MusicRadar Basics: chorus, tremolo, phaser and flange guitar pedals

MusicRadar Basics is brought to you in association with Boss.
Chorus, tremolo, phase and flange are all referred to as modulation effects. They add depth, dimension and movement to a guitar’s natural sound without distorting it, but they all have their own unique characteristics.
Common to most pedals is a rate control that adjusts the speed of the effect and a depth control that adjusts the intensity of the effect.
Chorus is a stunning shimmer effect that adds width to your tone. You'll have heard it used by artists as diverse as Prince, The Police and Nirvana.
Tremolo is the effect of a guitar sound's volume cutting in and out at a variety of speeds. If you've heard the song How Soon Is Now by The Smiths you'll know how it sounds.
Phase splits the signal in two, moves one of those paths out of phase then blends it back in with the original, so the motion of that in phase/out of phase relationship can be heard. That might sound technical but you will have heard this effect all over the late 90s recordings of Radiohead, Incubus and even Eruption by Van Halen.
Flange works in a similar way to phase, but takes it to even greater extremes. You will have heard it on songs like Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz or Nobody's Fault But Mine by Led Zeppelin.
Boss online - bit.ly/ZifBhT
On Facebook - on. ZyeLhg
On Twitter - bit.ly/1ygsLeu

[@savanaviolenta]

I have all these pedals and I love them. Boss is the Boss.

[@Mujcanal]

Yes, it is

[@TheNationalfilmbored]

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of video I was hoping to find. I’m learning to mix, I’m not an electric guitar player, and I’m trying to get more familiar with time-based FX. I especially like that you gave examples of songs or artists for each one.

[@lapisblock633]

Yeah its a great video to see what they sound like and doesn't take much time to watch. So its very useful

[@TNJX]

Mate I'm british and I've never heard anyone talk with that accent

[@JoshuaBatch]

I had to re-listen how he said Nirvana.

[@BravoColl]

Sounds like a brummie to me.

[@rolando0572]

jajaja true

[@Tom-cv2cx]

zoidberg590 He sounds like he might be part south african

[@mrBDeye]

I spoke like that once, but it was only after accidentally swallowing my chewing gum. It was quite unexpected.

[@JohnOhkumaThiel]

Exactly what I wanted to know, basic explanations, and you didn’t spent most of the time showing off your mad guitar or video editing skills, so no need to fast forward. I just got the Katana amp, which is my first serious amp, the manual sucks. Please make a video like this about the Katana, particularly the effects section.

[@gisibah]

The way he described the phaser and flanger is wrong. While the phaser has a really misleading name, it doesn't put anything out of phase. It uses a series of filters to progressively make certain frequency bands of the guitar sounds darker or brighter. The flanger does have an appropiate name though, as it mimics the sound of a tape flange going out of sync. This creates the out-of-phase sound that flangers are known for. It's basically a much more intense chorus.

[@hendrix5757]

Umm... nope, a phaser does exactly how he describes it. So the name isn't misleading at all. It dupes the signal and contains several phase inverter stages that each invert the signal by 180 degrees. It also contains an LFO that controls the rate at which the phase shifts occur is it modulates (thus changing the coloration of the tonality due to adding/cancelling of frequencies) and when that usually when the iconic swooshing sound occurs before the notches occur at the 180 phase inversion. Yeah man, the phaser's circuitry design is much older and pretty basic when compared to a flangers, or any of the other mod effects. The flanger is designed to only have several short delay stages but to also uniquely interact and modulate the original signal's harmonic content. However, you are correct about the flange effect originating from the tape reels on a tape machine.

[@andersharmsiddlyumptious]

he described phaser right, but he described flanger wrong

[@stompfolks]

@@hendrix5757 phaser uses all pass filters, the notches are linearly spaced. flange mix a dry signal with a delayed signal using a LFO to apply a variation of the delay time (1-10ms basically or 1-20ms) the variation can be linear or logaritmic, you can invert the wet signal to mix with original, you can aplly effect to all frequencies or mids an high or high only; you can apply a delay on the original signal to get Thrue zero flange; one can also find envelope and wave form settings. on flange notches are not linear and you can get lots of. on both part of the output signal is usually fed back to the input ( delay line or stage on phaser)

[@esesenordenegro2064]

The Cure in their Lp "Faith", use Flanger in the bass in every song. I miss so much that sound.

[@huli8557]

Do you know which one?

[@bloodyluvrz]

@@huli8557boss bf-2 :)

[@griffingoodman1055]

Great video, straight to the point with clear explanation and clear demo

[@brettmarlar4154]

Actually, Flange and chorus are more related than phasers. Chorus and flangers are oscillating delay times, the only difference is that chorus is slightly detuned. Phasers are created by a delay time, but it is very short and is constant. The delay time is just enought that the dry and wet signals are out of phase.

[@kendoiron8015]

Great explanation. Flanger may do both but it's nice to have 2 cleaner effect options with phase and chorus. The CE on by itself is so sweet by itself.

[@medalsinthechute5379]

This is brilliant--I've been looking for explanations like these covering what the pedals actually DO to the signal.

[@supremeweezer4o8]

Can i combine these pedals together and try to replicate a vibratone type sound ?

[@reix25]

Logan that was Ain't talking' bout love by Van Halen

[@DrVink86]

It was a switched up version, probably to avoid copyright claims

[@paulmcdonough1093]

Flange was used on ORION at the start by Metallica

[@theJaRRoOnE22]

Paul Mcdonough also in devil in I by Slipknot

[@rugged_music]

I love this channel so straight to the point unlike other channels who have a lot of stupid gimmicks

[@Nomellamodiego]

Tremolo sounded like "El Ojo De La Tormenta". A song from Soda Stereo :D

[@AndreeDLopez]

I see you're a man of culture as well.

[@redbarchettta]

I see you're a latino as well.

[@stratbmx1542]

I don’t if it’s just me but all Boss Phasers don’t sound full

[@JohnScottieFerguson]

Limehouse Lizzy, right? Amazing! 🤘

[@daniels1293]

When I was 8 my dad had a vintage ce4 boss chorus from the 80s or 90s that I ended up breaking.

[@manuhendriks4302]

I broke a metalzone once. My own fault, my brother put a wrong adapter on it and I was uneducated about voltage ... I'm just glad we didn't destroy my Boss CE3, I had it around the same time😅

[@russride]

Sorry for your loss. 😭

[@braida007]

I broke a glass once...sucks😒

[@Jawnietheboy]

1:43 sounds like how soon is now

[@chillpil6664]

Midnight Rider 76 it is how soon is now

[@Newtsvideos]

it is

[@truespiderman]

That is a gorgeous PRS

[@stephensmith799]

Great vid. Am I the only one hoping he’d stomp on all of the pedals all at once for fullest effect🤔

[@Aeon_Is_Near]

1:41 I enjoy this little demo of How soon is now more than the original song itself

[@scottlandb6579]

You nailed the song comparisons without actually playing the songs

[@frehleysmoke7029]

何気にギターの方センスありまんなぁ～♪ リバーブ入れてないとこがデモとして好感持てますね。 トレモロ以外は過去に全部持ってました。今はアンプに直に指してます。

[@zepperfox7669]

Its that good old classic guitar sound that makes you relax

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

Nice, a video that gets to the point

[@ExtraMaestro]

Chorus ensemble, the only pedal you need to play paradise city by Guns and Roses

[@williampercival7662]

I'm from 🌲 Sherwood Forest 🌲 and I understand where you are coming from. W Percival from New Zealand 🇳🇿 Gardenia🌺 Band and Rarotonga Cook Islands 🇨🇰

[@colt9073]

What pops up in my mind when i hear the tremolo part: *SAIL!!!*

[@joelcartagena9570]

JOEL

[@LuisRodriguez-vh6fg]

How soon is now ❤️

[@RamonInshan33]

Can someone please help me out with the song that’s being played at 0.59.

[@crude.75]

Nirvana/Kurt Cobain never used a boss chorus it was an electro harmonix small chorus or an echo flanger

[@wisteela]

Very good video. Subscribed. Could you do a video about the best order to combine them?

[@puderrick8634]

0:58 Prince we miss you

[@kamronsafaie4586]

what song is that

[@saadben7156]

Purple rain

[@Atmirilias1]

Thanks. People understand what they want to understand.

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Just happens to be more or less the same pedals as have, so very useful. Thank you. How about doing another with the Boss DD7?

[@MetalHeart8787]

I like this guys demos of pedals BUT the phaser pedal can sound better than that. ive never owned a Boss phase pedal But I Love the color of it. Great example with the Flanger pedal

[@ryankurien]

What song is he playing when he uses the Flanger?

[@ryankurien]

@Ismail Bel Which Van Halen song?

[@jacksonsatchel923]

What about the PS-6 (Harmonist)?

[@LadyNicola]

My Boss Flanger needs a good clean up or maybe a repaint!

[@elsupernico]

RIP Prince!!! I cried

[@georgelayton2228]

How do you feel about the following boss pedals the ce2:dd3 ph3 metal zone and way cry baby Are these pedals good for praise and worship?

[@santi.v0]

WHAT A GUITAR AND WHAT A SOUND. TR2 IS BEAAAUTYFUL

[@mariosdem1148]

Great video man

[@kirkhensley8598]

Dear "ADs": NO THANK YOU. You can end before you begin. Dear Vid: Very well done. "You've heard this one in songs such as..." is more helpful than Dr. Asperger's robotic approach. VERY COOL. Two thumbs up! Saved.

[@Garagieraryhir]

neevanah?

[@lal2235]

my chorus ensemble is very quiet, I have to put it in max, is that normal?

[@diegoaguilar3278]

"Or even Nervoahnna"

[@Adam-om2je]

Great explanations, really helpful thanks!

[@MattCamp_]

what should i use for a punk pop sound?

[@walt.03]

distorcion. Tom DeLonge likes flanger too

[@animeshmanikpuri8665]

Mukhe 1 phaser chahiye iskA price kya hai

[@pillarsofserpents]

dude, 10 o'clock is where my BF-3's rate and depth are usually at too!

[@romulusmetalgamer5768]

what kind of guitar do you use for the distortion pedal video?

[@romulusmetalgamer5768]

also how much are those types

[@1966supersonic]

I subbed cause u named The Police.....such a good band

[@vhateg]

What song is the that from wich you took the last example?

[@randytobias1537]

vlad hateg ain’t talking bout love by Van Halen

[@lbomfs]

Great video, really helpful!

[@panicattheohsorryimeantwen5758]

what's the guitar you're usin?

[@justintyler3620]

panic at the?? oh sorry I mean twenty øne pilots ithink its the t.o.p. is shit model

[@invincibleforce7367]

panic at the?? oh sorry I mean twenty øne pilots (It's a PRS)

[@lunarscorpio3987]

nice username, lol

[@logancantin9374]

what is the song that he plays with the flanger pedal?

[@andersharmsiddlyumptious]

Logan Cantin cradle will rock uses flanger

[@cavespider6665]

would these pedals work with a bass?

[@awkward6198]

technically, yes

[@adityabhatt7280]

Song at 3:30?

[@victoralmeida1692]

Aint talk bout love - van Halen

[@frollixz3773]

That PRS tho

[@zachhughes9220]

Damn shame he had to ruin the guitar with Boss pedals 😭

[@Bss_-eo9dn]

Zach Hughes How's that a bad thing?

[@ph7neutral__966]

What guitar is that?

[@b44styreraug]

Metal Distortion + Flange = Dark Tranquillity - Therein

[@mervyndavid5258]

Whats the song tittle for Chorus Effect ?

[@charlesgale1998]

+Mervyn David pretty much purple rain - prince

[@Slayerrrrrr]

YESSS NIRVANA!

[@Freshy10]

3:23 what is that song

[@ДометдеВоргес]

Sounds like "ain't talking 'bout love" by EVH but I don't think so.

[@klauswhitedreamer]

nice settings on the Boss BF-3, it sounds very close to Van Halen !....

[@penggemar_ogohogoh]

Nice study

[@kirkhensley8598]

Johnny Marr-esque. Right on.

[@Gko316]

I love this video

[@Phoebedumplings]

Andy summers used a flanger

[@evanloken19]

1:10 I hear every breath you take meets purple rain

[@alanjudd7537]

Nice to see the simple need-to-know stuff' Without egotists trying to be witty. and you don't speak at 100 miles a minute . Thanks

[@LesleyLesPaul]

Is that english ? :-(( LES

[@wmw0702]

Is that you George?

[@greenchilaquiles]

1:50 i am the sonnnn and the heirrrr

[@DennisTeti]

y tho Hahahahahaha I did the exact same thing 🎸 🎶

[@Juniorfinger999]

Wow

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

I can’t understand why Boss discontinued the BF-2 and gave us a piece of junk like the BF-3! The PH-3 Phaser is awful too.

[@SamuraiBud]

that flanger has too much volume and no volume control knob

[@maximoatalan9718]

damn why does he looks like gareth bale

[@kamronsafaie4586]

lmaooooooo

[@thejasonknightfiascoband5099]

I really love the Tremolo pedal but unfortunately it's a very rare event when I find a spot for it in my noise pollution😭

[@gramsci420]

I’ll admit tremolo is pretty boring on its own but when used in conjunction with other effects it’s 🤯

[@wachyuproboasmoro2011]

King in the North!

[@falin9557]

3:23 song?

[@jasonmaharjan5155]

1:40 sounds a bit like How soon is now? by The Smiths

[@gotohellaaron]

I am the son. I am the heir.

[@lancairw867]

gotohellaaron still one of my favorite songs 🎸👍🏻

[@Jawnietheboy]

1:42

[@kimberlyward5670]

so riiiiiiich

[@isaiaso-o6513]

Sigo sin entender

[@BROOKS39]

He sounds like Super Hands

[@istaris]

efek guod very guod

[@lunarscorpio3987]

Phase Shifter sounds like almost every Red Hot Chili Peppers song.

[@mariano_str0ke]

Frusciante used a chorus pedal. He never used a phaser

[@robertotinoco8696]

Excuse me, say again... oh yeah sure, whatever you say.

[@Evocati-Augusti]

i hear some VH

[@MercyfulDeath13]

who else got a Kirk Hammett ad before the video?

[@robbie_the_guitarist7277]

0:57

[@ivoleijen2008]

Nuwona...

[@davidgeorge1281]

He said flange!

[@notreal1477]

Dude knows the workings of all these pedals yet doesn't know to palm mute ain't talking bout love. smh.

[@lazarus6366]

He switched it up on purpose to avoid copyright claims

[@68ceylan06]

Halo ıch möchte auch sod 1

[@miguelpessanha]

Both examples wrong!! On Aint Talking About Love Eddie uses a phaser (MXR phase 90) not a flanger. On Purple Rain Prince uses a flanger(the boss one) not a chorus.

[@PrimalScream91]

+Miguel Pessanha If so then 98% of guitar players and guitar columns on the topic have been wrong...

[@nikcampos3550]

Purple Rain had a chorus effect in the rhythm guitar (played by Wendy Melvoin), although it was likely provided through the Roland Jc-120

[@binitshrestha8812]

Am i the only guy who feeels he loooks like Johny Sinns twin brother

[@sgtlonly6145]

How he said Nirvana Lmao

[@redbarchettta]

Nirvoana