MXR EVH Phase 90

The MXR EVH Phase 90 is a phaser pedal, model EVH90, made by MXR as a collaboration between Eddie Van Halen and Dunlop Manufacturing. It is an updated version of the legendary MXR Phase 90, and Dunlop says it delivers "the same great spacey swirls and hypnotic warbles that made the Phase 90 famous"¹². What sets it apart is a Script switch that puts two generations of Phase 90 sound in one box, plus the red, white, and black stripes from Eddie's Frankenstein guitar on the enclosure¹.

What it does: Phase 90 swirl in two voices

A phaser splits your signal, shifts the phase of one copy across a series of stages, and recombines it, producing the moving notches that players hear as swirl. The Phase 90 circuit uses four phase stages, and also includes an active transistor stage that mixes the dry and wet signals differently at the output⁴. More recent versions of the Phase 90 use three dual op-amps⁵.

On the EVH 90, all of that is controlled by a single Speed knob, which Dunlop describes as taking you "from subtle, spatial shimmer to all-out high velocity swooshing" on the Phase 90⁶. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found that simplicity to be a strength:

The enclosure carries the Frankenstein graphics: the red, white, and black stripes from Eddie Van Halen's legendary striped guitar¹.

The Script switch: vintage and modern tones

The Script switch is the EVH 90's main feature over a standard Phase 90. Dunlop's manual says the "SCRIPT switch toggles between old school and modern phase sounds": push it in for vintage Script logo phase sounds, pull it out for the modern Block Logo voice⁷. Pedal of the Day describes the two positions as "a vintage, 'Script Logo' phase tone and a more modern, in-your-face 'Block Logo' phaser"³, and Guitar World's buying guide called the Block Logo setting the harder-edged of the two⁸.

The difference between the two voices comes from the circuit's history. The original script-logo Phase 90, available from the company's inception to the late '70s, is the version players associate with a smooth, vocal sweep, built around LM741 op-amps⁹¹⁰. Later block-logo versions added a feedback resistor, R28, which gives the phaser a more pronounced, aggressive character. On the EVH 90, the Script switch simply toggles that R28 feedback resistor in or out, switching between the script circuit and the crunchier regular circuit¹¹.

How it differs from the regular Phase 90

The standard MXR Phase 90 offers a single Speed knob, while the EVH 90 keeps that one-knob format and adds a Script button, so it covers both Script and Block style phasing in one pedal¹³. A reviewer found that with just the one Speed knob and Script button, there is not a lot to think about, which makes it evocative of the mid-to-late 1970s ease of use³. Players who want a fixed vintage circuit can also look at the Script Phase 90 and the '74 Vintage Phase 90 reissue, while the Phase 95 packs phasing into a mini enclosure.

Power

The EVH 90 runs on 9 volts DC⁷. It can be powered by a 9-volt battery, a Dunlop ECB003 (or ECB003EU) 9-volt adapter, or a power supply such as the DC Brick, Iso-Brick, or Mini Iso-Brick, none of which are included¹⁷.

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