Maxon FL-301 Flanger

This is a review of the now discontinued reissue series FL-301. I lucked out and picked one up on eBay for $75.

It's easy to use. 3 knobs: speed (controls rate of modulation), depth (controls width/depth/amount of modulation), regeneration (controls intensity of effect--higher settings are more extreme).

I find it sounds good in any setting.

Here's my current setup:

Strat or Les Paul into Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whin-o-wah > MJM Guitar FX 60's Vibe (univibe clone) > Fulltone '70 (silicone fuzz face) > Fulltone Distortion Pro > Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Analog Delay > amps.

I usually have a stereo amp configuration. Playing with a full band I use 2 Fender Blues Jr. amps, playing at home I use 2 Fender 5w class a amps, one is an old Vibro Champ and the other is a reissue Champion 600.

I'm still experimenting with where to put the FL-301 in my chain. At the moment it's between the Fulltone '70 and the Distortion Pro. Usually one thinks to put modulation effects after distortion, but there are some neat sound effects that flangers make in front of distortion. This flanger, having a buffered bypass, CAN'T go in front of the fuzz pedal (the '70). Buffers in front of fuzz pedals sound bad.

I think the FL-301 sounds sweet! It's rich, warm and organic sounding (I know, such cliches, but it's true). It does add a bit of volume when engaged, but it's better than a volume drop. I actually like the buffered bypass. It seems to beef up my tone a bit (I'm running thru a lot of pedals).

I play a psychedelic kind of funky blues, and this pedal adds a niiice flange effect to my arsenal. I love it.

I used to have a Fulltone Choralflange, and the flanging of the FL-301 sounds WAYYYY better. The Choralflange actually had crummy flanging, nice chorus, but lousy flanging.

I've had it for a pretty short period of time, but I don't predict problems based on Maxon's reputation.

I hope not to need it, since this is a discontinued pedal.

I think this is a really nice sounding, inexpensive Flanger pedal. It's too bad they discontinued it.

Like I said in above, it sounds better than the Flange sounds of the Fulltone Choralflange, which was MUCH more expensive.

If it were stolen I'd be upset and try to find another one. I might just buy a Deluxe Electric Mistress instead (though they're so big...)

I wish it had the Filter Matrix feature that the Deluxe Electric Mistress has (it allows you to stop the modulation rate and dial in freaky sounds with the regen and depth knobs.

Very easy to use. Comes with a manual but it's best to use your ear to determine what works well for you.

Dead quiet. In fact, the same can be said for virtually all Maxon effects. Very warm and transparent. I never got the same warm feeling from my MXR flanger. I prefer slower settings and this is where the effect excels. A very slight boost in volume but easily controlled if you know how to use the volume control on your guitar. The FL-301 works great with clean or overdriven tones. My signal path consists of a Melancan Pro-Artist T or G&L Comanche > Emma Discumbobulator > Keeley Compressor > Keeley Katana Boost > Maxon OD-808 > Maxon FL-301 > Maxon CS505 > heavily modified silverface Fender Twin Reverb w/JBL???s or Rivera M100 2x12 as backup.

Very reliable in over a year of touring. I personally love the switch. All of the effects in my chain have the same type of switch. Much easier to tell when the effect is engaged......and if the switch needs to be replaced it is a very easy fix. The same cannot be said of the square "Boss" type of switches.

I've never had to deal with customer support.

I play a melting pot of funk, jazz & blues. As stated before the pedal compliments my sound extremely well. I have always had very positive compliments on my tone. I would cetainly buy another if this pedal were lost. I have owned many flangers and this is narrowly my favourite over my long gone ADA.

Very easy to use. 3 knobs. Not too hard to figure out.

Excellent sound quality! Extremely quiet and transparent. I love the warm that it adds to your tone. It's unlike many sterile flangers out there. This has a creamy warmth to it that sets it apart. It is very transparent. When it's on, it really is very quiet and sounds excellent! One problem is that as the flange goes through it's cycle and reaches it's pinnacle, it breifly generates a rather loud hiss. When your volume is up, it's not that noticable, but at lower volumes, it can be a little distracting. The only other issue that this pedal has is that when you switch the unit on, it boosts your level. Some people might like this aspect, but given that you cannot control the boost, it's actually a downfall. Aside from these two problems, I absolutely love this pedal!

No problems yet. I have only had it for a couple months, but knowing Maxon, I'm sure that it will last a lifetime. The switch is a little wimpy, but works perfectly.

Don't know. Never had to deal with them. I love their website though. It's really cool to be able to listen to sound samples.

I play dreampop/shoegaze music and the pedal definitely lends itself well to the genre and my playing style. I am very satisfied with the 301. My only complaints are the hiss, uncontrolable volume boost and slightly wimpy switch. However, when considering the positive qualities of the pedal, I highly recommend the pedal. It really is the best flanger that I have owned or heard.

E-Z to use. Has the standard 3-knob setup like other flangers. Don't really need the manual but it is better than some others I've seen.

I used this with a 1996 Les Paul Studio through a Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber. Very nice flange sound yet transparent (Maxons are generally good about transparency). Not as lush as the 4-knob MXR but it does the job well.

No problems with this pedal.

Never needed to contact support.

I play several styles of music and this pedal does a great job anytime I need that warm flange sound. I don't have much of a need for it right now but it stays in my arsenal for the odd day that I do need it.

VERY EASY, NICE WARM TONE NOT TOO DRASTIC. I GOT IT FOR A BACK-UP FOR MY OLD FL-301 DX. GETS MORE CHORUS SOUNDS THAN MY OLD TRUSTY. BACK OFF THE REGENERATION GETS A CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE OLD 301 DX. I LIKE EFFECTS TO ENHANCE NOT COVER.

OLD LES PAUL, THROUGH OLD MARSHALL AMPS, EFFECT IS STRONG AND WARM, WITHOUT BEING OVERBEARING. GETS ALL THE SOUNDS I LIKE. UNCHAINED, PRIEST, METAL-GODS.ALOT BETTER THAN THE FL-9. I USED FOR YEARS.

I GUESS, I'VE OWNED MANY OLD IBANEZ FLANGERS THEY ALL WORKED GREAT!

NEVER DEALT WITH THEM, WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN!

WELL, I'VE BEEN COLLECTING FLANGERS FOR YEARS. I'D HAVE TO SAY THIS WAY BETTER THAN ANY BOSS FLANGE. BUT, THAT IS JUST MY OPINION. YOURS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT. IT'S A GREAT WARM FLANGE NOT OVERBEARING OR TINNY SOUNDING.

It depends on what you like because some peoples opinion of a good sound could be totally different from the next. i would say its fairly easy to dial in good noise (a minute of two of knob-twisting). finding your perfect setting will take a little longer but hey, thats true of almost every pedal.
The manual covers all effects in the reissue line. i disgard manuals upon opening the box.

My Setup: Guitars-2000 Reverend Slingshot, 98' American Standard Telecaster, '63 Fender Mustang. Amp-Fender Roc-pro head and marshall 1960a 4x12. Effects(in order)-boss tu-2, VOX V847 (moddedfor battery), Custom Distortion (DS-1 meets distortion +), boss hm-2, Jekyll & Hyde OD, boss tr-2, maxon fl-301, boss dd-5 (with footswitch).
Its very quiet.
The Effect is strong without sounding over processed or fake.
I have a loop but i run them all up front.
The sound is great! i love this little box to death! ive seen/used a number of flangers and this is one of the few that measures up. just like the ad says "boutique sounds at a decent price". its very warm and one of the coolest things is how well it plays with others, delay, wah, OD/distortion, all compliment it well. the sound changes axe-to-axe, its like a new effect everytime i plug another guitar in.

ive only had it a short while.
i would deffinatly gig with no backup.

N/A

I play Rock (of all kinds-including grunge and *gasp* emo), Blues, Punk, Surf/Ska, ive dabbled in electronica and i play some metal/thrash/speedmetal/hardcore just for fun.
I have been playing for 3 years. i also have a small PA, a drum kit and 2 pairs of shoes.
If stolen i would buy it again.
I love the sound, i do wish however that some big company would step out of the box and make a few weird looking pedals.
I compared it to: the boss BF-2&3 (for about a milisecond -no more boss!), EH electric mistress, the DOD flanger, and a few clones.
I wish it had a little black duck painted on it... oh wait! nevermind...

This is an update to my prior review dated 1/22/2002.

When I first used the Maxon Flanger the battery that was supplied was weak, and was creating all sorts of distortions. When I popped a fresh 9-volt into the pedal, all the noises cleared up, especially on the higher speed settings. Now I do not hear any bleed-through swooshing when I use this pedal. The sound is excellent.
The Maxon pedals have a LED for the battery indicator so I will know when I need to replace the 9-volt. I still believe that Maxon pedals are a great choice for musicians who want tremendous sounds without paying full boutique prices. Their pedals can be used for live or recording applications.

I received responses to my e-mail questions, very well written responses within a few days.

I was able to get most of the sounds I wanted out of this pedal within an hour, but it will take much longer to fully utilize this Flanger pedal because the controls are very responsive. It has three knobs- speed, width, and regeneration (a really cool name).

Sounds very good- a little bit drier and brighter than the EH Electric Mistress, and I can hear some swooshing noises when I stop playing that seem to leak through my amp's speakers, but its not too bad. I am using this pedal with a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Marshall AVT 50 watt amp. I can get a pretty strong phase sound with a certain setting that resembles Eric Clapton's sound with Cream on his big hit "Badge" from the Goodbye Cream album. I bought a flanger because its capable of producing certain strong phase and chorus effects as well as flange, though I also own the Maxon CS-505 Stereo Chorus.

Seems well made. The switch is OK but could have been of better quality.

They e-mailed me back in response to a question I had so they seem responsible.

I have been playing blues/rock for the past 20 years and I wanted a Flanger to complete my collection of modulation effects, which includes an original EH Small Stone from the 1970's, a Maxon Stereo Chorus CS-505, and a new EH Deluxe Memory Man (analog delay and chorus).