FS Pearl FG-01 Flanger 80s MiJ £80

NorthernStomps · December 2019

Vintage Pearl Flanger, made in Japan in the 80s

Pedal and box are in good condition considering it’s age. Numerous cosmetic blemishes.

All guts are looking good and no compromise on any of the components or solder

Pots and jacks nice and smooth, runs off standard Boss style power supply or 9v battery

Pedal was fairly clean but have given it all a wipe round with some cotton pads and a gentle cleaner and it’s come out well

Info on the pedal:-

The Flanger creates a metallic swell sound. Pearl FG-01 has a wide range of delay time (1,8-20msec.), so you can create not only the typical flanging sound, but also chorus, phaser, short delay and reverb sounds.

The most radical BBD flanger ever made, this uncanny pedal is capable of far out extreme tones (that will give some hiss due to the full range controls) as well as classic flanging.

Experiments is the other name of this rare pedal.

Manual: Used to select the frequencies to be given flanging effect. Turning clockwise selects high frequency range, and counterclockwise selects low frequency range. This control is also effective for modifying tone color.

Feedback: Used to emphasize the characteristic flanger sound. Turning clockwise heightens effect.

Depth: Adjusts the depth of flanging effect. Turning clockwise gives deeper and wider effects.

Speed: Adjusts the speed of flanging effect. Turning clockwise increases speed.

All of the range have four parameter controls above the LED. In the case of the Flanger these parameters are: Manual which sets the BBD clock frequency (i.e. delay time) and therefore shifts the centre point of the comb filter, Feedback which adjusts the amount of delayed signal which is reprocessed, and the modulation controls, Speed which can be varied from one cycle every twelve seconds to ten cycles per second and Depth which controls the amount of modulation.

These controls allow a wide range of unusual effects to be obtained, and with careful adjustment can include Phasing, Flanging, Metallic reverb and even Chorus.

The Feedback control has to be set with care, as with most flangers of this type, since settings above seven cause the circuit to oscillate. Setting the pot just before oscillation provides a very deep 'metallic' sound which, when used with no modulation, creates a very interesting 'vocoder' type effect on vocals.