The highly-successful 9 Series of effects pedal from Ibanez demonstrated how innovative and adventurous the company was in the early 80’s, and this series produced some of the most recognizable and most used pedals in history, such as the TS9 Tube Screamer, the AF9 Auto Filter and the incredible AD9 Analog Delay. Another of my favorites from this series is the FL9 Flanger, the pedal we’ll be checking out in this review.
There are 4 controls that make up the FL9 – Rate controls the speed of the LFO waves. The Width knob controls the depth of the LFO waves, while Regen controls the resonance/feedback of the flanger sounds. Finally, Delay Time controls the center amount of shift, adding an extra special tonal option into the mix. Mixing these four knobs with one another will produce a multitude of different sonic textures and soundscapes, leading to a TON of experimentation and exploration. It’s easy to dial in some of the sweeter and more subtle Van Halen sounds, if that’s something your after, but won’t get too over-the-top, just adding a nice wash of sound to your rig.
The main thing about this flanger is its WARMTH; you tend to have so many modulation pedals that get high-pitched or sound too digital or too sharp and piercing, and the FL9 does none of those things. It just flat out produces thick, buttery analog flange tones, and has a great range of tonal options as well. Plus, the 9 series were built out of some type of kryptonite, I’m pretty sure, and will live far longer than any of us will. If you like to sit down and turn knobs for hours figuring out a pedal and what it does, the Ibanez FL9 will be right up your alley.
Specs:
Input Impedance: 500K ohms
Output Impedance: <1K ohms
Maximum Input Level: +4 dBm
Gain: 0 dB (unity)
Delay Time Range: 1,0 - 12,8ms
Sweep Speed Range: 0,06 - 13 Hz
Equivalent Input Noise: -75 dBm (IHF-A)
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
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