Flanger (M117R)

The M117R is an analogue flanger that MXR brought back because guitarists kept asking for it. A flanger lays a copy of your guitar signal over the original, arriving a fraction later, with that delay constantly shifting. That produces the swirling, jet-engine sound you know from rock, funk and electronic music. This model aims to offer more than the traditional sound: it also covers more spacious tones, right up to fast delay-, chorus- and vibrato-like effects.

You steer the range with four controls: speed, width, regen and manual. At the gentle end you get subtle textures that lean towards chorus, and with everything turned well up you hear an extreme jet swoosh. The analogue circuit sounds warm and organic and follows the way you play. That makes it suitable when you want to shape your modulation precisely, and it works not just on guitar but on bass, keyboards and vocals too.

In practical terms there is little to trip over. With true bypass your signal stays clean while the effect is off. You power it with the supplied 18V adapter or with two 9V batteries, so you are not tied to a wall socket. The enclosure is sturdily built for stage and studio. The pedal is black and has jack inputs and outputs. The shortfall lies in its simplicity: it has no more than those four controls, so if you want presets, a second mode or other extras, you are better off looking at another pedal. For anyone who wants a flanger that runs from mild to extreme and is set up without menus, it is a straightforward choice.