Clones of MXR Phase 95, MXR M117 flanger & EP3 Echoplex

guitarnerdswe

Fractal Fanatic
Ok, time for round 2! As you might remember, a while back I painstakingly cloned and matched a real MXR Phase 90 in the Axe-Fx IIIs phaser block. Since then, we've gotten a total overhaul of both the phaser and flanger block. I finally found the time to redo the Phase 90 (actually a Phase 95) and a MXR flanger.

I've also spent quite a lot of time figuring out what makes the famous Maestro EP3 Echoplex tape delay sound the way it does, and will throw that into the preset as well. All clones are done using technical knowledge, audio and sound clips, help from others, real time analyser, spectrogram and way too much time... Now, on to the pedals!

MXR Phase 95
Both script and block logo versions. I've decided to use the LFO high cut to not have to twiddle with the depth knob when changing the rate. The real pedal goes from around 0.125 Hz to 9.6 Hz.

MXR Flanger
MXR M117R flanger. The flanger in the actual preset is set to what the EVH button does on the EVH flanger. So it's a grey box flanger, with the "Unchained" settings.

Maestro EP3 Echoplex
This one was way harder than I expected. Thank god for Audioritys excellent PlexiTape plugin, which is close to perfect compared to the real deal. I had to chose between matching the very first repeat, the subsequent ones, or the self oscillation. I could get one pretty much dead on, but not all three at with the same settings in the delay block. In the end, I managed the get a nice compromise between all three. EQ and modulation (wow and flutter) are matched to using a brand new tape, although I did dial in a bit more modulation (because I like it that way).

If you'd like to emulate a worn machine with an old tape, Increase the depth of both LFOs further (especially the second one for the flutter), and reduce the high cut frequency. Or, as this particular EP3 is a very dark unit, you can increase the low and high cut frequencies for a brighter tone.

NOTE: The delay block will go into self oscillation if the feedback is set much above 40%, very similar to a real Echoplex. Reduce master feedback if you want to avoid this.

The Preset
Modified Friedman HBE factory preset, nothing special amp-wise. Scene names are pretty self explanatory. It's attached at the bottom of this post.

Sound Clips

Phase 95 script (pink noise demo). Pedal first, then Axe.



MXR flanger. Flanger after distortion for maximum effect. The order is dry, pedal, then Axe. Settings are manual and width, 12 o'clock. Speed, 10 o'clock. Regen, 3 o'clock.



EP3 Echoplex. Audiority PlexiTape first, then Axe.
 

Attachments

  • Matched P95 M117 & Echoplex.syx
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Excellent!

One thing: the phaser pedal seems to have a little bit of high tone that I'm not hearing as the same in your recreation. A quick spectrogram of the recordings reveals the same. I'd turn up the TONE control in the Phaser block just a little.
 
Excellent!

One thing: the phaser pedal seems to have a little bit of high tone that I'm not hearing as the same in your recreation. A quick spectrogram of the recordings reveals the same. I'd turn up the TONE control in the Phaser block just a little.
Thanks for your feedback! The original phaser was the effect I was the least happy with. I also checked with a spectrogram and couldn't really see or hear any added treble. Turning up the tone just got further away from the pedal. But you at least gave me a reason to redo the phaser ;) I think what you were hearing was the top of the sweep not going as high. This was intentional, because the JFET VCR type (default for the phaser type) stays at the top of the sweep much longer than the real pedal. It also makes the waveform kind of a weird. Easy to see here:

Old phaser.png

So I went to work and tried a ton of stuff. In the end, I think I came much closer:

New phaser.png

I had to resort to some weird settings though. Maxing out the min and max frequency, using the exponential VCR type, and using the VCR bias and exponent parameter to set the start and end frequencies. Close enough to the real deal for my tastes though! I've updated the preset and sound clip.
 
I cannot import it on my unit, have FW 12.07, does it need FW 12.08? neither import or Fractal Bot seem to work :(
 
I updated it 😉 The original post will always link to the latest version.
Hi,

I tried your preset which sounds awesome.
Just one question.
I believe EVH usually used echoplex between amp and guitar but that was put after cab block in your preset.
Can you please advise me your intention to do that?
Thanks a lot.
 
Hi,

I tried your preset which sounds awesome.
Just one question.
I believe EVH usually used echoplex between amp and guitar but that was put after cab block in your preset.
Can you please advise me your intention to do that?
Thanks a lot.
Simply because that's where I prefer it 😉 I don't use delay in the same way Eddie used it on those early records.
 
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