“It was too good to keep to ourselves”: MXR gives Eddie Van Halen’s favorite orange box the golden touch with its 50th Anniversary Phase 90

NAMM 2025: No need to be hunched over the Klondike, sieve in hand, scraping around in the sub-zero mud – there’s now an easier way to get your hands on some precious metal. Yep, MXR is launching the 50th Anniversary Phase 90, giving the iconic phaser pedal, beloved by Eddie Van Halen and countless others, a gold makeover.

We’re not sure how pure the gold is that MXR has used in the engineering of this super-shiny gold finish, but if electric guitar tones were measured in carats the Phase 90’s chewy swirl would be 24 – and then some.

This 50th Anniversary special edition might have a new look but the tone is very much early to mid ‘70s. You have one knob (Speed) that does everything you need. Just stick it on your pedalboard and you are good to go for the phase-shifting sounds that EVH used on Van Halen’s Atomic Punk, Eruption, etc. David Gilmour used one on Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond, and this one will, quite literally, shine on….

It’s set to drop on March 18 and they are limited edition, so you’ll want be quick if you plan to scoop one up. MXR isn’t saying how limited but you know what it is like with special run pedals, scalpers, and the eye-watering prices on the used market… Speed is of the essence.

(Image credit: Jim Dunlop)If you are wondering where you have seen this before, in 2022 MXR did officially release a super-rare 50th Anniversary edition of the Phase 90 in gold. This, however, was only for its “closest friends in the industry”. Now, the Jim Dunlop-owned guitar effects pedal company has said, “it was too good to keep to ourselves”.

Script Logo, Block Logo… redesigned by Auric Goldfinger, we at Guitar World are huge fans of the Phase 90 in all its guises – our own Chris Gill even wrote a love letter to the Phase 90 and its impact on guitar culture.

(Image credit: Jim Dunlop)It is compact. It couldn’t not be simpler to use. Its four-stage phase-shifting is one of those elemental modulation sounds that can be use in all kinds of different styles, and it has. Besides EVH and Gilmour, you might find it on the pedalboards of John Frusciante, Robin Trower, John Petrucci, Tom Morello, and many more.

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(Image credit: Jim Dunlop)If you have always wanted one but for whatever reason did not like the color orange, your ship has officially come in. The 50th Anniversary Phase 90 is available from March 18, priced at $200.

Don’t sleep on it; these gold anniversary editions don’t last long – EHX’s Big Muff Double Anniversary Big Muff Pi fuzz pedal sold out within hours of its release.

Keep an eye on Jim Dunlop for more details.