View Single Post
  #9  
Old 08-02-2012, 09:52 AM
Scott Pope Scott Pope is offline
Posting Member
 
Join Date: 01-23-2011
Location: Missouri
Posts: 79
Scott Pope is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rory Lane View Post
Tim or Ken
What is the difference between Chorus, Flanger and Phase Shifter?
Rory
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Bishop View Post
Rory, it's too difficult to describe the differences. It would really be best for you to hear the differences for yourself in either a live setting or by going to the maker's website and listening to samples they provide online. EBS provides great sample soundclips of all their pedals.
Actually, it boils down to two concepts: 1) the amount of delay, and 2) the amount of "regeneration" (a type of controlled feedback loop)

Chorus is straight delay fed back in, either with or without pitch manipulation, on a relatively subtle level, to imitate exactly that: more than one instrument or voice in a section, or the double strings of a lute, mandolin or 12-string guitar, etc. When I played in a band that did 12-string tunes, and we had gigs in places that I didn't want to take my Rickenbacker due to security concerns, I'd use a Boss chorus instead on my conventional electric guitar and crank the treble.

Flanging has its origin in double tape deck transfer, where to get the "swoosh" effect, the recording engineer would lightly touch the feed reel with his thumb to delay the tape ever so slightly. The offset, combined with the overdub, would give the effect as both were transferred over to the reduction tape deck on the way to preparing the master. The Beatles liked this effect so much that John Lennon, in his inimitable way, remarked to George Martin and Ken Townsend one day, when he didn't feel like double tracking the vocal to get greater depth to the recording, to just "flange" it - a word made up on the spot to describe the technique, as the large multi-track metal tape reels did look like they had a large ridge, the actual definition of the word "flange," and hence, the origin of the term.

Phase shifting is similar, dating from the mechanical scanners that were developed by Hammond organ technicians before the Leslie cabinets were invented (even though they called them chorus -- in the end, it is only a matter of degree), as a variable mechanical or electronic delay of the wave form fed back into the original signal, either singly or as a sequence of cascading waveform manipulation. Again, this gives depth and body to the tone, but also provides selective and variable comb filtering, both subtractive and additive, to give the "airy" or "swirling" effect we associate with "classic" phase shifters, such as the MRX 90 and the Electro-Harmonix Small Stone.

Last edited by Scott Pope; 08-02-2012 at 03:33 PM.
Reply With Quote