PHASE VS CHORUS VS FLANGE
WHAT ' S THE DIFFERENCE ?
FLANGE
Launching of flanging This can be incredibly dramatic , as evidenced by the lead riffs of hard rock classics like Van Halen ' s “ Unchained ” and Heart ' s “ Barracuda ”. Before the arrival of the pedals we all know and love , flanging was created in those good analog recording studios using this process :
1 . Record a song or part of a song , on two separate recorders .
2 . Rewind and place the tapes at the exact same starting point , and press play on both machines at the same time .
3 . Modify the speed of one of the machines by pressing a finger against the outer flange from the spool of tape to slow it down a hair . This action puts the two machines out of sync due to the slight random delay created by finger pressure on the flange of one machine compared to the other " intact " machine .
The Score Magazine
44 highonscore . com
PHASE
As mentioned above , phases and flanger are often confused due to how similar they can sometimes sound , especially when the frequency of a phase pedal is adjusted rather slowly . The hiss / swirl it creates makes the sound of the guitar seem to move away from you and then back .
Some great examples of the set-up are Led Zeppelin ' s “ The Rover ,” Queen ' s “ Keep Yourself Alive ,” and of course Van Halen ' s epic “ Eruption ”. The reason phasing and flanging are often confused is understandable because they occur in a similar but different way , if that ' s not a classic example of an oxymoron in action ! The similarity : just like a flanger , a phase pedal splits the original signal in two , leaves one alone , but messes with the other , then mixes the two back together , and voila - the desired effect is created . The Difference : While both flange and phase pedals have a sweep function ( another similarity ), the way these two sweeps are created is completely different .
1 . The signal is divided into two identical paths .
2 . One of the pairs is left as is , while the other passes through a series of modulated full-pass filters , changing its phase around certain frequencies .
3 . The two signals , filtered and unfiltered , are remixed , creating a series of notches that are swept up and down the frequency range by an LFO .
4 . 4 . The speed of this sweep is determined by , wait , the speed knob or pedal speed .
CHORUS
How does a chorus pedal work ? This will be yet another instance of déjà vu due to the similarity between the way the chorus is created and flanging . There are differences , of course , but they are definitely quite related , not only in the way they are formed , but sometimes sonically as well . In fact , one of the artists considered synonymous with chorus is Andy Summers of the multiplatinum British pop band The Police . However , in reality , by Andy ' s own admission , his early " chorus " sounds , which many consider classic , were actually created via a modified Electro- Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger / Filter Matrix pedal . The guitar signal is split in two : one of the signals is left alone , while the other signal is left alone . subject to a short , cyclical modulated delay - sound familiar ? When these signals are combined , the desired chorus sound is created . What happens is this : when the delay time of a signal increases , the opposite happens and its pitch falls relatively . You can hear such a change in pitch by turning the delay time control of a delay pedal back and forth while playing , as long as the pedal is " on ", of course ! That said , the delay time increases and decreases that occur in a chorus pedal are very small and also cycle with perfect consistency .