MXR Flanger Problem

[rtcook]

Hi all,

I'm a new member.  Wonderful forum you have here!  I browsed through the archives on my problem and haven't really found an answer, so I'll pose the question.

I have a vintage MXR Flanger (no LED) and I think it's not functioning properly.  The effect is there, but it's not very pronounced.  I'm looking for that hard flanging sound from the early EVH days.

I've read in the archives that it could be the SAD1024 chip or maybe some adjustments to the trim pots.  I have a new SAD1024 chip but have been reluctant to try it because I don't want to ruin it.  I'm not sure on how to adjust the trim pots either.  Are they done by ear?  On a meter?  Also, the flanger has alot of noise with it.  Is this normal for an AC powered unit?  Maybe something with a ground?  Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Roger

[dosmun]

To really get that flanging tone you are talking of you need to run the flange after the distortion and not in front of it.

I'm not saying there is nothing wrong with the pedal but I have an MXR flange as well and it just doesn't quite get the VH sound without being after the distortion.

[jmasciswannabe]

I had one of these a while back that I couldn't get up and running and traded a vintage small stone for it....mark hammer has some info on adjusting the trimpots in an older post, just be sure to not adjust the voltage one! zap! i also ran across some pictures, so just be sure to search the archives (an answer I hate to give, wish I could remember the exact info I came across!)....but the info is there! If you are thinking about swapping out the sad1024, just do some voltage readings first, I want to say it will take up to 13v from what I have read, but there is a datasheet at geofex.

best of luck!!

ps...the guy I traded it to fixed it the same day he got it....I wish like hell I wouldn't have let it go, so don't give up on it!

[rtcook]

Hi and thanks for the responses.  

How can I get the flanger after the distortion on a Marshall 1959 Superlead with no effects loop?  Eddie didn't have a loop and I believe his was out front as well.

This flanger I'm working on is the first one I bought.  I have another one coming, so if the replacement one works better, I'd listen to offers on the other one if anyone is interested.

Thanks,

Roger

[dosmun]

http://www.amptone.com/eddievanhalenrig.htm  This tells a bit about the details of his rig.  Basically he used a load box and ran FX and his Echo after the amp and before power amps that drove the cabs.

If you run some sort of OD in front of the Flanger it will get you a little closer.

[Mark Hammer]

Just about any sort of comb filter (phaser, flanger) will sound "better" when you feed it a signal with more bandwidth.  The most pronounced recorded examples of flanging that people are familiar with have generally been flanging applied to a full mix during post-production (think Axis Bold as Love, Sky Pilot, The Big Hurt, Itchycoo Park, Listen to the Music, etc.), because a full band with drums, bass, singers, keyboards, etc will cover the whole spectrum, making the notches that more noticeable.  Next down from there would be a single instrument with lots of treble content such as a synth, a drum kit, or a fuzzed instrument.  Next down from there would be a single instrument with modest or minimal bandwidth.  That same phaser that sounds sort of okay on your undistorted guitar will sound simply amazing if you feed a mixed down recording through it.

By the same token, if one takes the output of an overdriven Marshall and feeds THAT through a flanger, it will also sound marvelous.  One of the things I have contended over the years is that Leslie speakers sound so much better than chorus pedals partly because the speaker is the very last thing in the signal path and accumulates (for comb filtering) all the harmonic content along the way, in contrast to a pedal stuck near the front of the signal chain.

There will likely be a few trimpots on the board, two of which will be situated near the SAD1024.  One will be for balancing out the two parallel signal outputs of the SAD1024 for noise cancellation purposes.  Another will be for setting the bias voltage going into the SAD1024.  A third will likely be for setting the maximum regeneration, if memory serves.  You can't really "blow anything up" by tinkering with these, but you CAN affect the strength of the effect.  Misbiasing the input can make the delay signal either distorted, weak, or even absent.  Misbalancing the output can reduce the signal quality as well, though it doesn't eliminate the signal as the bias control can.

[Eddie]

I own two flangers right now the stompbox MXR (old) and the MXR flanger doubler( they sound very similiar despite they are different circuits!!!)
I never get that deep pronounced flange of "Ain`t talkin about love".
Eddie himself could not duplicate that sound well after 1978/1979(listen to bootlegs!).
Place the flanger in front of your amp. For Unchained after the distortion, load box etc.
I think that a good superlead on ten or Rich Mod /load box and greenback speakers are important.

Go to plexipalace.com and search the archives.


Good luck!


MXR

[RedHouse]

I've allways been of the opinion that the flanging in "Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love" was done by the engineer, like with an Eventide Flanger, triggering it from the mixing console as it only seems to be noticably pronounced on the C-B--A notes on the back-side of the riffs unlike the phase shifter which seems on all the time.

(Eventide Flangers and Harmonizers were very popular in the studios at that time)

[rtcook]

Thank you all for your input.  I will check this out further and will surely return to the forum if I need anymore assistance.

Thanks again,

Roger