Understanding and using your moogerfooger® MF-101 Lowpass Filter
Welcome to the world of moogerfooger® Analog Effects Modules! Your Model MF101 Lowpass Filter is a rugged, professional-quality instrument, designed to be equally at home on stage or in the studio. Its great sound and classic effects come from the state-of-the-art all-analog circuitry, designed and built under Bob Moog's personal direction. Your MF-101 is a direct descendent of the original modular Moog™ synthesizers.
. Note that the BYPASS light is on. It will light up either red or green. Red indicates that the MF-101's filter is off-line (bypassed), while green indicates that the filter is on-line. Pressing the 'stomp switch' will toggle the BYPASS light between red and green. For now, leave the BYPASS light on red. 4. Connect an instrument cable from the MF-101 AUDIO OUT jack to a line-level input of your amp or mixer. Turn the volume control on your amp down but not off. 5.
HOW A LOWPASS FILTER WORKS Let's start with some definitions, so we're all talking the same language. Sound is a vibration of the air. The speed of vibration is called the frequency. It is measured in Hertz (Hz). One Hz is one vibration per second. We hear vibrations from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Musical sounds generally have many frequency components. They're called harmonics, or overtones, or partials. They are what give the sound its characteristic tone color, or timbre.
Your MF-101 also contains a classic envelope follower. An envelope follower tracks the loudness contour (envelope) of a sound, and produces a voltage that follows the dynamics of your playing. Every time you play a note, the envelope voltage goes up and then down. The harder you play, the higher the envelope voltage goes. The Envelope signal follows the amplitude (loudness) of the sound which it represents. The envelope follower output opens and closes the lowpass filter.
The RESONANCE knob changes the way the filter sounds. Or, in technical words, it changes the shape of the frequency response. When RESONANCE is near 0 the low overtones come through evenly. When RESONANCE is turned up to around 7, the overtones near cutoff will be boosted, creating a whistle-like or vowel-like quality. When RESONANCE is above 8, the filter actually produces its own tone at the cutoff frequency. That tone interacts with your instrument's tone when you play your instrument through the filter.
Audio Input Level and Mixing The DRIVE and MIX controls and the LEVEL light are all part of the audio input level and mixing circuitry. The DRIVE control adjusts the input gain. With this control you can set the right input gain for virtually any instrument or line-level signal source. Turn this control counterclockwise for strong input signals, and clockwise for weaker sound sources. The DRIVE control is always active, even when the MF-101 is in BYPASS mode.
CUTOFF knob up. So, a good rule to follow is: when you use an expression pedal, you set the corresponding knob for the lowest value you want. Then, advancing the pedal increases that value. The expression pedal inputs can also be used as control signal inputs. This enables you to use your MF-101 with virtually any control signal source: modular analog synthesizers, MIDI-to-CV converters, etc.
SOME TYPICAL SETUPS Here are some nice setups to start off with. Experiment with all of them. Try changing the knob settings with your hands. Then plug in one or more expression pedals and try the same things with your feet. Guitar: Basic Lowpass Wah The expression pedal gives you extremely wide sweep range.
Bass: Deep Dynamic Tuba-Wah The trick here is to turn the DRIVE control up far enough so that the LEVEL light is in the red while you're playing. At the same time, turn down the gain control on your amp.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION NOTE: The following information is intended for use by people who understand analog electronic circuitry and have enough practical experience to interconnect sophisticated electronic equipment correctly. POWER: The MF-101 works satisfactorily on +9 to +15 volts DC and uses about 100 milliamperes of current. If your power adaptor shows up missing or inoperative, you can power your MF-101 from any other power adaptor with a +9 volt or +12 volt rating and with the same power connector.
When connecting one or more pedal control input jacks to a source of external control voltage such as an analog synth or a MIDI-to-CV converter, you should use patch cords with tip-ring-sleeve phone plugs. The ring terminal on the plug should not be connected to anything, so that the MF-101's source of +5.7 volts is not shorted out. Correct wiring of a tip-ring-sleeve plug for connecting a pedal control input to a source of external control voltage.
replace materials defective through the fault of the user, or for which the one year warranty period has expired. Transportation and insurance charges from Moog Music to your United States address, of products repaired or replaced under warranty, will be paid by Moog Music. Notes: MOOG MUSIC. Inc. 554C Riverside Drive Asheville, NC 28801 PHONE: (828) 251-0090 FAX: (828) 254-6233 EMAIL: info@moogmusic.com WEB ADDRESS: http://www.moogmusic.
MF-101 SPECIFICATIONS DESCRIPTION: Analog Effects Module incorporating two functions: a voltage-controlled lowpass filter and an envelope follower.
