question about thru-0…maybe a bug?

[madeski]

I've noticed that when the flanger is set to thru-0 the sweep is a little odd. It'll go to the part where it "goes over the edge" and then as it's sweeping back it goes over the edge again before going all the way up. I hope that makes sense. It does it in sine and triangle. in peaks and ramp it doesn't really seem to do it or it's just hard to tell. None of the other flanger modes do this. They're all nice even sweeps all the way up and down, but thru-0 is like a sine wave with a bump at the bottom. I'm using the latest software, 3.0. I don't remember it doing this in the original software. I think it started with the release before 3.0, but I'm not sure. So is this the way this is intended to be or is something amiss? Does anyone else's do this?

[brock]

Quote:

it "goes over the edge" and then as it's sweeping back it goes over the edge again before going all the way up … So is this the way this is intended to be or is something amiss?

I don't own a ModFactor, but from your description, it sounds like classic through-zero flanging.  There's a very small, fixed delay time (a few milliseconds); alongside a delay time modulated by an LFO.  When the LFO-modulated delay time falls below the fixed delay time, you'll hear that 'sucked-through-a-vacuum' sound.

When the LFO bottoms out, it starts out the sweep at a shorter delay time than the fixed delay.  As it reaches the fixed delay time, it hits the null again on its way back up.  It makes sense to me that you'd hear that with a sine / triangle modulation, but not with a ramp/peak modulation (due to their characteristic 'shapes').

[madeski]

I was thinking this, but I don't recall it doing it before and when I have it set to a slow sweep it's a good second or two between each time it goes over the edge. So it completely cancels out twice. (I also have the the output of just the left channel running. This gives an even more cancelled sound than just using the right mono, but it does the same thing with both outputs)

Ok, so i just listened to some clips of the TZF Paradox flanger (I couldn't find any of the modfactor set to thru-0) There's one clip of it using a straight LFO (no envelope or attack) and it only crosses over once. If this is the way the modfactor's thru-0 is designed, then so be it…it just doesn't seem right to me. 

[madeski]

upon further experimentation i figured it out! I should have realized this earlier. the x-knob (MDO) controls how far over zero the flange goes. So the closer to 50 the closer it gets to going over. At 50 it goes over. The farther past 50 the more it goes over, which means it has to come back past zero, thereby cancelling a second time! So at 50 it's absolutely perfect. I also highly recommend when using mono to use the 2nd output instead of the first to get that way crazy over the top flange. 

Off hand, does anybody know if using the second output has any effect on any of the other presets? I went through all mine and didn't seem to notice a difference except for thru-0 flanging. 

[realdealblues]

I've been really, and I mean really struggling to try to figure out how to get a good sound from the Thru-0 Flanger on the Modfactor.  I don't want mine to cancel all the way out, I just want it to have that real what I call "vocal" quality.  The closest song I can think of is the 1st 20 seconds of Eric Johnson's song High Landons. 

I'm using mine in stereo and I've been tweaking the knobs little by little for weeks now but I guess I don't understand enough of how the controls really work.  Thanks for the hint about the x-knob.  Maybe that will help some.

If anybody has any good "starting place" settings for a good Thru-0 flanger setting or a real vocal sounding flanger like the one I mentioned and would like to post them or message me I would be more than appreciative?

[madeski]

The problem I found is that it won't sound the same in stereo as it does in mono. I run mine in mono with the output only hooked up to the output 2 jack, not the 1 (mono) jack. That gives the both throaty type sound and is also the setup capable of cancelling out all the way by use of the MDO knob. If you had it set up that way you would be able to set the MDO knob to 49 or less depending on how close you wanted it to come to cancelling out. 

Since you're in stereo you might wanna try either the Jet flanger or some of the Phaser types, which might have a better throaty sound in stereo. Or possible the vocal wah setting with an auto sweep. I thought there was actually one of them in the new presets when they expanded to 50 banks a while ago, but I haven't messed with that since last year so I don't remember.

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