MXR Wylde Audio Phase

The MXR Wylde Audio Phase is a compact analog phaser pedal from MXR, built as Zakk Wylde's take on the classic Phase 90. It does one thing: a phase sweep whose speed you set with a single knob, from a slow grind to a fast pulse¹. MXR says it "adds dimension and dynamics to Zakk Wylde's legendarily blazing solos and razor sharp leads"², and it carries Wylde's red-and-black buzzsaw graphics across the whole face of the enclosure³.

The pedal was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the collaboration between Dunlop and Zakk Wylde², and its lineage goes back to the earlier ZW90 Wylde Phase, a signature phaser designed in collaboration with the guitarist²¹⁴.

The Speed control

The Wylde Audio Phase keeps to the Phase 90 formula of one knob. MXR's product page calls it a Rate knob: "Take it from a slow grind to a jack hammering pulse, all with the twist of a single Rate knob"². The manual names it the SPEED control and tells you where to start:

• Set the SPEED control to 12 o'clock for basic operation¹
• Rotate the knob clockwise for a faster phase effect¹
• Rotate the knob counterclockwise for a slower phase effect¹

MusicRadar's review of the original ZW90 Wylde Phase described the control set as "a standalone Speed dial, basic input/output and an industry-standard footswitch"⁷. There is no script/block voicing switch, no feedback control, and no mode switch of any kind. If you want a phaser with more shaping options, MXR's own Deep Phase adds a Feedback knob and a mode switch, and the Phase 95 combines Phase 45 and Phase 90 circuits with Script and Block voicings.

Power and connections

Hooking the pedal up is straightforward. Run a cable from your guitar to the WA90's INPUT jack, then run another cable from the OUTPUT jack to your amplifier¹.

For power you have two options: a single 9-volt battery, installed by removing the bottom plate, or a 9-volt AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003, or an MXR Brick Series power supply¹. The manual lists the voltage requirement as 9 volts DC with a current draw of just 5 mA¹, which is light enough that the pedal is easy to accommodate on any power supply. The manual also lists a noise floor below -96 dBV, measured with tone controls centered and all others maxed clockwise, A-weighted¹.

Made for the Dunlop and Zakk Wylde 20th anniversary

The Wylde Audio Phase is a 20th anniversary piece. MXR released it to "celebrate the 20th anniversary of the explosive collaboration between Dunlop and Zakk Wylde"². Guitar World's coverage of the anniversary pedals noted the visual departure from the standard Phase 90: "The Phase, for example, extrapolates the red-and-black buzzsaw design to cover the whole face"³¹.

The pedal's lineage goes back further. The ZW90 Wylde Phase was a signature phaser effects pedal designed in collaboration with guitarist Zakk Wylde⁴⁸, and the announcement of that run made its limited nature explicit: "We're only making a limited number in 2011!"⁸.

On the question of what is inside, Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote of the anniversary reissues: "I believe the Chorus and Phase are mostly just the corresponding MXR Analog Chorus and Phase 90 in different enclosures"⁹. In other words, the circuit is believed to be essentially the Phase 90's, possibly with slight tweaks, with the buzzsaw graphics doing the differentiating.

How Zakk Wylde sets it

MXR's product page tells you how the pedal's namesake uses it: "or use it as Zakk does, at the 9 o'clock position for a slow burning sweep"². That slow setting is where the pedal earns its keep for lead playing. MusicRadar's review of the ZW90 found the low-speed character distinctive:

How it differs from other Phase 90 variants

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