The Andy Summers Walking On The Moon is an analog flanger and filter pedal from Electro-Harmonix, built as a Special Artist Edition for The Police guitarist Andy Summers. It carries three knobs, Rate, Range and Color, plus a toggle that switches it from a moving flanger into a fixed filter, and it has separate dry and wet outputs1.
Under the artist graphics it is essentially an Electric Mistress: MusicRadar's reviewer Alex Lynham wrote that "Although this is badged as a signature pedal, it's in fact just an Electric Mistress with a new design and chassis"2. That lineage is the point. Summers used an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress on The Police's 1979 recordings of Walking On The Moon and Message In A Bottle, from the Reggatta de Blanc album, and this pedal packages that circuit with his name on it34.
An analog flanger with a Filter Matrix mode
In its normal mode the pedal is an analog flanger, the jet-sweep effect made by delaying a copy of the signal and moving that delay back and forth. Pedal of the Day described the results as "Liquid flange effects that hint toward chorus with extra depth and nuance," and summed it up as "Classic tones, weird and awesome matrix filter sounds and more, this is vintage modulation at its finest"7.
The second mode is what gives the pedal its full name. Flipping the Filter Matrix toggle disengages the LFO (the low-frequency oscillator that drives the sweep) from the flanger circuit, freezing the flanger and giving a fixed filter effect5. With the movement stopped, the pedal can add chime or metallic overtones to your sound without the motion of a traditional modulation pedal7, and Guitar World's reviewer Paul Riario found it opens up "alternative filtered tones including metallic and boxy-sounding ring modulations"6. MusicRadar's Lynham described it as stopping "the LFO at a specific point, adding the resulting resonant, metallic feedback"2.
Two features that set the pedal apart from many other flangers come straight from the Electric Mistress: the separate dry and wet outputs, and the Filter Matrix itself2.
The controls: Rate, Range, Color and the Filter Matrix switch
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rate | Sets the speed of modulation, from slow, smooth filter sweeps to jittering vibrato7 |
| Range | Controls how narrow or wide the effect sweeps into the bass frequency range7 |
| Color | Affects the intensity of the flanger effect, from subtle chorusing to classic jet woosh7 |
| Filter Matrix toggle | Disengages the LFO from the flanger circuit, freezing the sweep into a fixed filter5 |
The knobs interact. MusicRadar's Lynham called Color "a little like a depth control, and interacts with the range knob to provide the voicing of the pedal," and noted that "After setting the colour and range, the rate becomes chorus-like past the 10 o'clock point"2. That chorus territory is no accident: Summers himself, told about the signature pedal, said he would have called the effect a chorus rather than a flanger4.
On the sound in flanger mode, Lynham found it "a quite mild, rich flanger, and has to be coaxed into that harsher voicing"2. Guitar World's verdict listed "bold flanger tones and even bolder filter sounds" among the reasons to buy, alongside the smaller form factor and the Walking On The Moon illustration by Laura Josephson6.
Outputs and power
The pedal has three jacks: Input, Flanged Out for the wet effect, and Dry Out6. The Dry output splits your dry signal from the effected signal7, so you can send each to a different amp or destination, a routing option few flangers offer789. Power comes from a 9V battery or a 9V DC center-negative supply, and the pedal uses true bypass2.
From the Electric Mistress to an artist edition
The Electric Mistress connection is the pedal's whole story. Summers used an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger on Message In A Bottle and Walking On The Moon4, and MusicRadar reported at the pedal's announcement that his Electric Mistress use on those 1979 Reggatta de Blanc tracks was the background to the signature model3. Guitar World's history of the Electric Mistress notes that Electro-Harmonix rebranded the Deluxe Electric Mistress as the Andy Summers Walking On The Moon pedal10.
Guitar World's review describes the new pedal as "a near-sonic recreation of an original Deluxe Electric Mistress stompbox with the same topology," housed in a compact die-cast chassis that is the same as EHX's discontinued Deluxe Electric Mistress6. Pedal of the Day noted the small footprint7.
The artist edition treatment shows on the outside and in the box. Special Artist Edition graphics featuring Andy's signature adorn the chassis5, and a tribute Walking On The Moon poster with art by Laura Josephson is included6. Guitar World's reviewer called it "More of a commemorative tribute than a collaboration"6. MusicRadar noted that with the stereo Electric Mistress being the standard EHX flanger carried by retailers at present, this release stands alongside it rather than replacing it2.
"Excellent flanger"
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Questions
Is the Walking On The Moon flanger analog or digital?
It is an analog flanger. Electro-Harmonix lists it as an Analog Flanger / Filter Matrix, and reviewers including Guitar World and Pedal of the Day describe it the same way. It is a near-sonic recreation of the original Deluxe Electric Mistress stompbox circuit rather than a digital modeling pedal.
What does the Filter Matrix switch do?
The Filter Matrix switch disengages the LFO from the flanger circuit, freezing the flanger and giving a fixed filter effect. With the sweep stopped, you can dial in chime or metallic overtones, including boxy, ring-modulation-like tones, without the movement of a traditional modulation pedal.
What is the Dry output used for?
The Dry output lets you split your dry signal from the effected signal. The pedal has an Input, a Flanged (wet) Out and a Dry Out, so you can run the wet and dry signals to separate amps or destinations, a feature the original Electric Mistress also carried.
Is the Walking On The Moon flanger based on the Electric Mistress?
Yes. MusicRadar calls it an Electric Mistress with a new design and chassis, and Guitar World describes it as a near-sonic recreation of the original Deluxe Electric Mistress with the same topology, in the same compact die-cast chassis as the discontinued Deluxe Electric Mistress.
Where is the Andy Summers flanger made?
MusicRadar lists its origin as the US. It is made by Electro-Harmonix, the New York effects maker whose Electric Mistress Summers himself used on The Police's recordings.
Is it a limited edition pedal?
Electro-Harmonix calls it a Special Artist Edition, with graphics featuring Andy Summers' signature on the chassis. Guitar World's reviewer described it as more of a commemorative tribute than a collaboration, and a tribute Walking On The Moon poster with art by Laura Josephson is included in the box.
Sources (10)
- "The Police" Flanger: EHX Andy Summers Walking On The Moon, gearnews.com, 2023-07-14
- Electro-Harmonix Andy Summers Walking On The Moon Analog Flanger / Filter Matrix pedal review, MusicRadar, 2023-12-14
- Electro-Harmonix announces the Andy Summers Walking On The Moon flanger pedal, MusicRadar, 2023-07-13
- Andy Summers seems surprised his new signature pedal with Electro Harmonix is a flanger: "I would have called it a chorus", MusicRadar, 2023-09-18
- Andy Summers Walking On The Moon, Electro-Harmonix
- Electro-Harmonix Andy Summers Walking on the Moon Flanger review, Guitar World, 2023-10-06
- Electro-Harmonix Andy Summers Walking On The Moon Flanger / Filter Matrix, Pedal of the Day, 2024-07-05
- Electro-Harmonix Andy Summers Walking On The Moon, Delicious Audio, 2024-07-08
- EHX Joins Forces with Andy Summers for New Walking on the Moon Signature Flanger Pedal, GuitarPlayer, 2023-07-14
- How the Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress became the go-to flanger for David Gilmour and Andy Summers, and remained a pedalboard staple for nearly 50 years, Guitar World, 2024-01-23
