The Asheville Music Tools AFG-1 is a peculiar take on flanger by a US company that’s establishing itself as an innovator in the high-end analog pedal realm, through a unique blend of top-notch components and creative design.
Leveraging A 256-stage MN3009 high-voltage BBD chip powered at 15V, the AFG-1 delivers flanger (and chorus) sounds in two ways: through your regular LFO-based swirls, and/or using dynamic-based modulation, which applies the effect to the dynamics of the signal.
That “and/or” there means that both these effects can be applied at ones, by turning up the Envelop knob, which, at maximum settings, creates an effect reminiscent of auto-wah, but with a flanger applied to the signal rather than a filter.
The envelope’s intensity can be tweaked through the ENV toggle, which offers three sets of Attack / Release curves, useful in different sonic environments – faster for faster funky rhythms, slower for ambient soundscapes, and medium for anything in between.
There are also 3 flanging modes accessible via the toggle switch on the left:
- Traditional Airplane Mode,
- a more subtle Swirl mode,
- a Formant Phase mode that produces a deep hollow or vocal tone.
Another interesting and useful touch is the 4-position rotary switch on the top of the pedal, which lets you assign CV / Expression control to Freq, Feedback, Rate, or Amount.
This is a cool pedal, hear how it sounds in the video below.
Asheville Music Tools AFG-1 Flanger, Builder’s Notes
100% Analog BBD based Flanger pedal: A Whooshless Resonant Comb Modulator
The Analoger™ Series AFG-1 is a 100% analog dynamic flanger with some unique differentiating features. Its lush swirls, vocal comb filter sweeps, and metallic flourishes can be controlled with the on-board LFO, or articulated by your playing dynamics with our bi-directional, multi response envelope follower. By drawing from synthesizer-style architectures and elements of beloved vintage rack effects, Hawker has designed this modulator from the ground up to go where no classic flanger has gone before.
The AFG-1 flanger architecture uses a 256-stage MN3009 high-voltage BBD chip powered by an internal 15V power supply, to create an extremely short delay in the audio range of time. Adding this delayed signal back into the original signal forms a series of peaks and notches as harmonically related frequencies that constructively and destructively interfere. This is known as a comb filter. By moving this comb filter up and down over time, the AFG-1 creates the sound we know and love as flanging.
Feedback: lets you deepen the comb effect to explore exotic flange-like sounds or push it to drone territory. Dial in peaks and notches for airplane whoosh, resonant pipe/bell sounds, drippy chorus, or even deep vocal tones.
Rate: LFO rate, from 0.01Hz to 8Hz (or faster with use of an Expression Pedal). Modulate your playing for even more sonic possibilities. From delicate whoosh to shimmery warbles and octave shifts, the LFO will take you to new sounds with real fractional delay modulation that can only be achieved by true analog delay.
Amount: Control the influence of the LFO, from light tone enhancing shimmers to deep jet engine roars and mind-bending warbles! Unlike traditional flangers that use a linear additive modulation, we use an exponential bi-polar modulator for smooth volt/octave time and frequency shifts that stay musical over the entire sweep range. Our Amount also adds LFO bi-directionally to the FREQ control rather than pans between like a traditional Flanger.
Drive: The Drive knob is a tweak of the drive circuit of our ADG-1 pedal. It provides character, rich saturation and tone shaping as the drive is increased. This generates extra harmonics to work with when combined with comb filtered flanging tones. At about 9:00 the drive is unity gain, with a transparent and flat response. As gain is increased it becomes increasingly saturated and sculpted, providing nearly 36dB of total gain with a subtle midrange emphasis.
Envelope: The Envelope follower knob provides a means of articulated “Whooshless” dynamic flanging. This flange effect rides your dynamics and gets out of the way when not playing, eliminating the sometimes unwanted whoosh artifacts of typical flangers. The envelope can be thought of as a third hand turning the FREQ knob with your playing dynamics.
ENV Toggle: Three position toggle that gives your Envelope control three sets of Attack / Release curves for everything from quick articulated movement to slow ambient enhancements.
Phase Toggle: sets phase of both the feedback and mix to three options, Traditional Airplane Mode, a subtle Swill mode, and a Phase mode that produces a deep hollow or vocal tone.
Bypass Footswitch: effect on/off. The internal switch selects between True Bypass and Buffered Bypass using a JFET buffer for a warm yet natural buffered sound.
Expression Switch: 4 position rotary switch lets you assign CV / Expression control to Freq, Feedback, Rate, or Amount. Connect an external expression pedal (internal +5V supplied on ring) or a 0-5V CV input for even more range and control of your playing.True Bypass / Buffered bypass switch: Internal slide switch. Select between true bypass (takes the AFG-1 entirely out of your signal path) or a classic JFET buffered bypass to prevent noise and signal loss in your effect chain.
What Makes the AFG-1 Special?
The AFG-1 includes all the features one expects from a flanger. Use the onboard LFO for impossibly slow whooshes or fast warbles. Our LFO has a true sine wave shape and a synthesizer-style exponential converter for a smooth, musical sweep over several octaves of delay time. This ensures the modulation is pitch symmetrical rather than Hz symmetrical. The Freq control behaves similarly to the Manual control on a typical flanger and sets the center point of the LFO to dial in the perfect sweep range. The VCA controlled Feedback routes the delayed signal back upon itself to enhance the intensity of the comb filter or create oscillating tuned pitches at maximum settings. And finally, the Drive control adds rich saturation with increasingly sculpted tone and harmonics to add to the flanger sound.
What truly sets the AFG-1 apart is the Envelope control. This is very rarely found in pedal format flangers and hearkens back to classic “whooshless” rackmount flangers of the 70s. Featuring both positive and negative control and three different attack/release settings, the envelope detector allows you to animate the peaks of the comb filter entirely with your playing dynamics. From a practical standpoint this means the flanger modulation stays out of the way and does not make the sometimes undesired background whoosh during quiet passages or when not playing. Moderate settings add mild tonal emphasis or harmonic-enhancing shimmers. At higher settings you can dial in gorgeous sweeps, surprisingly funky vocal filter throbs, lo-fi aliasing, or robotic chaos — all controlled by your playing.
In addition, we have included a unique three-position phase toggle switch to set the relative phase of the delay and feedback signals, which changes the texture of the comb filter. Airplane mode produces classic flanger sounds while Swirl mode is warm, subtle, and textural. Lastly, the Phase setting produces deep bass or hollow, vocal sounds reminiscent of a talk box. Combine this toggle with different Feedback settings to unlock all sorts of new textures that you’d never expect from a traditional flanger.
And to truly go to new bounds, and give you more control of your playing, the AFG-1 Expression jack enables expression pedal or control voltage functionality. Not only can you control 4 of the knob parameters, but it also expands the range of each knob above and below their maximum limits. Want to push the Freq control to the shortest time possible or drive the AFG-1 deep into self oscillation? With an expression pedal, that’s no problem.
Using its expansive array of controls, the AFG-1 goes where few flangers dare to tread. The AFG-1 will completely change your perspective on what a flanger can do to your sound.
What is under the hood of the AFG-1?
The AFG-1 is a 100% analog effect, built with over 380 high-quality components to combine vintage audio processing techniques with advanced, high-tech, electronics.
At its core is a high headroom, 256 stage, Xvive™ reissue MN3009 Bucket Brigade Device. True sine-wave exponential modulation and a selectable response dynamic envelope detector modulate its VCO based delay clock. It contains tightly tuned, discrete, high-order filters and a compandor with emphasis/de-emphasis to keep the noise floor low while imparting an animated feel. The VCA-based feedback control offers warm regeneration tone and a controlled method of dialing in deeply notched comb filter effects. A JFET input stage and input preamplifier optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio and allows for tone shaping and harmonics enhancing overload at higher settings. The whole ensemble is powered by a protected and highly regulated 15V internal power supply for carefree operation in any stage or studio environment.
The clock, modulation, oscillator, and even the switch logic are all fully analog. Our clock VCO includes a temperature-compensated exponential converter for wide, even range modulation. The clock drives the BBD at high current to eliminate artifacts and provide a clear, tight sound with consistent gain. An assignable expression input increases the flexibility and control available to the user.
Power and grounding deserve special attention. The AFG-1 is designed using a multi-layer PCB with dedicated split power and ground planes for low noise and crosstalk. The power input is fully protected from reverse polarity, over-voltage conditions, and ESD spikes. Our custom-designed 9V to 15V power supply works conveniently with standard 9V pedal power supplies, and eliminates sources of noise and radio frequency interference (RFI/EMI). Its boost technology runs at MHz frequencies to eliminate artifacts usually associated with simpler charge pump or older style converters.
All together, our thorough approach amd over engineering ensures carefree operation in any studio or performance environment!
