SubDecay Starlight

The SubDecay Starlight is a flanger pedal line from Oregon-based pedal maker SubDecay, running from the three-knob Starlight Quantum Flanger of 2012 through the Starlight DLX, the six-LFO-shape Starlight Flanger V2, and the MKIII with 11 modes, presets and MIDI¹². The V2 is a small analog unit that, in Premier Guitar's words, "nails the classic flange sounds while adding a wider variety of selectable LFO shapes"¹. Both the V2 and the MKIII are now listed by Subdecay as discontinued³⁴.

The line takes its cue from vintage flange pedals like the classic A/DA Flanger, using analog bucket brigade devices (BBD) to produce the effect on the analog versions¹.

An analog flanger with selectable LFO shapes

The Starlight Flanger V2 is built around the MN3209 BBD chip, a 256-stage bucket brigade device capable of very short delay times¹. Subdecay chose the MN3209 over the more common MN3207 because the shorter delay times allow a higher sweep, a choice dating back to the Starlight Quantum⁶. At maximum speed, the short delay times produce a fluttering flange that Premier Guitar's reviewer said sounds like a fast and twisted tremolo¹.

The V2's selling point is its six LFO shapes, selected by the shape knob³¹:

The Triangle/Square mix, Random Sample/Hold and Step Triangle shapes were carried over from Subdecay's Quasar DLX⁶. The V2 was a complete redesign of the original Starlight, which Subdecay describes as having warmer tone, more transparency and a dramatic improvement in headroom and dynamics, all in a small package that will not cramp a pedalboard⁵.

The V2 controls

The V2 keeps the control set simple. The shape and speed knobs control the LFO, while the depth, manual and regen knobs are all part of the analog circuit⁵.

Inside the unit are three trimmers that let you calibrate internal control voltage, feedback and bias¹. True bypass switching means the pedal will not color your tone when off⁵. The pedal requires a power supply; it runs on 9V DC, center negative, drawing 25mA³¹.

Subdecay's own demo of the V2, exploring the controls and LFO shapes, was recorded mostly with a Music Man Axis guitar and a Fender Twin Reverb, with some Stratocaster, and the Variac Overdrive used liberally⁷.

The MKIII: 11 modes, presets and MIDI

The Starlight Flanger MKIII is a flanger inspired by the Starlight DLX, with an ultra-wide sweep range of 0 to 21ms and 11 modulation modes, including classic sweep, through zero, step modulation and infinite flanging⁴. It carries 11 savable presets and full MIDI control of all parameters, with optional MIDI clock sync, preset changes, automated bypass and LFO reset⁴.

The control surface works in layers, switched by a three-position Edit Mode toggle²:

In MOD/PRESET mode, the select knob switches between presets and the top three knobs function as Rate, Depth and Regen; in COLOR mode they become Mix, Manual and Warp, with the select knob choosing from the 11 modulation modes⁴. The modes run from an envelope-sped-up sine LFO (mode 0) through ramp sequences, random sample/hold with a glide control, through-zero flanging, and infinite rise and fall modulation at modes 9 and 10². Holding the footswitch saves a preset².

The Mix knob adjusts from 100% dry to 100% wet, with fully wet useful for vibrato; flanger effects are usually a 50/50 mix. Manual controls the flanger sweep, often called "frequency" on other flangers, and should sit at noon or higher for traditional sounds. The Gate control acts as a squelch, cutting the flanger effect when you are not playing, which helps with high regen and wide sweeps⁴.

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson reviewed the MKIII in February 2025 at $199 from the Subdecay webstore (£195 from Joe's Pedals in the UK), calling it "the culmination of 13+ years of development and evolution"². He found the deployment "initially can be a little clunky," noting it would have been nice to advance presets with the footswitch, and that it is not necessarily the most immediate big-sounding flanger, but that due diligence and patience yield superior results². He also found that the MIDI connection accesses a hidden onboard synthesizer, much like on Subdecay's Noise Theory². In Guitar Pedal X's 2025 round-up he called it "one of the most versatile of all" flangers, while noting you definitely need access to the manual⁸.

From the Quantum Flanger to the MKIII

The Starlight line began in 2012 as the three-knob Starlight Quantum Flanger, an all analog bucket brigade flanger built on the MN3209 with digital control of its flexibility, in a die-cast metal enclosure⁶². The Starlight DLX followed, a deluxe flanger with seven LFO shapes, envelope flanging and more options, including a regen control tuned to oscillate at maximum; it could not be powered by a battery⁹. Both are out of production, replaced by the Starlight Flanger V2⁶⁹.

Guitar Pedal X counts four major versions of the circuit across the line's history, with the MKIII featuring most of the DLX's essential features². On the question of circuit type, the earlier iterations were analog, but the review noted there is no mention of analog or BBD for the MKIII, so it could be a digital device².

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