Tape Phase/Flange

[Michael P.]

Anyone have any suggestions for a pedal that sounds like authentic tape phase? I've heard plenty of cool phasers, but none that sound like the real, old-tech, "use-yer-hands" deal.

[ExpAnonColin]

Not to be all stuck up and technical, but actually, phasers were created as an early solid state simulation of tape flanging.  No phasers actually really sounded like flangers, but at the time they were really the only alternative for someone who wanted to do it more "live".  The principal is the the same, there is a modulated slight delay in the signal that is then mixed with a dry signal to create that out of phase effect... except the phasers delay is as big as a few capacitors and the flangers is typically a few milliseconds.  In terms of getting that sound, the best thing to do would be to get an actual flanger, preferably a flexible one like an ADA flanger where you'd be sure to find a sound you liked.

-Colin

[puretube]

At the moment being ( :wink: ),
there`s exactly 1 pedal on the market to do this:
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2003/Paradox-TZF.html

[petemoore]

Gotta LOVE ZERO Thourough Flanging...was that a low flying jet or Superman flying around playing guitar?

[puretube]

IIRC, "Phasers" firstly came as another attempt to simulate rotating spkrs.
:?:

[Mark Hammer]

Tape flanging involved use of synchronously recorded tape decks where speed could be electronically varied, not unlike the way you could adjust pitch to be slightly sharp or flat on your old vinyl turntables.  When the two decks were played back, one would have its speed varied.  Since the tape motor speed could be made faster than normal, that permitted the speed-varied copy to actually move ahead in time, or "through zero".  The point where the varied signal passes through zero yields some interesting sounds and the sense that the signal has sort of folded into itself, partly because of a momentary dramatic drop in overall amplitude.

Normal analog flangers use a single delay chip which typically can only *almost* catch up to the non-delayed signal, but can never really pass it and be ahead in time.  Consequently, although some flangers with particularly wide sweep ranges can yield dramatic effects, they never quite nail the through zero thing.

HOWEVER, if the "clean" signal is delayed ever so slightly so that you can't really detect the lag (say, a msec or so), the swept/delayed signal can not only catch up to it but can move ahead in time just enough to produce through zero effects.  To the best of my knowledge, the FoxRox Paradox Flanger is the only commercial product that does this, and it does it in quite convincing fashion.

You CAN mimic this with other equipment, though, and well over 20 years ago Craig Anderton explained how very nicely.  If you happen to have a pair of E-H Electric Mistresses and a small 2-in-1-out mixer, plus the requisite patchcords, here's what you do:

1) Set the first flanger for "filter matrix", so that there is no sweep, and just the slightest touch of delay.

2) Feed the dry output to the second EM, and the *delay* output to the mixer.

3) Set the 2nd flanger to sweep.

4) Feed the *delay only* to the other inpit of the mixer.

Vola! Through zero flanging.

[Michael P.]

I gotta build another one? I still haven't housed my first one! :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Actually, I thought that this might be as difficult as a question I asked on the old forum about a pedal to simulate Artificial Double Tracking. Seems like the variables are related, and differ only by degree - correct?

[puretube]

I`ve seen a lot of FX units that had ADT just by mixing dry & slight delayed (few ms, no feedback) - no 2nd delay involved.