Maxon PT-9 Pro + Phaser

words i would use to describe this pedal are: transparent, liquid, 3-D. It is the optical circuit that gives it that elusive "liquid" quality.

This is a ten stage phaser. In general more stages make for a more complex, subtle and involving sound. If you use the moog phaser pedal you will recognize this trait when you switch between the the 6 and 12 stage modes.

Most phasers take over your tone and turn it into a synthetic up-down shwooooooo
sound. To me those phasers are a caricature of what a real phaser should sound like. While they may sound "extreme" they are also very two dimensional, not very useable
and draw too much attention to themselves "look at me i'm a phaser shwooosh!"

A good phaser shouldn't drown your tone but should instead make your guitar sound like it is MOVING IN SPACE. It is this doppler effect that makes phase much more psychedelic than chorus or flanger. This is something experienced phaser junkies will know and appreciate and this pedal does it better than 99% of what's out there. Think bi-phase.

Less discerning players may feel that it's not doing enough. They may wish for a dramatic "special effect" sound. For those people let me recommend a completely different type of pedal called a FLANGER.

This isn't a thick swooshy overpowering sound like you would get from an MXR phaser. It is very different. It sounds like a mu-tron (maybe better) but much smaller and true bypass.

In my opinion all maxon pedals are overpriced for a mass produced product. They should be priced higher than boss based on quality but not twice as much as boss. They sound good so I cough up extra for them but i do resent it somewhat. If they did compete on price they would probably be a much more successful brand in the long run.

Let's forget price and think tone. This is the best phaser of it's size. Maybe the best phaser pedal period.

It's a pedal with 3 knobs. It's easy to use.

Okay. I had been searching for the Clapton Reggae sound and the Jerry Garcia tone. I was using a Boss PH-2 but found it WAY too sterile. I needed warmth, depth and soul. I could not justify spending a fortune on an MXR vintage script phase 100 unit, but I did want something to match that sound. This nails it.

Setup: custom fender with 3 di-marzio Super II humbuckers with coil tap-->various effects (including this one)-->1970 Fender Twin Reverb, blackfaced with JBL speakers. This is the tone I was looking for. Natural, liquid swooshing. Psychidelic depth and voicings. no tone coloration.

Some fun that I had:
- Beatles "Across the Universe" swoosh.
- Added some delay for a some reggae/dub
- used for some depth in solos.

Great pedal. A little pricey, but great pedal.

Built to last.

I play psychidelic jam music (e.g. Grateful Dead, Garcia Band, Beatles). This is a perfect compliment. Can't beleive I waited so long. If it were lost or stolen, I would get a new one. Great product, great depth of sound, high quality parts. Viva la analog!

Fairly simple to use if you are familiar with phasers - Rate, Width, and Feedback controls. Not as easy to use as say, a Phase 90 w/1 knob, but easy enough where you're not scrolling through menus, etc. The manual is straightforward and gives some sample setting to get you going, so I'd say it's pretty easy to use

This is an optical phase shifter, and in case you've never heard any, optical circuits tends to have a more wet, drippy, 3-dimensional tone than circuits made w/FET's, op amps, etc (my opinion). Some optical units of note are the Mutron BiPhase, Univibe, etc. Anyway, enough history - this phaser definitely has a wet, drippy tone similar to the vintage units listed above. I used an Ibanez PT-9 (FET) prior to this, but I felt it was a little too subtle. Then I used a vintage Maxon PT-9 Pro (optical) that I snagged from Japan but I broke the input jack on a gig. When Maxon released the Pro+ I was stoked, so I got one right away. It definitely compares favorable to the other two units I used prior, and it has more low-end which I suppose can be attributed to the 18-volt circuitry (I play bass so I need some meat). It's got that juicy, liquid phasing tone that I always dug about the Mutron stuff, but in a nice, small box. Note that this pedal is not as intense an effect as a reissue phase 90 or small stone. However, it does not mask your instrument's tone or create volume drops at full phase shift as these other pedals tend to do....

Seems to be built very well - solid metal chassis, metal pot shafts, etc. The switch can be a little dodgy at times, but it's not chintzy feeling by any means. This pedal design has been used for 20 years or so, so I guess it's a winner.....

Never dealt with them......

I play Bass in a funky rock outfit ala Chili Peppers, Zep, Kravitz, etc. This pedal works great for parts where I want to have a little movement and dimension to my tone. The effect is definitely present without being overpowering, and it doesn't mask the tone of my Bass (80's MusicMan Sabre). It was a little pricey, but I'm happy with the sound quality. If it broke I would try to get it repaired, but I'm not sure I'd drop another $250 for it!

It's pretty easy to get an okay sound out of it. There are only three knobs. There's an LED that indicates the current point in the sweep, even when the unit is in bypass. True bypass works great.

It's just an okay sounding phaser. When used with distortion, there's too much swishing clock noise. It does not have the tone of an MXR, and it doesn't hold a candle to my EVH phase 90. What's good about it is that on certain settings, you can hear the sweep as a series of harmonic overtones, like an analog version of Boss' step mode on thier godawful PH-3. So if you like that sound, but hate the rest of that pedal, this may be something to check out.

This is a 10-stage phaser, according to Kevin from Godlyke. There is a lot of confusion on this: it's either listed as a 12-stage or a 4-stage by everyone who sells it. Both of those are wrong. The official explanation is that it's a 10-stage.

Honestly, it doesn't sound better than an old Ibanez PT9, except for the harmonics. The old PT9 was weaker but cleaner. I waited a year for this an was pretty disappointed. Still it's better than a host of other phasers I've tried: Boss (PH-3), DigiTech (bleeech!!!), Guyatone. Still, I'd rather have a Boss PH-2 or an MXR Phase 100 than this--both of those are better sounding 10-stage phasers. It's just not worth the money to me.

I've Maxon 9-series for "transparent" effects, but I think I'm leaning toward MXR for "effecty" effects. I have a CS-9 Pro, an SD-9 (both great pedals) and it looks like I'm keeping the EVH Phase 90.

Maxon pedals are super-high quality and I would trust this if I liked it.

Kevin at GodLyke (Maxon's US distributer) is really incredibly kind and helpful. Seriously.

This is okay for rock, and sounds good clean, but I wanted something that worked better with distortion also. I am returning it, would not buy again. See above for comparisons. The sound is just not good enough to justify the purchase price, even if the component quality is superior. The EVH 90 remains my weapon of choice, the PH-2 would be a backup.

Not too terribly difficult. Just twist the knobs until it sounds the way you want it to. There aren't really any bad sounds on this thing. Sample settings would be nice.

I'm running this in the effects loop of my Zinky Blue Velvet 25w along with a Maxon FL-9, Visual Sound H2O, etc. It isn't noisy, and the true bypass works as expected. This pedal sounds great, though it doesn't produce extreme settings a la a Small Stone. It isn't as bubbly as other phases I have played, but it responds better to OD/distortion than just about anything else. I'll add a second phase to my rig eventually just to get the extra bubble.

It also responds amazingly well to my Electro Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, which is a major added bonus.

Maxons are built like brick shithouses. What could be better?

I've never dealt directly with Maxon, but I have dealt with Godlyke. They're good folks.

This pedal is a tad pricey, but ultimately worth the extra dough. It produces an excellent, moderately transparent phase with virtually no added noise. There are no surprises with this pedal--just good tone. I love it. Assuming I had the necessary financial resources, I would absolutely replace it if lost/stolen.

I am a gigging musician. I play with a funk/R&B band, though I also play in many other styles (you name it, I play it, unless it sucks). I need good working equipment, and Maxon's stuff fits the bill.