First off, let me say that Maxon pedals are one of my favorites--they generally sound great and are botique quality with high-end components. The sounds you can get out of this box don't justify the price, however--the effect is weak. The MXR EVH Phase 90 costs half and sounds 100x times more intense. This has too much "wooshing" clock noise when used with distortion. It is true bypass, and a pulsing LED shows you the cycle, which is neat. Finally, two things: it uses a REGULAR 9v adaptor (even though the circuit runs at 18V) and it's a 10-STAGE phaser, according to the distributor. Not 4. Not 12. 10 Stages. But the MXR Phase 100 is far better than this for that sound. Or get the Maxon PH350 instead.