DynaFlanger: Myth and reality

zappafranco

zappafranco

Inspired
DynaFlanger means that the Flanger responds to your pick attack.
It seems that this has been achieved in this preset:
p005609_SGheavysolos zappaflange fx2.syx
So maybe it can not get any better than this, right? Or what is the ultimate DynaFlanger solution on the Axe FX3?
Just as a side note I want to add that recently I bought a Keely Bubble Tron which promises to simulate the DynaFlanger effect, but at least for me the results are not that convincing and I did not get the sound of the Yo Mama solo. Update: 3 years later I think there is a conventional flanger in Yo Mama. Just to state the obvious one more time: The Dynaflanger is all over Shut up and play yer Guitar. Another favorite of mine is "Outside Now", but here again I am not sure if this is just a conventional flanger or a Dynaflanger? Sometimes I think it is hard to find out because a Dynaflanger can have more of a singing chorus-like sound or more of a jet-whoosh-like sound. I would say in "Outside now" it is more of a whoosh-like sound which means it could be either a dynamic or a conventional flanger.
 
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Thank you very much Eliju. So than he did it like this:
I used a MicMix Dynaflanger and Aphex compressors. The signal is compressed after the flanging. And the flanger is set to follow the envelope of the high-frequency decay, rather than the amplitude envelope.
 
As mentioned before in the FM3 Soundbank there is a Preset "Dweezil's Bassguy" this Preset also exists in the AXEFX3 Sounbank. Both versions have a Flanger, but the AXEFX3 version has only one scene, the FM3 version has 3: Scene 1: Dry, Scene 2: Less FX, Scene 3 DZ Lead.
So this is another thing which might be interesting for you Zappamanicas out there.
I still would sleep better if some of the Zappa insiders here in the forum would tell me the "truth" about the usage of the Dynaflanger especially in the Yo Mama solo.
Does it really have to be a dynamic Faser to reach that sound?
Did Zappa maybe combine dynamic with "static" Faserpedals in Yo mama?
What is the relationship between the dirty sound and the clean DI sound in the overall sound of the Yo mama solo?
Which preset for Fractal Audio Units comes closest to get the Yo mama solo sound.
Update 2023: Now I think there is no Dynaflanger in Yo Mama only a conventional Flanger.
Possible presets are so far:
1. p005609_SGheavysolos zappaflange fx2.syx (AXEFX2, only one amp, so the DI part is missing)
2. 056 Dweezil's Bassguy.syx (FM3, only one amp, so the DI part is missing)
3. Zappa Flanger The preset I did which has two amps with the Roland Jazz Chorus for a kind of DI Part and I integrated the dynamic Flanger Block from Number 2 in the list. I am not an expert. So this preset might need some more tweaking. But conceptional it might go in the right direction. But here comes the point which is beyond what I can do: A true emulation of the Flanger should react to the envelope of the high frequency decay. The dynamic Flanger Block in Preset 2 und 3 is not working like this. The dynamic Parameters of those Presets are Depth, Feedback and Manual. And I guess that it is not possible to make a AXEFX3 Preset where the Flanger reacts to the envelope of the high frequency decay. Or am I wrong?
4. In the 1400 Naked Amps Pack from AustinBuddy are a lot of hidden treasures. Among other things you can find two Dynaflanger Presets and some more Dweezil Zappa Presets. Maybe one day AustinBuddy finds the time to give a little overview about his Zappa Presets...
5. The following AxeFest Video might give you the most profound insight how to construct a Dynaflanger Preset on the AXE from the ground up explained by Dweezil himself:
 
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Just got a FM9 about a week ago, and I am trying to replicate the Dynaflanger sound as well. As a reference, I have a Meris Polymoon which has two Dynaflangers in it's internal signal path. I have been able to get a wonderful Dynaflanger sound from this pedal (refer to the "Stereo dynamic doubling" sound sample on the product page for the Polymoon on the Meris website). I have only been using headphones on the FM9 so far, but to me using a single amp with a stereo tape delay block, an envelope follower on the time parameter, the mix set to 40%, and setting the L/R ratio to 80% sounds much closer to the Dynaflanger sound, than using two amps panned extreme left & right. I still need to A/B the settings in my FM9 with the Polymoon (won't be able to do this until a few weeks from now), but once I have dialed the sound in, I will share my preset.

As a side note, using a flanger with depth set to 0, feedback set to negative values and having the manual parameter controlled with the envelope follower gives you that lovely "puking" sound as heard on the Zappa track Truck Driver Divorce between the 1:30 and 1:40 mark, approximately.

Hope this is of any help...
 
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Just listened to the Yo Mama solo again; one of his finest solos for sure. However due to the massive amount of feedback, it is quite hard to hear what exactly is going on. However, what I do hear is some sort of direct PI sound alongside the distorted single. Also, there is definitely some flanging going on, but I believe the flanger is set either very slow, and the range is set to a very particular frequency with negative feedback, or the impact of the envelope follower is minimal. Again, I have received excellent results with the Polymoon, so I need to compare the sound of that pedal with similar settings in my FM9 and dial it more towards the Yo Mama sound from there.
 
I'm pretty sure that's the piezo pickup he had embeded in his SG. I remember an interview from long ago where someone detailed the modifications made to that guitar. I think he was initially looking for more clarity while using more distortion so he would mix in some of that "direct" signal.
 
zappafranco said:
Thank you very much Eliju. So than he did it like this:
I used a MicMix Dynaflanger and Aphex compressors. The signal is compressed after the flanging. And the flanger is set to follow the envelope of the high-frequency decay, rather than the amplitude envelope.
Click to expand...
I do wonder whether you can mimic this by adding a parallel path that is not connected to an output (and does not merge with the main path) and apply an aggresive high frequency pass filter to the signal of this path, and use the output of this filter as the input source for the envelope follower? I have no idea how this will alter the sound and feel of the dynaflange effect.

EDIT: I found out you can only choose between input 1 and input 2, so there is no way to do this… my preset is kinda maximizing the CPU of my FM9 anyhow…
 
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I suppose Zappa might have originally used the output of the Barcus-Berry-style PU he had put in his SG to trigger the envelope. That would have given an extremely sharp attack and fast roll-off.
 
Please find attached an early preset with both types of dynaflanging: as a doubler, and as a filter with negative feedback.
I am curious to hear what you think...
 

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mjahoger said:
Just listened to the Yo Mama solo again; one of his finest solos for sure. However due to the massive amount of feedback, it is quite hard to hear what exactly is going on. However, what I do hear is some sort of direct PI sound alongside the distorted single. Also, there is definitely some flanging going on, but I believe the flanger is set either very slow, and the range is set to a very particular frequency with negative feedback, or the impact of the envelope follower is minimal. Again, I have received excellent results with the Polymoon, so I need to compare the sound of that pedal with similar settings in my FM9 and dial it more towards the Yo Mama sound from there.
Click to expand...
Can you share your Merris Polymoon Dynaflanger Settings? I am still searching for that perfect Yo Mama Tone.
 
Here you go. The first one is a slow LFO controlled flanger, the second one the Dynaflange sound that Dweezil Zappa replicates in the AxeFest video, and the third one a Dynaflange sound I have heard on Ship Arriving… and Truck Driver Divorce - the sound Zappa used to call that “puking sound”. Please note that on none of my Zappa-esque sounds from the Polymoon I have a delay line running (mix is set to zero), so besides the Dynamics, Speed, Mode and Feedback knobs you can ignore the rest of the settings.

Be aware that with the second and third preset, you might have to tweak the sensitivity of the envelope generator to match the output of your pickups or any boosts you might have before the PolyMoon. Hope this helps.
 

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That looks great. Thank you very much. It seems the screenshots are from MidiDesigner. Do you connect the Editor with the Polymoon with a wireless connection? Yamaha Bluetooth MIDI? Do you maybe have those settings as sysex Files?
 
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