Among a good number of wonderful and weird effects that you will find available on the market, only few effects possess humble roots like the flanger effect does, and what we find unique about the flanger effect is its way of changing tones in unimaginable ways. There are so many options and ways a flanger effect can change your tone, and that’s why we have brought you this review which addresses the question, “what does a flanger pedal do”? The flanger pedal was discovered by Les Paul back in 1940, and since its was first discovered, experimentalist, audio manufacturers, and mix engineers have found a way to replicate the flanger effect countless times.
Copying signal and delaying its playback by varying amount explains how a flanger pedal obtains its unique sound ability, and the variation is brought about by a low frequency oscillation, amount, depth, and speed of an altered signal to be adjusted to a user’s taste. Despite the numerous flanger effect you will come across on the market, they all maintain the same principle. It’s principle is delivering an instant jet engine quality, played across so many genres. You need to have a flanger effect or be familiar with a flanger pedal for you to be able to explore its unique abilities, and you also need to figure out a way to incorporate a flanger effect into your sound. At the end of this review, you will be a step closer towards finding the right flanger pedal for you.
What Does A Flanger Pedal Do
People always ask, what does a flanger pedal do? This is a very good question and we are going to answer it immediately. The mixing of two identical signals, but one of the signals gets delayed by varying and small periods determined by a low frequency oscillation explains what a flanger does. It will create a swirling harmonic effect, and the two signals possess varying spaces which weave in and out of each other, causing the harmonic to move round the frequency spectrum. This swirling harmonic movement creates the jet engine sound we mentioned earlier, and the jet engine sound is an easy way to identify flangers.
Feeding back the output partially into the input creates a feedback that provides sound with another dimension. However, paying close attention to the explanation we have given about flangers, you will agree with me that there are other modulations that work in similar ways. These modulations mix dry signals with a detuned and filtered signal in order to create an abstract sound. Mixing up these modulations is very easy as each modulation makes uses a low frequency oscillation in creating modulated effects, only when they are slightly tweaked. So, how can you differentiate a flanger from a chorus and phaser?
A flanger makes use of a low frequency oscillation in adjusting a signals delay, while a phaser uses a low frequency oscillation to adjust your waveform’s phase. Lastly, a chorus utilizes a low frequency oscillation in adjusting pitch. When it comes to using a flanger pedal, there are couple of things you need to consider because it is far from being regarded as the most subtle effect. Altering tones in an obvious and big way instead of a fun way is what a flanger is capable of doing, so you need to have additional knowledge of its controls if you intend making the most of a flanger’s boldness. A flanger has three key controls, so let’s show you what each control does specifically.
Depth
The depth is referred to as wet/dry or mix, and it serves as a control between the dry input signal and amount of effect applied. If you set your depth ti minimum, a faint suggestion of modulation is what you will obtain, but setting a full depth creates shimmering and sway tones.
Rate
Rate can also be referred to as speed, and you can already tell that the rate controls a signal delay’s speed variation. Chunky jet engine sounds that flangers are known for will be created when you set a slow rate, but you will hear communications from outer space if you set your rate to be fast.
Feedback
The feedback controls the amount of output signal fed directly into the input signal. The feedback can sometimes be used in creating dramatic effects that provides your sound with distorted, otherworldly tone quality.
Where To Place A Flanger On Your Signal Chain
Just like every other modulation effect, a flanger pedal will comfortably sit at the back end of a pedal chain, and it will be best or will deliver best results if you place a flanger after every other thing, but take exceptions when it comes to effects like delay and reverb. What we are trying to say is the flanger effect applies to everything on a pedal chain including filters, equalizer, distortion, and more, and it is fun to play around with the flanger because you are guaranteed creating abstract sounds. The flanger pedal are for people who are adventurous at heart, and if you want to get that bonker tone, place your flanger before a fuzz pedal or distortion. The control on any flanger unit is simple and straightforward, but when manipulated, they can create several distinct sounds.
The fact is you might have listened to your favorite albums and heard modulated, weird guitar sounds that left you puzzled about what they really are. At the end of this review, identifying or being able to tell the difference shouldn’t be a problem for you anymore because having a flanger in your setup is more of reality check. Musicians are always out to boost their craft, and there are lots of flanging tools and techniques they can make use of to create adventurous sounds. The flanger guitar effect is one of the tools they can rely on to enhance their craft, and regardless of whatever genre of music you play, a flanger gutar effect will modify the sound in subtle ways.
However, choosing the right flanger pedal will help you get the best out of any instrument, and with the information gathered in this review, you will be able to identify what features and controls you want from a flanger effect pedal.
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My name is Johnson Lewis and I am a music coach, producer and Blogger. I enjoy writing about music, instruments, music equipments and I love helping people become better singers.
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