MXR Flanger

Lots of great sounds to be had if you are willing to spend some time experimenting.It doesn't take long to figure out what each knob does and the combinations that really work. The LED is very handy, as is the placement of the jacks on opposite sides of the pedal. The power jack is a nice feature as it makes it easy to operate the pedal with an 18v supply. The cords on the originals could be a real pain on a crowded pedalboard.

Sounds real thick and full of harmonics. You can get very subtle sounds in the area of chorus/doubling and phasing, or you can go to extremes and do the whole EVH/jet plane trip. All the classic flanging sounds you could want are in this pedal. Turning the knob all the way down to stop the flanging at a single portion of the range, as opposed to it sweeping the entire range, gives some great Police-Pink Floyd tones. Compared to the original MXR Flangers this one sounds real close, maybe even a bit quieter at that.

I have had several of the newer MXR pedals and only one had issues. As with the originals, MXR houses its units in a solid metal box. The switches seem very sturdy as well.

They are real good about answering emails and when I had a pedal that died they were reasonable about fixing it. Of course, I wasn't happy I had to pay the shipping, but other companies I have sent pedals back to for repairs did the same thing.

If you want the classic MXR Flanger but can't afford the original/vintage pedals - or aren't willing to take the chance on a 20-30 year old pedal still being roadworthy - this is a fine alternative. It has the sounds you want, and the power jack, LED, and is quieter than many of the originals. I had an original version and am happy to say this is just as good.

eASY TO GET A GOOD SOUND , very THERE'S A NEW EFFECT EACH TIME I USE IT

eDITING CAN BE HARD, SAY WHAT? 4 KNOBS THAT INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER ,
TOGETHER AND SEPARATELY, DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE, WELL CAN BE A PAIN CAUSE CHANGING ONE WILL CHANGE THE OTHER

NO MANUAL WOULD WANT ONLY TO SEE SPECS(INPUT OUTPUT IMPEDANCE, NO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND OHMS KILOHMS ETC.. BUT FOR WHAT, ALTHOUGH I WILL GET TO THAT LATER

I RUN THIS BEFORE DISTORTION BOSS METAL ZONE(LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MT-2) SOUNDS STRANGE BUT WILL EXPLAIN LATER

NOT NOISY SOMETIMES GET THAT POP FROM FOOTSWITCH BUT IT STOPS AFTER SOME CURRENT IS GOIN THRU IT

FX ARE NOT WEAK BUT THIS IS AN OLDER ANALOG PEDAL AND THEY DON'T MAKE EM LIKE THEY USED TO SO THE TRADEOFF FOR VINTAGE TONE IS THAT IT DOES DROP VOLUME AND SUCK SOME TONE, MOSTLY IF SET UP AT THE END OF YOUR CHAIN IT HINK IT NEEDS A BUFFER

I CAN GET EVH, DIMEBAG , CURE, SIOUXSIE, POLICE SOUNDS THAT ARE THE REAL DEAL, IF I COULD JUST COMBINE ALL OF THOSE BANDS AND NOT THINK TOO HARD ABOUT IT WHILE IM JAMMIN THAT WOULD BE WHAT I WOULD SOUND LIKE. IN AN AMP FX LOOP IT WILL SUCK SOME HIGH END FOR SURE SO I USE OUT FRONT OF AMP MAYBE HOW IT WAS DESIGNED SINCE MOST AMPS DIDN'T HAVE FX LOOPS WHEN IT WAS MADE

SUPER RELIABLE BUT FLAWS IN DESIGN , BOTH JACKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE ? AND THE TONE DROP; COULD BE MY SETUP. THER'S NO WAY THIS PEDAL COULD BE RUN ON A DAISY CHAIN AND A 9V ADAPTER AND SOUND THE SAME BUT THAT EXTRA PLUG DARNIT

THE EVH REISSUE I DON'T THINK HAS SAME WARM ANALOG SOUND. HARDLY ANY INFO ON IT MAYBE A SCHEMATIC ON THE WEB

ALL KINDS EXCEPT FOR LIKE DEATH METAL 7 STRING STUFF I WOULD IF I WERE GOOD ENOUGH AND COULD GET THAT KIND OF A SOUND

PLAYING A FEW YRS SERIOUSLY

NO STEALING ALLOWED KNOCK ON WOOD

IBANEZ OLD SCHOOL FLANGERS ARE COOL HAVEN'T HEARD THE A/DA OR THE REAL ELECTRIC MISTRESS IN THE FLESH
SOME DIGITAL FLANGERS ARE COOL UP UNTIL THE REGEN PARAMETER KILLS YOU TO HEAR LIKE THE BOSS BF-2

IT CAN GET IN THE WAY IF CRANKED LEVELS TO THE MAX WHICH IS WHAT I ALWAYS DO ANYWAY. I SHUT IT OFF IF I AM DOING A BLUESY TYPE LEAD UNTIL I GET A BUFFER IN THE CHAIN

GOTTASTO HAVE IT LOOKED AT WONDERING IF ONE OF THE CHIPS MIGHT BE GOIN BAD BUT DON'T WANT TO PAY. $50. AT THE SWAP MEET ODDS ARE 1000/1 AND BEST PEDAL I'VE EVER OWNED

not that easy to use if you don't know what you're doing as all 4 knobs have a large range and interact with each other, so the amount variation is alot! i've had very little experience with flangers before (the only other one i had one was on a boss gt-3).
mine came with a manual that had the 'classic jet plane' example but no others. however, i'd already read these reviews and printed off caboose's examples before i'd even bought it - so i'd just like to say thanks to caboose who first reviewed this pedal - your settings really are fantastic and a great help so thanks alot!

excellent. sounds huge, rich and organic compared to the flanger on the boss gt3 that i got rid of a few years back. with the boss, i couldn't get anywhere near VH's unchained/hear about later/push comes to shove/aint talkin bout love...etc, or even Thin Lizzy's chinatown sound, but i can with the mxr.
its got fairly quiet switching, not as silent as a boss pedal, but then all the metal button style switches i've ever used have had varying degress of 'pop' to them and this mxr is on the quiet end of the scale.
when the effect is switched off, there is absolutley no difference in noise levels or tone loss (tested on its own and not in a chain of other fx) compared to just plugging straight into my amp on the high gain channel at any volume. this is the complete opposite of my ehx small stone phaser that annoyingly (and unusably) swooshes very loudly when turned off whether hi gain or clean channel. i've never tried the likes of the vintage ada flangers that are supposed to be among the best ever made so i'll give this one a 9.

solidly made and fairly weighty. the knobs are not recessed so may be vulnerable, but the knob shafts are metal. the jacks are quite tight to plug into as well, and i noticed that they are pcb mounted which seems to be the standard way of manufacturing nowadays.
the battery covers are made ok and are convenient, but i'd much prefer an inconvenient solid metal base, as that would not only make the unit more beer proof and solid, but it would also make placing velcro on the bottom alot easier - if you stick any velcro on the battery covers they will rip themselves out of the pedal when you take it off your board - be warned!

i've not had any experience with dunlop customer service whatsoever.

Great pedal. very pricey, but i felt better about splashing out when i managed to get it from the cheapest source i could find at the time in the UK, which was from the planet of sound ebay shop for ??105 plus about ??8 delivery and saved myself nearly ??40 off the average price. i don't use the pedal that much as it's not the sort of effect you can use all the time but i'm still very glad that i got it. i was considering the evh one but i couldn't justify the extra cost, and besides, this one comes with the dunlop 18v power supply included at no extra cost and the evh doesn't. this one also matches the colour of my gun metal grey les paul as well so i just had to have it!

Very easy to get a good sound out. Four knobs as everyone knows. Mine is almost always left in one of two spots.

It's used with an old Ibanez compressor, delay and tube screamer.
It is a bit on the noisy side, always has been. Doesn't matter what settings are used.
It either gives me a shimmering effect that is not overdone but really adds to guitar for those parts. It also does a really good leslie/rotovibe. True, it's 2D, not 3D but one could always run amps in stereo with delay and get some 3D action. The sound will never bounce around the room like a leslie but many times you won't want that.
Set correctly, it can sound much like Robin Trower.
I even plug my keyboards into it to get a leslie-like sound and it works well there too.
I rated it a 9 only because of the noise.

Mine was built in 1978. It's only missing one cover screw off bottom. I guess it's built well. It still works after I've punished it for 30+ years though I do need to shoot some cleaner in the foot switch. It scratches now and then.

MXR is gone but not forgotten.
It's never needed repair.

I play several styles when I have to. It works for everything.
Been playing for about 35 years.
Have too much gear to list here.
If it were lost or stolen I would look for another old unit just like this and pay the dough for it. It's been part of my sound for so long that I'd be lost without it.
My favorite thing about it is that after playing clean or without it and then kicking it in it adds to my sonic pallet in a way that sounds huge and natural. Forget chorus and others - this is all you need.
I heard some of the newer ones and don't care for them. They sound sterile to me.

This is my 3rd MXR pedal and a great addition. I found it easy to get a good sound out of it straight away and liked the analog flangers compared with tinny digital ones. I used to have a boss flanger years ago and it was good too, but this is smoother and has more class.

I always liked two artists flanger sounds: van halen and prince from purple rain album. This pedal allows me to get those sounds. I use this in front of an amp and love its rich timbres and expression to the sound. I dont use it a lot with distortion but mainly with clean tones and its lush. Its a little noisey...mainly just the whirling noice of the flanging soundwaves. It actually sounds kinda spooky. I use it in front of a JSX combo, haven't tried it in the FX loop yet.

Its built well, solid metal and nice knobs (it also comes with an alternative 2nd style of knob you can swap). The battery compartment looks cheap and the batteries themselves are contained in what looks like hand cut cheap clear plastic. I could imagine it being easy to loose both the battery covers or damage the inside while changing batteries.

Never dealth with them.

This pedal is great for a range of music both distorted and clean. I think it sounds lusher on a clean setting and can be a little muddy on heavy distortion. Ive been playing for 20 years and own a bunch of other MXR pedals, many guitars and a JSX amp. Im trying not to have too many pedals and so thats why Id rather buy quality pedals like this. Other flanger pedals might give you a more 'far out' sound but this has that classic quality analog tone like you hear on 'lets go crazy' by prince or van halens 'beautiful girls'. I always loved that sound and disliked many other flangers for being to fake sounding or high in treble. The only thing I really dont like about it is I always mess up the knob settings when I stomp on it. They're really touchy so when I stomp it I often end up changing the settings. Perhaps the knobs could have been a little stiffer.

It's cake. 4 knobs and each one is clearly worthy of it's particular function and is in my case, very sensitive. My main note for this unit is "chain placement". Make sure you try different placements in your effects chain. I have all of pedals grouped like so: modulation -to- filters -to- overdrive -to- distortion -to- boost -to- reverb -to- delay -to- switchers/clean boost/AB's etc... It's a very clean, quiet and stout when used early in the chain. Typically, a leslie effect should be placed last in your chain but i put my flanger in with the modulation stuff cause that's what it is. AC cord for power and 2 1/4" jacks for in/out on the right side which is great for wiring (in my case).

I have 16 pedals in my chain (all in front of the amp ala 70's players) and i have had mine modded to true bypass and had an LED added. I must note that before i had this pedal modded, it was dead quiet and i haven't noticed any difference in noise or quality since haveing it modded which basically speaks alot fot the quality craftmanship of MXR in the 70's. I get the most amazing leslie sound out of this pedal ever and i've tried them all. If you know what leslie vibe you're looking for, just keeping tweeking and you'll find it with this Flanger. My settings to get a kick-ass Leslie sound are: MANUAL=10/WIDTH=4/SPEED=10/REGEN=7/ Let me remind you i have the original 70's MXR unit and that there is an ENORMOUS difference in tone when compared to the reissue version. They just don't make MXR pedals like they used to.

Premium componets, excellent, hand-made, no rush craftmanship. They just don't make MXR pedals like they used to. I would and have gigged without a back-up. These are rugged, tough and withstand decades odf abuse in my experience.

I give em' a "7" because i don't know how well they handle customers. But, I've never had to call nor had a problem and i've owned many of their pedals over many years.

I play rock, reggae, worldbeat, pop and indie. I've played for 10 years and i run this pedal witin a massive pedal board filled with boutique pedals and into 2 amps: Peavey Tweed Classic 50 4x10 combo and a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2x12 combo. This pedal does a killer reggae,leslie organ sound. I love it. It's dead-quiet even without the mod and sounds/works like a tank on a tone mission. It's the best flanger and leslie pedal ever! I get my vibes from a '78 Fender Telecaster Deluxe and a '71 Les Paul Custom. I have compared this to variosu phasers with extreme settings, the Option5 Destination Rotation, Sweetsound MojoVibe and the Carl Masrtin Chorus. This unit outdoes them all functionally and sonically!

Very easy to get a GREAT sound out of it. No duff settings anywhere on the dial - except for when you go into manual mode (which I dont do anyway) where, only at the extreme counter-clockwise position there is a faint high pitched background "whistle" like a short delay with loads of feedback/regenerating. The only fault but like I say no sweat as it's only evident at this extreme setting which I never use.

Awesome flanger. Blows the Boss FL whatever it was into the next universe. No comparison. I've owned the Boss and an Ibanez FL303 back in the mid 1970's when I blew a staggering #69 of my student grant on one. The MXR was out of my reach in those days and I am only sorry I didnt indulge myself years ago. LOvely pure sound with no discernable distortion. The Boss used to make some 'orrible thin noises. I finally see what all the fuss was about...
No mines isnt noisy.
See my MXR Dynacomp review if you are interested in my gear. The gear you use with it is bound to effect the resulting sound.

Only just got it.

NO idea

Floyd etc etc etc. Rock blues spacey nodles... See above. Makes a great chorus sound too... In fact I've always preferd subtle flanging to chorus...

Other than learning the settings, it doesnt get any easier!

Crystal Clear Flanging with NO unwanted noise! This is the best flanger I have ever heard! I use it with a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier run through the effects loop. I can get clear VH sound flanging with ease! I also have ESP guitars, SWITCH guitars, Fender Strat and a Kramer.

Dependability is the best! This unit is encased in hardened steel. I havent seen one built any better! The come in 110V and 220V. I have not had any problems.

Never had to get it repaired and have never dealt with customer service.

I bought it off of EBAY from England. I have one of the older units, which is what I wanted and is Vintage. It was a little pricy but well worth the money. I personally would buy a vintage unit before I would buy a newer one. I have to give this unit an overall 9. I think $200 is a lot for one effect but it is nice to have in my rig.

Relatively straightforward and transparent, just turn the knobs and listen. It may take a while to find your sound since there are many possibilities depending on how you adjust the knobs.
Mine is the original version with LED, i.e. AC plug, both jacks on the right, made in 1981.

There is some audible hiss, and that is a bit of a turn off for me.
This pedal is way more than the engine of "Unchained". It allows a multitude of sounds and all are usable. I've tried other flangers and found their range of usability limited in that one must be extremely careful to avoid tin can sounds.
This MXR pedal produces chorus-like sounds from slight sweep to heavy dissonance, sounds reminiscent of phasing, and yes, the typical Van Halen flanging. I hear many sounds on records from the 70s and 80s which can be reproduced here: Police, Rush, Led Zeppelin, VH,...

Absolutely.

Well, there is no more MXR...

I like it but after all it's just an effect pedal. As such it has its applications but I could live without it. I mostly have it off but sometimes I like to space out a bit. For that it's great! It won't make you play better or faster. It's really just an effect and as that it's pretty good when used with taste. When used too much and without aim it makes you sound boring and empty.
I thought in the past about selling it but my love for vintage gear makes me keep it. I'm not a collector but maybe a bit sentimental since I did most of my growing up in the 70s and 80s, and this gear reminds me of some good stuff that went down back then.

Someone may find it difficult to get "his sound" quickly because of four knobs on the deck, but after some time you'll find out which knob controls the part of sound you need to change.
On the Dunlop's site you can get the short manual, where they explain the usage of knobs.
My MXR is an original one (from the 80's), and the feeding lead is permanently attached to the box, so I don't have to care about the feeder or battery.
There is one disadvantage: it doesn't have a LED, so it may cause some problems during playing live.

I use:
Jackson JS20 /two jackson singles and one dimarzio paf classic humbucker/ - Cry baby gcb95 - MXR FLANGER - Laney AOR Pro Tube 50 Combo

As i mentioned, my box is original, second hand MXR Flanger (with input and output on the right side), not a Dunlop reissue. Honestly, I haven't ever heard DUnlop's one so I can't compare them.

When plugged and switched off it doesn't make noise, when I switch it on and don't play, it makes a little hiss , but it's probably the result of the fact, that my socket is unearthed.

The effect sounds great on the clean, and also when it's flanging the overdrive :) but as far as I'm concerned I use it rather on the clean.
It's almost a multieffect: you can get wide flanger sound, light chorus, wet vibrato, even phasing effects (some are really wicked).
You've got a wide range of sounds to get and it's really worth sitting for hours and fighting with knobs.

I got involved with this box when i heard that not only my god Randy Rhoads used to use it, but also it was one of the stuff of Eddie van Halen.

When you put it into the effects loop, it sounds great with the overdrive (do ya remember Unchained or Ain't talkin' 'bout love? - that's that)

Oh yeah, you can trust it! It's built like a black box. It doesn't have inside any space for battery, nor the cover, so it's secured from dust, ash, sand, snow, flour or cocaine:)
The guy I bought it from had used it for about ten years, and it had been already second hand stuff. Now, it's about twenty years old and the only thing changed inside was the transformer (due to European 230~ V in the sockets), none of the "sound parts" were repaired or changed.
I haven't owned it for a long time (no gigs, live performances, only home playing so far) so I give it 9 not 10

I haven't need (and none of the previous owners had) to have it repaired.

I play many kinds of music, but i rather prefer heavier style's (Ozzy, Black sabbath, BLS, System of a down, Rammstein, Satriani, Malmsteen). However, i use flanger most often when playing something mine, or the clean parts of covers.

If I lost it, it would be hard to find this model in Poland, but I would strive to get one.

I really recommend it because of very very wide range of sounds, and their quality.

In comparison with boss's BF2 it sounds more 'natural' (to me BOSS is too 'plastic').

Honestly, this box makes me play more without overdrive, and I think it's necesarry sometimes.

Once again I give 9 not 10, because the sound depends on many conditions, and it has some (but really not many) 'things that should not be':D

Please, write if you've got any questions or suggestions.
Sorry 'bout my english.
Pozdro dla polskich wioslarzy:D [yo, polish guitarists:)]