MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

metalhead3ecr · Post by **metalhead3ecr** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:19 am

Just bought one off of ebay yesterday. I'll experiment and post some clips in the near future!

guitar007 · Post by **guitar007** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:53 am

An MXR original or the Dunlop reissued?

metalhead3ecr · Post by **metalhead3ecr** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 8:43 am

Original!

guitar007 · Post by **guitar007** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:15 pm

Funny...I picked up a good original around the same time. The only difference I notice between reissue and original is the wider sonic spectrum of the reissue. The original is a bit warmer...otherwise the reissue is pretty good.

redozzman · Post by **redozzman** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:02 pm

Ive have bought 5 different vintage models dating from 77 through 83, each one sounded different, one sounded better than the rest, I still have it! however I have a friend that has a 79 unit and it kicks the shit out of everyone Ive owned. Ive gone so far as to make sure every component is the same value but alas, I still can't find one that matches his. I almost bought another vintage unit the other day chasing that damn tone!!!!!!!!

garbeaj · Post by **garbeaj** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:14 pm

Mine has pot codes from 1978...

I recommend pointing all the pointers to the 12 O'Clock "Noon" position. This has been the perfect setting to get the wave exactly like the Van Halen studio and live recordings. I mean it works every time. It has always been like that on that setting for me on my particular unit since I bought it at a pawn shop for $60 in 1987.

There are other theories and some have used settings that they see in some photos of Ed's board, but for me, in my 1978 unit, the 12 O'Clock "Noon" setting on all the knobs works for me.

Here is the YouTube clip I always wheel out when people talk about the MXR Flangers...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3m6ivCA7yk[/youtube]

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:23 pm

Oh yeah, nice tone and playing there

That is for sure the setting Ed must have used.

garbeaj · Post by **garbeaj** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:43 am

Tone Slinger wrote:Oh yeah, nice tone and playing there That is for sure the setting Ed must have used.

Thanks man...but I have to say that there is every possibility that some of the vintage MXR Flangers respond differently to different settings, and Ed could very well have used different settings. I have played through at least 3 vintage MXR Flangers and they have all responded exactly the same as mine, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some out there that are different.

My train of thought has always been that Ed used the same setting every time. He said so in his interview with Dweezil in the 90s and I have always had good results from using this same setting for "ATBL", "On Fire", "Loss of Control", etc. etc. and I suspect that if I had a Wurlitzer electric piano it would work the same on "And The Cradle Will Rock"...

guitar007 · Post by **guitar007** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:37 pm

I always wondered if Ed had a momentary switch installed. It would seem to work better for him, given the short bursts and accents he uses it for. Any idea which momentary switch would work?

redozzman · Post by **redozzman** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:46 pm

I agree about ed, you can see on his early pedal board that he taped the knobs so they could not be moved.

Your settings or about the same as where I like mine, I prefer closer to 11 using the clock reference. The difference I have noticed with the vintage units is not the in the way the dials effect the pedal performance but in the way the flange effect sits on the the guitar notes. My friends killer unit has such a pronounced effect on the guitar tone it is so hard to explain other than to say the flange effect is so much more pronounced. Its just hard to describe until you have experienced it. Craig Parker has made reference to this as well.

I made a clip several years back doing that same song, Its not note for note but you can hear the effect
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu-OZ_SESbU[/youtube]

mr.twistyneck · Post by **mr.twistyneck** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:54 pm

Cool stuff! nice playing gents!

I have a Dunlop Reissue that i use - primarily because my vintage one is kaput. does anyone know who fixes things like that?

garbeaj · Post by **garbeaj** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:17 pm

mr.twistyneck wrote:Cool stuff! nice playing gents!

I have a Dunlop Reissue that i use - primarily because my vintage one is kaput. does anyone know who fixes things like that?

Yes...I the switch fixed by Howard Davis, a former designer at Electro-Harmonix who now repairs vintage pedals. He overhauled my original Electro-Harmomix Deluxe Memory Man and he repaired my vintage MXR Flanger.

Google him and you will find his site with prices for repairs and instructions on how to ship your pedal to him.

If you send your vintage MXR Flanger to him for repair, be sure to tell him to leave your internal trimpots in stock position, otherwise he will turn the trimpots to his taste. It is critical to keep these trimpots untouched. I got mine back to stock, but I had to look at other vintage MXR Flangers to get my trimpots back to stock after Howard adjusted my trimpots without me asking him.

garbeaj · Post by **garbeaj** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:22 pm

guitar007 wrote:I always wondered if Ed had a momentary switch installed. It would seem to work better for him, given the short bursts and accents he uses it for. Any idea which momentary switch would work?

You can see that he steps on the Flanger itself when he engages the effect, even today. There is no separate momentary switch and I doubt that he had one built into his MXR Flangers or Phase 90s for that matter. The "wave" is perfectly timed when you have the knobs set right and you step on the Flanger itself for all the breaks that you speak of as in "ATBL" or "Unchained" for example...

guitar007 · Post by **guitar007** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:15 pm

Just to make sure we're on the same page...I'm referring to an international replacement for the DPDT with one that doesn't click on and off...but is on when depressed and off when release. This makes sense to me and I'd like to try it out.

garbeaj · Post by **garbeaj** » Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:18 am

guitar007 wrote:Just to make sure we're on the same page...I'm referring to an international replacement for the DPDT with one that doesn't click on and off...but is on when depressed and off when release. This makes sense to me and I'd like to try it out.

I've tried using a seperate momentary switch on a couple of effects, but it seems like you aren't really gaining anything. You would have to remember to keep your foot depressed on the switch while you are playing. This is the main reason why I don't like momentary switches...keeps your foot glued to a switch and you are stuck there and you have to go through more or less the same physical motion when you would be using a regular switch anyway. I like to hit the switch, do my thing, and then kick it off. If you play an entire song with the effect engaged you sure as hell don't want to sit there with your foot stuck to a switch.

If you are playing a fairly long passage like the intro to "On Fire" or the solo in "Loss of Control" I would think it would make more sense to hit the stock switch on the pedal as Ed does it. I mean you can clearly see that he steps on the switch on the flanger itself and then moves his foot away and then back to shut it off when he plays live.

Still, it is worth a try, just so you know how it works for you...

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MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

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