Boss BF-3 Flanger

The BF-2 was a great flanger, but like all great things, they must come to an end. Boss decided to release another flanger with a few more bells and whistles. This is the new version that they introduced. It's basically an evolved version of the BF-2. You have a res, manual, depth and rate knob. Then you have these different modes to choose from. On top of that, you can choose between the bass input or guitar input for some different tones.

UTILIZATION

They really packed a ton in this pedal, and it's surprising how easy it is to use. It's somewhat of a pain trying to manipulate the small outer knob on the res/manual knob, but you get used to it. The modes feature on this is very handy, and I like how much they threw in this pedal. The manual is very clear as to what everything does, and they even give you a few example settings to try out. If you've never used a flanger before, it might help reading the manual. These pedals are built like tanks so no need to worry about this thing breaking any time soon.

SOUND QUALITY

The pedal is a little more metallic sounding than the BF-2, in my opinion. It also doesn't seem to be able to do the old school LeTekro trick where you could use it almost as a midrange booster. However, it's still a very solid flanger. You can get all kinds of different flanger settings with this thing thanks to the mode selection switch. Before, you were limited as to the actual types of flanging you could have. I never really cared for plugging the guitar into the bass input, but you might like it. The rest of it is pretty much like any other Boss flanger in that it's fairly solid, but not exactly the best out there.

OVERALL OPINION

The BF-3 is a pretty solid pedal if you're looking for a various range of flanges inside one small Boss enclosure. It's not the best sounding flanger they've ever made, but it's still easily capable of staying on my pedalboard if need be. I prefer the BF-2, but I would definitely not be opposed to having a BF-3.

The Boss BF-3 is the newest edition to the Boss family flangers. Boss has built some great sounding flangers in the past and this one is simple the newest edition to the product lineup.

This pedal is very easy to use and you can get a great sound out of it very quickly and very easily. This is the jumbo jet flanger tone very similar to the Eddie Van Halne flanger tone he was able to achieve with the MXR pedal back in the late 70's early 80's.

Features

The best flanging effects in a compact pedal
New Ultra and Gate/Pan modes for ultrafat flanging with very low noise
Momentary mode turns flanging on instantly
Tap tempo adjustable via pedal
Independent guitar and bass inputs and stereo outputs
5-year warranty



UTILIZATION

Specifications

Controls: Res, Manual, Depth, Rate, 4-way Mode Switch
Connectors: Guitar Input, Bass Input, Output A, Output B, AC Adaptor
Current Draw: 40 mA (DC 9V)
Weight: 420g / 15 oz (including battery)
Nominal Input Level: -20dBu
Input Impedance: 1MOhm
Nominal Output Level: -20dBu
Output Impedance: 1kOhm
Residual Noise Level: -95dBu (IHF-A weighted, typ.)
Recommended Load Impedance: 10kOhm or greater
Delay Time: 0.3 ms ~ 14.4 ms (Guitar In), 0.3 ms ~ 6.3 ms (Bass In)
LFO Speed: 100 ms ~ 18 s
Recommended AC Adaptor: PSA Series


SOUND QUALITY

This is one of those pedals that takes over your tone. It can be lightened up the nature of this unit is to give you a great heavy effected sound. So you probably want to use it sparingly as it is a powerful sound that comes from this pedal.

Any guitar and amp you use it with will sound good. It doesn't take a special piece of equipment to get this thing ti shine. I would prefer a modded Marshall and a superstrat of some kind and you'll be able to get that "Unchained" tone very easily.

OVERALL OPINION

At new these units come in at around $139, which isn't bad for a great sounding flanger unit. You can find these pedals just about anywhere you buy musical equipment. They are easy to come by and looking in the classifieds might score you one under 4100.

I would recommend this pedal to anyone needing a decent sounding flanger that will be road worthy and a good accompaniment to your pedal board and rig.

The Boss BF-3 is a flanger effect stomp box. It has 1/4 inputs and outputs and is not a rackable unit. I believe it is an analog pedal, but I'm not 100% sure about this. It is a cool looking color and is much more versatile than its predecessor, the BF-2.

UTILIZATION

The configuration of the BF-3 is very easy to figure out. It has four knobs and one of the knobs has another knob on top of it. The first knob controls the resonator, the next controls the depth, the third controls the rate and the last knob is used to set what mode of flanger you would like to use. It is designed to get a wide variety of flanger sounds and it does just that. I've never used the manual as the pedal is pretty easy to figure out.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of this flanger is very realistic sounding. It is easy to use it subtly and to hint with the flanger, and easy to go nuts to get some real spacey sounds. I have only used the BF-3 with guitar - a Gibson SG and a '76 Fender Twin Reverb amp. The flange sound on this pedal is top notch and totally professional sounding.

OVERALL OPINION

I first used the BF-3 about three or four years ago. I also have a BF-2, which is the Boss flanger made before this pedal and while the BF-3 is a lot more expensive it is definitley more versatile and overall has a better sound to it. While some sounds between the BF-2 and the BF-3 are comparable, the BF-3 has a more varied arsenal of sounds than the BF-2. While the BF-3 is a bit pricey you are getting a very well made pedal from a company with a great reputation. Overall this is great sounding flanger pedal with a ton of versatility.

Boss flanger pedal very comprehensive deph adjustable, rate, intensity of the effect, ultra flanger mode and gate.
Pedal can be used for bass, it has a low connection.
It seems solid and well made.
ability to synchronize with the Fraser tap tempo function.
Output stereo or mono.

UTILIZATION

Many adjustments are possible with this pedal ... you can get a rotating, oscillating (phaser), gate, one can also make small effects as the chorus.
This pedal is quite difficult to use so Regleg opportunities are numerous.

SOUND QUALITY

I find it hard to get his own, but it just may be the modest hardware I have, I play on a rack and a vortex lag ak 100 ...
I made two effects, a chorus sounds clear (ca rounded sound with a mild swing), and a gate effect which gives the impression to bounce sound.
I find this pedal Assé cold.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 7 months, as far as I am satisfied but it is ultimately not the effect I use typical "Flanger".
I think its price, even if the beast is complete, a little high.