Post by freekingprawn on Mar 8, 2016 0:44:34 GMT
Ibanez Classic Series Flange FL-99 [sort of review-ish]
This is going to be a hard one to do a proper review, I will not go into full detail as I like to do because Flangers are a bit hard to describe, so bare with me:
One of those lucky days:
I got very very lucky in catching this gem of a pedal at a local online site just 10 minutes after the poster put it up for sale.
As soon as I layed my eyes on it and saw the price he was asking for it I didn't even blink and called him right away. Luckily the seller lives close to where I live and we met for the deal. Quite a friendly guy and also a gear aficionado. Has quite the collection of oddities and we seem to share the same taste for both guitars and music in general. And for the superfluous amount the guy was asking for the Fl-99, this was a real bargain [if there ever was one] and a great afternoon spent talking about gear and whatnot.
It's not often that you can get a gem for pennies, especially one that is almost mint and in perfect working conditions. For you to have an idea, the FL-99 can go from around 130 American dollars up to 250 second hand. I got this one [serial number 83] for 65 Euros [half the starting bid point].
The Ibanez Classic Series Flange FL-99 is considered by many a pro as the best Flanger Pedal ever made, being often called "the vintage A/DA killer" [also another legendary pedal that got a reissue]. It's a rare pedal to find and has a very high collectibility, specially because Ibanez hasn't reissued it.
What it does:
Now, I have to confess Flanger is the second most annoying effect in my "oh god no" effects list, being topped only by the Ring Mondulator [though they both have their place].
The reason for that is that I find most Flangers being either way too thin sounding and ear piercing [Boss] or often used in an overly exaggerated way when they are already exaggerated by themselves [Digitech and Line6 are great examples of this]. There are some exceptions from the past though [Electric Harmonix, A/DA] but the Jet taking off sound is really not my cup of tea.
Then there's the issue of digital vs analogue.
I honestly don't care if an effect is digital or analogue as long as it sounds good [and by good I mean, it's neither too dark nor too bright, not too subtle nor too exaggerated]. In this case, the FL-99 is all analogue and - with all due respect to other analogue and digital flangers out there - it kicks the crap out of any sort of competition to this day.
So what makes it shine? Or better yet, why in all hell would a guy that practically loathes Flangers... get one?
The reason is 4 fold:
1 - Flangers are great for momentary noise making [at least those that go into self-oscillation] with a delay and a reverb.
2 - When dialed in right [and depending on how the flangers' own EQ range is] you get an interesting "sitar on a budget" effect [but for god sake don't over use it]
3 - Flangers come from the same family as Chorus and Phasers. You can get a chorus effect and a phaser out of a Flanger, but hardly the other way round. So, if properly set, you get 3 pedals in one [again, depending on how good the flanger is you'll get varied results]
4 - Resale. If I get tired of it, I'll resell it for at least the minimum bidding price.
All things considered, not only is it a possible future investment but also a chance to hang on to something quite unique.
Sure, it can get to some self-oscillation extreme, but it remains well within the bearable range before it gets into the "if you don't stop that s*** I'll kill you my love" side of the moon. In fact, it's because it's able to do what the EHX Electric Mistress and the A/DA Flanger do with ease that it makes it so good. Versatility it's the name of the game and you sure can get some rather rich and thick Chorus when goofing with the settings as well as a very pleasing and wattery Phaser. Push it harder and it will touch the Leslie Speaker feel [not exactly, but almost]; fiddle with it a bit more and you'll get a Vibrato sound-a-like.
It does subtle to extreme but in a very pleasing and warm way.
And that's the word I was struggling with: Warmth.
If I could use the words to best describe both the sound and the effect as well I would say: Warm; Wattery, Thick and Pleasant. Whixh are in direct contrast to most Flangers I had the displeasure of being tortured with.
If you wake up on a lucky day and see one of these gems up for sale for pennies, don't hesitate and get one. It's damn worth it.
This is going to be a hard one to do a proper review, I will not go into full detail as I like to do because Flangers are a bit hard to describe, so bare with me:
One of those lucky days:
I got very very lucky in catching this gem of a pedal at a local online site just 10 minutes after the poster put it up for sale.
As soon as I layed my eyes on it and saw the price he was asking for it I didn't even blink and called him right away. Luckily the seller lives close to where I live and we met for the deal. Quite a friendly guy and also a gear aficionado. Has quite the collection of oddities and we seem to share the same taste for both guitars and music in general. And for the superfluous amount the guy was asking for the Fl-99, this was a real bargain [if there ever was one] and a great afternoon spent talking about gear and whatnot.
It's not often that you can get a gem for pennies, especially one that is almost mint and in perfect working conditions. For you to have an idea, the FL-99 can go from around 130 American dollars up to 250 second hand. I got this one [serial number 83] for 65 Euros [half the starting bid point].
The Ibanez Classic Series Flange FL-99 is considered by many a pro as the best Flanger Pedal ever made, being often called "the vintage A/DA killer" [also another legendary pedal that got a reissue]. It's a rare pedal to find and has a very high collectibility, specially because Ibanez hasn't reissued it.
What it does:
Now, I have to confess Flanger is the second most annoying effect in my "oh god no" effects list, being topped only by the Ring Mondulator [though they both have their place].
The reason for that is that I find most Flangers being either way too thin sounding and ear piercing [Boss] or often used in an overly exaggerated way when they are already exaggerated by themselves [Digitech and Line6 are great examples of this]. There are some exceptions from the past though [Electric Harmonix, A/DA] but the Jet taking off sound is really not my cup of tea.
Then there's the issue of digital vs analogue.
I honestly don't care if an effect is digital or analogue as long as it sounds good [and by good I mean, it's neither too dark nor too bright, not too subtle nor too exaggerated]. In this case, the FL-99 is all analogue and - with all due respect to other analogue and digital flangers out there - it kicks the crap out of any sort of competition to this day.
So what makes it shine? Or better yet, why in all hell would a guy that practically loathes Flangers... get one?
The reason is 4 fold:
1 - Flangers are great for momentary noise making [at least those that go into self-oscillation] with a delay and a reverb.
2 - When dialed in right [and depending on how the flangers' own EQ range is] you get an interesting "sitar on a budget" effect [but for god sake don't over use it]
3 - Flangers come from the same family as Chorus and Phasers. You can get a chorus effect and a phaser out of a Flanger, but hardly the other way round. So, if properly set, you get 3 pedals in one [again, depending on how good the flanger is you'll get varied results]
4 - Resale. If I get tired of it, I'll resell it for at least the minimum bidding price.
All things considered, not only is it a possible future investment but also a chance to hang on to something quite unique.
Sure, it can get to some self-oscillation extreme, but it remains well within the bearable range before it gets into the "if you don't stop that s*** I'll kill you my love" side of the moon. In fact, it's because it's able to do what the EHX Electric Mistress and the A/DA Flanger do with ease that it makes it so good. Versatility it's the name of the game and you sure can get some rather rich and thick Chorus when goofing with the settings as well as a very pleasing and wattery Phaser. Push it harder and it will touch the Leslie Speaker feel [not exactly, but almost]; fiddle with it a bit more and you'll get a Vibrato sound-a-like.
It does subtle to extreme but in a very pleasing and warm way.
And that's the word I was struggling with: Warmth.
If I could use the words to best describe both the sound and the effect as well I would say: Warm; Wattery, Thick and Pleasant. Whixh are in direct contrast to most Flangers I had the displeasure of being tortured with.
If you wake up on a lucky day and see one of these gems up for sale for pennies, don't hesitate and get one. It's damn worth it.
