OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Flanger Effect
Jet-Plane Sweep Flanger With Feedback, Depth and Rate Controls
OneTask is free, with no sign-up, and built by one person.
If this tool saved you time, a coffee helps keep new ones coming.
How the Flanger Effect works
Add a flanger effect to guitar, drums, vocals or a full mix and get the classic sweeping jet-plane whoosh. Set the base delay, how far it sweeps, how fast, how much is fed back and how much to blend in, then preview the result and export it straight from your browser.
How the flanger effect works
A flanger mixes the signal with a copy delayed by only a few milliseconds. At that tiny gap the two cancel at a series of evenly spaced frequencies, a comb filter. A slow oscillator sweeps the delay up and down, so the notches glide through the spectrum and produce the moving, metallic whoosh first made by pressing a finger on the flange of a tape reel.
Shaping the flanger effect
Base delay sets where the sweep is centred and depth sets how far it travels. Rate is how many sweeps per second; under 0.5 Hz gives the slow jet, faster rates sound like a warble. Feedback sends the output back into the delay, sharpening the notches into ringing peaks; negative feedback flips the phase for a hollower tone. Mix at 50 percent gives the deepest notches.
Good starting points
For a slow jet on drums try 2 ms delay, 3 ms depth, 0.2 Hz and 60 percent feedback. For a subtle shimmer on guitar lower the feedback to 20 percent and the mix to 35 percent.
FAQ
Why is the effect strongest at 50 percent mix?
The notches come from the dry and delayed signals cancelling each other. They cancel completely only when both are equally loud, so a fifty percent mix gives the deepest, most obvious sweep.
What does negative feedback do?
It inverts the signal before feeding it back, which moves the comb filter peaks to where the notches were. The result sounds hollower and more nasal than positive feedback at the same amount.
Is a flanger the same as a phaser?
No. A flanger uses a short delay, which creates many evenly spaced notches. A phaser uses allpass filters, which create a few unevenly spaced notches, so it sounds softer and less metallic.
See also: all Audio tools, Images, Video & Screen, PDF, SVG, Simulations & Screensavers, Generative Art, Chart Makers, 3D Model Viewers, Drawing Pads, Mockups & 3D Making, Diagram Makers, 3D Science, Tracker Music.
Related tools
Chorus Effect
Thicken vocals and guitars with a multi-voice stereo chorus.
Phaser Effect
Add a swirling phaser with stages, rate, depth and resonance controls.
Echo And Delay
Add echo with delay time, feedback and mix controls.
Distortion And Bitcrusher
Distortion, bit reduction and sample-rate crushing for lo-fi sound.
8D Audio
Rotate any song around the listener's head, 8D style.