MXR Phase 95 Mini Phaser Pedal (M290)

Description

MXR Phase 95: two legendary phasers, one mini box

The orange Phase 90 is the swirl a lot of players hear when they think “phaser”: four stages, a wide resonant sweep, the sound sitting under a riff like a second guitar that will not sit still. Two years later MXR made the Phase 45, a two-stage circuit that is warmer, quieter in the mix, and easy to leave on. The MXR Phase 95 (M290) is both of those circuits in a mini housing, plus a Script switch that splits each one into vintage or modern. Four classic phase sounds. One Speed knob. About half the footprint of a standard MXR.

Browse the rest of the family on the MXR brand page, or wander every swirl in phaser pedals.

Four sounds, two switches

• Phase 45: two-stage, mellow, the faux-Leslie and Uni-Vibe neighborhood. Red LED. The one that colors a clean chord without stealing the vocal.
• Phase 90: four-stage, full, resonant. Blue LED. The sweep that made the orange box famous: slow for lead, faster for funk and that choppy 70s rhythm.
• Script on: feedback comes out of the circuit. Lusher, more headroom, the subtler vintage script-logo feel. Amber LED.
• Script off (modern): feedback stays in. A more accentuated swoosh, a little harmonic grit on the peaks.

Flip 45/90 with your hand. Flip Script. You are not mapping a menu. You are choosing which classic box is under your foot tonight.

Speed is the whole dance

There is one knob, and it is enough. Counterclockwise, the phase is a slow coloration: a chord that breathes. Around noon you get the familiar rock sweep, the one that makes a single-note line feel like it is turning in the air. Clockwise it goes from funk stab to almost-Leslie, the kind of rate you use on a clean stab or a rotary-style solo. The LED pulses with the rate so you can see the swirl before you hit the part.

Start around 12 o’clock in Phase 90 with Script off if you want the sound people mean when they say Phase 90. Drop to Phase 45 with Script on if you want movement that never argues with the singer.

On the board

True bypass, all-metal mini box, 9V DC (adapter, not a battery), a handful of milliamps. It lives in the gaps other pedals leave. Put it early if you want the phase in the dirt; put it after a mild drive if you want the sweep on top of the grit. Either way, the Speed knob is the only thing you will grab mid-song.

If you want a bigger modulation brain, start with the Walrus Mako M1 or the Strymon Zelzah. If you want optical depth in a standard footprint, the Diamond Phase is the next stop. If you want the classic orange MXR on the board instead of the mini, that is the Phase 90. The Phase 95 is the one you buy when you want 45 and 90, Script and modern, and you do not want to give up another slot.