Polychrome Analog Flanger

109
SEPTEMBER 2021 GUITARIST
Tech Spec
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Flanger pedal
FEATURES: True bypass
CONTROLS: Rate, Depth, Sweep,
Feedback, D-F-V blend, Shape
switch, Voice Switch bypass
footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard input,
standard output
POWER: 9V adaptor, 30mA
minimum (Not supplied)
DIMENSIONS: 70 (w) x 121 (d) x
55mm (h)
8
feeds effected sound back through the
circuit and can emphasise the sweep’s
swoosh and add a metallic sheen. Note,
though, that it doesn’t get quite as extreme
as the metallic ice-picky flanging that you
can coax from a vintage Electric Mistress.
SOUNDS
There’s something about plugging into
a flanger that makes us inevitably want
to start playing Message In A Bottle, as
well as get into classic rock territory,
such as Van Halen’s Unchained and
Queen’s Keep Yourself Alive. The pedal
works really well with distortion in front
of it for rich textured sound with a sense of
movement about it.
Traditional flanging aside, though, this
is a fine source of varied modulation that
include chorus-like tones, pitch vibrato
and the aforementioned rotary speaker
sounds. That D-F-V knob is your key to
just how much effect you want. With total
wet sound, there’s some cool vibrato, but
roll it back a bit and you’ll find a whole
range of hybrid modulation sounds to
be explored. By the same token, there’s
plenty of mileage with the knob just a little
north of totally dry, with just enough of a
tonal shift to pique the interest without
overwhelming your core sound.
There’s no expression pedal control
available here, but what is really cool is the
smart footswitch that, besides its standard
latching action, offers momentary
activation of the effect with a press and
hold – just step on it for flanged emphasis
of selected notes, chords or passages.
VERDICT
To some players, modulation effects may
seem a little interchangeable. It may be fair
to say that unless you’re trying to dial in a
precise match from a vintage recording,
it may not matter whether you’re using
chorus, flanging or phasing to add flavour
or a sense of motion to your straight sound
– and there are many multi-modulation
pedals out there that will give a variety.
However, if it is definitely flanging you
want then the Polychrome is a class act: a
veritable treasure trove of flanging sounds
that will slot nicely onto your ’board.
PROS Momentary operation; wide range of
sounds; D-F-V knob to blend in your effect
CONS No expression pedal input; slight
perceived volume loss on some settings
01. SHAPE SWITCH
Choose to modulate the
LFO with sine, triangle or
random waveforms
02. VOICE SWITCH
This o ers two voices:
the lower setting o ers
full frequency  anging,
while the upper position
is most notable for
having less low-end
03. D-F-V KNOB
This blender sets your
e ect, gradually moving
from 100 per cent wet
to 100 per cent dry
with classic  anging
tones around the
50/50 mid point
04. LEDS
The left LED shows
whether the pedal is
active or bypassed,
while the right one
 ashes in sync with
the speed
05. FOOTSWITCH
Press and hold for
momentary e ects
or otherwise just
use as a standard
latching footswitch
3
2
5
1
4
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
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