Had some more time with it, damn this thing is good. Very versatile, it can do Mu-Tron quack, Chunk Systems synth and everything in between. Definitely has that Moog sound compared to my Little Phatty. Shines on both guitar and bass. So nice to be able to dial in cut off freq, drive, 2-pole vs 4-pole, fast vs smooth. Incredible, and as Flea would say about the package: it's as tight as an ant's ass.
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PastFx PX-101 Lowpass Filter (Moogerfooger MF-101 Clone)
- Thread starter Bassology
- Start date
My TimTam arrived today but I will not get to dip it until Sunday night at the earliest. I'm also very excited to A/B/C the 101 (it's so tiny! and no that's not what she said.) against my Meatball and Chunk clones.
I was out of town, and USPS has been holding it for the past week or so - should be delivered tomorrow!
Mine arrived today - first off, I have to say that shipping was super quick, especially from Australia, and teh dude at PastFx was super cool.
So far, I'm digging it. I've never played a "real" one before, but this thing is super cool, and smaller than I expected. I'm starting to have too many envelope filters again ....
So far, I'm digging it. I've never played a "real" one before, but this thing is super cool, and smaller than I expected. I'm starting to have too many envelope filters again ....
[EDIT BELOW]
I was able to give the 101 a couple go's yesterday. With the original settings it did great with my P with flats, able to get bubbly as much as I would want or need. Per @el murdoque 's recommendation, utilizing the Drive knob more than I would think was instrumental in bringing the funk.
When I switched over to using it in a synth chain (OC-2 + Brown Dog clone) I couldn't get it to respond as I had hoped. I'm not looking for a fast, thin quack quack in this scenario so for me it was a bit too brash, fast opening and less chewy/gooey than I expected and I went through a lot of settings. Comparing with my Meatball clone (FTelettronica) it wasn't close--the Meatball was smoother/more controllable in its settings and for me, easier to dial in. Since it took a while to understand the Meatball I knew the initial impressions weren't the end-all-be-all. In static mode the 101 sounded great already so my issue was predominantly controlling the envelope part with the octave/fuzz combo. I opened up the 101 and adjusted the sensitivity trimpot but still wasn't getting what I wanted, which was keeping the filter from opening all the way to where the fuzz is full-frequency. Adjusting the internal frequency trimpot started to get me there and give me hope the 101 can do what the Meatball can do.
I have a lot more tweaking to do but if anybody gets frustrated trying to utilize the 101 in an octave/fuzz/filter chain just give it time. When I went down the Meatball control rabbit hole I really became aware of how just a minimal adjustment can go a long way. I usually sweep a control getting into bad or highly energetic territory then start to dial it back to find the breaking point and fine tune from there. I noticed with the 101 and the fuzz setting I was using that the cutoff knob went from a closed to open sound with a bit of a jump in frequency so it may require extra care to fine-tune the tweaking with that knob. Perhaps the internal frequency trimpot will help get it where you'd like as well.
One very cool thing I came across was using the 101 in the fuzz chain as a static or mostly static filter and turning the mix knob back a little from fully CW. The dry fuzz sound sat on top of a MASSIVE bottom end. The 101's level and Drive knobs make it possible to balance out the levels in a way that may not be possible with other filters. Once I hit upon that I realized how much possibilities exist in this little beast. AND I haven't even tried an expression pedal yet. I don't think I will get the wide sweep I want without an exp. pedal but I want to see how close I can get.
So my initial impressions are that this will be a very very good filter pedal that will take a little bit of time and tweaking to get it exactly where I want. The interactivity and range of the knobs will require time to get comfortable in making quick, desired adjustments.
[EDIT] The 101 doesn't need nearly as strong of a signal as the Meatball clone. Lowering the output on the Brown Dog fuzz did the trick. -- While this will make A/B'ing between the two pedals tricky, simply feeding the 101 a lower volume has done the trick. This thing KILLS!
I was able to give the 101 a couple go's yesterday. With the original settings it did great with my P with flats, able to get bubbly as much as I would want or need. Per @el murdoque 's recommendation, utilizing the Drive knob more than I would think was instrumental in bringing the funk.
When I switched over to using it in a synth chain (OC-2 + Brown Dog clone) I couldn't get it to respond as I had hoped. I'm not looking for a fast, thin quack quack in this scenario so for me it was a bit too brash, fast opening and less chewy/gooey than I expected and I went through a lot of settings. Comparing with my Meatball clone (FTelettronica) it wasn't close--the Meatball was smoother/more controllable in its settings and for me, easier to dial in. Since it took a while to understand the Meatball I knew the initial impressions weren't the end-all-be-all. In static mode the 101 sounded great already so my issue was predominantly controlling the envelope part with the octave/fuzz combo. I opened up the 101 and adjusted the sensitivity trimpot but still wasn't getting what I wanted, which was keeping the filter from opening all the way to where the fuzz is full-frequency. Adjusting the internal frequency trimpot started to get me there and give me hope the 101 can do what the Meatball can do.
I have a lot more tweaking to do but if anybody gets frustrated trying to utilize the 101 in an octave/fuzz/filter chain just give it time. When I went down the Meatball control rabbit hole I really became aware of how just a minimal adjustment can go a long way. I usually sweep a control getting into bad or highly energetic territory then start to dial it back to find the breaking point and fine tune from there. I noticed with the 101 and the fuzz setting I was using that the cutoff knob went from a closed to open sound with a bit of a jump in frequency so it may require extra care to fine-tune the tweaking with that knob. Perhaps the internal frequency trimpot will help get it where you'd like as well.
One very cool thing I came across was using the 101 in the fuzz chain as a static or mostly static filter and turning the mix knob back a little from fully CW. The dry fuzz sound sat on top of a MASSIVE bottom end. The 101's level and Drive knobs make it possible to balance out the levels in a way that may not be possible with other filters. Once I hit upon that I realized how much possibilities exist in this little beast. AND I haven't even tried an expression pedal yet. I don't think I will get the wide sweep I want without an exp. pedal but I want to see how close I can get.
So my initial impressions are that this will be a very very good filter pedal that will take a little bit of time and tweaking to get it exactly where I want. The interactivity and range of the knobs will require time to get comfortable in making quick, desired adjustments.
[EDIT] The 101 doesn't need nearly as strong of a signal as the Meatball clone. Lowering the output on the Brown Dog fuzz did the trick. -- While this will make A/B'ing between the two pedals tricky, simply feeding the 101 a lower volume has done the trick. This thing KILLS!
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Yeah I use the same trick with the Brown Dog > Agent00 Funk combo, just ease back on the bass volume pot and you've got yourself a monstrous synth tone. Of course the dry envelope jacks are brilliant in achieving a filtered sound with a fuzz. In comparison, the 101 is a little more neat and the Chunk System pedals are incredibly juicy in that regard. Gotta open it up and adjust those trimpots, see if any good comes out of it.
I do have one issue, and was wondering if anyone else came across this. Whenever the Level LED turns off, there's a slight crackle to be heard. I took the pedal out of its chain, so no other pedals were active but the issue persists. Tested with three different PSU's.
I've only had some artifacts from the filter opening and closing which was easily remedied by turning down resonance a bit more.
As I mentioned before, the 101 didn't need to be fed as strong of a signal as my Meatball clone and tonight I was fighting to get the 101 to do what I wanted (bubbly with an octave + fuzz in front), primarily because I was switching between the two filters and having to compensate for the different gain structures.
With the 101, between setting the volume of the incoming signal and the Drive and Volume knobs it was a not opening as I wanted. So I watched the Level LED and realized it has three colors: green, orange and red. Green is too weak. Orange is getting there and just as it starts turning red seemed to be the happy place. Too much red is not desirable to me because it thins out the sound too much IMO. So, if you aren't getting as bubbly and fat of a sound as you want, try to hit the orange zone for the level and adjust up from there.
Also, the Amount and Drive knobs seem to be able to offset each other or get the same results in that more Amount allows for less Drive and vice versa.
With the 101, between setting the volume of the incoming signal and the Drive and Volume knobs it was a not opening as I wanted. So I watched the Level LED and realized it has three colors: green, orange and red. Green is too weak. Orange is getting there and just as it starts turning red seemed to be the happy place. Too much red is not desirable to me because it thins out the sound too much IMO. So, if you aren't getting as bubbly and fat of a sound as you want, try to hit the orange zone for the level and adjust up from there.
Also, the Amount and Drive knobs seem to be able to offset each other or get the same results in that more Amount allows for less Drive and vice versa.
One of the weaknesses of the Moog is that sometimes even with Amount maxed out the filter can’t be envelope swept as far as you may like with some signals without cranking the Drive to push it (which of course also makes it dirtier than you may want). I’ll be curious to compare how the P101 compares in this regard- the added internal sensitivity control might help here. On the Moog there’s actually a trick wherein patching a cable from envelope out to frequency in makes the available sweep larger (essentially increasing the sensitivity by increasing the voltage, maybe it is additive to the existing internal connection).
I think the PX101 can open far enough, my issue was more related to the envelope more so than the frequency range. I wanted a fat, slowish, burpy sound and so dialing back the incoming signal while keeping an eye on the Level LED helped get the proper level set. I did turn up the Amount knob near max so I could get the burp while keeping resonance from laser levels. I had already cut the frequency trimpot a bit so it is a bit muted so I may bump that back up to fully open and offset with the Amount knob. The main point is there is a lot of tweak ability and range. It really is a great pedal and worth exploring; most of what I could want in a filter pedal can be had.
Yes I mean that the sweep of the envelope could not get extreme enough with some signals to sweep from dubby to fully open without cranking the Drive and/or bridging the Envelope to Freq CV jacks. This next week I’ll have some time to finally play mine and compare!
Thanks to this thread, I've got one on the way! Def curious about it and that it satisfies that Moog filter sweep itch. Right now, the Meris Ottobit Jr is doing that, and I really dig it, especially for having a bit crusher and sample reducer all in one. The 101 would be for synth chains with fuzzes and octavers.
Which fuzzes and octavers are you using? I've finally come back around to an OC-2 (why not go straight to the source) for my octaver, and a Brown Dog Clone or Mastotron for my fuzzes. They do the trick. I also have a BEAD if I want to get into more lead type synth sounds.
And one surprise synthy fuzz that doesn't seem to get much love in the bass world is the Chase Bliss Bliss Factory. It requires dialing back a bass' volume to near inaudibility but from there the BF responds MUCH better. It's a cool little pedal, with presets.
Which fuzzes and octavers are you using? I've finally come back around to an OC-2 (why not go straight to the source) for my octaver, and a Brown Dog Clone or Mastotron for my fuzzes. They do the trick. I also have a BEAD if I want to get into more lead type synth sounds.
And one surprise synthy fuzz that doesn't seem to get much love in the bass world is the Chase Bliss Bliss Factory. It requires dialing back a bass' volume to near inaudibility but from there the BF responds MUCH better. It's a cool little pedal, with presets.
I just got the PX-101 in the mail yesterday but haven't had time to play with it much. I'm also using passive basses with flats, so I'll be going back to your post to follow your best practices!
I've used lots of fuzzes and octavers in the past but have settled on a good rotation lately:
Fuzzes:
Zvex Mastotron -- agreed, it's great for this use case.
Broughton Maestro -- I had a Malekko B:Assmaster but let it go due to size when this one is at least as good to my ears.
Crowther Prunes & Custard
MXR Sub Machine -- I'll never stop talking about how great this pedal is. Fuzz, sub octave series or parallel, and octave up footswitch.
Octavers:
3Leaf Octabvre Mini
Broughton Subsonic
MXR VBO
+the Sub Machine in a two-in-one solution.
The Mutron Octavider+ is really good for an two-in-one solution too, but the octave flavor is different than the OC-2 one, and the overall output is controlled by the fuzz volume and that's not great for my needs.
I'll be posting a pic today to the compact thread where a few of these will make an appearance.
I replied within the quoteI just got the PX-101 in the mail yesterday but haven't had time to play with it much. I'm also using passive basses with flats, so I'll be going back to your post to follow your best practices! My best practices seem to vary each day!Gain structure is one of the most important with this one since there is a lot of interactivity between knobs.
I've used lots of fuzzes and octavers in the past but have settled on a good rotation lately:
Fuzzes:
Zvex Mastotron -- agreed, it's great for this use case.
Broughton Maestro -- I had a Malekko B:Assmaster but let it go due to size when this one is at least as good to my ears. I liked the Maestro once I figured it out. Unfortunately that was after I sold itThe Hiero BEAD serves a similar purpose for me now. It gates a bit better but doesn't sound as open as the Maestro
Crowther Prunes & Custard - I'm curious about this one and how it compares to the Mastotron. Do you use it in an octave/filter/fuzz chain?
MXR Sub Machine -- I'll never stop talking about how great this pedal is. Fuzz, sub octave series or parallel, and octave up footswitch. This is new to me so I will have some videos to watch.
Octavers:
3Leaf Octabvre Mini - Sold my Octabvre III. Maybe didn't give it a fair shake but the letters were falling off anyhow so it had to go.
Broughton Subsonic - From the newest batch or prior ones? Some say the newest batch has more OC-2 flavor.
MXR VBO - this one gets a lot of love, do you have a preference vs. the Subsonic?
+the Sub Machine in a two-in-one solution.
The Mutron Octavider+ is really good for an two-in-one solution too, but the octave flavor is different than the OC-2 one, and the overall output is controlled by the fuzz volume and that's not great for my needs. I can see that causing issues since gains are so important when filtering comes into play.
I'll be posting a pic today to the compact thread where a few of these will make an appearance.
I've got a feeling I'm going to need a while to get the PX-101 where I need it to be. Especially I also use G&L MFD basses and the output in those is really hot.
Brassmaster fuzzes are so great, I've heard a lot about the BEAD but the Maestro is covering that need pretty well. Do you use the BEAD in the octave-fuzz-filter chain?
The Prunes & Custard is tough pedal to describe. It does the foldback thing, similar to the 3Leaf DOOM, so it sounds envelope-y on its own. With some basses it sounds great, and then those settings with others really doesn't. I will say that once the settings are figured out, it's one of the most fun fuzz pedals I've ever used. It's funky as hell and really only needs octave before it.
Long live the MXR Sub Machine! It's literally heavy. I don't know why it weighs so much. I'll take that over the EQD Bit Commander or other analog "synth" focused pedals.
I'm not sure what batch the Subsonic is from. I got it in February, I think. I like that the VBO has a slight volume boost when engaged and the Mids button is more useful than I originally thought. I like the simplicity of the Subsonic and, for me at least, it tracks better than the VBO. It's really a toss up. It comes down to pedalboard real estate often. The 3Leaf is just about perfect too. I just wish there would be a second footswitch to go from full OC-2 to full Mutron on the tone knob.
Mine finally arrived,but I'm in the middle of moving from one house to the next... Hopefully next week. @arepa_funk I was an MF-101 guy for quite a while. I would say that it was a pedal that didn't give up the goods easily. Instant gratificatio was not a sub title ;-)
At my best I had something very reminiscent of Tuba coming from it. Truly an organic sound. Hoping to get that back again. ...unique in my experience. Stick with it and hopefully you find something just as special.
At my best I had something very reminiscent of Tuba coming from it. Truly an organic sound. Hoping to get that back again. ...unique in my experience. Stick with it and hopefully you find something just as special.
News from our favorite TimTam dealer: “Next will be either the MF-102 and CP-251, then 103 ” 
WhoaNews from our favorite TimTam dealer: “Next will be either the MF-102 and CP-251, then 103 ”
I am loving the PX-101. It checks all my boxes.
Looks like I'll have to break down and order the Jet. Someone has to break the ice Need to recover from moving houses though.
Need to recover from moving houses though.
