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Moogerfoogerooverkill

Ben Clarke

Ben Clarke

Jan 6, 2005
1,577
1,074
Buffalo, NY
#1
So, I'm ordering what should be an interesting little setup tomorrow morning. MF-101 LP Filter with four EP-1 control voltage pedals. That should give me something to do for the next six months...

I haven't used anything but a DI (J48 lately) in my signal path for bass in a decade. I just started playing in an instrumental trio (w/ gtr and drums) and I think a powerful tool like that will help shape the direction of the project. I haven't felt a bit of desire for effects in the alt-blues thing I've been doing for the past 18 months, but I'm thinking of pulling my old Lexicon LXP-5 out of the studio now, too for modulation effects. It'll take some restraint to avoid the "Jaco Chorus" setting, but I really must resist that temptation.

I hope I don't have to sit down to play like Ben Harper!
 
#3
I am a fan of the moogerfooger LP 101 and you will find great sounds from it. But the one thing that I hate is that it isn't true bypass. And you will hear it even when its off. Now it will effect your tone. All i can say is ... Get a looper. Make sure when its not on you have a clean signal path. Im not saying it will sound the same off or on, but it will get into you signal when off. But many don't so listen closely. I had mine for about 2 years. Its a very good pedal. With 4 expression pedals it will give you alot of sounds. I use just 2. But get a looper................
 
#4
That is a dream rig for filter-freaks. The Moog filter is very nice and the expression pedals are where it is at for live manipulation. The big question is how you decide to use it. I have used the 101 before buying my EMMA and I liked it, but it was better when I ran a loop through it and manipulated the filter settings. Playing and working the 101 was a lot for my brain :hmm:
 
#6
A dream rig indeed! I haven't really used anything but the old FX25 w/ two knobs that was always around at jams @ the jazz house in Fredonia back in the mid 90s. Don't know whose it was, but it was funky. Tried a Boss, but it seemed more suited to Jerry Garcia-type lead tones.
 
#8
I had one of these for a couple years played with the EP1- through a jazz bass w/ SVT4/810E cab, and wanted to support a little has been mentioned here.

-Through an effects loop it will change your tone on or off. (sucks a lot of tone!)
-Even used through a loooper received mixed results depending on where I was plugged in (yes it was grounded) May want to try the Boss Line Selector
-The EP1 is made very cheaply made, and does suck I’d get the Ernie ball pedal too if I were to do it over again. (I also wished I had gotten two EP pedals as it helps with the hands-free tweakability of MF101)
-I spent a lot of time with this unit and became comfortable using it, but never getting the consistent results I wanted.

Just my experiences –you’ll definitely get killer sounds (even interesting noises) Congrats -have fun with it!!
 
#9
Nice Elvis quote! I'm sure we can get some windex for that...

I do read a lot of negative comments along with raves (often by the same person), so I'm going to approach this with an open ear and mind.

Regarding the CV pedals, I had no idea that they'd be so pricey for a well-built one. I also assumed the Moog would be well built. Perhaps they were a bit of an afterthought for the company.

As far as sucking tone I've got plenty to spare, hopefully!

I'll post back when the MF hits.
 
#12
#16
i was planning on getting a Loooper for my MF-101, but i usually have the thing sitting on top of my amp so i can fiddle with the controls, so i just remove it from my signal chain when not in use. the Drive control effects your signal constantly which can actually be beneficial to keep your wet and dry signals level, but it definitely changes the sound even when switched off.

haven't gotten into expression pedals yet, but i plan on getting one eventually. right now i'm content twirling dials and learning what the thing can do.

oh yeah, don't be intimidated or discouraged! it has a bit of a learning curve, but once you figure out what everything does it's very rewarding. have fun. :)
 
#17
You would be very disappointed with a EB vol as a CV pedal. They are definitely not plug and play:

From Big Briar:
"An expression pedal for use with moogerfoogers should contain a 50K or 100K potentiometer which is connected from the sleeve to the ring terminals of the plug. The potentiometer wiper is connected to the tip terminal. The pedal cable should be shielded, with the shield connected to the sleeve. Moog Music sells the model EP-1 expression pedal for use with moogerfoogers."

If you look at the EP-1 it has a TRS plug, wired as mentioned above. To use a regular volume pedal you would have to rewire it so that the pot was connected correctly to a TRS plug. It is a CV control, not a resistive control like you see on synths and devices like the Echoplex Digital.

So rewire three EB VPs and then lug that sucker around with you! $300 later you have a nice workout on your way to the gig :bassist:
 
#18
So...

Finally received the MF-101 today. My boss was impressed that they still use the orange switches.

Sat down and fiddled a bit in the studio - not through a rig, as wifey's not feeling so well. They only shipped one EP-1, so I hooked it into the Fc jack.

Not as radical as I thought initially. Took me a while to kind of figure out how things interact. There's a lot going on with the controls, and changing one parameter will affect the others.

I can see where players don't have the patience to dig into this thing, especially with no CV capability. I put it down after about 90 minutes feeling handcuffed by not having all 4 CV pedals.

There's really no way to reliably set a knob right where you need it (much less 3 or 4 critical knobs) and play a whole tune. I really can't see it being useful in a live setting without full CV control.

I do look forward to getting comfortable with the full setup through my full rig at a more realistic volume. Should come alive a bit more than 70dB through nearfields.
 
#20
Ben Clarke said:
So...

Finally received the MF-101 today. My boss was impressed that they still use the orange switches.

Sat down and fiddled a bit in the studio - not through a rig, as wifey's not feeling so well. They only shipped one EP-1, so I hooked it into the Fc jack.

Not as radical as I thought initially. Took me a while to kind of figure out how things interact. There's a lot going on with the controls, and changing one parameter will affect the others.

I can see where players don't have the patience to dig into this thing, especially with no CV capability. I put it down after about 90 minutes feeling handcuffed by not having all 4 CV pedals.

There's really no way to reliably set a knob right where you need it (much less 3 or 4 critical knobs) and play a whole tune. I really can't see it being useful in a live setting without full CV control.

I do look forward to getting comfortable with the full setup through my full rig at a more realistic volume. Should come alive a bit more than 70dB through nearfields.
Click to expand...

Give it time. If I can get it to work anybody can. It will satisfy you. I use the yamaha expression pedals. Works fine. Bassplayer had a review on it and gave some interesting settings that helped.
 

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