The secret M117 flanger

[lars]

There are so many versions of the MXR M117, it's not surprising there is one version that has pretty much flown under the radar for the last couple decades. Yes, there are people who know the version I'm talking about, but for the most part, it's still kind of a sleeper. Clear back in 1996, MXR made it's first reissue of the M117. There doesn't seem to be much information about that first reissue on the Internet. It appears they may have only been made for about 2 years. The majority of online demos for the M117 are of the originals or the "newer" reissues. A gut shot is nearly impossible to find of the 1996 version.
The '96 version was US-made and used good-ol through-hole components and a very interesting choice for the BBD:  not one, but two MN3004's! In the world of flangers, that makes it much more rare than the SAD1024-based M117's. I don't think there is another flanger in existence that uses two MN3004's. This version also has two independent clock circuits as well, so it's easily the most complex version of the M117 MXR has ever made. A schematic would be awesome to check out, but is impossible to find.

So how do you spot one of these "post-vintage, yet vintage" versions? The easiest way is if there is a picture of the bottom plate. MXR didn't provide any battery power option in '96, so no battery doors.
If there isn't a picture of the bottom though, you can spot them by the paint. The first reissues were always a matte rough-finish gray color with no metal flake. So if it has metal flake charcoal paint, it's not the one.
The other odd identifying mark is the LED. On the '96 versions, the LED is one of the strangest colors of red I've ever seen for an LED. It's like watermelon Kool-Aid red when it's off. You can easily see the color difference when compared with the 2004-present versions.
So here are the pics:


The insides of these rarely see the light of day...

Dual MN3004's are under them pots...


Why did I bother posting any of this? I've still seen this rare version listed as "2004-present", and it generally get's lumped in with the newer ones that just aren't quite the same. So keep an eye out! You can still pick these up for pretty cheap considering how nice they are and how rare the BBDs are. You will never regret getting a hold of one of these early reissues. Highly recommended.
Happy hunting!

[jimilee]

Very cool, thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gordo]

Wow, this is pretty cool.  I've always thought the SAD versions were easily the best but over the years I have my doubts as it was completely new back then and I've probably heard 50 flangers since then and have probably built 10.  Plus my old-ass ears aren't likely as prime as my 17yr old version was.

So what's the gist of this circuit?  Two delays running in parallel hoping for differences in components (piggy backed)?

[lars]

So what's the gist of this circuit?  Two delays running in parallel hoping for differences in components (piggy backed)?

Without a schematic it's difficult to know what configuration they're running. It's odd that newer versions of the M117 look like they use a single MN3204. For whatever reason, they've never gone the MN3007 route, despite the fact the originals were running serial configuration and MN3007s are readily available. I guess BBDs are more than just stages and clock speed. There's something else going on that affects the final output.

[peAk]

Very cool