Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🎛️ A swirling sound 🔩 Forming a rim
flanging

flanging

9.3
A sound effect that makes voices or music swirl by mixing two similar sounds with a small delay
  • noun
  • /ˈflæn.dʒɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : flanging
  • Classic rock songs often feature flanging on the guitar for a psychedelic sound.

Examples

  • The producer used flanging to give the vocals a dreamy, swirling quality.

  • You can achieve a unique effect by applying flanging to the drum track.

  • The flanging creates a swirling sensation.

  • I love the flanging on this guitar track.

  • The sound engineer added flanging to the track to create a swirling effect that captivated the listeners.

  • During the concert, the guitarist used flanging to enhance the richness of his solos.

  • By adjusting the parameters, she achieved a unique flanging sound that made the recording standout.

Surface Forms

flanging singular
flangings plural

Morphology

flanging = flange (opaque) = flange + ing

The audio meaning of 'flanging' is a technical/historical usage named after manipulating a reel flange, which is not inferable by a typical learner from 'flange' alone.

Etymology

Flanging comes from the word flange, which means a 'rim' or 'edge'. In early recording studios, engineers pressed the rim of a tape reel to slow one tape very slightly and mix it with another, creating a swirling whoosh, so flanging now means that sound effect.