when distorted) is very scratchy (that's the only word i cand think of to describe it) and it matches their sound to a T. if it were stolen or lost, i'd probably buy a phase 100 just cause those give you a few more options with your sound. for the price i paid i'm happy with it

It has one knob. If you have a problem with this then you need stronger medication.

At last, something to rival the Small Stone. That great 4-stage phase sound is just great for rhythm guitar and electric piano. I've used it on my Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, and on my strat too. It doesn't have the background noise thet a smallstone does and sounds every bit as warm and deep. It does seem to threaten to overdrive a bit when the sweep goes right down, there's a definite hint of distortion even with a clean strat. This happens through both a clean tube amp and solid state PA system. It's not really a problem, it just part of the character of the thing.

It's built like a brick shithouse. Dunno wether I'd gig it without an AC adapter though, I don't really trust batteries.

I live in the UK. If it breaks it'd be cheaper to buy a new one than arse about sending it back to the states for repair I should think. I ordered the thing on the net from the US anyway and it saved me about #30 on the UK price I would have paid here.

It's a great little pedal, easily used and quite versatile. It's great for that '70s warbling noise that's popular again. A good substitute for people who can't afford a univibe. It would be more versatile if it had a depth knob but I get by just fine with it as it is. Anyone who wants to use effects just HAS to have a phase 90 anyway, don't they?