Phase 90 True bypass?

[paulyy]

Just wondering if they come true bypass. I've had it pluged in the pedal board with no power and the when I turn the pedal off. It lets the signal go thru. I dont notice any tone sucking like I've heard other people say but just wondering if its true bypass or not. Its rev E. It was made in 2001. Thanks.

[armdnrdy]

One way to find out is to ....open it up and take a look! 

If you don't know what your looking at, take some pictures and post them.

[paulyy]

I have open it up plenty of times and im pretty sure its true bypass. I'd take pics but camra died the other day.

[zombiwoof]

No, MXR pedals are not true bypass in stock condition.  Some of them suck tone better or worse than others.  They use a form of bypass in which the circuit board is still connected to the input when in bypass mode, but can be made true bypass quite easily (except for the more recent Dunlop ones where all pots, jacks, and switch are mounted to the board, those are more difficult to true bypass).  I prefer the Whirlwind Rochester Orange Box, which is made and sounds like a script Phase 90, but comes stock with true bypass switching and LED.  They also make a version of the Distortion+ (Gold Box) and the DynaComp (Red Box) with the same features, and a guy from the original MXR company had a hand in developing them.

Al

[mremic01]

No, MXR pedals are not true bypass in stock condition.  Some of them suck tone better or worse than others.  They use a form of bypass in which the circuit board is still connected to the input when in bypass mode, but can be made true bypass quite easily (except for the more recent Dunlop ones where all pots, jacks, and switch are mounted to the board, those are more difficult to true bypass).  I prefer the Whirlwind Rochester Orange Box, which is made and sounds like a script Phase 90, but comes stock with true bypass switching and LED.  They also make a version of the Distortion+ (Gold Box) and the DynaComp (Red Box) with the same features, and a guy from the original MXR company had a hand in developing them.

Al

That's odd. Every MXR pedal I've had has passed the bypassed signal just like it's TBP. I've never had any issues with tone suck from them, and I just assumed it was TBP.

[jimilee]

Somimwas wondering about this also,here's a link to an article on their blog that tells you which and which isn't.i hope it's ok,I found it very useful.http://www.jimdunlop.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-true-bypassing/

[paulyy]

Thanks zombiwoof for anwsering my question. I thought it was TB but I guess I was wrong.
Thanks jimilee for the article.
After doing some research. I was able to true bypass the pedal but I will have to cut a chunk out of the board to get it to fit back in the box. I also notice more high end when bypassed. I guess my was tone sucking after all. Just got a new camra today and will try to post pics when I can. Thanks again everyone.