For years I have listen to countless recordings of artists using flange effects. But most of all, I have followed Edward Van Halen’s use of the flanger. I always wanted to know how he achieved his tone and sound. Eddie Van Halen used to joke around and mislead everyone in how he obtained his sound, but then years later he opened up and shared his secret.

The MXR Flanger was his secret weapon he confessed. Eddie has been using Analog Pedals since the beginning of his career in the 1970’s, and the Flanger made it’s way into several recordings later on in the 1980’s.

Even with the knowledge of what pedals he uses, it still wasn’t enough. I was able to get close in replicating the sound of Van Halen, but it was not close enough. I didn’t want to copy their sound. I wanted a unique sound of my own, but I still wanted to know how he got that incredible tone.

Well, Dunlop/MXR took the M-117 Flanger and re-issued it with an added feature. The EVH-117 was born with a new paint job resembling Eddie Van Halen’s famous Black & White Stripped guitar. The new paint job alone could help you channel Eddie’s tone…well, almost…

Dunlop added an additional Button called the “EVH Button” that allows you to recall the same settings Eddie used on the song UNCHAINED. The added feature allows you to obtain a little of his tone, but still doesn’t make you play like him. The EVH Button also lights up when activated.

One of the things I really like about the pedal is the large, beefy knobs. Dunlop included covers for all four knobs so that you can use your foot during a performance to adjust the settings on the fly. Each knob (as well as the EVH Button) all have Glow-in-the-Dark markers, allowing you to see the knobs on a dark stage.

The four knobs control Manual, Width, Speed, and Regeneration. The Manual knob the degree of the effect and the Width controls the intensity of the effect. Turn the Width off, you turn off the “delay”, turn it up and you get that “sweeping” sound. The Speed it the fun knob. It controls….get this…the speed of the effect (go figure). The speed of the sweeping sound is increased (or decreased) with this knob. Turn it up, and you get a ray-gun effect. From basic swirling sounds to space ship/ray gun sounding effects are achieved this way. The Regen (or Regeneration) knob allows you to reproduce the sound over itself. Kind of like Reverb or Echo effect on an amp (or other pedal)

The housing is made up of Zinc, and has some weight to it. Adding a degree of durability to the unit, especially if you abuse your equipment. I don’t abuse my equipment…I have an advanced paranoia of my equipment being damaged. The knobs are fairly heavy duty, and the footswitch is quite sturdy. I haven’t had to adjust the tightness on it yet (it’s been a year since I bought the unit) The unit sits up on four small rubber feet located on each corner.

The input and output jacks are on each side of the unit, which is a preference of mine. I have seen some companies put the jacks on the top (like Danelectro), but I feel they should be on the side. It’s easier, in my opinion, to link pedals together this way.

One complaint I have about the unit, is that the EVH Button is very small. You have to reach down and press it, especially if you have bulky shoes on (like my Adio’s), because you end up bumping the Manual and Width knobs while trying to hit the EVH Button. But it’s not a big complaint.

The unit drains the life out of the two 9 Volt Batteries, so it’s recommended that you invest in the 18 Volt Power Adapter or the Dunlop DC-Brick Power Supply. It seemed like every 2 to 3 days I would have to change the batteries, until I invested in the power adapter.

I really like this pedal, and it’s worth every penny I spent on it. Not only is it a guitar pedal, you can also use it with a bass guitar. You can even use it with your keyboard and vocals. I mostly use it with my guitar and bass, but I have had an occasion or two where I used it with my keyboards. Eddie Van Halen used it not only with his guitar as heard on the songs UNCHAINED and HEAR ABOUT IT LATER, but he also used it with keyboards on the song …AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and the instrumental SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THE PARK.

If you have the opportunity to pick this pedal up, don’t pass it up. If you enjoy adding interesting effects to your guitar (or keyboard) playing, you should try this pedal out.

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COMPANY CONTACT INFO

MAIL:

Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc.
PO Box 846
Benicia, CA 94510
USA

PHONE:

707-745-2722
800-722-3434 (Tech Support)

FAX:

707-745-2658

EMAIL:

customerservice@jimdunlop.com (General Questions)

techsupport@jimdunlop.com (Tech Support)

artistrelations@jimdunlop.com (Artist Relations)

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[PRODUCT]
MXR EVH-117 Flanger

[MANUFACTURER]
Dunlop/MXR

[YEAR of RELEASE]
2006
(Made in the USA)

[M.S.R.P.]
$189.99 (list $319.99)

[BATTERIES REQUIRED?]
9 Volt Battery (x2)

or

Dunlop ECB-004 18VDC Adapter (not included)

[DIMENSIONS & SPECIFICATIONS]

5” x 3 ¾” x 1 ½”
1.5 lbs
Zinc (casing)

Control Knobs (x4)
Manual/Width/Speed/Regen

Footswitch (x1)

EVH Button

Input Jack (x1)
Output Jack (x1)

Power Adapter Jack (x1)
18volt (+ Barrel/ - Center)

Battery Compartments (x2)
9volt Battery

Red LED Light (x1)
on/bypass Indicator

[WARRANTY]

One Year Limited Factory Warranty (Sales Slip Required)
Non-Transferable


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RELATED WEBSITES

http://www.jimdunlop.com
http://www.samedaymusic.com

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MUSIC 101

*Flanging is a time-based audio effect that occurs when two identical signals are mixed together, but with one signal time-delayed by a small and gradually changing amount, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum, related to each other in a linear harmonic series. Varying the time delay causes these to sweep up and down the frequency spectrum.

Part of the output signal is usually fed back to the input (a 're-circulating delay line'), producing a resonance effect which further enhances the intensity of the peaks and troughs. The phase of the fed-back signal is sometimes inverted, producing another variation on the flanging sound.

The name flanging comes from the original method of creation. Originally, a signal would be recorded to two tape machines simultaneously. The playback-head output from these two recorders was then mixed together onto a third recorder. In this form, minute differences in the motor speeds of each machine would result in a phasing effect when the signals were combined. The "flange" effect originated when an engineer would literally put a finger on the flange, or rim of one of the tape reels so that machine was slowed down, slipping out of sync by tiny degrees. A listener would hear a "drainpipe" sweeping effect as shifting sum-and-difference harmonics were created. When the operator removed his finger the tape sped up again, making the effect sweep back in the other direction.
Alternatively, the track could be recorded to two matching tape decks first, then replayed simultaneously with both decks closely in sync. With this method, slowing down one deck by pressing the tape reel flange would "sweep" the flange effect in one direction, but when released the playback of that deck would remain slightly behind the other, and the effect would not sweep back. Instead, pressing the flange of the other deck would sweep the effect back in the other direction as the tape position of the decks move toward being in sync again.


A flanger is a device dedicated to creating this sound effect.*

*Info courtesy of “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanging”


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© COPYRIGHT 2008 Chris_Billings

Listen to My Music at….

www.purevolume.com/theamplifiedhitman
www.purevolume.com/onemessagereceived


Recommended: Yes