Ibanez Phaser Mini

The Ibanez Phaser Mini, sold as the PHMINI Mini Phaser, is a compact analog phaser pedal introduced in January 2021 as part of Ibanez's Mini pedal lineup alongside the Booster Mini. It is built in Japan, runs on 100 percent pure analog circuitry, and carries a true bypass switch¹.

What makes it interesting to players comparing phasers is its stage switch. A small selector toggles between 4-stage and 6-stage phasing, which puts both a classic, subtler sweep and a more intense, dramatic one in the same small box¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer placed it squarely in the Ibanez phaser family tree, noting that it "emerged from the Maxon-built '0' and '9' series pedals from the late '70s and early '80s, specifically the PT-909 and PT9"².

A compact analog phaser with 4-stage and 6-stage modes

The core of the Phaser Mini is its stage switch, which selects 4-stage or 6-stage phasing¹. The two modes are voiced for different uses:

• 4-STAGE mode delivers traditional phaser tones, typically used in classic rock¹.
• 6-STAGE mode provides a more intense and dramatic effect¹.

For a player, that distinction matters. Four stages is the configuration associated with the classic compact phasers of the late 1970s, while more stages deepen and multiply the notches the effect cuts into the frequency response. Ibanez says the pedal is designed to retain clarity of dry signal even when set to the highest effect intensity, so the effect can be pushed without the core guitar tone disappearing underneath it¹.

The enclosure is part of the story too. Premier Guitar's reviewer noted that the Phaser Mini "outwardly pays homage" to the PT-909 and PT9, riffing on the PT-909's enclosure shape and graphics, but in an orange-red finish closer to the PT9's color rather than the blue of the PT-909². Gearnews observed at launch that there seemed to be few if any notable differences between the PHMINI and the regular PT9 beyond the mini format⁴.

The controls

The Phaser Mini uses a three-control layout shared with its vintage ancestors: as on the PT-909 and PT9, tones are shaped by depth, feedback, and rate controls². Ibanez says that through these controls the pedal offers a variety of sounds ranging from subtle texture to deep saturation¹.

Gearnews described the stage selector as a push button on the side of the pedal that toggles the number of stages between 4 and 6⁴. The whole package is built to occupy minimal space on a pedalboard, which is the point of the Mini series¹.

Roots in the Maxon-built PT-909 and PT9

The Phaser Mini's circuit traces back to two Maxon-built Ibanez pedals from the late 1970s and early 1980s: the PT-909 Phase Tone and the PT-9 Phaser².

The PT-909 Phase Tone was a 4-stage analog phaser built in Japan, and ToneHome describes it as a vintage, highly collectible pedal that went through four narrow-box versions, with examples dated to Japan in 1979 and 1981⁵⁶⁷. The PT9 followed in the 9 series, with a 1984 US list price of $89 and what ToneHome rates as average collectibility today⁸. Maxon's own product page calls the original 1980s PT-9 "a great pedal"⁹.

Ibanez kept the family going after those originals with pedals like the PH10 Bi-Mode Phaser, which used a stage selector to switch between six-stage and ten-stage phase shift, and the BPL Bi-Stage Phaser of the Master series, listed at $125 in 1986¹⁰¹¹. The Phaser Mini's 4/6-stage switch is a smaller-format take on the same idea, and its control layout of depth, feedback and rate matches the originals directly².

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar reviewed the Phaser Mini in June 2023 and framed it as a pedal for a particular kind of player²:

The same review found the pedal delivers characterful analog modulation flavors, including classic Pink Floyd and funk textures². Delicious Audio's launch coverage recommended it to "guitarists looking for a solid, simple, uber-compact, great-sounding analog phaser"³.

Price and availability

At launch in January 2021 the Phaser Mini listed at $171.42 in the US with an estimated street price of $119.99¹. UK pricing was around £99 RRP⁴, and MusicRadar reported US street prices of $119 with UK street prices around £99¹². A 2022 MusicRadar roundup still quoted it at £99 / $119¹³.

Questions