MXR Phase 90

It just cant be simpler! No rocket science needed here.

I currently use a mesa boogie solo 50 head, and musicman axis guitar.
I plug this straight in and thats it! Just leave it around 10 o clock.
Unlike modern pedals, these things have a real depth and warmth, excellent performer live and in the studio.

Since I spilled beer on it, the switch is a little sticky(hey it's rock 'n roll) but besides my human error this thing is bombproof!!
Who carries back-up pedals anyway?

Hopefully no need.

When I got this thing about a year ago, I used it sparingly, and now I cant stop stamping on the thing, I use it way too much!!
A little noisy when recording, but it's one small concession. This little box rocks. A real talent booster.

simplest pedal to use. Step on it and turn the one and only knob to get what sound you want.

I am using a Ampeg Big Stud BASS and Cort Five String Fretless Bass into a Gallien Krueger 800 into a Bag End 4x10 and it sounds excellent. It does give off some background noise but all modulation effects give that sweep. Its nothing to noticable and if anything gives a pretty cool spacey background effect. This is the best phaser ive heard and handles most notes on bass just fine. Its great down to a low E but loses the phase sound below that, but I still think this has to be the best phaser out there for bass. I use a lot of effects on bass and though i dont like to mix it with many of my other effects (most are modulations or overdrives) i think it would work well with the right effects (light chorus).

I have never had a problem with it. Seems like a small metal brick and dont think i could possible break it. I would give without it.

I play in a rock/metal/funk band and i think it works great with the other weird effects i use on bass. I would buy another if it was stolen. This is the best phaser ive heard for bass and also for guitar and would recommend it for anyone.

Very easy. Just plug in and tweak the speed knob.

Amazing!!! I've finally nailed that 70s jazz fusion sound popularized by the studio guys like Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Steve Khan. At the 11 0 clock setting, it gives you that lush sound found in most of the late 70s jazz fusion albums.

Had it for only a month now. Seems sturdy.

Thanks to the rave reviews here, I've decided to give it a try.

Unlike most of the guys who seem to like this for its rock applications (and I definitely agree with most of them), I loved it for its jazz potential.

I've long been a fan of Grant Geissman, and loved his solo in Chuck Mangione's late 70s album, 'Feels So Good.' Well, the phase 90, with the speed set to 10:30-11 o clock nails that Geissman sound!!! As I said, it's a very deep, lush, swirly effect that makes it perfect also for funk. At times, it could even simulate a wah-wah effect.

Speed set to 3 o clock gives you that univibe effect, which so far I haven't really exploited yet. Tried the Van Halen thingie too on the Eruption solo, and this does it pretty well.

I can't say this is better than the other brands, since I haven't really heard all of 'em. But for its 'vintage' vibe, I just felt that it's a welcome addition to my bag of tricks. This one and the MXR Dynacomp make a good addition to anyone's arsenal.

Excellent pedal, very easy to use, one knob for speed.

I use this with a fender deluxe strat > mxr phase 90 > fulltone fulldrive > crybaby wah > into a fender hot rod deville 4 10". There is no noise at all besides the actual effect. I read about a distortion at certain frequencies and I have found out it works best before a dist./ overdrive pedal. You can get the sounds from Dark Side of the Moon from Pink Floyd, Silverchair's "Abuse Me", SRV's "Cold Shot", and more. It sounds good with my fulldrive and sounds cool with a wah on.

It is built like a tank. I would gig without a backup. Works best in my opinion with a ac adapter.

never dealt with them

I play blues, classic rock, alternative, funk, and pretty much anything with a guitar. This pedal is really benificial. I wouldn't have to buy it again.

One knob for speed. It can't get easier. Replacing the battery however is kind of a pain.

I bought my Phase 90 used in 1985. It is the best pedal deal I have ever made. The sound is perfect. If you want to replicate the rhythm guitar on Rolling Stone's 'Shattered', the Phase 90 and a little distortion is all you need.

Never had a problem.

Never needed customer support.

If you want THE phase pedal, do not look any further.

very easy to get alot of intermodulation disTrortion-YUCK! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT GREAT PHASE 90 SOUND I ASK?

MY BUD BOX,BLOCK,AND 93 RE ISSUE DONT DISTORT LIKE THIS WHATS UP?

THEY ARE GETTING WORSE! NOT BETTER! COME ON JIMMY!(I LOVE PHASE 90'S)

JASON JASON JASON!

tHEY NEED TO GET RID OF THAT DISTORTION IN THE PHASE SWEEP! TOO MUCH FOR A rhodes piano. Its a classic Jim, dont let go down hill!!!!!!I mean it dam it!

Very easy to use, one knob

Excellent sound, by far the best of all the phasers I tested. I use a Strat through vibrato/chorus, wah, phaser, delay, TS-9. I can recreate the phase sounds of evrything from Pink Floyd, to Eddie Van Halen, to Mike McCready. allround great quality of sound just find the setting you prefer and go!

very sturdy, very depenable, battery or adapter

Never had to call Dunlop

Overall great pedal, I play rock just about everything from SRV to STP anything really, Great effect, would definitely get another if anything ever happened to it, Easy to use and great sound. Would recommend to anyone looking for a phaser!

I think you can figure it out.

I have a newer model and like everyone else says, it puts out some distortion in the middle of the sweep. I only use it when I'm playing distorted, so it doesn't matter to me. Besides that, it's the best phaser I've heard. Their reputation is well deserved.

Haven't had it long enough to know.

I dunno

I play blues, rock, metal, whatever. This is a great pedal, I like to use it when I'm playing leads sometimes. I just love the dynamics it adds. I have compared it to the boss, and the phase 100. Tthe boss pedal sucked and is worthless. As for the phase100, its not bad but I really could't tell much of a difference in the different wave patterns. And honestly, anyone who is not a musician won't know either.

This pedal is very easy to use as it has one knob! Speed.

This pedal sounds good from a slow phase to a fast tremolo like warble.
However the original versions of this pedal sound better.
This new Dunlop reissue seems to boost your signal and adds some distortion at certain frequencies.

Never had a problem with dependability.

Never dealt with the company

This is good effect however as stated before the original ones sound better

1 nob...ok, everyone else said it. Easy, but could use some other features...but that shouldn't bring down the rating.

I play experimental (Sonic Youth-ish) tunes...sounds great. I play: guitars - Arion Stage Tuner - ElectroHarmonix Bad Stone (2 nob version) phaser (also some psuedo-ring modulation sounds) - DOD FX51 Juice Box (booster)- 3MS aToner (custom built for me, wacky pedal) - MXR Phase90 - ElectroHarmonix Big Muff (reissue) - Digitech PDS 20/20 MultiPlay - Ampeg 12R Reverberocket amp. Fits in great, Thurston Moore (and possibly other memebers) of Sonic Youth use this pedal...can get their sounds and more, so it works great!

Seems fine, I have the other phaser if necessary...but I doubt the MXR will fail me.

Never needed to contact them.

Good phaser, I had many phasers, and this one is a great workhorse! Nicde an small as well, since this pedal sounds similar to a Small Stone, the size actually was a factor (I used to own a Small Stone, great pedal as well, I just got a trade offer for this pedal first).

this is an update to my previous post in which i believe i unfairly slammed the phase 90. i said i returned it because i found that it changed my tone too radically. my experience, however, stemmed from placing the 90 after the distortion. subsequent experiments have taught me that, while the phasing effect is more pronounced when placed after distortion (i'm using a real tube overdrive and a fulltone soulbender), you get a transistory thinning of the sound which i found unacceptable. i've since purchased a reissue phase 100 and am using it before the distortion and am pretty pleased with it. some have described the sound as "watery" - that works for me. i like the 100 because there's more control over the level of effect. while i complained that the 90's effect was too strong, i have sinced discovered that - when actually playing in a band - the more subtle settings on the 100 get lost, and i end up going for a more extreme sound. so maybe the 90 was right in the pocket after all. anyway, i'm digging phasing now, and actually bought an old small stone too. the mxr has a somewhat clearer, more hi-fi tone to it, and i think that if i had to chose one i'd stick with the mxr. still, i think the small stone, with its color switch, is probably more versatile than the phase 90, as with that switch on you get a fairly extreme, chewy almost synthy sound. try stringing two phasers together - it's great! i'll set one with a slow sweep, the other with a faster univibey sound, and the sound is unbelievable. the down side, of course, is that you're going through two primitive 70's circuits at once (even when they're off!). thanks to SH for his help and advice

One knob, one on/off switch. If you can't figure this out, you had better check your pulse, you may be dead.

This pedal offers a very classic phasing sound. It's a bit harder in tone than the Electro Harmonix Small Stone (I prefer the Stone about 7 out of 10 times) but it's still a very cool pedal. I have never heard a vintage Phase 90 in person, so I can't make that comparison. In my opinion it's better than the Boss and DOD phasers, and different than a Small Stone. The Phase 90 doesn't have true bypass so unless you are using this in an MIDI loop switcher and/or a buffered signal (like me) you will lose some tone. Not as much as you will with say a Big Muff, but enough to notice. This isn't a Hi-Fi, transparent effect. If you want to hear every ounce of your original tone try another phaser or give up on phasing all together. It's a good, not great sounding pedal.

If I didn't use a MIDI loop switcher, I would not even dream of using this pedal without a backup. I have had my Phase 90 for a couple of months and before putting in my system. Twice when I went to turn it on with it's footswitch, it wouldn't go on without hitting it again. The switches on these things are complete crap. To make matters worse, the switch is mounted directly to the circuit board making replacement with a good switch like the Fulltone 3PDT impossible.

Never had to deal with Dunlop. Nice Crybaby Wah manual that came with my pedal though. How about a Phase 90 manual instead of the wah manual guys. I got the same damn wah manual with a Fuzz Face I bought a while back. By the way, if you're thinking of buying a Fuzz Face, save your pennies and get a Fulltone '69 pedal. It's a way better pedal even though Fulltone's customer service bites the big one.

I play mostly noise pop and vintage rock and roll. If it were stolen or damaged, I would probably replace it unless I could find something that sounds similar but better. Between the Phase 90 and the Small Stone, I've got all my phasing bases covered. I've replaced a Crybaby and a Fuzz Face with a RMC3 and a Fulltone 69 pedal. In my opinion, this is the only effect that Dunlop makes that can't be replaced with a better unit (I didn't even bother getting a Univibe reissue. Fulltone, Prescription Electronics and Roger Mayer already make better units). If there's anyone out there who knows of a killer phaser with a sound that's similar to the Phase 90 that's on par with Fulltone, Roger Mayer, etc. please e-mail me with the info/website that I can find it at and why you think it's better.

with one knob, its certainly easy to use. i guess i'm wishing that i could turn the effect down. i guess that's what phase 100's are for ...

i'm a traditionalist when it comes to tone, and favor vintage or reissue type gear. i'm playing a reissue strat or tele, a travis bean artist, and a les paul classic into a vibroverb reissue or mesa blue angel. my only (other) effects are a chandler tube driver and a DOD analog delay. i was looking for something to add a trippy effect, wihtout killing my tone. this phase 90 reissue has the major drawback of significantly brightening and thinning the tone. the only pickup setting i can use on my 57 reissue strat is the neck, and even that sounds thin. forget the brighter settings - no body at all. so this pedal fails the acid test by degrading a great guitar sound. i'm thinking of trying the phase 100 to see whether turning down the intensity of the effect will give back some of that expensive tone i've been working on all these years!

seems solid enuff, though as i think i'll be returning it i can't really speak as to its reliability.

agains, the effect is a little pronounced for my taste. i'd rather be able to leave the thing on and have it be barely noticeable. i play blues and classic rock, but i also have a psychedelic bent ingrained from listening to the dead for many years. jerry supposedly used the 100 - i know i never heard him getting an effect as in your face as this. i probably would have loved this when i was seventeen.

One knob for speed - EASY! This pedal is surely foolproof. As a bonus to the singular knob though, There's also a little trim pot in the circuitboard and if you turn it with a dinky little screwdriver it changes the intensity - phase 45 tones are acheivable with this. Cool. I have no manual but it doesn't really matter due to the amount of knobs onboard.

What can I say about the phase 90 without repeating the words of so many others? This pedal does it all - subtle warmimg up of your tone,leslie simulation,vocal swooshes - divine. If you like Radiohead,Floyd,Van Halen's 1st LP (or you want to get that riff to Bill Wither's 'Lovely Day' spot on!) then the phase 90 is your pedal. No noise either. I use this pedal with a Telecaster through tons of pedals (BigMuff,whammy/wah,RAT,MoogerFooger Ring Mod,BuzzBox to name a couple) and I can get some seriously wierd stuff happening. At the moment I'm into At the drive-in, Radiohead,Sebadoh,Blur,Salaryman, Dinosaur Jr,and Sonic Youth amongst others and the MXR phase 90 can create the sounds of these bands. I love the speed knob up full for wobblyness and also the slow phases it does - invaluable for picking out chord arpeggios.

MXR are built like brick out houses. The switch is good from what I can gather and the LED always comes on bright as you like. The knob is rock solid and you also get a little rubber tyre to put on the knob so you can change settings with your foot on the fly - neat idea. I have a SmallStone so if the MXR conks out I have backup but as I say the phase 90 is a tough cookie.

Don't know - I've never contacted them.

I bought the phase 90 of Yahoo auctions for #45 including a free lead and battery. The pedal had only ever seen home studio use and is in MINT condition - It truely was a steal. Ofcourse its sound that ultimately decides if a pedal stands or falls and this MXR reissue stands head and shoulders above modern day phasers at this price.
An intensity knob would be interesting but then again the simplicity of the phase 90 is one of the keys to its popularity and cult status. If you need a phaser thats not complex,won't break down after two weeks,fits onto nearly any pedalboard and that sounds top notch then this pedal is well worthy of your attention ...and your cash too.

the only thing that i think would be kewl with every swirly modulation type effect, would be to have the LED blink at how fast the rate is.

I'm using this with a custom mod strat with humbuckers, a duncan in the bridge and a dimarzio in the neck. It is very nice sounding. Very rolly sounding on slower settings, but always really silky sounding. I love how when the rates all the way up, the effect isn't all garbled like on my small stone. Sounds reminiscent of Blind Melon, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Pink Floyd. The Phase 90 is definitly a dirty sounding phaser, when I strum hard on clean tones it actually distorts. The small stone does not. However unlike the small stone, the volume does not dropped whben engaged, i actually think it might slighty boost it.

I'm sort of worried about it. When I switch it on and off, it clicks very loudly, and sometimes the signal cuts out for like a millisecond. I hate this style switchs. I hate the one on my big muff, i hate it on my small stone, and I really hate it on this. But I will hope for the best.

Thanks for the wah manual...

I would not get rid of it. It has such a beautiful sound, and is so simple to use. Definitely check this one out!

Dude this thing is the bomb, I love this thing, one knob, thats it and it sounds tight all over.

Man this thing sounds so tight! Its not noisy at all its so lush and full, I'm using it through a Laney VH100-R halfstack. wiht a strat it gets that jimi feel, with a lp it sounds tight and HUGE.

Ok i bought this thing in a pawnshop for 35$ and its in pretty ok condition but it looked like it had been used, but it works Great soudns great!

IDUNNO

I play Christian music funk/fusion/rock I love this pedal soo much, if it was stolen or lost, i'de be really really mad cause i got it at such a great price! I love the way it doesn't over power my sound with phase, like the super phaser i had before, the rate knob is prety much all you need. This pedal just flat out rocks, I paid 125$ for a super phaser, my friend bought this one and i traded him with no regrets whatsoever DA BOMB pedal. LOVE IT!

Absolutely easy. One large speed knob, and an on/off switch. I dont need a whole bunch of pedals each with their own volume and eq knobs to screw up my tone, I just like something simple. I suppose it would be nice to adjust the depth of the phasing as well, but its set just right for me. And I think theres a trim pot inside that lets you do it anyway.

I use this pedal mainly with my Rickenbacker bass (I use a Rotovibe for my electric guitars). It imparts a rich warm tonality to it, as long as you keep it rather slow (speed knob). When it gets going faster it becomes more of a distraction, at least with a bass. Amongst other effects, I run a Fulltone BassDrive overdrive pedal before this in the chain. They sound very cool combined...works very well to fill in space in my progressive 3 piece band. If the speed is up with the distortion on, then things get a bit too crazy. The phaser sounds wonderful. It doesnt sound sterile and cold like a chorus or a flanger, but warm and natural. It pulses, reminding me of a leslie. One of these days Im going to try my bass through a Leslie (or leslie effect) just to see what it sounds like. One complaint though...it does distort occasionally. Strat pickups and my rickenbacker pickups dont drive it that hard, but my stock Gibson les paul pickups do. Nasty sort of distortion, not nice when you want clean phaser sound. Thats why i use the more tame Rotovibe for a guitar phaser. But overall great.

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I play quirky prog rock, and this is a great addition to my weird bass stylings. Perhaps Im just a frustrated guitarist who wants as many toys as his six string wielding compadre, or perhaps I just like the tone. Either way, this is a great little pedal, better than the EH Small Stone I ran it up against. Great sound, very usable.

the easiest phaser on the planet!

this is the best sound effect you can put on a rhodes piano.Using it in only one channel on the suitcase amp is best.The reissues sound great.The bud box script logos are better.They dont get in the way of your attack as much.

I have had a reissue go south on me after only two days.They sent me a new unit-free, no questions asked!

Jason at dunlop is your man-awsome customer service!

11 this unit makes a fender rhodes piano sound awsome!

In my post below I mentioned I knew how to adjust the depth of phase...Due to many emails, I have decided to post the instructions here.

Open up the bottom by removing the 4 screws. At the top center of the Printed Circuit board there is a little hole with a control in it. Use a small hex wrench to carefully turn this control. This control may be plugged with clear or white wax on some models. Just pick away at the wax with a paper clip until you see the hex hole. Play thru it as you adjust the control...You can hear the difference as you turn it.
Thats It!

n/a

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Ok here is the deal. I have been playing guitar for 7 years...I have many many pedals and have had some of them for years..I take immaculate care of them. I LOVE the MXR Phase 90. The sad part is..the last 2 I have bought..have crapped out within a month..and sadly..not from user misuse. I tried batteries..the adaptor..they just dont phase and they distort after awhile. I am done dealing with MXR for good. It is really sad...I really love this pedal..when it works. It is an integral part of my tone...but I just cant rely on them anymore. I would actually like to talk to someone there and find out whats going on..my email is at the bottom. Please play your Phase 90's before you purchase them because a few of my friends have also complained about this phenomana...which scares me even more.

I cant even find any way to contact them.

Great sounds, when they work...shoddy workmanship. If you can find an old one (script)..Id say go for it because obviously they dont care about how these are built now.

Just wanna say this: the switch has done some weird stuff, but overall good for the money. Great tone: not extreme, just good sounding. Oh yeah, if you want the best way to use it, place it after a distortion unit but in front of the amp. I put it after a Metal zone and before a short delay: perfect tapping, EVH brown sound.

come on now

ok.....if it goes in front of the amp on the clean channel....its absolutley beautiful and magical.....in front of the amp on the overdrive channel....wow where did all that horrible mud come from? but in the effects loop on overdrive channel....ahhh how lovely.......in the effects loop on clean channel.....damnit to hell not quite as magical but not too bad .....overall very nice...and so tragic....also use a battery it just doesnt sound as nice with an adapter....battery life is long though

nothing is reliable....however this thing is nice and solid should last a long time if not a lifetime....

???

overall this thing is a lovely,magical,inexpensive,solid little bastard....not true bypass but is forgiving on your tone....really cant beat it for the price

very easy to use. Has 1 speed knob. That's it.

I use it with a strat into a Peavey Classic 50 amp.
It's not noisey. The effect is perfect. Not too much like most phasers. You can get those classic 70s sounds and the early Van Halen eruption/really got me solo sounds with the speed all the way off.

It's built like a tank with a big metal switch

I play blues and classic rock. Been doing it for 20 years. This pedal is a great addition to get those warbly Robin Trower tones and classic 70s phase. Think of the beginning to Heart's Baracuda or Led Zepelin's Ten Years Gone.

1 knob for speed. The depth is just right for me.

I use a Lonestar Strat --> dyna comp --> phase 90 --> teese rmc-1 wah --> metal zone --> line-6 DL-4. This is a very sweet phaser. I have previosly owned the boss ph-2, and the mxr phase 100. The boss phaser sounded cheesy and over the top, and with the phase 100 I could never find the right depth (however the phase 100 still had a good sound). This is the first one I am happy with.

rock solid. but obviosly this kind of switch could break.

I play different kinds of rock mostly. this is great for a pink floyd sound, and for a uni vibe sound.

I knob, speed, it isnt easier than that.

I use this with a boss ce-1, ibanez wh-10, and a ts-9 and it works great. It is a bit noisy when the speed it up and the distortion is cranked, espically when i using my jcm 800. This is the standard in phase pedals, and the best around

Jim Dunlop usually make the most un-reliable pieces of crap, for example the crybabbies they will die on you in a year. But this pedal seems to be differant i have never heard one complaint

never dealt

This definitly adds a great depth to my sound. It is great for funk or those van halen tap solos. If i lost it i would buy one is a minute, it is great and it is so easy.