The Moog MF Flange is an analog flanger pedal from Moog Music's Minifooger line, subtitled the Bucket Brigade Harmonic Manipulator. It is built around a bucket-brigade chip, the analog delay circuit at the heart of classic flangers, and it does far more than a conventional flanger: MusicRadar's review team found that at the extremes of its range, the subtitle seems more appropriate than flanger, while in the first 20 percent of its travel it can do what most flangers do12.
How it sounds
Premier Guitar's reviewer described the pedal's basic voice as essentially dark and mysterious, like any really good analog bucket-brigade device, and found the real delight of the MF Flange is how it can range from subdued to positively deranged. In mellow, more traditional settings it is organic and warmly analog, and at low delay time settings it produces near-rotary, chorus-like sounds1. One thing it will not do is self-oscillate: MusicRadar noted that the effect does not feed back into self-oscillation2.
Controls
The pedal carries the familiar flanger layout plus one extra switch:
- Rate, Depth and Feedback knobs, as on just about any flanger1
- Type switch, toggling between positive and negative feedback mixes; MusicRadar reports the lower negative position is billed by Moog as the more vocal, and the upper positive position as more traditional2
- Internal stereo switch, which enables the pedal's stereo capability1
Moog's warning on the stereo switch: "When set to Stereo and in bypass, excessive loading may occur. To avoid this, set this switch to Mono. A stereo output will still be present."3
The rear panel carries an expression pedal/CV input for extra control, a feature MusicRadar notes is shared across the Minifooger range2. Premier Guitar's reviewer called the optional expression pedal highly recommended, saying that with it in the mix you can move from outlandish to demure with a twitch, sweeping the delay time by foot1.
What reviewers said
Both reviews were strongly positive. Premier Guitar's verdict list read: "Radical to subdued modulation tones. Sensitive, wide-ranging controls. Many personalities and voices. Built like a rock." The same reviewer found the enclosure hefty and sturdy, seeming carved from granite, with switch work and jacks affixed securely to the chassis1. MusicRadar's conclusion was blunt: "If you love flangers then it's a no-brainer: get an MF Flange now," with the pedal also on the to-try list for lovers of rich modulation effects overall2.
Premier Guitar's reviewer summed the MF Flange up this way: "Radical to subdued modulation tones. Sensitive, wide-ranging controls. Many personalities and voices. Built like a rock." The same review called it, for flanger lovers, "a no-brainer: get an MF Flange now," at a street price of $18912. If you are comparing analog flangers more broadly, see the Flanger Pedals type page, or pedals such as the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress or the A/DA Flanger.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Rob Chapman
Reverb
Questions
Is the Moog MF Flange analog or digital?
It is fully analog. MusicRadar's review team described the Minifooger pedals as 100 percent analogue with a high-quality signal path and true bypass, and Premier Guitar's reviewer described the MF Flange as an analog pedal built around a bucket-brigade chip, the same kind of delay circuit used in classic analog modulation effects.
Can I use an expression pedal with the Moog MF Flange?
Yes. The pedal has an expression pedal/CV input at the rear for extra control, and Premier Guitar's reviewer found that with an optional expression pedal connected, delay time can be swept so the sound moves from outlandish to demure with a small movement. The reviewer called the expression pedal highly recommended.
Does the Moog MF Flange work in stereo?
Yes. An internal switch enables the pedal's stereo capability. Note Moog's warning: when set to Stereo and in bypass, excessive loading may occur, and to avoid this the switch should be set to Mono, in which case a stereo output will still be present.
When did the Moog MF Flange come out?
Moog announced the Minifooger MF Chorus and MF Flange pedals in March 2015, with the MF Flange available from June 2015. Both were priced at $209 at announcement, and the two pedals brought a new look to the entire Minifooger range.
What is the difference between the MF Flange and the Cluster Flux?
The MF Flange is a compact Minifooger pedal released in 2015. The MF-108M Cluster Flux was Moog's earlier, larger Moogerfooger-format flanger/chorus/vibrato processor, announced in 2011 with an MSRP of $599.00 and shipping in Q3 2011, with LFO options, tap tempo and MIDI control noted in a Delicious Audio review.
Sources (3)
- Moog MF Flange Harmonic Manipulator Review, Premier Guitar, 2015-04-28
- Moog Minifooger MF Flange review, MusicRadar, 2016-01-30
- Moog announces new Minifooger Chorus and Flange pedals, MusicRadar, 2015-03-27
