Flangers.. where in the chain?

skunkwerx Frets: 7102
17 Dec, 2024
I've decided to pick one up, a TC electronic Thunderstorm because it was £35 from Andertons.. figured it was worth a punt. 

Never used one before apart from the Katanas in built one and even then I never cared to look where in the chain it was set! 

Currently I have a pedalboard with my wah, octave and dirt going into the front of the amp, and my chorus, delay and reverb in the FX loop. 

I predominantly use amp distortion. 
I see posts online regarding flangers and placement before vs after dirt. 

I guess the kind of flangey sound (I'm not looking to nail it) I would be going for is Van Halen 'Aint talkin bout love' , that kind of vibe. 

I could experiment for myself but.. it's not here yet!

Comments
I very much prefer flanger before drive and I would expect EVH had his flanger in front of a cooking amp (unless it was added afterwards when mixing).


Placed before drive, I find flanging far more organic and 'chewy' - after, it's more metallic and 'whooshy' and takes over the sound a lot more.
skunkwerx said:
I've decided to pick one up, a TC electronic Thunderstorm because it was £35 from Andertons.. figured it was worth a punt. 

Never used one before apart from the Katanas in built one and even then I never cared to look where in the chain it was set! 

Currently I have a pedalboard with my wah, octave and dirt going into the front of the amp, and my chorus, delay and reverb in the FX loop. 

I predominantly use amp distortion. 
I see posts online regarding flangers and placement before vs after dirt. 

I guess the kind of flangey sound (I'm not looking to nail it) I would be going for is Van Halen 'Aint talkin bout love' , that kind of vibe. 

I could experiment for myself but.. it's not here yet!

I’d say in the fx loop like a chorus as it’s rather like a chorus 
I prefer before drive - after drive dominates the sound too much and makes the treble really shrieky at the top end of the sweep. Before drive makes things nice and fat and gloopy.
Sporky Frets: 31530
18 Dec, 2024
All modulation should be before dirt.

So, really, should delay and reverb. 

Dirt should be last. 
It depends what sound you're going for, but I run my flanger after dirt, same with my other modulation pedals. However I rarely use it in combination with a dirt pedal.
skunkwerx Frets: 7102
18 Dec, 2024
Cheers all I'll have a play then! 
I'd prefer before but mine was a bit noisy until I moved it to the effects loop ;-/
For EVH you probably want to put it pre-dirt, but you should try both and see which you prefer.

Here's a quote from Eddie talking about his use of the MXR (117?) flanger:

"I always use the same setting for everything, from the intro to “And the Cradle Will Rock…” to “Unchained,” with the exception of the setting I used on the intro to “Outta Love Again” and “Bullethead.”

I set the three knobs on the left between 11 o’clock or 11:30, and the last knob on the right [regeneration] is all the way up. I might fine-tune the speed a little to match it to the tempo of the song, like on “Unchained” "

SRich Frets: 790
18 Dec, 2024
Just next door..............oh sorry that's NED FLANGERS............... ;)
thomasw88 Frets: 2381
22 Dec, 2024
prefer it in the loop personally. If no loop I still have it after drive pedals.  Tend to use flanger with a slow speed and quite deep range. 
Well, OP, has it arrived yet? How do you like it?
fretmeister Frets: 26242
23 Dec, 2024
Phaser and Flanger before dirt along with some types of echoplex delay. Cleaner delays and verbs in the loop.

Chorus should be in 1985 or in the bin.
Majorscale Frets: 1606
23 Dec, 2024
Phaser and Flanger before dirt along with some types of echoplex delay. Cleaner delays and verbs in the loop.

Chorus should be in 1985 or in the bin.
Correct on all accounts!  :)
ICBM Frets: 75721
23 Dec, 2024
I like flanger after the main distortion so it has that really intense swirling jet-engine character. A little overdrive after it is OK, but too much and it turns to mush - the same with chorus. I like phaser after distortion too, although it's also fine before it.

There's nothing to stop you doing all of these though... eg:

Fuzz > phaser > distortion (or preamp overdrive) > flanger > chorus > overdrive (or power stage overdrive).
Philtre Frets: 4322
23 Dec, 2024
To before, or not before, that is the question.

Flangelet (Act 3, Scene 1).
https://youtu.be/FMgYlmv6vuo?si=6YByx_wDQOXWkiec

At about the 42 minute mark on this they demonstrate the difference between phaser pre and post drive (preamp)
skunkwerx Frets: 7102
27 Dec, 2024
Well, OP, has it arrived yet? How do you like it?
Hiya bud, yeah flanger arrived and can't grumble for £35! I've just run it in front of the amp so far pre-dirt and sounds good enough for what I was going for, but I may yet experiment with post dirt!