I Got Rid of My MXR for This…
Let me take you back—about ten years ago now. I was playing in a blues-rock band and running a modest pedalboard: a couple of overdrives, a compressor, reverb, a boost, and the all-important phaser.
We played a few funkier numbers, and that’s where the phaser came in. It gave my guitar a smooth, swirling movement—kinda like a wah, but without needing to hover awkwardly over a treadle mid-set. Naturally, I followed the advice of every guitarist with a forum account and picked up the MXR Phase 90. I mean, it’s on countless classic records, and even EVH thought it was good enough to put his name on it. If it’s good enough for Eddie, it’s good enough for me, right?
What made it even more appealing was its simplicity—just one knob to control speed. Foolproof.
First Rehearsal: The Rise and Fall
I took my new Phase 90 to rehearsal, buzzing to show off my upgraded board. First few songs were more rock-based, so I paired the phaser with some drive. Tonal nirvana. It was that swooshy, syrupy sound I’d always admired on Thin Lizzy records. I felt like a pro. I sounded like a pro.
Then came the funkier tunes. Phaser time. My moment.
The intro starts, my cue hits, I step on the pedal and—
BOOM.
My guitar exploded in volume. It shot up out of the mix like a rogue fireworks display. I scrambled to roll off my guitar volume just to bring myself back into the same sonic postcode as the rest of the band.
After the song, I checked every knob, every cable, every patch lead. Nothing. Then the sinking feeling hit. It was the Phase 90.
Never Meet Your Heroes
Turns out, the classic Phase 90 has a bit of a reputation for a noticeable volume bump, especially when used with clean tones. I just hadn't expected that much of a jump.
The Budget Saviour
Enter the Joyo Vintage Phase.
Same one-knob layout. Same orange aesthetic. But crucially—no volume spike.
Now, is it a perfect clone of the Phase 90? Not quite. It gets you about 90% of the way there. You still get that lush movement, the same sweet modulation, but it’s missing a touch of the crunchy texture that makes the MXR a bit more lively. Honestly? I’ll take that trade-off every time for consistent volume.
I ended up selling the MXR. The Joyo’s, on the other hand, has been my go-to ever since, and it’s earned its place. It’s my go-to for simple, swooshy, phasey goodness.
If you'd like to get one of your own and support the channel at the same time, consider using this affiliate link
https://thmn.to/thoprod/256807?offid=1&affid=2735
just a question, do you use the phaser before dist or after? I use it before, just for the plain reason in most of the discs I loved the phaser was in an amp already driven, so that boost in volume doesn't happen, the spikes are just clipped by distortion, this works with univibe too (JH used it after the fuzz but BEFORE a pushed plexi on the verge of distortion and sometimes beyond)
ReplyDeleteWhen I had the issue, I was using phase after drive. It wasn't so much the volume bump when using drive though, it was on clean settings which would really notch the volume up. It was a shame because the phase 90 sounded great. The Joyo also sounds great though to be fair to it and it is much more consistent. It also has that added bonus of being so affordable, it doesn't matter if a beer or two gets spilled on it.
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