Musitronics/Mu-Tron Phasor II

The Phasor II is easy to use - it has three controls: Rate, Depth & Feedback (plus an on/off switch) - but there are many subtle combinations to be found. It's almost impossible to get a bad sound from this unit.

The range of sounds is really wide - from subtle almost Univibe type swirls, gentle phasing like the MXR Phase 45, through to an almost flanger-like sweep when the Depth & Feedback are turned up full. It has a good range of speeds although it doesn't go quite as slow as an MXR Phase 90. Like all Mu-Tron pedals, it's very quiet (by design).

I'm using the Phasor II with a Gibson Historic Les Paul R0 and a Fender Vintage '62 Stratocaster, into a Supro 'Super' 1606 or a (BillM) modified Fender Blues Junior, as well as with keyboards.

Apart from the Mu-tron Bi-Phase (of which the Phasor II is one half) there isn't a better sounding or more versatile phase pedal in my opinion.

If you get one of these it will be at least 25 years old and Mu-Tron pedals seem very reliable. The Phasor II is a large mains-powered unit with a solid aluminium housing.

n/a although I believe the original designer, Mike Beigel, is approachable, and Richard Lingeburg will repair Mu-Tron units if you're in the USA (and he also sells a couple of remakes of Mu-Tron accessories like the Mu-Tron II PSU).

This is one of my favourite pedals and sits well alongside some other vintage units and a few Fulltone pedals. I've been playing for 39 years, have used a lot of effects in that time - the Phasor II is amongst the very best.

I've A/B tested the Phasor II with a Script Logo MXR Phase 90 and it's posssible to make a sweep which is virtually indistinguishable, but the Phasor II is far more versatile than the MXR.

It's US voltage so I have to use a transformer for it to work in the UK. I'll probably get it modded to true bypass.

I traded some dumb dude a guitar case for this pedaL. he stole it out of some dudes house 5 years ago anhd it's been under his bed ever since. 3 knobs, crazy speed control...fastest i've heard.

while it's called a phaser it does it all. i gave away my digitech flanger after i got this pedal. if you want analog sound this is the pedal. i only have one gripe. sometimes the depth knob farts out and runs at maximum depth. but thagt might just be because this pedal is old.

farts out sometimes

no clue

i'm giving it a ten because it does what it's supposed to and ti does it well.

I plugged this thing into the wall, guitar and amp, turned the knobs up, turned the power switch on, stomped on the switch, cranked the gutiar and reaped a power chord and OMFG this thing was CRAZY. I could go completely nuts with it or tone it down for a nice mellow sound. All without a manual, the thing is so easy a chimp could use it.

Has an almost digital almost eerie silence to it. Only problem I have encountered is there is a loud pop when either switch is hit, but it most likely just needs to be clewaned, it has NEVER been cleaned had no maintanance, and it still sounds quiet. Hell it even silences a buzzing guitar. If you like the sound of a single coil but the silence of a humbucker, then plug this into your single coil and turn the power on. And use it it bypass mode to silence the buzz. It completely swallows up the sound and does the effects right up front instead of sounding like an afterthough, on a loopthrough allowing effects AND the original sound through, this thing doesn;t let anything original through it effects the whole damn sound which is GREAT. Superslow or superfast, it all works great.

This thing has been put through hell. Dents, dings, scratches, it has had 500 pound items dropped on it, full cabs, stacks, heads, etc dropped on it rested on it etc. The power cord has practically been ripped out of it and it still rocks. I do need to shorten the power cord about half an inch and resolder it up inside to take care of the chord and semi-intermittent power, but you would be hurting too if you were sitting under heavy shit all the time and someone used your power cord to yank you out without lifting up the piece of equipment. This was even driven over by a 1 ton chevy van loaded down with stuff anf two tons of scrap in a trailor and it stood up. Just make sure the nuts on the pots are always tight and you'll never have to worry about the thin pot lreads or anything.

Um well, if you manage to break it you didn't need it in the first palce and have no business with guitar. If you break it, I wonder how many thousands of guitars you have gone through and how many millions of dollars you must have from replacing them. There is no more customer support unless you can find a shop to repair it, but as I said you don't need any support. You break it, your a moron.

This thing is the most unique phaser. All other phasers sound generally the same then there is this one, WOW what a difference. Nobody bothers to put any time and effort into making something special anymore, and comparing this to current phasers proves it. Nobody takes any pride anymore in what they do. Thank god these old effects were built to last so you will always have that killer sound.

three knobs, can't be that hard. it's very easy to get good sounds out of it and it's even easier to get bad sounds out of it.

if you have the depth knob too low, it will destroy your tone and give you this awful midrange-y sound. i've played all kinds of guitars thru this, but mostly a gibson with p-90's and a mustang. then to a tube screamer, to an mxr distortion+ thru this pedal and into a fender amp. the range of sound is really great. you can get sort of chorus sounds with no feedback and low depth, the exact sound of jonny greenwood's guitar in paranoid android with depth at ten and no feedback, and with depth and feedback at 10 and rate at like 3 you can get kraftwerk-like resonant filter burps. when you put a really distorted signal in you can get wild swooping sounds like the modern crappy plastic-cased phasers. its major shortcoming (besides the depth knob thing) is that there's a big empty space between the vintage leslie speaker sound and the kraftwerk sound that is just sort of thin and noisy. this could probably be put to use with some stereo digital reverb or something for a spacey eno sound, but i just haven't gotten it yet. but the synth filter sounds are good enough that i can run my digital synth which has no filters thru this and it sounds like a sine-wave-lfo-controlled filter sweep.

indestructable metal casing. i don't know if i'd take it to a gig, because i don't think i could replace it. but i know it wouldn't crap out on me.

they're long gone, but i forsee no danger

this is a very versatile pedal that i would recommend to anyone with a classic rock or art rock bent. somebody told me that king crimson and hendrix used these, but i don't believe that. it might have been another mu-tron though. i've been playing for like ten years, complete with capricious style switch-ups, and this pedal has followed me through all my "phases" wink wink. i think it's so great that there are pedals in existence with this level of subtlety and potential for expression in existence. i already outlined the shortcomings, the depth knob and the empty spot, and i can only add that something to change the contour or shape of the phase would be a immensely helpful (like on the mxr phase 100 or incredibly expensive bi-phase) but it's a classic pedal, and when i outgrow it i think the next step up is plugging into the filter of a minimoog, because that's really the only thing i can think of with the same sort of dramatic range. but if you don't have one you'll never find one, and if you find one you can't afford it, so in that respect it's a bit sad.

Three knobs. Rate, Depth, and Feedback. You can tweak all you want with this box however I've found that some settings don't really alter the sound all that much. Feedback and Rate REALLY change things up, though. Depth can change it slightly. All the way at zero the depth knob screws your tone up royally but knock it up to 5 and your off into swirly heaven!

I've gotta super crappy setup that I use with this thing. Here goes:

Yamah Pacifica or Univox Hi Flyer-Crybaby Wah-Boss DS-1-EH Big Muff-EH Small Clone-Mutron Phasor II-DOD Gonkulator-MXR Blue Box-Boss DD-5 Delay-various amps including a Roland BC-60 SS 60watt amp.

These are not exactly in the order that I use them in but are arranged as far as "FX Etiquette" (if there is such a thing:-) goes.

The Mutron probably sticks out among the non-noisemaker effects (blue box, DOD). It has one of the FULLEST, RICHEST sounds I have ever heard. My previous phasor was a Ross and while I liked it, the Mu-tron sounds WAY better than the Ross. However, with a fast rate setting the Ross always made more interesting sounds but the Mu-tron does this big, fat swallowing effect that is really hard to beat. I love it! It's also really quiet.

Mine was broken when I got it but a quick resoldering job took care of that. I sent an email to Mike Beigel at www.mu-tron.org (YES, at .org. Not at .net or .com. Those two send you to the FAKE Mu-tron III+ manufacturers) who forwarded my email to his tech. I was going to send it to the tech but ended up fixing it myself. If you have a broken one and can't fix it yourself, try contacting Mike. It may cost you a bit to get your Mu-tron pedal fixed but it's worth it, IMHO.

The Mu-tron Phasor II is made of a THICK and HEAVY metal case. Mine was super-abused looking yet everything inside was relatively clean. I could stomp hard on the sucker and I doubt it would harm it. There are some spots that I feel are weak, however. Some of the pots (on mine only the RATE pot) are connected to the board by thin little leads that are then soldered to the board. I have been told and found out the hard way that this is a weak spot. Careful soldering can repair this but be careful if you suspect anything.

Mu-tron is SADLY long gone. Mike Beigel will try and answer questions for you, I guess. He did with me.....

I make a lot of guitar noise and the Mu-tron fits right in. However, with all my goofy pedals turned off and the Mu-tron all by itself I get GREAT tone. If mine were stolen or lost I would have to rape with a blowtorch whoever took it. I would get another one ASAP. I just love it's bigness in construction and sound and the fact that it is ANALOG. I had been looking at a Boss PH-3 but once I got my Mu-tron, that was it. Plus, I've always been fascinated by these pedals so that was an influence. I wish there were a few more controls to the thing to make it do some different sounds and not act like a Swiss watch in the rise/fall category but what else can I ask for a piece of gear that is older than me?

Thanks.

So simple. Rate for the rate (about 5 sec to really fast), depth for the depth, and feedback for the amount of effect. There's also a power switch with LED- why they put this on, I don't know. I had mine modified for true bypass so it works with power off but normally they don't. Has an AC cord so no wall wart or batteries needed.

I run a mex tele (humbucker neck,single coil bridge) into an exciter surf/hurricane wah to '78 MXR dist+ to Mutron to Fulltone supa-trem to a mesa nomad 45 with boss NF-1 noise gate->Boss DD-3 digital delay in the fx loop. Before the true bypass mod, this pedal was still amazing but annoying since it made my bypassed signal sound mushy and compressed. Now I know this is the best effect I have. Slow rates with moderate depth and feedback give you that roller coaster trip. Faster speeds give classic warm analog phasing but the fastest speeds I have not found a good use for. Regardless, this is a fat phaser sound with lots of creamy bottom end. Also, turn the feedback down to 2 and with proper depth and rate settings (which I can't remember right now) you get a mild chorus effect that warms up your tone superbly. Bottom line: Despite the simple 3 knob design, you can spend months finding new sounds on this thing, and almost all of them are outstanding! Running effects into and behind this thing changes its sound all over again! Try a wah->distortion->Phasor II!!!!

Mine's used off ebay and no problems yet. The original bypass switch occasionally would not switch completely between on and off, leaving me in mute limbo but another stomp on the switch and it would be ok. The true bypass is a much better way to go, though, anyways. Unless you are some genius who builds robots and space shuttles, do not try to take this thing apart! The guts look good enough to stand up to normal wear+tear but will not stand up to ignorant curiosity! In other words, don't pick at it or you'll leave a scar.

My local guitar tech put in a true bypass no problem. Thats all I've needed. I dream of the day that Mutron returns from the analog abyss and re-issues bi-phases and phasors and runs all the digital bullshit out of town.

Nothing gets a 10. If you want phase, check this thing out. I have to say I have not tried EH and phase 90/100s so I don't know how they compare but I hear they're different sounds altogether. I do know it is much warmer and less 'fake' sounding than the Boss super phaser. Not to knock boss, since they do make good pedals for what you pay most of the time.

3 knobs and 2 switches. Big 3 prong AC power cord.

Very quiet, very unique, very pretty, very classic. Blind Melon used one and so I just had to have it. Bypass is true. Goes from super slow and mild to wild fast and deep [the sound]. Faster rates make for a coll tremelo effect. A very very fat pedal. You find yourself playing all this songs from the 70s [Who's That Lady]. I found that when dissassembled there are two pots inside that are adjustable and make fine tuning the effect possible. I play old Fenders, Gibsons and Marshalls for over 20 years. It's no wonder these pedals fetch up to over $200.

I have two of them and I did have to go inside and fix a sheilding plate that had worn thru and caused a short. Easy fix and other then that these pedals are indestructable.

out of business I believe

expensive and no customer support you have to wonder if the tone is so cool you'd record an album with it and then have to rely on it when touring but hey, lots of bands do it.

This thing is a piece of piss to use. 3 knobs and an on/off switch- anyone could get a decent tone out of it in under 2 minutes.

The sound quality of this thing is good- a little too good. It's very clean and sterile sounding which is unusual for analog gear. What it does, it does well, the quality of the signal is outstanding. It doesn't distort and sounds better than practically any modern gear. But then it doesn't have that lovely raw edge of an EH Small Stone which I love so much. It's great however for warbling Leslie sounds. If you want powerful slow sweeps this thing will do it, but it's a bit clean sounding when set slow for my taste.

I have a feeling this pedal is probably older than I am. It works fine and hasn't let me down in the 3 years I've had it. I always carry a spare fuse just in case but have never needed it up to now.

Never had to deal with Mu-tron. i think they folded in '77 which is 2 years before I was born!

It's a great phaser, very sturdy and easy to use. It sounds a little clean for my liking though compared to other vintage phasers. It works best on electric piano if you want my opinion, for guitar you'd be better with a Small Stone or a Univibe. It's good for getting a Leslie sound on a guitar though. It sounds better on semi-acoustic than electric if set for a slow sweep.

The Mutron 2's are very easy to use.It has 3 knobs,rate,depth, feedback. A baby could use it.

The Mutron 2 is extremly quiet,even when guitar is turned off.These phasors are acually closer to choruses than true exponential phasors(Bad Stone).With my Fender Twin reverb, Fab Tone,PS-2 delay,and a Memory Man delay I can get the "WHO'S THAT LADY" Ernie Isely sound.I also have a Boss PH-2 Super Phasor,which is very good but not as subtle as the mutron 2.Lead guitar, Rythym guitar,it doesn't matter,this baby is most funky.

Built like a tank,put wheels on it, you could probably drive it!The sound of the Mutron 2 is so unique,it has no backup.If it does break,
however, the greedy,silly-assed techs. won't fix them.Not enough money in it,or can't get parts??

Never dealt with Musitronics.Like I said nobody wants to repair them.

If lost or stolen I'd probably take up drinking, heavily.Compared to the other phasors,the Mutron 2,though limited in some ways,is still king!

This is the real deal if you seek to fatten lead tone or get into cool soundscapes! It's circa '75.
No patches, three dials control depth, rate, and feedback. No manual--bought it used Set -up is two main axesover the internet. Very easy to use

set-up is two main elec axes: '90 Epi LP Std with Seymours and '77 Fender Strat with Lace Sensors. Amp is Peavey Delta Blues w/ (1) 15" speaker. Pedal chain in order: dunlop cry baby std., Dan-o Cool Cat Chorus, the Mutron, Boss DD-5 Digi Delay.
Not very noisy! Previous phaser was a Boss Ph-2 that was noisy as hell.
The effects always sound great and a wide variety can be created.
I can get a GREAT Carlos Santana sound --for lead tone it adds an ungoldy quality to it.

1975 and going strong!
No, I always have a back-up regardless of the quality--shit happens!!

None

I play covers with my band, tunes from guys like Clapton, Santana, Bob Marley, Rolling Stones, old Blues, jazz-fusion like Mahavishnu and Larry Coryell, etc. A great match for my lead tone, which I strive for: an amalgam of Gilmour/Santana/Pat Metheny
Been playing since 1979 -- 20 years. Other gear: Yamaha acoustic 12 string; 1974 Martin D28 acoustic 6 string; 1981 Ibanez Artist elec guitar; pedals listed above plus Dan-o Fab Tone distortion pedal; Korg G-3 pedal unit; SBK P-25 multi-pedal board; Kustom tuck and roll amp, early 70's (relegated to dire straights back-up status or when friends stop by to jam); glass and metal slides.
If stolen/lost I woudl defintely get another one.
Love the rich pallette of sonic colors one can create with it. Not much to hate--mostly a loveable old, guy a bit up, but delivers the goods.
For my money this is the real deal in Phaser land.
If you are at all into the jazz fusion thing or like to play a la Santana and Clapton leads, this would fit nicely into a set up. It's expensive compared to the stuff you cna get for 75-140 bux, but it blows the doors off that stuff--a different class entirely. Very authentic phaser from the 70's, so that get my nostalgia going. But I love creating soundscapes, and this is a great tool for that application.
I hear Mutron supposedly released an updated version of their envelope filter--supposedly selling like hot cakes. I was hoping they'd re-release the Phaser but no luck. Found one at Gaspedal.com, which I recommend for pedal heads on the prowl for near gear or just browing. 1st piece of guitar stuff I bought over the internet and think it's awesome you can find stuff easy vs. waiting for your ship to roll in at some guitar store. Yeah!
Feel fre to contact me with any questions at jbl@loop.com

Very easy to use - you have a on/off rocker switch for powering up, the standard on/off stompbox switch, and three controls - feedback, depth, rate. These are the standard 3 for phase effects regardless of what they're called here. Five minutes of knob-fiddling is all you'll need. No manual required.

This is a fantastic phase - and being as they don't manufacture them anymore - I recommend picking one up if you come across it. I love old effects like this. Big, clunky, and well built. This thing sounds great on every set-up I've tried it with. Even my crappy mex-strat sounds super-funky plugged into a 4-track with this phase. What I really like about this phase is that it really becomes part of your sound when you're playing. Most phasers sound like they track underneath what you're playing - but this one really swallows up your notes. Plus it is really quiet when you are not playing. It does'nt have that annoying swooshy-jet hiss when you are not playing. A really versatile effect, too. I don't know any players that use it for sure - but I can easily get a decent Small Stone like sound ala Nirvana's "Come As You Are". I can also get that great phase sound on the Red Hot Chili Pepper's intro to "Soul To Squeeze" with the Mu-tron. I play a lot of Hendrix & funk - so I use the effect a lot. The unit is powered by a 3-prong plug - so wall-wart haters beware. I have a feeling you'd have to change the batteries every 10 minutes anyway, though, if it did take them. The only thing I don't really like about the unit is that it has to be powered (but not "on") for everything else it is connected to to work. It doesn't rob tone - but there is a slight compression effect even when turned off but powered up. (The compression is really a big part of the units sound). The controls have a huge range on them - turning the rate all the way up to 10 makes for bizarre space sounds.

Seems fairly strong. I mean it's still here from the 70's so it could'nt be too fragile. However, I'll probably not gig with it because it cost so much & the Small Stone re-issue is only around $65 now. This puppy is a studio gem. They have not made these for over 25 years - so don't even think of a warranty.

This really is a cool effect. I would definitely try and replace it if it broke or got stolen. The compression I mentioned makes it a great phase to use with distortion, by the way.

all pedals are easy to use... the phase II has 3 knobs. one for speed, depth, and regeneration. it doesn't take long to create some cool sounds, just fiddle with the knobs.

i really enjoy this pedal. it has its own unique phase sound. it sounds nothign like a small stone or a phase 100. i dont know how to explain the sound really. it is extremely thick and syrupy. instead of just adding atmosphere to the sound, it swallows the sound up with each cycle. unlike most conventional phasers, it doesn't have that airy jet sound most of the time. it can make the guitar sound almost as watery as drops of water gently falling from the faucet. with my jazz chorus amp and strat, it doesnt sound very thick with a slow setting with clean guitar, untill you tune the speed up a notch, then it takes over the sound! the phase II is not a crappy phaser where you can only here the cycling in the backround, you actually hear each wave pass through your playing. it is the greatest with distortion. i use four different phase shifters for different sounds in my pedalboard. i use a vintage small stone for quiet atmosphiric mellow sounds, the script phase 100 for jet sounds, and the phase II for spacey solos and sounds where you want the audience to hear the effect sweep though. the sound is really huge with distortion, i really think its almost a biphase, maybe a poorman's biphase. i can repeat exactly the phasing on smashing pumpkins songs like plume, frail and bedazzled, and the solo in mayonaise; you know that sound you hear where it sounds like the guitar is ripping the air and pushing it into your ear. for some reason when i use it with one of my fuzzs, usually a big muff or hot cake, it doubles the bass and volume. this sound is incredible for solos. if i hold a low note and vibrato, my amp shakes up and down and things fall off my shelf. i really love the thickness of this pedal, all phasers should have a small stone sound and a phase II sound for all occasions. and it is really clean too, if you dont have it first.

i think this is reliable, it is made out of thick metal, and all the components are unstoppable

none

i never use the word awesome, unless something is......and this pedal is awesome. it is the best phaser for distortion i have ever used, making it great for solos and weird shit. but it is not versatile.