Aguilar grape phaser vs mxr phase 90 variants

[soulstar89]

Hey peeps,

Looking to pick up a phaser. Wondered if anyone has used both and could give a comparison. Rather big price difference.

I first heard Derrick hodge use a phaser (mxr phase 90 variant) which caught my attention. I then heard Jonathan Maron demo the Aguilar grape phaser and was wondering if it was just his amazing playing with the pedal or the pedal itself.

cheers

 

[warptheory]

I've used them both. They are both good, but phasers come in different styles, OTA, JFET, Optical, etc. Check out this article for more:

Guitar Phaser Pedal Types: JFET, Optical, OTA, and Others - Function f(x)

How does a phaser pedal work and which phase shift type is best for guitar? JFET vs OTA vs Optical phaser comparison.

function-fx.com

I like the swoosh of the MXR better, but that's just personal preference. The Grape held the low end well as the MXR lost a little. The absolute best phaser I've ever tried is the Ross Phaser JHS released. It's big, but super easy to dial in, no low end loss, and has the slow swoosh I like. Discontinued, but you can find them used.

Ross just released their line under their own name without JHS and those look cool to, and smaller, but I'm already swimming in phasers.

Ross Electronics

Ross Pedals are back. Experience iconic tone reborn with the most advanced Ross effects ever made. From legendary compression to timeless distortion, chorus, phaser, and fuzz - Ross delivers class sound reimagined for today's players. Legends never die.

rosselectronics.com

 

[soulstar89]

I've used them both. They are both good, but phasers come in different styles, OTA, JFET, Optical, etc. Check out this article for more:

Guitar Phaser Pedal Types: JFET, Optical, OTA, and Others - Function f(x)

How does a phaser pedal work and which phase shift type is best for guitar? JFET vs OTA vs Optical phaser comparison.

function-fx.com

I like the swoosh of the MXR better, but that's just personal preference. The Grape held the low end well as the MXR lost a little. The absolute best phaser I've ever tried is the Ross Phaser JHS released. It's big, but super easy to dial in, no low end loss, and has the slow swoosh I like. Discontinued, but you can find them used.

Ross just released their line under their own name without JHS and those look cool to, and smaller, but I'm already swimming in phasers.

Ross Electronics

Ross Pedals are back. Experience iconic tone reborn with the most advanced Ross effects ever made. From legendary compression to timeless distortion, chorus, phaser, and fuzz - Ross delivers class sound reimagined for today's players. Legends never die.

rosselectronics.com

This is why I asked. Thanks alot. I had no idea that different style of phasers existed.

I’m going check out the links you suggested. I’ll be interested to see if the grape phaser and mxr phase 90 are different style. Let the rabbit hole commence

 

[warptheory]

This is why I asked. Thanks alot. I had no idea that different style of phasers existed.

I’m going check out the links you suggested. I’ll be interested to see if the grape phaser and mxr phase 90 are different style. Let the rabbit hole commence

Go to a Guitar Center or other music store and tell them you want a phaser, but bass is difficult to know how it sounds, so grab all they have and shoot them out. That's how I discovered the Ross, Bad Stone was also a contender. I've found I don't care for Optical phasers, they are a bit more bright/vocal/hifi, and I prefer the middy swoosh of the classic MXR. The EQD Grand Orbiter is another great one.

Beware that phasers for bass can get throbby when the sweep reaches the bottom of the trough. The Grand Orbiter suffers from this a little bit, but backing off the sweep can help remediate.

Here is my shootout at a local store a few years ago, went home with the JHS/Ross.

 

[Jared Lash]

+1 to trying them all out. I've gone through way, WAY too many phasers over the years and they all really depend on your playing, rig, and what you want to hear.

@warptheory definitely heard a lot of the same things I did so I'd agree that his comments are spot on and good guidance for you.

In my case I learned that I really prefer six stage phasers on bass so the Bad Stone has been what I've settled on for a few years now.

The Aguilar is a great option too though. It definitely retains the low end, which is important. The nature of the sweep of a phaser means that often you do lose the bass at the peak of the sweep. A blend can also be useful, but obviously it makes the effect less prominent as well.

Good luck!

 

[warptheory]

I liked the JHS Series 3 Phaser as well. Blend can definitely help, which the Series 3 does have, but max phasing effect will be at 50/50. If you go over that, it turns more into a vibrato. Less than 50/50, and you get a less intense sound. I made the mistake of maxing the blend to get more phase effect, but much like chorus, it's the dry signal AND the effected signal together that give you the full effect.

 

[Jared Lash]

I liked the JHS Series 3 Phaser as well. Blend can definitely help, which the Series 3 does have, but max phasing effect will be at 50/50. If you go over that, it turns more into a vibrato. Less than 50/50, and you get a less intense sound. I made the mistake of maxing the blend to get more phase effect, but much like chorus, it's the dry signal AND the effected signal together that give you the full effect.

This is also the case for the Grand Orbiter, the Caroline Arigato and several other phasers.

When I wanted to blend a Phaser I tended to find one I liked and use a separate blender like the Boss LS-2 or Xotic X-blender.

 

[Dave Siff]

MXR Deep Phase is really good.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

I really like the MXR Phase 100 on bass, it’s on the bigger side of phaser boxes, but man it sounds good. It’s not always on my board, no phaser is, but I always got it around when I want it.