[myoung6923]

Great stuff, guys, thanks!

I picked up a Phase 90 a few months back on impulse without investigating and it is just too much for me. I'll see how it goes with the 100. Love it, so far.

The 90 is much better with a couple of easy mods - but it's downfall is that it's either all the way on or all the way off.

[Emoto]

Great stuff, guys, thanks!

I picked up a Phase 90 a few months back on impulse without investigating and it is just too much for me. I'll see how it goes with the 100. Love it, so far.

The 90 is much better with a couple of easy mods - but it's downfall is that it's either all the way on or all the way off.

Yeah, I saw your mention of some mods. Not sure how the mods change the sound, but since I am chasing tone these days, I really like being able to adjust the sound. A "scratch & dent" Phase 100 from musicians friend was right about $100, so that'll hold me for a while, I think.

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

The Phase 100 is a sharper, cleaner, and stronger effect than the Phase 90. The 90 is a softer, subtler effect, at least the good old script logo 90 is. I own a vintage Phase 100 and 90, but in general use much prefer the sound of the 90 because the 100 is so strong. But the 100 is the Jerry phaser for much of what he heard. The 100 has more phase shift stages, and to me just takes on too sharp of a resonance.

If you're just wanting a nice phaser, also consider the Small Stone. It's in the same family as the Phase 90 and is a nice lush texture that sounds real good slow. To me, the best sounding phaser you can get today, Jerry tone aside, is the new MXR Script Logo Phase 90 reissue - Hand Wired edition. About $130 or so. They are the real deal if you dig the classic Phase 90 sound.

Also the new MXR pedals, probably including the new Phase 100, have moved over to surface mount component technology, and I just don't care for the sterility and overly crisp tone these types of parts make. The vintage versions with their good film capacitors and bigger parts just sound way more sweet and musical to me.

Brad

[jonarobb]

I'm also using a Phase 100. It's an early unit from 1977. Block Logo but with the Script Logo guts.

Some great examples of Jerry using the Phase 100 with the Garcia Band are Valerie, Dear Prudence. And some smokin' Sugarees from early 1980. With The Dead he used it alot in 76-77 on Slipknot jams, ....there are few blazing St Stephens and Not Fade Aways from 77 where he uses it....and of course Candyman.

[strumminsix]

Was listening to a 91 show - buckeye lake yesterday on XM.
Jerry was using it on his solo for Deal
.

No Deal @buckeye in 91. or 2 or 3
Was it 88? I'm curious to hear what you're talking about.
~MJH

Hmmm, XM played it and the 'INFO' buttons said 91 Buckeye lake.

[strumminsix]

The PH350 is the #1 of all currently produced Phase pedals today, IMO.

I love a good sammich of FX: OD > Phase > Delay

However in my rig now I tested: DIST > OD > Phase and wow, NICE!

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

Hey Strumminsix,

I just checked out that Maxon PH350. Wow, that thing does a true Phase 100 (10 stage setting) as well as a true Phase 90 (4 stage setting) plus a ton of other flavors. That one seems to be quite the deal. It's the all in one phaser, and done right with good vintage style guts and true bypass. Very impressive indeed.


Brad

[Emoto]

Hey Strumminsix,

I just checked out that Maxon PH350. Wow, that thing does a true Phase 100 (10 stage setting) as well as a true Phase 90 (4 stage setting) plus a ton of other flavors. That one seems to be quite the deal. It's the all in one phaser, and done right with good vintage style guts and true bypass. Very impressive indeed.


Brad

For $300, I would hope to be impressed.

[strumminsix]

Hey Strumminsix,

I just checked out that Maxon PH350. Wow, that thing does a true Phase 100 (10 stage setting) as well as a true Phase 90 (4 stage setting) plus a ton of other flavors. That one seems to be quite the deal. It's the all in one phaser, and done right with good vintage style guts and true bypass. Very impressive indeed.


Brad

Agreed! I think the thing I like most about it is that it keeps your tone very lively and watery. Too many phasers are "dark" and tone can sound muddy. I do like the old Ibanez ones (like what's in my UE700) but only if my signal is buffered to low impedance. Otherwise I lose my note articulation. The PH350 doesn't need that. In fact it reacts no differently buffered nor unbuffered. Great not articulation and it can be as subtle as a Phase 45 (which is currently not in my rig but I miss it sometimes - yes, script MXR) or as HUGE as a full blast Phase 100. Oh and the rotary accent with it is truly awesome!

[Capt Rosebuddy]

So after reading some stuff this week about Jerry using a expression pedal with his Phase 100 to change the sweep, it got me wondering have any of you guys done this mod?

[playingdead]

I'm not so sure it's really worth the effort, actually ... it just replaces the rate knob on the phaser itself. I don't think he ever varied it during a tune or attempted to make its warble match the song tempo or anything. I think he more or less used it like a 2-speed Leslie. I suspect they threw a pedal on it because it wasn't all that accessible inside the old effects shelves on a dark stage. You could mark it where you like it on the actual effect itself much more easily.

When I modeled it digitally, I set the high value at the "fast" speed and the low value at nice "Far From Me" sort of pace, and I either floor the expression pedal or kick it back all the way.

Kind of like modding a delay so you can set the rate with a pedal; with today's gear, a tap tempo switch is much better option to get it right where you want it. Having the delay level is nice on an expression pedal, though.

[tigerstrat]

I'm not so sure it's really worth the effort, actually ... it just replaces the rate knob on the phaser itself. I don't think he ever varied it during a tune or attempted to make its warble match the song tempo or anything. I think he more or less used it like a 2-speed Leslie. I suspect they threw a pedal on it because it wasn't all that accessible inside the old effects shelves on a dark stage. You could mark it where you like it on the actual effect itself much more easily.

When I modeled it digitally, I set the high value at the "fast" speed and the low value at nice "Far From Me" sort of pace, and I either floor the expression pedal or kick it back all the way.

Kind of like modding a delay so you can set the rate with a pedal; with today's gear, a tap tempo switch is much better option to get it right where you want it. Having the delay level is nice on an expression pedal, though.

Used to have a vol pedal on my Phasor II rate but then put it back to a knob adjustment because I basically agree with this post in that there isn't much exact tempo-matching or use of anything other than either basic slow or medium-fast rates... however on the subject of delay I have to semi-disagree about tap tempo vs rocker-adjust, because while the rocker is not as easy to or quick to match tempos as a tap device, you did fairly often hear Garcia making the delay time adjustment on the flywith the vol pedal and stacking up or spreading out the echoes in interesting and spacey ways in real time.