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PastFx PX-101 Lowpass Filter (Moogerfooger MF-101 Clone)

#81
arepa_funk said:
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?
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I can definitely see you having to either adjust the sensitivity on the PX101 to handle the G&L or dial back the bass' volume or attenuate the signal with the pedals before the 101.

I sometimes use the BEAD in the octave-fuzz-filter chain but I'm more of a fan of a "normal gated" fuzz paired with an octaver. With the BEAD + OC-2 I noticed I'm adding in more of the OC-2 signal using the blend knob. That could be fine but the Dry signal is not gated so at times the OC-2's duration runs longer than the fuzz, and it can sound like two different signals. If I don't blend the Dry enough then the bass can get a little thin. It's a tough balance act. I've emailed Hiero to see if he will look into including the Dry signal with the Gate.

Without an octaver the BEAD can produce a lot of different textures and sounds and earns its brass master tag, producing some hornlike sounds with nice blooms. It takes time to learn however. I'll give it a go with the 101 again when I get a chance.
 
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#82
Charlie Tuna said:
I can definitely see you having to either adjust the sensitivity on the PX101 to handle the G&L or dial back the bass' volume or attenuate the signal with the pedals before the 101.

I sometimes use the BEAD in the octave-fuzz-filter chain but I'm more of a fan of a "normal gated" fuzz paired with an octaver. With the BEAD + OC-2 I noticed I'm adding in more of the OC-2 signal using the blend knob. That could be fine but the Dry signal is not gated so at times the OC-2's duration runs longer than the fuzz, and it can sound like two different signals. If I don't blend the Dry enough then the bass can get a little thin. It's a tough balance act. I've emailed Hiero to see if he will look into including the Dry signal with the Gate.

Without an octaver the BEAD can produce a lot of different textures and sounds and earns its brass master tag, producing some hornlike sounds with nice blooms. It takes time to learn however. I'll give it a go with the 101 again when I get a chance.
Click to expand...
In a typical gated fuzz, the gating is achieved via adjustment of the bias of a transistor or sometimes a voltage starving circuit and so it wouldn’t be possible to gate the clean signal using that same gating circuit. You could play around with something like the loop gate pedals made by Zvex or Pigtronix (or other similar tweakable gating pedal) to achieve gating on the entire output of the pedal. Personally I am not bothered by that OC-2 blended under a gated fuzz sound, which I often get when using my Brown Dog clone. It’s kinda like having a sub oscillator on a synth sitting under the sharper stuff up top, and the filter afterwards still holds it together.
 
#83
sunbeast said:
In a typical gated fuzz, the gating is achieved via adjustment of the bias of a transistor or sometimes a voltage starving circuit and so it wouldn’t be possible to gate the clean signal using that same gating circuit. You could play around with something like the loop gate pedals made by Zvex or Pigtronix (or other similar tweakable gating pedal) to achieve gating on the entire output of the pedal. Personally I am not bothered by that OC-2 blended under a gated fuzz sound, which I often get when using my Brown Dog clone. It’s kinda like having a sub oscillator on a synth sitting under the sharper stuff up top, and the filter afterwards still holds it together.
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Thanks for your reply and explanation. I had thought about the Loop Gate but don't want to add another pedal to the mix if I don't have to. With the Brown Dog clone I don't mind the OC-2 blended underneath either but I also feel like the BD carries enough of the OC-2/dry sound in the wet side that blending in the dry isn't always necessary. With the BEAD being octave up fuzz the wet side loses a lot of low end. Finding the balance of the wet and dry to retain the low end is a bit tricky sometimes where when I get the right amount of low end it doesn't always sound right since the frequency separation is so great. -- All this said, I may use my C4 as a tester since I have it set up with a gating only preset; thanks for the reminder. ;)
 
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#84
Charlie Tuna said:
I can definitely see you having to either adjust the sensitivity on the PX101 to handle the G&L or dial back the bass' volume or attenuate the signal with the pedals before the 101.

I sometimes use the BEAD in the octave-fuzz-filter chain but I'm more of a fan of a "normal gated" fuzz paired with an octaver. With the BEAD + OC-2 I noticed I'm adding in more of the OC-2 signal using the blend knob. That could be fine but the Dry signal is not gated so at times the OC-2's duration runs longer than the fuzz, and it can sound like two different signals. If I don't blend the Dry enough then the bass can get a little thin. It's a tough balance act. I've emailed Hiero to see if he will look into including the Dry signal with the Gate.

Without an octaver the BEAD can produce a lot of different textures and sounds and earns its brass master tag, producing some hornlike sounds with nice blooms. It takes time to learn however. I'll give it a go with the 101 again when I get a chance.
Click to expand...

I hear you, I usually have G&L volume at about 80%, but even then it's too hot for many pedals.

Agreed with brassmaster style fuzzes. I rarely use it with octavers, especially due its own octave overtones.
 
#85
sunbeast said:
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!
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Hi sunbeast, did you have a chance to compare the PX101 to the MF101? How does the PX101 stack up? TIA
 
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#86
Charlie Tuna said:
Hi sunbeast, did you have a chance to compare the PX101 to the MF101? How does the PX101 stack up? TIA
Click to expand...
I have finally got to run the PX101 through its paces after some delay, but need to set up the MF101 to compare. I ended up receiving my new Future Impact v4 around the same time as the PX so it has been taking most of my attention!

I will say that so far the PX seems to be “all that”, and having that master volume that the MF lacks is a HUGE plus!
 
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#87
Mine just arrived! Can't try it till later today, but I did want to share this size comparison. Yes, it is significantly smaller :laugh:

Shipped from AUS to NL in 3 days, took a week for the last 10 km from the airport to my house, but at least I had no customs fee or import tax to pay, lucky break! Can't wait to try it out.

IMG_3595.jpeg
 
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#88
Just played with it a bit, and I must say that I am a very happy camper! Did some quick comparisons with the OG, and at bedroom levels it can definitely nail the same tones. The level control is just fantastic to have, really opens up the pedal more. The pedal is very solidly build, and packed with love and attention to detail. The PX-101 is going straight to pedalboard, to be tried on big boy amps next week! This was my first PastFX purchase, and it probably won't be my last. I'm hoping for a Freqbox someday!
 
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#89
GrayGoesBlack said:
Just played with it a bit, and I must say that I am a very happy camper! Did some quick comparisons with the OG, and at bedroom levels it can definitely nail the same tones. The level control is just fantastic to have, really opens up the pedal more. The pedal is very solidly build, and packed with love and attention to detail. The PX-101 is going straight to pedalboard, to be tried on big boy amps next week! This was my first PastFX purchase, and it probably won't be my last. I'm hoping for a Freqbox someday!
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Same! I want the whole Moogerfooger line! I was skeptical they’d nail it, but they managed to even improve it in some ways. I still need to direct compare and mess with the internal controls to be sure, but even if it were 75% of the MF101 I’d be happy and it’s certainly much closer than that
 
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#92
It still has the 'move any control a smidge' and you have something completly different going on. Seems more stable in that the sound I carefully dial in seems consistent. My old MF-101 just drifted on it's own which really sucked live. I'd step on it expecting boosty and get Bill Laswell...
 
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#93
4Mal said:
It still has the 'move any control a smidge' and you have something completly different going on. Seems more stable in that the sound I carefully dial in seems consistent. My old MF-101 just drifted on it's own which really sucked live. I'd step on it expecting boosty and get Bill Laswell...
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Yikes. Mine wasn't that crazy, but I could hear it "hunting" on sustained notes; and it was very sensitive to playing dynamics. That's what I hope the PX-101 retains.
 
#95
I would have to say that the PX-101 is a very cool pedal! I think I'll give their repro of the A/D/A Jet Flanger a shot next. I have never found another flanger that can get the rudeness possible with a Jet. Choral Flange was close.
 
#96
4Mal said:
I would have to say that the PX-101 is a very cool pedal! I think I'll give their repro of the A/D/A Jet Flanger a shot next. I have never found another flanger that can get the rudeness possible with a Jet. Choral Flange was close.
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You can buy an actual A/DA PBF Flanger cheaper. And to my ears, sounds identical to the original big box...just saying
 
#98
Anyone else hoping they put out a pedal version of just the preamp from this thing? I really like the gain on it but I can't have it as an always on gain stage and be able to switch the filter on and off.
 
#99
Teryup said:
Anyone else hoping they put out a pedal version of just the preamp from this thing? I really like the gain on it but I can't have it as an always on gain stage and be able to switch the filter on and off.
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You need the actual Moog for that haha! Not being able to bypass the Drive preamp is one of the “features” of the original MF101 that people either love or hate. Personally I tend to like it dirtier for the filter purposes than I want on my non-filtered tone (most of the time anyway), so I like that the PX101 bypasses the preamp when turned off. It is a good light drive tone though! The Moog MF Drive is a cool pedal that I believe is supposed to be based on that premise (stand-alone Moog Drive circuit). I had an MF Drive long before I had an MF101 so I can’t recall exactly, but the MF Drive is definitely a cool pedal in its own right and even works well as an expression-controlled filter
 
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