Boss BF-2 Flanger Settings Guide
The production-standard flanger. Made from 1980–2001 with a distinct warm BBD character. The jet-plane whoosh of Van Halen's Unchained, Heart's Barracuda, and countless 1980s recordings.
Used by: Eddie Van Halen, Andy Summers, David Gilmour
The best Boss BF-2 Flanger settings start with: Rate at 3/10, Depth at 5/10, Resonance at 4/10, Manual at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Classic Rock: Rate 3/10, Depth 5/10, Resonance 4/10, Manual 5/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 3/10 | Slow → Fast |
| Depth | 5/10 | Shallow → Deep |
| Resonance | 4/10 | Soft → Sharp |
| Manual | 5/10 | Low → High |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Moderate Rate, balanced Depth and Resonance — the classic 1980s rock flanger character. The BF-2 at these settings produces the musical sweep without the extreme jet-plane effect. Suits rhythm guitar chord playing more than the BF-3's more dramatic character.
Slower Rate, higher Depth and Resonance — the heavy, metallic flanger character for 80s metal. At Resonance above 6 the BF-2 produces a sharp, resonant sweep that adds intensity to power chords. Use before a high-gain amp for the most dramatic interaction.
Very slow Rate for an evolving, barely-identifiable flanger wash. High Manual moves the comb filter centre frequency up, brightening the character. At Rate 1 the sweep takes many seconds per cycle, creating a slow-moving harmonic texture rather than an obvious effect.
Faster Rate, moderate Depth and Resonance — rhythmic flanger sweep that can be matched to song tempo. At Rate 6 the flanger has an audible rhythmic quality that suits funk chord playing. Keep Resonance moderate to avoid harshness on single-string funk parts.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
EVH used the BF-2 (and its predecessor BF-1) for his iconic flanger sounds — notably Unchained. Moderate Rate, moderate-high Depth and Resonance produce the recognisable "jet plane" sweep. He used it in front of a cranked Marshall, where the flanger interacted with the amp's natural compression for a complex, organic character.
Summers used flangers and chorus extensively on The Police recordings. Slower Rate with moderate Depth gives a more subtle character than Van Halen's approach — his flanger is present but doesn't dominate the mix. Manual below noon gives a warmer, lower comb filter character.
Gilmour used flangers including the BF-2 on specific recordings — typically slow Rate with low Resonance for a gentle, evolving texture rather than a dramatic jet effect. His approach uses flanging as a subtle textural element underneath lead tones, not as an obvious effect.
Also in Our Rig Database
Guitarists who feature this gear in their documented rig — explore their full setup.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Manual control dramatically changes the BF-2's character — sweep it manually to find the comb filter position that sounds most musical with your amp and guitar, then set Rate to move the sweep around that point.
- Resonance above 3 o'clock produces a metallic, whistling characteristic — useful for aggressive rock but harsh in musical applications.
- The BF-2 has a slight volume boost when engaged — set the direct mix so the flanged signal doesn't jump in level.
- Flanger before distortion sounds embedded in the drive; flanger after sounds like a separate processed effect. The Van Halen approach was before the amp's preamp stage, which is the most "guitar in the room" sound.
- Collect original Boss BF-2 units when possible — the original AD711 bucket-brigade chip gives a warmer, more organic character than modern alternatives. Units from before 1985 are most valued.
FAQ
Boss BF-2 Flanger — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Boss BF-2 Flanger: Rate at 3/10, Depth at 5/10, Resonance at 4/10, Manual at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Classic Rock: Rate 3/10, Depth 5/10, Resonance 4/10, Manual 5/10. Moderate Rate, balanced Depth and Resonance — the classic 1980s rock flanger character. The BF-2 at these settings produces the musical sweep without the extreme jet-plane effect. Suits rhythm guitar chord playing more than the BF-3's more dramatic character.
For Metal: Rate 2/10, Depth 7/10, Resonance 6/10, Manual 5/10. Slower Rate, higher Depth and Resonance — the heavy, metallic flanger character for 80s metal. At Resonance above 6 the BF-2 produces a sharp, resonant sweep that adds intensity to power chords. Use before a high-gain amp for the most dramatic interaction.
Rate: Speed of the flanger sweep. Low Rate = slow, evolving sweep; high Rate = fast, jet-plane effect. (Slow to Fast). Depth: Amount of pitch modulation. Low Depth = subtle comb filtering; high Depth = dramatic whoosh. (Shallow to Deep). Resonance: Feedback intensity. High Resonance = metallic, sharp peaks. Above 3 o'clock adds a resonant "whistle" to the sweep. (Soft to Sharp). Manual: Sets the delay time (and therefore the centre frequency of the comb filter). Changes the sweep range character dramatically. (Low to High)
The Manual control dramatically changes the BF-2's character — sweep it manually to find the comb filter position that sounds most musical with your amp and guitar, then set Rate to move the sweep around that point. Resonance above 3 o'clock produces a metallic, whistling characteristic — useful for aggressive rock but harsh in musical applications. The BF-2 has a slight volume boost when engaged — set the direct mix so the flanged signal doesn't jump in level. Flanger before distortion sounds embedded in the drive; flanger after sounds like a separate processed effect. The Van Halen approach was before the amp's preamp stage, which is the most "guitar in the room" sound. Collect original Boss BF-2 units when possible — the original AD711 bucket-brigade chip gives a warmer, more organic character than modern alternatives. Units from before 1985 are most valued.
Eddie Van Halen settings: Rate 3/10, Depth 6/10, Resonance 5/10, Manual 5/10. EVH used the BF-2 (and its predecessor BF-1) for his iconic flanger sounds — notably Unchained. Moderate Rate, moderate-high Depth and Resonance produce the recognisable "jet plane" sweep. He used it in front of a cranked Marshall, where the flanger interacted with the amp's natural compression for a complex, organic character.
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