MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

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guitar007
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by guitar007 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 2:24 pm

Thanks for your perspective. It should be fun...and in the spirit of EVH.
Last edited by guitar007 on Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:08 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by dirtycooter » Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:06 am

It is noted in a Guitar Shop magazine (been out of print forever but it was the best all gear mag for guitar ever) that the reissue does indeed have a lower noise floor, which is good good good, but the actual "wet signal" was bumped up from what the original was in direct comparo. Probably to make the more pronounce swoosh. Kinda like that wah that just don't cry enough or needin more cowbell. Sometimes tweakin is so hard to use judicious amounts of anything. If its good we alwYs want more of it right??

I get along with my reissue. I bought it back when the first reissue with wall wart went off the shelves for some time. This musta been around 2000 or so.
Dunlop actually halted production for a year I think, then it came back out again and shortly afterward then the evh version came oit.
Both the evh phase and flanger seem to be just ..... too up in your face. I love my whirlwind orange box-noticeably more subtle silkiness. They were talking of doin a flanger with AC cord but it just wasn't gonna pay to do it.
I do wish my flanger was more like that whitlwind orangebox-that less wet warmer smooth tone. But then I also have had alot of dudes flip and ask me my settings after they heard mine. 10:30 to alomost 11:00 across the board with noon to 2:00 on the regen only. Maybe I will try the all noon thing. For awhile though I really liked 1030, 2:00, 2:00, 1030.
Do those trim pots effect the wet signal then? I didn't know there pots inside the flanger too.

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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by garbeaj » Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:21 am

Yeah the vintage ones are really the best ones to get that just right amount of flange...not overly in your face, but just exactly as Ed had it going on the first four albums. There is definitely more signal and less noise on the re-issues (including the EVH), but as you say it makes for "too-much" of that more pronounced sweep.

I didn't know anything about the trimpots until Howard started messing with mine, I'm just glad I got my original back to stock. The trimpots do affect the wet signal as far as I can tell. I would never, ever move the trimpots on a vintage MXR Flanger...but with re-issues you might as well make a note of the stock settings and experiment to your heart's delight and see if you can make the sweep less pronounced and closer to the sound of the vintage ones.

I just think that for what one would generally pay for a new re-issue you could spend just a few dollars more and get a real vintage MXR Flanger and be done with it. Of course the vintage ones are noisy signal suckers, so you are dealing with problems either way!

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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by metalhead3ecr » Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:52 am

I love the original one I bought. It is noisy (but in a musically analog way) ...but when I engage it there is no jump in volume, just a nice flange the way it sounds on all the records.

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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by garbeaj » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:10 pm

Yep...the sound is there right from stock condition. No tweaking required.

dirtycooter
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by dirtycooter » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:56 pm

I am positive Eds was in a true bypass loop. Maybe not though thinkin of the VH1 board pics. All my pedals are. I use the grx4 from axess electronics.
True hard bypass peterson strobo classic, input of grx4, hits transparent signal buffer, then choice of 3 loops on/off, then out to amp. So signal suck is not an issue for me when its off in my chain. Nowdays Ed uses true bypass loops.

I am gonna have to open up my flanger and look for these trim pots. I am wondering if its gonna be like the phasers that are nothin like the originals?

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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by Xplorer » Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:04 pm

This clip made me think of a vintage electric mistress. They're unique... this mxr seems to sound almost as transparent and wide.
one of my references, except for what Andy summers did, is "Heaven" from the Rolling stones ( Mick Jagger and Charlie watts at the Electric Ladyland ! alone actualy ) .
hear it in 480p :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phltyqdI ... page#t=84s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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NY Chief
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by NY Chief » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:26 am

garbeaj wrote:
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.
Howard is a fukin flake. I sent my vintage pedal to him, he fixed it, I played it once when I got it back and it sounded great. Plugged in several weeks later and, nothing. NO sound. I emailed him and he said "sounds like the power section. i didn't touch anything there so it's a separate new repair. (Send me more money)" Didn't even offer to look FIRST, BEFORE pronouncing the defect or did he already know being in there. I still have the dead flanger....
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by garbeaj » Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:48 pm

My experience with Howard was a good one, except for when he changed the internal trimpots without me asking him to...I had to find another vintage MXR Flanger and then adjust my trimpots back to stock accordingly. I don't doubt your experience with him, but he did do a great job on repairing and reconditioning my original vintage Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and my MXR Flanger is tip-top now.

I don't have a reliable vintage pedal repair person where I now live and Howard was really the only choice for me. He really knows his stuff, especially on the Electro-Harmonix things.

Another place to try is here: http://www.caesound.com/cae_about.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They repaired my original "Bud" box MXR Phase 90...it wasn't cheap, but they did great work and were excellent with communication.

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NY Chief
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by NY Chief » Mon Apr 01, 2013 8:27 pm

I hope my experience was a fluke. Being an ex EH guy I would expect him to know those products inside out. I did check CAE, garb. You're right, not cheap. It be less expensive for me to buy a new old pedal. :(
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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by garbeaj » Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:39 am

NY Chief wrote:I hope my experience was a fluke. Being an ex EH guy I would expect him to know those products inside out. I did check CAE, garb. You're right, not cheap. It be less expensive for me to buy a new old pedal. :(
True...but then I bought my vintage Phase 90 for $20 at a pawn shop in 1987. It just decided to stop working last year! I can't remember how much I spent on shipping, parts and repair, but it was worth it to me since it cost me almost nothing on the first place. Same with my Deluxe Memory Man and MXR Flanger, $30 and $60 in the same pawn shop in the 80s.

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Re: MXR Vintage 117 (Flanger)

Post by Nilo » Fri Apr 29, 2016 6:16 pm

I have an old one that sounds very weak. Gonna build a retrofit board for it to Run mn3007 to se if it's My reticons that are weak. Have checked pretty much everything else.

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