MXR Phase 90 vs Spaceman Explorer 6-Stage Phaser
The MXR Phase 90 and the Spaceman Explorer 6-Stage Phaser are both pedals sharing warm, smooth. The MXR Phase 90 leans fuzzy. The Spaceman Explorer 6-Stage Phaser leans dynamic and modulated. Current prices: $89.99 vs $249.95.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.47% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Classic Rock
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- warm
- smooth
MXR Phase 90
MXR · pedal
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$89.99via Reverb
$249.95via Reverb
The MXR Phase 90 is one of the most iconic phaser pedals ever made, a single-knob, four-stage analog phaser known for its warm, organic, liquid sweep. With just a Speed control, it is effortless to use, producing everything from a slow, gentle swirl to a fast, watery throb that animates both rhythm and lead playing. Its rich, musical phasing has appeared on countless recordings across classic rock, funk, and beyond, and it is famously associated with Eddie Van Halen's early tone. The compact orange enclosure and simple operation make it a pedalboard staple. It sits early in the chain into clean or driven amps, adding three-dimensional movement without thinning the core guitar tone.
The Spaceman Explorer is a hand-wired six-stage analog optical phaser built in Portland, Oregon, known for a sweet, distinct phase voice that is sometimes liquidy and smooth, sometimes chewy and lush. Its frequencies ebb and flow organically while offering deep tone-shaping through resonance, mix, range and volume controls. The Resonance control adds feedback for over-the-top phasing, Range sets the low-frequency extension, and a wide Rate control spans extremely slow to very fast modulation, with five selectable wave shapes including sine, ramp up, ramp down, triangle and square. True-bypass relay switching with a soft-touch footswitch rounds out a boutique build that sits at the intersection of organic warmth and precise, mechanical pulse, suiting psychedelic, classic-rock and experimental textures.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Rock
- Alternative Rock
- Funk
- Blues
- Experimental
- fuzzy
- dynamic
- modulated
- mid-forward