State of the Flanger: 2027 (and beyond!!!)

[Chankgeez]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_yb7p6gVwM[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_yb7p6gVwM

[Dandolin]

smart

one advantage of through-zero designs is that the native delay range of the chips mean a lot less, since you can just set it up so the time difference between the chips is in the sweet spot.

Also, I remember turning my nose up when marketers referred to PT2399 delays as "analog" - now, I don't give a shit - I just like their crunchiness, which is a different flavor generally from BBDs, but I like it for itself
also, filtering matters, obvi....

[Dowi]

There's a Subdecay Starlight V2 for sale on Ebay for 85€ and i'm sitting here struggling with that buy it now button.
Somebody should hit it.

[Dowi]

Sooooo.. I've been thinking about flangers. After years playing with the Bitquest I realized that i may "need" an independent one, because I use the bq 80% of the time as ringmod and 20% as reverb, plus every time I set it for flange sounds, I spend 15minutes finding the perfect spot (mostly because I don't remember each knob correspondence), and then I don't want to move that anymore.
So, simple 4-knob flangers with small footprint and possibly no lose of low frequencies? Is the Boss HF a good option? I used to have a BF3 years ago and it did his job well, but I don't remember its behavior regarding low end.
The Alexander F.13 could be a good option with its mix knob. It's pricier that the Boss and has a lot more than I need, but onboard presets are super useful.
Alternatives in the low-mid price range?

Thanks

[coldbrightsunlight]

HF is probably cool! I have a BF-2 and I considered getting the HF instead. The BF is really good and I wouldn't say it loses a lot of low end on guitar? Some for sure. But I still find it a usable pedal on bass. YMMV I guess.

Digitech turbo flange is probably cool based on my experience with the phaser in the same range.

Alexander definitely looks great if you want to spend a bit more.

[The Eristic]

I've played the Alexander a bunch, it's great and does a TON. If you just wanna save $ more than anything, the original non-Neo version can be snagged cheap and still does plenty of killer sounds. Alexander voices everything to work with both bass and guitar, too.

BF vs HF, the latter never seemed to flange as hard as the former, but never compared them on bass. Personal fave '80 flanger is the Ibanez SF10, can do chorus all the way to ridiculous sireny oscillations. Footswitch on that series can be janky, though.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Yeah the vibe I have got from the limited HF demos is that it is mostly perceived as being more subtle and not getting as crazy. Not sure how accurate that is but it's why I stayed away - didn't want something that couldn't do crazy sounds maxed out

[Scruffie]

IIRC the only difference between the BF & HF is the use of a 1024 stage BBD vs. 512. Which means one has halve the delay time and so sweeps an octave higher/is less chorusy.

[backwardsvoyager]

IME the low end frequencies are equally intact with the BF-2 and HF-2, the latter is just more subtle in the sense that the effected signal sounds like it's layered over the dry signal rather than melding with it.
There are many 'better' sounding 4-knob flangers, but most are in large boxes and/or have shitty bypass, so the BF/HF-2 is probably the most practical choice. Do the Fromel mod and max the resonance trimpot for best results

[coldbrightsunlight]

Ooo interesting. Maybe I'll try that.

IIRC the only difference between the BF & HF is the use of a 1024 stage BBD vs. 512. Which means one has halve the delay time and so sweeps an octave higher/is less chorusy.

Good knowledge thanks

[Dowi]

Thanks for the answers. Definitely not interested in something too subtle, so I'm gonna keep my eyes open if a BF2 pops for a decent price. Is it so better compared to the BF3? the latter one seems to be even cheaper.

The cheapest F.13 I found is 150€, which is not that much,but right now I don't want to invest, we'll see..

Meanwhile I moved the Bitquest at the beginning of the chain to see if I can push those flanger tones in the front with some dirt afterwards.

[Pepe]

Actually I prefer the BF-3 over the BF-2. It is pretty much the same sound-wise, plus it has a few cool functions on top and the controls have a much wider range. IMO you cannot tell the BF-2 and the BF-3 apart in the mix. BOSS did a really cool job with the follow-up model. I did several 1:1 comparisons and with my eyes closed I wasn't really able to tell which pedal was activated.

[coldbrightsunlight]

awesome glad to hear it! Yeah the BF-3 looks very cool - extra features aren't super exciting but if it's a case of why not then... why not

[backwardsvoyager]

I never tried a BF-3 but it certainly got a lot of hate purely on account of being digital, as did the PH-3 (which is a fantastic pedal also).

Some other good alternatives to keep an eye out for deals on would be the ADA PBF Flanger, Mr Black Shepards End, and Subdecay Starlight.

[Chankgeez]

Maybe Scruffie still has some in stock?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6_nXk0JqI[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6_nXk0JqI

shitty bypass

Unfortunately, probably all of my beloved '80s flangers likely suffer from this malady.

Maybe that's why I like 'em?