Polychrome Analog Flanger

108
GUITARIST SEPTEMBER 2021
IMAGES TO BE SHOT
W
alrus Audio has several
modulation pedals in its
roster, notably the Julia
chorus and Lillian phaser, which both
share similarities with the Polychrome,
the brand’s new analogue flanger. In
particular, all three pedals sport a Blend
knob that moves from totally dry sound to
100 per cent wet. In this case, it’s labelled
D-F-V (Dry, Flange, Vibrato) with the most
traditional flanger tones at the 50/50 mix,
12 o’clock position, lots of subtler shadings
to the left and true vibrato fully clockwise.
IN USE
The overall tone of this pedal is warm
and mellow, and its forte is quite a range
of classy flanging and beyond. Before you
even start messing with the knobs, there
are six different options available from
combinations of the two-way Voice and
the three-way Shape switches.
The Voice switch’s lower position offers
traditional full-frequency flanging, while
Walrus says the other option delivers a
more complex and notched flange effect.
It can be quite a subtle difference with
certain knob settings, but the main thrust
of it is the upper position has a notably
leaner sound with less bottom-end.
The Shape switch selects which shape
of LFO wave you want to use to modulate
the delay line. There are traditional sine
and triangle choices offering some familiar
flanging tones, but you also get a Random
option delivering a more unpredictable
effect for the adventurous as it varies the
modulation in a less regimented fashion.
Rate does exactly the same as with any
other modulation pedal and has a range
from 0.1Hz to 8Hz, which effectively
means it goes from flanging cycles that
unfold over several seconds, up to a
sweet warble like a Leslie speaker on
fast speed.
The Depth knob here, in control of
the width of the filter sweep, interacts
with the Sweep knob, which shifts the
frequency range of that sweep with
plenty of nuanced changes available
through their combination. This Sweep
knob is at its most effective at lower-
depth settings; in fact, with the Depth
at minimum you can set a frequency
and operate the pedal like a static filter.
If you want a more intense effect, you
can reach for the Feedback knob, which
This colourful pedal delivers many shades of flange
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Philip Barker
PEDALBOARD
Polychrome Analog Flanger
CONTACT
FACE BVBA [phone]WWW.WALRUSAUDIO.COM
MODEL
POLYCHROME
PRICE
£179
MANUFACTURER
WALRUS AUDIO
WALRUS AUDIO
GIT476.peds_walrus.indd 108GIT476.peds_walrus.indd 108 04/08/2021 10:4704/08/2021 10:47