12 of the Best Compact Flanger Pedals for Your Consideration

The standard version is in a rather drab dark olive green, I much prefer the more sanguine colourway of the rarer Friday 13th editions which only get released on a Friday 13th - you either have to be very quick on the day, or scan Reverb.com - where there is one such available at this time. All Neo pedals have alternative dial functions, between 4 & 6 modes and presets. The newer ones mostly have tap-tempo which would be nice to see on the next version. For the longest time I could not decide between this one and the Subdecay Starlight V2 - where both have now been usurped by the slightly larger but far more capable EQD Pyramids.

I was always aware of the BF-2 Flanger and Andy Martin re-ignited my desire for one of these. However he has a MIJ version where the dial tops are black. The grey dial tops indicate 'Made in Taiwan' which usually means not as pristine components and build quality as the Japanese originals. I spent ages trying to find decent a decent quality MIJ version on Reverb.com - but they either weren't good enough quality or way too pricey. So plan b is get an Alchemy Audio modified Made in Taiwan version - where Johnny Balmer has swapped out the budget parts for premium alternatives - for better signal-to-noise ratio and more high fidelity - equal to or sometimes superior to the Japanese originals. I stated in the intro that I went for the BF-2 analogue over the BF-3 digital version because I think it sounds better, the newer one has a little more variety though and benefits from tap-tempo - albeit of the press and hold type.

The two-footswitch Zero Point is carried over from my original Best Flangers article - I love the simplicity here - which harks back to the original flanging technique of tapping the reel-to-reel tape flange to very slightly slow down playback of the second tape real. Here one switch turns the pedal on, while the other allows you to apply the flange-smear in momentary fashion - really cool - and about as simple as it gets.

Even with its quirks and foibles, I'm still very sad to see Joel Korte discontinue this - I guess the low sales of this unit just don't justify it's continued existence. It is still the most interesting flanger at this form factor, and I will never get rid of mine whatever happens - and even though the EQD Pyramids will probably bounce it from its top slot. It's combination of features - with those 16 dip-switches still makes it really unique and uniquely flavoursome!

I bought a number of DigiTech pedals in quick succession - and always had an eye out for this Nautila Chorus/Flanger - it's one of only 2 stereo pedals at this size and sound pretty great too - at a reasonable price point. DigiTech pedals are beautifully made and assembled and really very keenly priced. Sure EHX is usually cheaper still, but EHX always feels a little rawer and less polished than DigiTech at this form factor. This is a great flanger option at a good price - but there are others here with possibly just a little more overall appeal.

This is the most diminutive format of the legendary original Electric Mistress - which really excelled at adding dynamics and sparkle to clean sounds in particular. The original units were all based around fairly rare BBD chips while most of the newer units are digital - like this one. I guess at the entry level for these types of flangers - it's between the this one and the MXR Micro Flanger - both being very simple twin-dial versions.

Maxon famoulsy OEM'd both Ibanez's 808 Tube Screamer and its FL-9 flanger, and it still has those original circuits in its own livery while Ibanez's Tube Screamer has changed somewhat, and its FL-9 is discontinued. Maxon is one of the analogue originals, but seems to have fallen out of vogue a touch of late - possibly because it too rocks that slightly old fashioned switch-plate design which is along sort of similar lines to the Boss compacts too, and many consider those somewhat old-fashioned now. Maxon though still makes great sounding boxes - whether you like the aesthetics or not. It is quite obvious to me though which of these pedals look more of-the-present, and which look somewhat behind the curve. It's also cool to see Bondi Effects' forthcoming Art Van Delay pedal featuring a similar boxy old-school shape, but with modern footswitches. Not sure why Boss, Mason etc. would not want to modernise their designs - beyond the obvious re-tooling costs.

MXR has its own flanger credentials - mostly through its association with one of the kings of the flange - one Eddie Van Halen, his 5150 line I feel is mostly somewhat over-sized - all those pedals are medium enclosure - while MXR has a somewhat simplified offering in compact enclosure. This one is really head-to-head with EHX's Neo Mistress. I feel overall EHX's profile has been somewhat old-fashioned though, and only recently with The Canyon and Oceans 11 pedals is it finally getting on a more contemporary footing - oh and the Pitchfork - those EHX pedals are all excellent. This MXR Micro Flanger is a very decent basic flanger - I personally though like a few more bell and whistles - including tap-tempo in particular.

My two OBNE pedal are different versions of their now classic Haunt Fuzz - in both regular and Alpha versions. And while the Haunt is probably OBNE's signature pedal - they does a rather neat line in slightly Leftfield time-based / modulation pedals - like its recent Dweller Phase Repeater, and this very slightly earlier Flat Light Flanger. OBNE always has its own take on an effect and gives you something quite different from the norm - more pitched toward 'Knobs' fans and experimental players. The second footswitch here is not a tap-tempo, but a 'Tilt' trigger to kick in momentary secondary modes for each of the 3 modes.

I've long been a fan of Subdecay too, but have not acquired as many of their pedals as I originally thought I would - there's just so much competition these days. I don't feel this flanger is quite as strong as Subdecay's equivalent Quasar Phaser offering - the latter of which has nearly twice as many modes - and the step down between DLX and regular flanger is somewhat more pronounced. In the digital flanging stakes I feel that EarthQuaker has kind of stolen a march on its competitors, although the Pyramid is really quite a price pedal. I still would really want to see a few more modes from the DLX on the V2 - and the tap-tempo carried across too.

As I mentioned in my 12 Phasers post - I'm not 100% happy with TCE since their acquisition by Behringer. You do generally know what you're getting for your money though with TCE - well-made and innovative digital effects typically with stereo ins and outs and of course that really smart user-definable TonePrint feature. I do though feel that TCE have dropped the ball slightly by avoiding secondary footswitches and presets. As smart digital pedals the competition - Alexander, Foxpedal and Walrus are innovating, catching up and overtaking in several ways. TCE still maintains a strong presence in Loopers and Tuners - along with its perennial classics - Flashback and Hall of Fame - I do feel though that most of its other core line pedals could do with some contemporary updates - more TonePrint mode options, tap-tempo and onboard footswitchable presets!