"Now, 'flange' happens to be one of those silly words that I always used. When John Lennon heard double-tracking that we'd done -- automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking that we'd managed to devise at Abbey Road studios --, he asked me what it *was*. And I said, 'Well, it's a bit complicated, John, you wouldn't understand. But it's all done by means of a double-vibrocated sploshing flange.' And this was sort of gobbledygook, and he looked at me for a moment and then he laughed. And, after that, when we used to do this, he used to call it 'flanging.' And it's still a term used today in recording."

-- George Martin, in the John Lennon: All You Need Is Love doc.

On 5/12/2022 3:21 am, Norbert K wrote:
> "Now, 'flange' happens to be one of those silly words that I always used. When John Lennon heard double-tracking that we'd done -- automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking that we'd managed to devise at Abbey Road studios --, he asked me what it *was*. And I said, 'Well, it's a bit complicated, John, you wouldn't understand. But it's all done by means of a double-vibrocated sploshing flange.' And this was sort of gobbledygook, and he looked at me for a moment and then he laughed. And, after that, when we used to do this, he used to call it 'flanging.' And it's still a term used today in recording."
>
> -- George Martin, in the John Lennon: All You Need Is Love doc.
>

The actual process being a live (or recorded) signal being mixed with a
second recording of the same thing on a second tape deck, when\re the
flange of the reel is variously slowed electrically or by the thumb.
This causes changing phase relationships between the subsequently
combined signal to give the spacey effect.

Since then the effect was emulated with analogue delay-line electronics,
and more recently digitally.

geoff

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 12:23:56 PM UTC-8, geoff wrote:
> On 5/12/2022 3:21 am, Norbert K wrote:
> > "Now, 'flange' happens to be one of those silly words that I always used. When John Lennon heard double-tracking that we'd done -- automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking that we'd managed to devise at Abbey Road studios --, he asked me what it *was*. And I said, 'Well, it's a bit complicated, John, you wouldn't understand. But it's all done by means of a double-vibrocated sploshing flange.' And this was sort of gobbledygook, and he looked at me for a moment and then he laughed. And, after that, when we used to do this, he used to call it 'flanging.' And it's still a term used today in recording."
> >
> > -- George Martin, in the John Lennon: All You Need Is Love doc.
> >
> The actual process being a live (or recorded) signal being mixed with a
> second recording of the same thing on a second tape deck, when\re the
> flange of the reel is variously slowed electrically or by the thumb.
> This causes changing phase relationships between the subsequently
> combined signal to give the spacey effect.
>
> Since then the effect was emulated with analogue delay-line electronics,
> and more recently digitally.
>
> geoff

Have you employed the original flanging process, Geoff?

The effects units that emulate the process are great fun.

On 5/12/2022 11:08 am, Norbert K wrote:
> On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 12:23:56 PM UTC-8, geoff wrote:
>> On 5/12/2022 3:21 am, Norbert K wrote:
>>> "Now, 'flange' happens to be one of those silly words that I always used. When John Lennon heard double-tracking that we'd done -- automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking that we'd managed to devise at Abbey Road studios --, he asked me what it *was*. And I said, 'Well, it's a bit complicated, John, you wouldn't understand. But it's all done by means of a double-vibrocated sploshing flange.' And this was sort of gobbledygook, and he looked at me for a moment and then he laughed. And, after that, when we used to do this, he used to call it 'flanging.' And it's still a term used today in recording."
>>>
>>> -- George Martin, in the John Lennon: All You Need Is Love doc.
>>>
>> The actual process being a live (or recorded) signal being mixed with a
>> second recording of the same thing on a second tape deck, when\re the
>> flange of the reel is variously slowed electrically or by the thumb.
>> This causes changing phase relationships between the subsequently
>> combined signal to give the spacey effect.
>>
>> Since then the effect was emulated with analogue delay-line electronics,
>> and more recently digitally.
>>
>> geoff
>
> Have you employed the original flanging process, Geoff?
>
> The effects units that emulate the process are great fun.

No - I don't have two suitable tape decks, and the boxes and plug-ins do
it just fine ;- )

geoff

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 6:38:22 PM UTC-8, geoff wrote:
> On 5/12/2022 11:08 am, Norbert K wrote:
> > On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 12:23:56 PM UTC-8, geoff wrote:
> >> On 5/12/2022 3:21 am, Norbert K wrote:
> >>> "Now, 'flange' happens to be one of those silly words that I always used. When John Lennon heard double-tracking that we'd done -- automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking that we'd managed to devise at Abbey Road studios --, he asked me what it *was*. And I said, 'Well, it's a bit complicated, John, you wouldn't understand. But it's all done by means of a double-vibrocated sploshing flange.' And this was sort of gobbledygook, and he looked at me for a moment and then he laughed. And, after that, when we used to do this, he used to call it 'flanging.' And it's still a term used today in recording."
> >>>
> >>> -- George Martin, in the John Lennon: All You Need Is Love doc.
> >>>
> >> The actual process being a live (or recorded) signal being mixed with a
> >> second recording of the same thing on a second tape deck, when\re the
> >> flange of the reel is variously slowed electrically or by the thumb.
> >> This causes changing phase relationships between the subsequently
> >> combined signal to give the spacey effect.
> >>
> >> Since then the effect was emulated with analogue delay-line electronics,
> >> and more recently digitally.
> >>
> >> geoff
> >
> > Have you employed the original flanging process, Geoff?
> >
> > The effects units that emulate the process are great fun.
> No - I don't have two suitable tape decks, and the boxes and plug-ins do
> it just fine ;- )
>
> geoff

Yeah. Now the question is: "On which Beatles songs was the flanging technique used?" I'm going to say "Tomorrow Never Knows" is one of them.

The flange effect lends itself to psychedelia, IMO (even if partly due to tradition), just as the envelope filter does to funk.