I’ve always liked the sound of a cool flanger pedal ripping through an amp, mine or someone else’s, it doesn’t matter. That jet stream whoooosh and whirl, especially when mixed in with some nice overdrive, really puts a fat ole smile right on my face. I’m also a fan of TC Electronic’s TonePrint series, so I was excited to test out a pedal I hadn’t really heard too much about, the Vortex Flanger.
Let’s check out the controls, shall we? Speed controls the pace of the modulated signal, from a subtle chug to a fast, whipping whirl, with lots of options between those 2 extremes. It seems the slower speeds really knock out that jet engine sound, but it’s fun to play with different speeds here, to get a plethora of differing results. Depth mixes in more and more of the flanged signal with your dry guitar signal the more you turn it up. Again, a big range here, from a small amount of effect to a full on spaceship taking flight from inside your amplifier. Again, lower Depth creates the jet engine-type tone, but there are still lots of sounds to be made with this control as well.
Feedback is a really fun knob on the Vortex, as it creates some wacky signal-crossing patterns and noises, from a slight echo to a crazy self-oscillation-type modulation. Very cool knob here, and fun to twist and turn on the fly to create vast soundscapes as well. Delay Time controls the pitch of the flanged signal sweep, adding yet another dimension of versatility to this pedal. You can also use the mini-toggle switch to select between your typical flanger sound and the Tape mode, which will create some unusual and interesting sounds in and of itself, plus you have the classic TC TonePrint option, where you can upload new sounds to your pedal right from your smartphone.
This flanger from TC Electronic is a lot of fun, and has a multitude of options that you can choose from. Ranging from shallow and subtle to peaking and tremendous, the Vortex has got all of your flanging needs covered…and then some!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
