Having had the opportunity to test out the majority of the lineup from Spaceman Effects, we’re always curious and excited when they release a new pedal, and today’s effect follows suit. The Aurora Analog Flanger represents Spaceman’s unique dive into this type of modulation, producing shades of flange, vibatro, chorus, phase, and filtery spatial effects with the lush sound of an analog signal path. Lots of knobs and tones to discover here, let’s get right to it!
The Aurora is an analog bucket-brigade flanger that gives you a powerful 5-mode modulation bus with 2 LFOs, 2 tape emulations, and a static comb filter. The inclusion of a dedicated wet/dry MIX control gives you acute tonal control, while manually actuated TAPE modulation, and interruptible LFOs open up new avenues of in-the-moment expressiveness. The modulation bus of the Aurora consists of three types of modulation: Two LFO modes, two tape modes, and one unswept comb filtering mode. Add shimmer and movement with shallower WIDTH and MIX settings. Crank up the REGEN, WIDTH, and RANGE and careen into deep rhythmic sweeps.
The LFO 1 mode produces a triangle waveshape ideal for a traditional flanger effect at lower speeds and lush chorus and phasing sounds at moderate speeds. At higher LFO speeds, set your MIX to fully wet and spin up bizarre seasick pitch-shifting vibrato. The LFO 2 mode offers discrete control over the rise and fall times, allowing you to craft ramp up, triangle, and ramp down waveforms. The ability to control the LFO slopes independently makes for very interesting asymmetrical modulation especially useful for flange and pitch-shifting settings. A quick tap of the TRIG footswitch resets the LFO to the bottom, and holding the TRIG switch holds the LFO low.
The TAPE modes of the Aurora give you the ability to mimic the tape deck manipulation of early flange effects. Just like placing your finger on the flange of a tape deck, holding the TRIG footswitch down begins the upward sweep, and releasing the TRIG footswitch begins the downward sweep. Careful use of the REGEN, WIDTH and MIX controls can tame or exaggerate the effect to suit any application. Lastly, the COMB mode freezes the modulation, and uses the RATE & RANGE controls to set two different static delay times that can be switched between by using the TRIG footswitch. The comb filtering effect can be used in a variety of ways, from simple thickening, to exotic, chaotic, robotic clang.
For our demo below, we run through each of the Modes provided, and add in some other effects in parts to bring out the true wacky intensity and playfulness the Aurora brings to the table. Flangers have become a sort of “love-it-or-hate-it” type of effect, and we are planted firmly in the former category with the Spaceman Effects Aurora Analog Flanger. Hats off to those guys once more, be sure to visit their website after you watch the demo!
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