How did they achieve the original Flange sound?

[metalmariachi]

Old old school
By touching the flange of a reel to reel tape during recording or play back/mix. Hence the name.
Keith

[DiscoFreq]

Old old school
By touching the flange of a reel to reel tape during recording or play back/mix. Hence the name.
Keith

Yes, 2 tapes running and playing the same recording, then touching the flange of one of them (maybe alternating between both "tracks").

[echohead]

From wikipedia: "(John) Lennon dubbed the technique "flanging" after producer George Martin jokingly told him it was produced using a "double-bifurcated sploshing flange".[1][2] Only years later did Martin learn that another technique, also called flanging, was already in use.[citation needed] The term referred to an engineer's alternately pressing and releasing his finger against the flange (rim) of the supply reel on one of two synchronized tape machines as the same audio signal was combined and transferred to a third machine, slightly slowing the machine then allowing it to come back up to speed and in synch with the other, applying a "swooshing" comb filtering effect to the combined audio signal. Alternatively, the engineer could press the flange of one supply reel then the other to achieve a fuller effect."
The full story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_double_tracking

[Ghost Hip]

And to think all we have to do now is press a button....

[McSpunckle]

And to think all we have to do now is press a button....

I'll remind you, sir, that many men died to protect your ability to "only press a button."

Well, OK, not died. But I bet someone got burned with a soldering iron!

[echohead]

haha, my first pedal was a Boss flanger, the sales guy assured me it was only used by a little old lady in church on Sunday.