TC Electronic Thunderstorm Flanger Review (pedal in-hand)

TC Electronic continues to impress with low price points and high levels of quality. They almost always go with a simpler control system, omitting bells and whistles, and keeping prices really low. It's not that bells and whistles are bad (we like them), but if you're looking for a solid base tone and affordability, the Thunderstorm flanger delivers it with minimal drawbacks.

Remember, we rate based on value, which means price plays a role in how we grade tone and features. This makes the Thunderstorm an editor's choice.

If you want more details, our full TC Electronic Thunderstorm review will cover everything below.

Read more: Best TC Electronic pedals overall

Compare other TC Electronic pedals

This table allows you to compare the Thunderstorm to some of the other TC Electronic pedals I have reviewed. You can also add different pedals to the table via the blue button below.

TC Electronic Thunderstorm Price Guide

The Thunderstorm isn't widely available, at least not at the time I published this review. So our pricing table is a bit limited, with only Sweetwater and Amazon. You can sign up for price alerts and check price history, though I don't expect the cost to get much lower. It's already at a very manageable price point.

Pricing from Multiple Vendors (updates automatically)

Amazon Pricing

Price Alert Tool (does not include Amazon)

Price History (does not include Amazon)

IDEAL FOR: Simple amplifiers like the Fender Blues Junior, or amps that rely on pedalboards. Also a good price point for beginners.

How does the Thunderstorm sound?

The Thunderstorm embraces subtlety and layering with a chorus-like flange. Peaks and troughs aren't quite as aggressive as some of the other flangers I've used, like the Boss BF-3. It's less of the jet-flying-overhead sound and more of a soft oscillation, at least until you push the rate higher.

This is not our demo, but it does a great job of showcasing these sounds.

Flangers are typically a mixture of the sound you get out of a chorus and a phaser, and the Thunderstorm leans a lot closer to the chorus side. For clean tones, this is helpful and will meld smoothly into a warm tube amp, as I mentioned. It's a pedal that leans on tone quality and reminds me of the EHX Small Clone chorus that Kurt Cobain used. He found a setting he liked and then had his guitar tech, a guy named Earnie Bailey, just wire it all in.

That's the vibe of the Thunderstorm. It's easy to find a tone you'll like. Once you do, tape off the knobs and you're good to go.

Subtle

Most of the pedal settings I tried were fairly soft. I spent most of my time going through these settings, playing simple chord progressions, and some arpeggio patterns. The primary job description of any modulation effect is to dress up and layer a clean signal, and the Thunderstorm handles that very well.

Aggressive

The more intense settings sound better with single-note runs and have a sort of ringing quality. I liked the variety I got out of the manual knob, in particular, and found a lot of nice warbling, almost laser-like sounds.

I also found that keeping the depth tempered at 60 percent or lower makes running up the other three controls a lot more forgiving. Usability for intense modulation is always challenging, but I was able to get good tones out of the Thunderstorm with a little bit of careful tinkering.

Controls, EQ, and flexibility

The Thunderstorm has your basic depth and rate controls, with manual and feedback to round out a four-band EQ. There's plenty of flexibility here, but I definitely miss having a mix knob.

For those who don't know, a mix knob controls the balance of your wet and dry signal, which is especially handy with modulation effects like a flanger.

• Wet signal: The sound of the effect
• Dry signal: Amp's natural clean sound

You can dry out the signal a little bit by turning the rate and depth down on the Thunderstorm, but that's not a true mix control.

As mentioned before, the manual knob provides some nice sounds by letting you zero in on the higher frequencies. It functions kind of like a treble knob on an amplifier. For chords and strumming, I knocked this down to create a warmer effect. If I wanted it to cut through the mix a little more, I'd push it up past 60 percent or so.

Price, quality, and value

For what you pay, this is one of the best-value flanger pedals on the market. Comparisons include the Boss BF-3 and the MXR Micro flanger, both of which are significantly more expensive.

High-end flanger and modulation pedals like the PRS Wind Through the Trees can do a lot more than the Thunderstorm, but are also far more expensive.

If you just want the basics with an analog circuit, you won't get a better price.

Remember to double check pricing in the tables above since retail and availability are subject to change.

Best fit for the Thunderstorm

Any time you have a guitar rig that relies on pedals going into a simple amplifier, especially without built-in effects, the Thunderstorm flanger will be a good fit. A Fender tube amp is a good example.

Read more: Best Fender amps

Beginners and intermediates with indoor rigs, perhaps for bedrooms, living rooms, or small home studios are also good candidates for the TC Electronic Thunderstorm flanger.

Obviously this pedal is very ideal for lower gear budgets.

Review Conclusion

The Thunderstorm doesn't try to be an advanced flanger pedal. Instead, it's a traditional form of modulation with some vintage flavor and the bucket brigade circuit to match. While it doesn't provide the multiple modes or flexibility of larger-scale modulation pedals, none of that will matter if you're in the market for a straightforward flanger effect.

TC Electronic gives you a lot of quality for the lowest price possible. So if you don't need the fancy stuff, this is absolutely the way to go.

If you have questions about our TC Electronic Thunderstorm flanger review, leave them in the comments section below and I'll help out as much as possible.

As always, thank you for spending your time here and supporting our work.

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