The Ibanez DFL is a digital flanger pedal made by Ibanez, produced from 1985. It holds a specific place in the company's history: ToneHome, an independent reference for Ibanez products, records it as Ibanez' first digital flanger, and describes it as a "very advanced, top level device"1.
What it is
The DFL belongs to Ibanez' Master Series L range, according to ToneHome's product page1. Where most flangers of the mid 1980s, including Ibanez' own analog models such as the Ibanez FL9, used analog bucket-brigade delay chips to create the flanging effect, the DFL took a digital approach. ToneHome's description of it as a very advanced, top level device reflects that positioning1.
For a player, a digital flanger of this era is a different proposition from an analog one. The DFL was Ibanez' first step into that territory, and it remains the only flanger of its kind in the company's vintage range as recorded by ToneHome1.
History and price
Ibanez produced the DFL from 19851. Its list price in 1986 was 499 DM in Germany, which ToneHome also records as $235 USD1. Both figures come from the pedal's original production period.
| Production start | 19851 |
| List price, 1986 | 499 DM in Germany, recorded by ToneHome as $235 USD1 |
| Series | Master Series L1 |
Collectibility and availability today
ToneHome records the DFL as not re-issued, with availability rated rare and collectibility rated high1. In practice that means:
- the pedal seldom appears for sale,
- examples that do surface are of interest to collectors of vintage Ibanez effects rather than only to players looking for a flanger,
- and its standing as Ibanez' first digital flanger adds to that appeal1.
The DFL has never been re-issued. ToneHome records its availability as rare and its collectibility as high, so examples are uncommon on the used market1.
Players who want a flanger in the spirit of Ibanez' vintage designs but in current production can look at the Ibanez Mini Flanger FLMINI, a compact analog flanger the company unveiled in 2021, or the Ibanez Flanger Mini announced at NAMM 2020. Neither is a reissue of the DFL, which remains a digital design unique to its era.
Manual
ToneHome hosts a scanned copy of the Ibanez DFL manual as a PDF on its product page, available as a free download1. For a pedal that has been out of production since the 1980s, this is the most direct documentation of its operation as Ibanez described it when the DFL was current.
Videos
bojketic
ToneShack Studio
Sources (1)
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME, 1986
