Boss BF-3 Flanger Pedal

BOSS discontinued the analogue BF-2, which formed the basis of the classic Robert Smith guitar sound, in the early 2000s, and they replaced it with this. I suppose they were trying to update the pedal for a new Millennium. And yes, it's got more options; a standard mode, an Ultra mode, a slicing/pan mode, it's stereo, and it'll take a bass, and there's a momentary switch so you can add the effect at certain points only, and....

...and it doesn't sound anything like as good as the BF-2. This is a digital flange effect with none of the mystery, depth and vibe of its predecessor. Just get that instead.

Does everything I want it to, is easy to use, never breaks or craps out! The tap function on this one works really well, I can use it mid song without any major difficulties. Nice to have the stereo option too.

Versatile flanger effect, but not a personal favorite. I took it out from my pedalboard

It's one of those pedals you kind of like to have and like to use but not too much because you really can't fit it in every song. But I like the waves it makes, so... nice.

Definitely one of the more versatile Flangers available. The stereo option is pretty cool. It’s built well and has convenient boss pedal features, like easy battery door access. Overall really fun pedal to have.

The BF-3 is a great digital flanger that is easy to set up (given you play around with the settings for an hour maybe first). The buffer in the BF-3 can cut a bit of your highs off in the clean sound, but with overdrive and distortions you wouldn't notice it, I recommend throwing the BF-3 in the amps effects loop or even putting it in a true bypass loop to protect your 'Tone'. I played through other flanger pedals and this one is the one that can do Flanging and other modulation effects the best! the gate/pan mode can be used as a Tremolo in mono and sorta a Uni-vibe in stereo amp setups. the ultra mode is great for wacked out Flanging. But the Standard mode and momentary mode (which is standard mode with, well the momentary application) is where this pedal sits better for my application, if you set the 'Res' knob low and the 'Rate' knob high you can easily get chorus sounds, even Phaser with the right settings. If you're unsure where to start with your modulation pedal search, I recommend the BF-3 or any flanger with (a manual knob which is essentially the delay time), even if flanger isn't your thing, you can cop some other modulation pedal sounds from this one effect alone.

Its...a flanger. I got this hoping it would be a good replacement for my DOD FX-75B (the footswitch on it bothers me and mine produces audible flanging even being the only ON pedal and with the guitar muted). It definitely works as advertised, but not the way I wanted. Unlike the sound I go for, this flanger sounds a bit more...."on top" of the sound rather than "integrated with" the sound. The bass option is a good perk though; having failed to replace my DOD on my guitar board, this ended up actually expanding my bass board. Which in turn made me get more serious about bass.

I guess it fits other people's styles, but until I find the circuit I want in a flanger, its a standby.

This pedal have been on most pedalboards out there... I grew up seeing lots of players, both guitarists and bassists, using this pedal. It sounds amazing, and compared to the BF-2 (which I have owned before) it gives you more options to fine tune your effect. I love the "Momentary" function, specially to emphasize some phrases during solos.

An amazing effects pedal! It takes a bit of time to find the sound you want but it's well worth it.

BF-3 is a pretty rad little guy.. does its job, stays out of trouble, yeah.