A/DA Flanger

2019 update:I sent some NOS Reticon SAD1024 chips to A/DA to make some "1978 SAD1024" Flangers for us. They were sold in April and the website will only allow orders for as many as we are getting. This is the exact vintage sound of the SAD equipped originals. Orders this year will be with the SAD1024 chip. We are trying to get five more in June. If you can order, we will have one for you. See down below for more info on the Reticon chip.

Years in the making ! David Tarnowski the original A/DA owner and designer has brought back his original Flanger !

Mr. Modulation is BACK !

The ADA Flanger is a second generation electronic flanger capable of producing a broad range of sound colorations, dramatically enhancing the effect of any amplified musical instrument, voice or percussive instrument.

The term �flanging� refers to the technique of manually varying the speed of two tape recorders independently with the same program material, while mixing down in recording studios. The ADA Flanger electronically simulates varying speed in real time, during the performance.

The capabilities of the ADA Flanger are numerous and astounding. Effects such as rotating speakers, chilling vibrato, �jet� sounds, resonance modification, intensified studio flanging and incredible filter matrices, to name a few, suggest that experimentation will certainly find the sound you have been looking for.

When two identical signals separated by a short time delay are added together, reinforcements (peaks) and cancellations (notches) occur in the output level. The positions of the peaks and notches are mathematically related to the time delay as can be seen in the graph opposite. The example shows the �comb filter� that occurs at the output of the ADA Flanger at 1 msec time delay. If a 500 Hz signal is introduced into the Flanger at 1 msec delay, it will not be heard at the output. However a 1000 Hz signal will be reinforced, thus heard at the output. By changing the time delay, we move the position of the peaks and notches up or down the audio frequency spectrum creating flanging effects.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

The 2009 Reissue A/DA Flanger is designed by the original designer of the late 1970s A/DA Flangers using very similar parts. The differences between your Reissue Flanger and the original A/DA Flangers are:

1. The Reissue has True Bypass and the originals did not.

2. The Reissue still uses Panasonic (Matsushita) bucket brigade devices for the analog delay. They are known for their warm, rich analog sound. The original A/DA Flangers used only the Panasonic MN3010, while the reissue can also use the MN3004, MN3210 or the MN3204 to achieve the exact original A/DA sound. *2014 - almost out of these old chips, may start using new chips. We still have some in stock with the old chips, get them while you can.

3. The Reissue does NOT use bucket brigade devices made by other manufacturers which have recently become available due to their inferiority and the fact that they cannot (in single delay path configuration) achieve the �over-the-top sound of the infamous A/DA Flangers. A/DA will watch and test the parts made by other manufacturers as they become available in different configurations, and will only use them if they meet or exceed the original Panasonic specifications and are suitable for the designs.

4. Otherwise, the signal path for the Reissue is exactly the same as the Original Flangers made in 1979.

5. The printed circuit board (PCB) has a different layout, but is all through-hole design, using full-size carbon film resistors and precision polyester film capacitors.

Size 6.75" wide x 5.75" deep x 3" tall

They're BACK !

Expression pedal info

The expression control jack is not normal. A/DA will be making an expression pedal. But until then you can use a Boss EV5, just reverse the red and white wires inside the EV5 pedal. This reverses the tip and ring connection which will work with any normal expression pedal.

Here is some technical information on the SAD1024 if anyone is interested.

In the 1970s, Reticon made the SAD1024 IC before Matsushita (Panasonic) made their MN Series of bucket brigade devices. The Reticon devices used a PMOS process and can run faster than any of the MN Series ICs. This allows for a Flanger to have a shorter delay time. The first Matsuchita ICs were PMOS, the later parts were NMOS and ran at a lower voltage. (The Reticon parts can run at 20 volts, the PMOS MN Series can run at 18 volts, and the NMOS MN Series can run at 10 volts.) The NMOS devices have to be coaxed into clocking faster for the ADA Flanger to sound like an ADA Flanger. You can't do this with the Matsuchita driver ICs like the MN3101 and the MN3201. ADA uses a special design to clock both the PMOS and NMOS Matsuchita BBDs faster for shorter delay times.

The distortion characteristics of the Reticon SAD1024 and the Matsuchita BBDs are different. Musically, the Reticon sounds better in terms of the harmonics it generates, especially near clipping levels. This is another discussion for another time.

The frequency response of the Reticon SAD1024 is higher than the Matsuchita ICs. The Matsuchita PMOS has better frequency response than their NMOS versions, but ADA compensates for the lower frequency response in order to get a brighter sound.

Finally the Reticon SAD1024 is more musical and pleasing when used in a flanger design. Unfortunately the parts have been out of production for nearly 40 years. The company Reticon no longer exists. We have located and scrounged a few, and have re-made the original ADA Flanger PCB to build a few of our original classic Flangers. �Few� is a very small number.

When the A/DA Flanger first came out in 1978 it used the Reticon SAD1024 BBD.

We managed to source a handful of SAD1024 BBDs from a reliable source a few years back (we did not "borrow" them from other pedals), but had to put the Limited Reissue on hold until the time was right.

In 1979, the A/DA Flanger switched over to the Panasonic MN3010 BBD because Reticon went out of business.

The 90's Reissue used MN3010, but they eventually became more difficult to source at a reasonable price.
The 2009 Reissue used (2)MN3204
The PBF Flanger uses (2) MN3204s