FLANGERS!

[nad]

In honour of Halloween:

Here is a 4 minute clip featuring each of these 4 flangers, in order of pedal sequence (Barracuda, 770, BF-2, and finally Hartman). Each pedal has two examples, the first with just flanger, the second with the Angler adding a bit of grind to open up the swooshing. Then at the end is the answer to the $600 question that nobody asked: what happens when you combine a Hartman Flanger and Deep Blue Delay?

Link Removed

Enjoy, or don't. Your choice.

 

[bongomania]

I chose to enjoy it.

My favorite tone, both clean and dirty, was the Barracuda. Strong, tight, deep, articulate. Unfortunately it had that cycling swoosh between notes, which can be a turnoff. The lowest swoosh noise seemed to be the BF-2, but its tone was too polite and understated. Maybe it was just the settings? The best compromise, from what I could hear, was the Hartman. Not as swooshy as the Barracuda, but much nicer tone than the BF-2. The only one that didn't do anything for me was the 770.

Thanks for the clips!

 

[loendmaestro]

Wow dude, I really enjoyed that! Of course I'm in a haze of cold medicine & ambien but that was really great...I dug your playing too.

 

[funkomatic]

I've never been much on flangers, but there were some cool sounds in there. What is the rest of the rig?

 

[bigchiefbc]

Wow thanks for the clip, it was awesome. Agreed with Bongo that the Barracuda was the clear winner here based on my tastes. I totally GAS for it, even though it would be my fourth flanger.

 

[vegas532]

Wow dude, I really enjoyed that! Of course I'm in a haze of cold medicine & ambien but that was really great...I dug your playing too.

That boy can sure play, huh?

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

THAT'S A LOT OF FLANGE!

 

[NortyFiner]

Agreed with Bongo about the BF-2. It was the least swooshy, but its effect was understated to the point of boredom. Worst pedal in this contest IMHO.

My two favs were the 770 and the Hartman, in either order...both were articulate and gave a nice effect without being overpowering.

The Barracuda, I thought was too swooshy and a bit over the top, but that's just MHO.

 

[Jared Lash]

Great clips as always. Especially dig Bjorn's delay with the Hartman at the end.

The BF-2 certainly can be more dramatic and "swooshier" but when you make the Boss more dramatic sounding it gets very metallic and makes it have a tendency to disappear in the mix during parts of its sweep. For that reason, I bet the 770 (though it's also too "chorus-y" for me) fares well in a band mix.

I liked the Hartman and the Toadworks a lot.

 

[groooooove]

they all sound great. moreso, its the angler sound that you got me gassing over.

the BF-2 sample did sound the least exciting, but i think thats only because the rate seemed the slowest out of the samples. if you cranked it up to get all the flanges at the same speed it might seem more "up to par" with the others. or maybe im biased cause i love my BF-2.

either way, thanks for those clips.

 

[Valerus]

Nice work!

 

[nad]

My favorite tone, both clean and dirty, was the Barracuda. Strong, tight, deep, articulate.

The Barracuda is my favourite as well. In addition to the great flanging sound it adds this interesting depth to the signal that I can't quite tell what frequency range it even comes from, but is really useful in a mix. It just sounds big, if that makes sense. Plus it is the only one with a blend knob, which is pretty stinkin' nice when variety is called for.

What is the rest of the rig?

Rest of that rig was my Lakland DJ4, GK 700RB-II, and a Bag End S12 stack (2 of them). Oh, and an SM58 mic. Honestly I think Bag Ends are the best kept secret in basscabdom, they are a good deal brand new, ridiculously cheap used, and are some of the highest quality equipment I've ever owned.

That boy can sure play, huh?

Cheers man. Nice to hear that from someone who I consider clearly a superior player to myself.

The BF-2 certainly can be more dramatic and "swooshier" but when you make the Boss more dramatic sounding it gets very metallic and makes it have a tendency to disappear in the mix during parts of its sweep. For that reason, I bet the 770 (though it's also too "chorus-y" for me) fares well in a band mix.

The BF-2 is really my Fun At Home pedal, which was what I used the old BF-2B I had years ago for as well. I guess I wasn't paying attention to the settings when I hit record, the BF-2 isn't really known for being subtle. Whoops!

The 770 does work really well in a mix, I find it pretty boring at home but at rehearsal it really adds a nice touch without sounding too obviously Hey I Stepped On A Pedal. I do like the 770, but it's really a chorus pedal at heart, just useful for subtle flanging needs. That being said, I really don't have any chorus needs beyond my trusty Analog.man so I'll probably sell this one and keep the other three.

 

[nad]

Oh, and I forgot to add that the Hartman is just mindblowingly good. There are an absolute wealth of tones in there, all of which seem to be useful and not silly (not that there is anything wrong with silly). I haven't used it in a band situation yet, but at home it took me 3 notes to say "oh yeah, this is IT." It won't replace my Barracuda because they sound so different, but it is the first flanger I've used that I like as much as said Toadworks.

 

[fightthepower]

Thanks for posting, love me some flange!

 

[gnasher1993]

I like the Hartman the most. I think you should add another clip...you were a bit unfair on the BF-2 . It's one of my favourite pedals and I know it can do more than you hear in that clip...

 

[jetofuj]

I like Barracuda and Hartman best - both of course are different animals. Is Hartman capable of more drastic tones?

 

[nad]

I like the Hartman the most. I think you should add another clip...you were a bit unfair on the BF-2 . It's one of my favourite pedals and I know it can do more than you hear in that clip...

I think the fact that I bought a second BF-2 even in the presence of such flanger royalty is proof enough how much I love it. Here are some older, better samples I did awhile back though:

Link Removed
Link Removed
Link Removed

I like Barracuda and Hartman best - both of course are different animals. Is Hartman capable of more drastic tones?

Yes. With the Color knob cranked it gets pretty crazy, and the filter mode does that weird icepick type stuff. Also there are several user-adjustable trimpots inside that change it between chorus and metallic type tones, but I haven't even needed to mess with this just yet. For having such a simple layout, there really are a lot of tones there.

 

[gnasher1993]

I think the fact that I bought a second BF-2 even in the presence of such flanger royalty is proof enough how much I love it.

It really is a great flanger. I love mine. Although, hopefully, I've got another flanger incoming...trying to work a deal out.

 

[RickenBoogie]

See, and I'd already dismissed a Flanger from my board, as being just a little too much. Chose a Phase 90 for it's less intimidating swoosh. Now, ya got me thinkin' about the Hartman. Nice clips, thanks.

 

[Brad Barker]

i'm a chorus guy, so i like the 770, even though you didn't show off that aspect of it.

the hartman and barracuda sounded great, but i don't use flange enough to warrant replacing my bf-2. (i might start gassing for a 770, though, cuz, **** it, i love chorus. )