Flanger To DIY or not to DIY?

beachbum

Active member
I've been itching to scratch my last pedal itch for a good year now, being mostly satisfied with the tape flangers in my computer plugin folder. BUT the call is getting stronger to see if I can get some flanger magic from a pedal. Anything that can do the subtle Police Almost-But-Not-Quite-Chorus of the Mistress and is well made will do. Kill dry or Wet/Dry knob is always useful to me because I use mixers and parallel FX a lot. Anything on top of that is extra gravy.

I'm not opposed to buying one outright if it does something not available in DIY form. There's a discussion going on in the shallow water build doc thread, but I thought it better to put it out in the open.

There's actually a lot of recommendations out there, so many new options have come out recently that I wonder if my interest in pedal flangers isn't being subconsciously influenced by google adwords and youtube demo influencers but I digress,

Is there something you can get from commercial pedals that isn't quite there in the DIY boards? or vice versa? Is there one that nails vintage sounds while still having a low noise floor and cool features? Please share your experiences or opinions, all are welcome, no matter how insignificant they may seem to you.

From the commercial pedal lot:
Spaceman Aurora
Thorpy Camoflange
Retro-sonic Flanger
Dreadbox Komorebi
Boss BF2/3
A/DA Flanger
Moog MF Flange
Strymon Deco
Other

DIY:
Lectric-FX Flintlock (A/DA Clone)
DeadendFX: Larry (Mutron), Enigma (Lovetone Flanger), Flang-er-ama (Ibanez FL-99)
Electric Druid Flangilicious & Experimental Multiflange
Madbeans Current Lover
BYOC Stereo Analog Flanger
Dead Astronaut Flanger Filter
PCBGuitarMania LectricLover
Other DIY
 
I built the Flintlock, and the Flangelicious. I like them more than the BF-3 I bought.

Both have some background noises at specific settings. Flangelicious has a "faucet/ water noise with Manual past 12'. You can get a perfectly clean modulation by changing the noise/signal ratio (increase input volume before the effect and decrease the volume after the effect). This trick is effective with both. The flintlock have a little amount of clock noise that can be reduced to almost nothing with this mod :

Flangelicious can be built with an expression input jack which is a nice addition.

Boss BF-3 is stereo and that's great but sounds a bit digital (metalic feedback), features a good standard modulation, usefull to compare with others, in my opinion. The Gate/Pan mode is very good in stereo though.

There is also Lectric Fx's Dandy Horse, which is really good too...perfectly silent and easier to control than the 3 circuits mentionned above.

Flintlock is my favourite. The modulation is just amazing. I think you can replace the Manual pot with an expression jack quite easily.
 
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Well the Polychrome by walrus audio just came out. It’s all analog in a 125B footprint. Hopefully that means it is cloneable! I’m sure someone has already opened one up to see what makes it tick. I think it sounds great personally!
 
I built the Flintlock, and the Flangelicious. I like them more than the BF-3 I bought.

Both have some background noises at specific settings. Flangelicious has a "faucet/ water noise with Manual past 12'. You can get a perfectly clean modulation by changing the noise/signal ratio (increase input volume before the effect and decrease the volume after the effect). This trick is effective with both. The flintlock have a little amount of clock noise that can be reduced to almost nothing with this mod :

Flangelicious can be built with an expression input jack which is a nice addition.

Boss BF-3 is stereo and that's great but sounds a bit digital (metalic feedback), features a good standard modulation, usefull to compare with others, in my opinion. The Gate/Pan mode is very good in stereo though.

There is also Lectric Fx's Dandy Horse, which is really good too...perfectly silent and easier to control than the 3 circuits mentionned above.

Flintlock is my favourite. The modulation is just amazing. I think you can replace the Manual pot with an expression jack quite easily.
I purposely didn't put the Dandy Horse because it's a kitchen sink of a pedal and probably the hardest PCB type pedal to build.

Well the Polychrome by walrus audio just came out. It’s all analog in a 125B footprint. Hopefully that means it is cloneable! I’m sure someone has already opened one up to see what makes it tick. I think it sounds great personally!
I'll have to check it out, thanks!
 
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Me = Moth,
Flanger thread = Flame.




DIY not already mentioned:

Madbean & UK-Electronic both have the MXR 117 Flanger; you didn't mention it so I guess it's of no interest to you, but I include it here for others who might have interest.

I've got a Moosapotamus clone board waiting to be popped. (A/DA 3007, not his SAD1024)

UltraFlanger by John Hollis is nice and compact ;^P — MBeaner Thomasha fit one in a 1590LB!

PAiA Phlanger
ANDERTON Flanger


Buy:
ISET FLANGER
Cheap 1590A flanger SOUNDS GREAT 20–30 Bucks.

I think the big Joyo (jet graphic) is pretty good for the money.

OG TC ELECTRONIC SCF (stereo Chorus Flanger).

Mooer Elec Lady.
 
Now THERE's a flanger!!

There's so much good stuff out there both on the buy and DIY side that it really boils down to budget (either DIY or commercial) and what you're looking for in terms of sound. The ?Flanger is the least like any of the other ones. SAD1024 based stuff was noisier but was the "classic" flange sound. Most of the current versions come very close though. The only commercial ones I own are a very old BF2 and a Line6 MM4/M13. I really like the Flintlock and the Dandy Horse as well as Current Lover and the MB 117. The FV-1 variants sound great but it's a different sound than any of the analogs.
 
That's the thing, they all sound good and each one does something different. I'm leaning towards the deco because it's sort of a swiss army knife. But then the dreadbox one is cool for playing with synths and doing weird experimental stuff, sort of like the Spaceman. The Camoflange is the straightforward old school clone with modern functionality that also looks interesting. From the PCB ones, I'd take anyone that I could build without too much trouble. I kind of want to stay away personally from the MXR or A/DA ones, which tend to do more of the whooshing jet flange, which isn't really my thing.

The chips are half the value of the asking price...
 
Can't justify the reticon jewelry box. I needed a lower impedance DMM, so I treated myself to a Fluke 117 instead.
Speaking of Flintlocks..I have a build that misfired on startup. I need to see what the deal is there. I know where to go if I can't figure it out (y)

Short of the wish-list, which way are you leaning @beachbum ?
 
Narrowed down somewhat. Mistress clones have the sound I like most, so cut it down to those but kept 2 outliers that are still tempting.
In no order:
Dreadbox
Camoflange
madbeans mistress
deco
This mistress clone PCB that was on reddit today

I have to think about it some more, but having some sort of kill dry or at least wet/dry control might be the next filter, which would narrow it down further to just the Deco or Camoflange. I think the deadastonaut is the only DIY with a mix control but I need to check that one out a bit more before forming an opinion on it.
 
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The EMV2 guy is passionate...

"I spent over a year working to make this the BEST possible clone of the 18V Electric Mistress using a BBD that is still available (MN3207/BL3207). The circuit has the same sweep range, sweep ratio, dynamic range and control pot behaviour as the original, and the frequency response is accurate to within a fraction of a dB. The result is a circuit that faithfully reproduces all the clarity and watery high-end of the original without the noisy tweets and whistles that plagued the old design. I cannot tell the difference in sound between this circuit and the original (apart from the lower noise) and I don't believe you will either."

Crap, I bought one halfway though the second sentence.
 
Didn't realize madbeans made a second flanger.

To your point about the SCF, I've listened to demos a lot , and it seems its strength is chorus, you wouldn't necessarily get one for flanger settings. And for the price those are going for now might as well do a 1210 rack clone and go full stereo:
@PedalPCB Wishlist for first rack enclosure???
View attachment 11810
View attachment 11811
View attachment 11812

Madbean's "Collosalus" is oriented vertically, while the UK-Electronic 117 clone is oriented horizontally as per the original MXR.

I'm fine with the flanger sounds of the SCF, but I'm not fine with the prices the SCF fetches now. Back when I first became interested, a couple decades ago, they were reasonably priced... before the dark times, before The Internet.


That Reddit clone you found and Fig bought, that seems promising.
 
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I spoke to the builder of the emv2 he says adding a mix control would be possible with a small board, so I might try that first and hope someone here can explain me what to do like I’m 5.
 
There are two types of addiction:

Substance

Process



So yeah, Flanger PCBs and building them covers both types.

I just ordered an Electric Mistress elsewhere, but ... flanger addiction...

I hate eBane with a passion, and it hates me even more passionately — forcing me to make multiple accounts that never work properly forcing me to start another account... Like GroundHog Day WITHOUT the happy ending.

@beachbum — By chance did you discuss with the seller whether it's possible to purchase the emv2 directly? Paypal? Don't make me use eekFlay.

I don't need 12-steps, I need to score...
 
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