PastFX's Vintage Flanger Circuit Recreations in Modern Enclosures are the Perfect All-rounder Trifecta for anyone who's properly into Flanging

Controls - Rate, Filter (LFO Off), Range (Flange Sweep), Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Bright, Color (Intensity), Internal Volume and Treble Trimmers.

Original played by - David Gilmour, Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, John Frusciante, The Edge, Robin Trower, Paul Gilbert, J Mascis, Bjørn Riis (Gilmourish), Billy Corgan, Keith Levene, Robert Smith, Dimebag Darrell etc.

This is very much the Mac-Daddy of all Flangers - the 1976 original which was latterly adopted by its most significant user David Gilmour - who combined it to superb effect with his Ram's Head and Civil War type Big Muff Pi Fuzzes - for a really cool smooth shimmery tone. The Electric Mistress is likely the most celebrate of flangers and most modern recreations seek to match that sparkly brightness the original 70's Electric Mistresses had. I've already noted how great a job the ThorpyFX Camoflange does - and in terms of core voicing - this Elastic Mattress is its equal - while each has distinct controls and can be deployed in slightly different ways - as always I say get both! But if space is tight - then this is surely your best option. If you're seeking that original 70's flange sparkle - this has to be the ultimate choice for that. It's relatively easy to dial in - while I did make use of the internal Volume trimmer which I elevated just a touch - the pedal was already plenty bright enough from stock - in fact I did wind back the Bright control just a touch.

Preferred settings are - Rate @ 12 o'c, Filter Off, Range @ 3 o'c, Blend @ Max, Bright @ 11 o'c, Color @ 3 o'c, and internal Volume trimmer just a fraction more CW.

Controls - Rate, Range (Flange Sweep), Color (Intensity), Matrix / Filter (LFO Off), Level, Treble, Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Internal Mod Switch : Stock / Bright.

Less than 20 Buffalo FX Reticons were made from 100 pre-orders - I was one of many who paid for but did not receive one.

Fortuitously PastFX's Verlie found her way to the same Agent that was supplying Buffalo FX - who had failed to pay said BBD's invoice - meaning the remaining RD5106's were up for grabs - and latterly came to populate the PastFX recreations of that great circuit. So in effect this is the one pedal that I bought twice over but only received once! I much prefer it in this compact enclosure in any case - so I'm really happy to have snagged one in the end. There's so few RD5106's out there in the wild that it is not likely we will see many more of that variety - while Verlie has optimised the circuit to work equally superbly with the MN3007 BBD's we see in these other two varieties here. On balance this is my favourite of the trio - in that it has the most range - and those 7 controls on the surface are just the perfect degree by which to wring every ounce of of this circuit. Having the external Level control really helps - and in combining the Level and Blend - you can pretty much cut through any mix - and depending on Color and Treble settings - can be as laser-like bold and searing as you wish! The degree of control here really makes this edition extraordinary.

Preferred settings are - Rate @ 12 o'c, Range @ 12 o'c, Color @ 2 o'c, Matrix Off, Level @ 12 o'c, Treble at 2 o'c, Blend @ 3 o'c, Internal Mod Switch : Bright.

Controls - Sweep (LFO Speed / Rate), Waldo / EVH Switch (Ups Clock Capacitance Timing), Width (Time Delay Intensity per Sweep setting), Manual (Degree of Phase-Shifting), Blend (Dry-Wet Mix), Regen (Overall Effect Intensity).

Original played by - Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Joe Satriani, Jerry Cantrell, Kerry King, Lenny Kravitz, Richie Sambora, Jeff Loomis, Jason Richardson, Alex Skolnick etc.

So the version I have is one of the pre-production prototypes which Verlie may tweak a little further before the proper launch. The voicing is really spot on - as superbly demo'd by Leon Todd above! If you're a fan of EVH and want a more practical pedalboard-friendly version of his signature Flanger - then the Hot for Flanger gets you exactly into that spot - with gloriously thick and textured output. When I deploy it though I do get a slight volume drop - meaning I would really have liked some kind of level control here too - like the internal trimmer that you find on the Elastic Mistress or the external Level on the Reticon. I am able to apply a lot more finessed control and granularity with the other two flanger here - so it would be nice if we saw some sort of level control on the next production models of this. Other than the slight volume niggle this is another superb recreation. UPDATE! - production release candidate MKII now has mini level control on the front-face of the pedal (see below) - so problem solved essentially! I need to get myself one of those varieties when they materialise!

The only thing that really needs explanation here is the Waldo switch (Waldo is the name of the lead character from the Van Halen Hot for Teacher Video) this could equally have been labelled 'EVH' as it Ups the Clock Capacitance Timing - which results in a slightly sharper modulation - where I always felt 'Unchained' was the ultimate Van Halen Flange track! Actually - Verlie has just corrected the record on this - that this is not the 'Unchained' voicing - even though the Waldo moniker is associated with Van Halen - it's simply a Clock Timing / voicing switch - which somewhat sharpens the modulation!

Each of these Flangers  is very much its own thing and creates a quite distinct output - which really makes it worthwhile getting all 3 here - like I've done. In fact Verlie has yet another Flanger up her sleeve - as she's currently working on recreating a Vintage A/DA Flanger - meaning I will be doing a PastFX Flanger Quadfecta feature soon enough!

Preferred settings are - Sweep @ 12 o'c, Waldo On, Width @ 10 o'c, Manual @ 9 o'c, Blend @ Max, Regen @ 4 o'c.

All 3 Flangers when available are best acquired from the PastFX Reverb.com Store - which has clear guidance on shipping / costs per destination country.