Had been on the fence about picking myself up a phaser for awhile, this video comparison solidified to me that I should definitely pick up a Phase 90 (if it was good enough for EVH, it's good enough for me)! I am now your 420th subscriber hahah, cheers man! Very informative and straight to the point comparison!
Thanks and I appreciate the sub. I’m glad you found the video helpful on your phaser search. If I could play like EVH I would’ve included a tune but I’m keenly aware of my limitations. 😂 Thanks for watching.
Dude, these demos were awesome! Never heard of the mu tron, now I think I got something new I gotta check out. Also, your Blackhole Sun riff progression was mint!
Thanks! Yeah Superunknown was on repeat for me in highschool. It still holds up; easily my favorite record of all the 90’s Seattle bands. Thanks for watching.
Hey now, thanks for taking the time to review these phasors for us, they each had a slightly different character but still did the job great! I also wanted to let you know we appreciate the editing/production job you do on these videos, most EXCELLENT!
Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate the encouragement as always. Each phaser definitely had its own characteristics. I honestly would not have thought the tonal differences would've been so stark beforehand. The A/B test never fails to reveal.
Wow. More channels need side by side comparisons like this. Especially with the EQ displays. I'm currently upgrading my phaser, so this was really helpful 😊
Great demonstration here. I had already done a video with some sounds for my Boss Super Phaser, but this video and some others where people were discussing how the demonstrator never covered the knobs when they were in minimum positions made me go back and do a more meticulous exploration of sounds on that phaser, my Ibanez DFL, and my Walrus Slö. Thanks for the inspiration!
I came for confirmation to buy the phase 90 (or 95)…I ended up getting swayed with the versatility of the JHS. The even volume when engaged and the slight warmth were nice. And yea, Josh’s knowledge and enthusiasm are unparalleled. I loved the back to back shootout with tone controls shown. Thank you so much
One of the best skills in life is being able to assess new information and change your mind based off that new info. I’m glad the video helped you determine that the JHS series 3 phaser was a better fit for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Ive got a Strymon Zelzah and love it. Its digital, but it nails a bunch of different types of phasors also does a pretty good chorus and a great Flange. I love it.
I own a lot of Strymon pedals but I've yet to encounter the Zelzah. I'm sure it sounds great. I made this phaser with a friend's help who was on a phaser tone quest. He graciously let me borrow all these pedals while he was deciding which one to keep. It was helpful for me just to learn more about phasers where I could see myself practically using them in actual music.
I liked the MU-Tron the best as well. As you said, the most neutral. I have always loved the Phase 90, so in this context against other phasers, it was surprising to hear how much it accentuates the upper mids and winds up sounding nasally as compared to the others.
The Mu-tron just felt a little smoother and friendly in its eq response. It seems like a little more intention went into it’s design. The Phase 90 was very nasally but i kind of liked it. I didn’t think there would be such a difference between these pedals but hearing them side by side reveals some stark contrast. All hail the A/B test! It reveals all!
Glad the video was helpful to ya in finding the right phaser for you. The JHS was a lot pedal for the money. Not a bad buy at all! Thanks for taking a moment to share.
For me, no doubt in what I like, definitely the MU-Tron as well because of the smoothness. Great to hear them all side by side to really hear the nuances. I'm not much of phaser or even a chorus user so I don't have either type on my pedal board. Excellent comparison demo!
I own nary a phaser, but playing these side by side was very insightful and the tonal knowledge has been stored in internal data bank. I think I’m more of a Univibe guy as far as modulation goes, but I can see where the right phaser tone could be tastefully applied. I like a shallow slow 6 stage phase for reggae or funky guitar chanks. Thanks for watching.
@@tonecast1 There definitely are times that I would use a phaser or chorus when I venture out of my normal playing parameter, but it's still rare. I'm a BB King style blues guy so I live in the transparent OD with some light slapback delay, and amp reverb tones. I literally have just a compressor, Wampler Belle, and the Keeley Halo along with my Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp, super simple setup. But no doubt on the rare occasion when I venture out from that style, I could see using a phaser or chorus. Nevertheless, I enjoy watching videos on gear! Thanks much.
@@ew6629 I almost included some Albert King phaser licks in the video but I assumed that reference would've been lost on the majority of phaser curious players. I'd love to try out one of those Magnatones. They just seems cool. I'm a sucker for harmonic trem.
@@tonecast1 I would have loved that hearing some Albert with a phaser! Yeah, I do love my amp being stereo along with that incredible harmonic trem. There were 2 amps on my lifetime wish list, one is the Magnatone Panoramic Stereo and the other is a Two Rock (CRS, SSS, or BD), so I at least got one!
@@ew6629 My Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature is my favorite amp. If I had to rescue only one in a house burning down scenario, it would be the one. I plan to make a video showcasing it at some point.
It took me a minute, but you didn't change the pictures of the pedals when you changed the sounds. I kept thinking "Boy, that Phase 90 sure seems to make a lot of different noises even though the knob stays in the same place! That's so weird!"
Yeah, I didn’t showcase the settings. The pedal pics were there to indicate which pedal was being used. I trust most viewers are smart enough to listen with their ears and not their eyes.
I just wanna shoutout to the super underrated Subdecay Quasar V4 . It has multiple phaser voicing options and sounds great. Andy McCee recommended them to me and I also have their tremelo now, really great company that I had never heard of.
If you have a bit more to spend, the greatest phasers I have ever found (that additionally offer ramping from slow to fast, fast to slow) are the two following pedals: Castilleja Phaser (new) Maestro Stage Phaser (vintage)
Thanks for the tip. These were all borrowed from a friend who was on a phaser hunt. I’ll keep the ones you’ve suggested in mind in the future. Thanks for watching.
I have a mutation phasor which is a copy of a mutron. It is very versatile and has a vintage vibe. I also have a mxr phase 95 mini which is a little more versatile than the regular 90. Haven't tried the JHS phasor which im sure is great. I have the 3 series reverb and delay which are good quality sound
I’m usually impressed by the Mutron stuff I have tried. The JHS surprised me in this shootout. Great sound; best value. MXR phase is just a classic sound for cheap. It’s great if you want THAT sound.
Hey man, I saw your JMI 30 video and it was great info. Have you heard of Psionic Audio? He is an amp tech that has a youtube video and builds a 64 era jmi style vox thats looks pretty damn good. He does videos on the engineering and building process from a few years ago and it was fun to watch it being born. I havent bought one, but someday when I get the cash its the goto JMI era Vox Ive known of before your JMI 30 video. Just thought id throw out that info in case you hadnt heard of him. Have a good one.
Thanks! Yeah, I've watched a lot of Psionic Audio's videos to learn more about AC30s. He really has a thorough working knowledge of Vox amps, and you can tell he loves the AC30 model. Lyle's channel is a great resource for learning more about amps.
If it sounds like a British band from 2005 then they would be borrowing heavily from Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece, “Paranoid Android”. Radiohead actually used an EHX Small Stone phaser for that tune but it’s a good tune for testing any phaser if you ask me. Thanks watching and taking a moment to comment.
Depending on the tune (and guitar, I guess) I was drawn to different phasers. I liked the Lillian & JHS on the chicken pickin thing, but I liked the Mutron on BHS. I'm stumped! Or maybe I'd be happy with any of these, haha?
I like the Mutron for a little of everything. I agree that the JHS sounded pretty good for the country bit. I also had a reggae bit that I didn’t include in the video that the Mutron and JHS it’s sounded great on. 😜
Mutron probably sounded the best but I also have a gift for blindly favoring the most expensive pedal when listen to gear demos lol honestly tho I bought a phase 95 and it's great. Pretty cheap, easy to use, does the thing. I usually end up upgrading pedals if the effect is import enough to me but the phase 95 is pretty solid, idk what else I'd want. 4 phaser tones, it's small, solid build, not very noisy at all, doesn't suck tone, no volume change. I love when large pedals brands (boss, Ibanez, ehx, mxr) have fantastic pedals. I love my boutique shit as much as the next guy but I'd rather have every guitarist have access to nice fx because honestly a lot of guitarists don't care that much about fx. For every guy who's A/Bing klon centaur clones there's 10 guitarists that just buy a tube screamer or ds1 and are content.
“But I also have a gift for blindly favoring the most expensive pedal…” I too share this curse. The MXR phasers are classic for a reason. Let’s be honest most players will only use a phaser for .02% of their playing life so my advice to most people would be to pick what you like with that in mind. These phasers were all loaned to me by a friend. I was surprised how much variation there was between all of them. I wouldn’t have thought that prior to the side by side comparisons. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
I would say the MXR sounds the best to my ears with the Lilian in close second. I would just hate having to stomp on her face everytime I wanted to add a phase.
@ I have not. These phasers were all loaned to me by a friend. The closest thing I own to a phaser are a couple Univibe circuits. Another viewer commented and spoke highly of the Phase 95.
Yeah there's so much subjectivity to this stuff. I thought they all had their merits in one way or another. My preference leaned toward the Mu-tron but that didn't mean the others were bad by any means.
MXR Phase 95! You get 4 classic phasors in one. 90 block and script and 45 block and script. For the same price as just one. Just get an MXR for a Phasor don't mess around. You get the real deal, and the price is about the same as all of them. PS. 45 script and rate at 5 o'clock is a killer faux Leslie !
I have never bonded with any walrus pedals at all. The lilian sucks. The fathom is only good for ambient, the reverb with the slider controls just never sits in a mix... anyways those are the ones ive tried
Had been on the fence about picking myself up a phaser for awhile, this video comparison solidified to me that I should definitely pick up a Phase 90 (if it was good enough for EVH, it's good enough for me)! I am now your 420th subscriber hahah, cheers man! Very informative and straight to the point comparison!
Thanks and I appreciate the sub. I’m glad you found the video helpful on your phaser search. If I could play like EVH I would’ve included a tune but I’m keenly aware of my limitations. 😂 Thanks for watching.
This video was so helpful. I've decided on JHS. You saved me a ton of time!
Glad the video was helpful! The JHS is easily the best value for your dollar; not a bad choice going with that one.
Excellent review, and thanks for the free visual/tutorial on how to play Paranoid Android and Blackhole Sun 😂 I’ll be back to just learn that here
Thanks man. I know you continue to watch so you can steal more of my tricks. I’m okay with it. It gets my my view count up. 😜
Dude, these demos were awesome! Never heard of the mu tron, now I think I got something new I gotta check out.
Also, your Blackhole Sun riff progression was mint!
Thanks! Yeah Superunknown was on repeat for me in highschool. It still holds up; easily my favorite record of all the 90’s Seattle bands. Thanks for watching.
Hey now, thanks for taking the time to review these phasors for us, they each had a slightly different character but still did the job great! I also wanted to let you know we appreciate the editing/production job you do on these videos, most EXCELLENT!
Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate the encouragement as always. Each phaser definitely had its own characteristics. I honestly would not have thought the tonal differences would've been so stark beforehand. The A/B test never fails to reveal.
Wow. More channels need side by side comparisons like this. Especially with the EQ displays. I'm currently upgrading my phaser, so this was really helpful 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Great demonstration here. I had already done a video with some sounds for my Boss Super Phaser, but this video and some others where people were discussing how the demonstrator never covered the knobs when they were in minimum positions made me go back and do a more meticulous exploration of sounds on that phaser, my Ibanez DFL, and my Walrus Slö. Thanks for the inspiration!
Glad the video helped inspire some sonic exploration with the gear you already have. Thanks for watching!
I came for confirmation to buy the phase 90 (or 95)…I ended up getting swayed with the versatility of the JHS. The even volume when engaged and the slight warmth were nice. And yea, Josh’s knowledge and enthusiasm are unparalleled.
I loved the back to back shootout with tone controls shown. Thank you so much
One of the best skills in life is being able to assess new information and change your mind based off that new info. I’m glad the video helped you determine that the JHS series 3 phaser was a better fit for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Great demo. I liked all of them. 😎🤓
That’s great! Glad you enjoyed the demo. Thanks for watching and taking a moment to comment.
Solid demo. Four units each with its own personality. It's the Mu-Tron all the way for me.
Thanks! I’m glad you found the demo informative. I was also surprised to learn how distinct they each sounded.
Very thorough and helpful review! I lean toward the phase 90 due to its simplicity and great sound, but would probably use the script version.
Glad you found the shootout helpful, Jeff. Thanks for stopping by.
Ive got a Strymon Zelzah and love it. Its digital, but it nails a bunch of different types of phasors also does a pretty good chorus and a great Flange. I love it.
I own a lot of Strymon pedals but I've yet to encounter the Zelzah. I'm sure it sounds great. I made this phaser with a friend's help who was on a phaser tone quest. He graciously let me borrow all these pedals while he was deciding which one to keep. It was helpful for me just to learn more about phasers where I could see myself practically using them in actual music.
I liked the MU-Tron the best as well. As you said, the most neutral. I have always loved the Phase 90, so in this context against other phasers, it was surprising to hear how much it accentuates the upper mids and winds up sounding nasally as compared to the others.
The Mu-tron just felt a little smoother and friendly in its eq response. It seems like a little more intention went into it’s design. The Phase 90 was very nasally but i kind of liked it. I didn’t think there would be such a difference between these pedals but hearing them side by side reveals some stark contrast. All hail the A/B test! It reveals all!
Came for Lillian, bought JHS. Damn, it's 3rd jhs pedal already 😅
Awesome vid!
Glad the video was helpful to ya in finding the right phaser for you. The JHS was a lot pedal for the money. Not a bad buy at all! Thanks for taking a moment to share.
Great demo!
@@WowIndescribable Thanks for watching!
great playing!
Killer playing and excellent sounds to dial in and demo!
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate ya tuning in.
Thank you for the EQ comparison
You’re welcome. I figured it would only help.
For me, no doubt in what I like, definitely the MU-Tron as well because of the smoothness. Great to hear them all side by side to really hear the nuances. I'm not much of phaser or even a chorus user so I don't have either type on my pedal board. Excellent comparison demo!
I own nary a phaser, but playing these side by side was very insightful and the tonal knowledge has been stored in internal data bank. I think I’m more of a Univibe guy as far as modulation goes, but I can see where the right phaser tone could be tastefully applied. I like a shallow slow 6 stage phase for reggae or funky guitar chanks. Thanks for watching.
@@tonecast1 There definitely are times that I would use a phaser or chorus when I venture out of my normal playing parameter, but it's still rare. I'm a BB King style blues guy so I live in the transparent OD with some light slapback delay, and amp reverb tones. I literally have just a compressor, Wampler Belle, and the Keeley Halo along with my Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amp, super simple setup. But no doubt on the rare occasion when I venture out from that style, I could see using a phaser or chorus. Nevertheless, I enjoy watching videos on gear! Thanks much.
@@ew6629 I almost included some Albert King phaser licks in the video but I assumed that reference would've been lost on the majority of phaser curious players. I'd love to try out one of those Magnatones. They just seems cool. I'm a sucker for harmonic trem.
@@tonecast1 I would have loved that hearing some Albert with a phaser! Yeah, I do love my amp being stereo along with that incredible harmonic trem. There were 2 amps on my lifetime wish list, one is the Magnatone Panoramic Stereo and the other is a Two Rock (CRS, SSS, or BD), so I at least got one!
@@ew6629 My Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature is my favorite amp. If I had to rescue only one in a house burning down scenario, it would be the one. I plan to make a video showcasing it at some point.
It took me a minute, but you didn't change the pictures of the pedals when you changed the sounds. I kept thinking "Boy, that Phase 90 sure seems to make a lot of different noises even though the knob stays in the same place! That's so weird!"
Yeah, I didn’t showcase the settings. The pedal pics were there to indicate which pedal was being used. I trust most viewers are smart enough to listen with their ears and not their eyes.
I just wanna shoutout to the super underrated Subdecay Quasar V4 . It has multiple phaser voicing options and sounds great. Andy McCee recommended them to me and I also have their tremelo now, really great company that I had never heard of.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll keep an eye for the Subdecay Quasar v4. And thanks for watching too!
Great video!
Thanks for commenting and watching!
If you have a bit more to spend, the greatest phasers I have ever found (that additionally offer ramping from slow to fast, fast to slow) are the two following pedals:
Castilleja Phaser (new)
Maestro Stage Phaser (vintage)
Thanks for the tip. These were all borrowed from a friend who was on a phaser hunt. I’ll keep the ones you’ve suggested in mind in the future. Thanks for watching.
I have a mutation phasor which is a copy of a mutron. It is very versatile and has a vintage vibe. I also have a mxr phase 95 mini which is a little more versatile than the regular 90. Haven't tried the JHS phasor which im sure is great. I have the 3 series reverb and delay which are good quality sound
I’m usually impressed by the Mutron stuff I have tried. The JHS surprised me in this shootout. Great sound; best value. MXR phase is just a classic sound for cheap. It’s great if you want THAT sound.
Hey man, I saw your JMI 30 video and it was great info. Have you heard of Psionic Audio? He is an amp tech that has a youtube video and builds a 64 era jmi style vox thats looks pretty damn good. He does videos on the engineering and building process from a few years ago and it was fun to watch it being born. I havent bought one, but someday when I get the cash its the goto JMI era Vox Ive known of before your JMI 30 video. Just thought id throw out that info in case you hadnt heard of him. Have a good one.
Thanks! Yeah, I've watched a lot of Psionic Audio's videos to learn more about AC30s. He really has a thorough working knowledge of Vox amps, and you can tell he loves the AC30 model. Lyle's channel is a great resource for learning more about amps.
I liked the blue one
Glad the shootout helped you arrive at that conclusion. Thanks for watching and commenting!
was that Strat 90s Alt tune you played? It sounded very familiar like a tune from a british band from 2005 actually...
If it sounds like a British band from 2005 then they would be borrowing heavily from Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece, “Paranoid Android”. Radiohead actually used an EHX Small Stone phaser for that tune but it’s a good tune for testing any phaser if you ask me. Thanks watching and taking a moment to comment.
I like my 1986 Boss Super Phaser just fine, thank you!
I’m sure it sounds great too. Boss makes great stuff! Thanks for sharing.
Mu-Tron for the Win!
The Mutron definitely seems to be the fav.
Depending on the tune (and guitar, I guess) I was drawn to different phasers. I liked the Lillian & JHS on the chicken pickin thing, but I liked the Mutron on BHS. I'm stumped! Or maybe I'd be happy with any of these, haha?
I like the Mutron for a little of everything. I agree that the JHS sounded pretty good for the country bit. I also had a reggae bit that I didn’t include in the video that the Mutron and JHS it’s sounded great on. 😜
Mutron probably sounded the best but I also have a gift for blindly favoring the most expensive pedal when listen to gear demos lol honestly tho I bought a phase 95 and it's great. Pretty cheap, easy to use, does the thing. I usually end up upgrading pedals if the effect is import enough to me but the phase 95 is pretty solid, idk what else I'd want. 4 phaser tones, it's small, solid build, not very noisy at all, doesn't suck tone, no volume change. I love when large pedals brands (boss, Ibanez, ehx, mxr) have fantastic pedals. I love my boutique shit as much as the next guy but I'd rather have every guitarist have access to nice fx because honestly a lot of guitarists don't care that much about fx. For every guy who's A/Bing klon centaur clones there's 10 guitarists that just buy a tube screamer or ds1 and are content.
“But I also have a gift for blindly favoring the most expensive pedal…” I too share this curse. The MXR phasers are classic for a reason. Let’s be honest most players will only use a phaser for .02% of their playing life so my advice to most people would be to pick what you like with that in mind. These phasers were all loaned to me by a friend. I was surprised how much variation there was between all of them. I wouldn’t have thought that prior to the side by side comparisons. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
I would say the MXR sounds the best to my ears with the Lilian in close second. I would just hate having to stomp on her face everytime I wanted to add a phase.
An MXR Phase 90 definitely does the thing. Not a bad option.
@@tonecast1 have you compared the MXR phase 90 and the newer 95?
@ I have not. These phasers were all loaned to me by a friend. The closest thing I own to a phaser are a couple Univibe circuits. Another viewer commented and spoke highly of the Phase 95.
I think the Lillian gave a warmer, smoother tone. All good pedals, anyway
Yeah there's so much subjectivity to this stuff. I thought they all had their merits in one way or another. My preference leaned toward the Mu-tron but that didn't mean the others were bad by any means.
Mmmmm swooshy
We traversed the tumultuous waters off the coast of Japan to bring you the finest swooshy. 🍱
MXR Phase 95! You get 4 classic phasors in one. 90 block and script and 45 block and script. For the same price as just one. Just get an MXR for a Phasor don't mess around. You get the real deal, and the price is about the same as all of them. PS. 45 script and rate at 5 o'clock is a killer faux Leslie !
Great recommendation! Thanks for sharing.
I think the best bang for your buck would be the Behringer Bi Phase.
That recommendation actually makes a lot of sense given that most here seem to prefer the Mutron. Thanks for the suggestion.
@@tonecast1 That thing is huge though I noticed, cool pedal non the less.
The paranoid android is clean
I think Radiohead used an Electro Harmonix Small Stone for that but I thought it would a good tune to include. Thanks for commenting and watching!
@tonecast1 ment the riff lol, but Idk what thom has on his guitar. Johnny has the small stone on his board, so maybe?
I have never bonded with any walrus pedals at all. The lilian sucks. The fathom is only good for ambient, the reverb with the slider controls just never sits in a mix... anyways those are the ones ive tried
I once owned a Walrus Audio Arp 87. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a standout either. To each their own.
Mu-Tron easily the best here...
Whaaaaaaat's thiiiiiiiiiiis!?
“Kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggy”
@@tonecast1 ❤