My question: is it possible to sync the delay time of the MF-104 with the rate of an LFO?
As I understand the specs a CV signal to the TIME input will just sweep the range - i.e. the rate itself can’t actually be synced with anything (no way to send a clock pulse or something, a la the MURF).
Is this correct? Has anyone tried any interesting workarounds? I can imagine that syncing delay time modulation with a beat (using the multipedal, say) would be pretty cool, if totally different.
Im going to say that I don’t think so. Unless you just used your ears alone.
I don’t think theres any type of “Tap Tempo” feature or anything like that that will actively sync the delay time like you are referring, although that would be most useful.
Perhaps it would be possible with some work; all the BBD chips inside every MF104Z should have the same number of steps (1024?)… Is the Rate knob controlling how many 1 millisecond steps it goes through before repeating? From there, a little math could give you millisecond to BPM values, but you might need something with more control than the Rate knob in order to get an exact value from the device.
Perhaps it could be an external device that then outputs an appropriate CV?
I’m hopeful that a future update for the MP-201 will let the user sync a delay time to a clock. You already can sync the LFO’s to a clock in the MP-201. We’ve discussed some of the practical considerations in the Controllers forum.
As a standalone device, you can’t currently sync the delay to a clock.
Thanks all. Ahhhh… A MURFesque tempo input would be really, really cool on the 104. There’s no reason such a thing wouldn’t be feasible, no? I’d love to see it included. Any 104 owners out there find themselves seriously wishing this feature was there?
Have a read through this thread to see some of the issues involved. I don’t think they are insurmountable, but a solution would require calibration for each individual delay pedal.
I have the money to get the delay pedal right now (and it is the last MF to complete my collection), but the lack of a tap tempo, or tempo sync is making me think twice.
If I wait long enough, I may be able to finally afford a Voyager rack! But then I will need the inbox and outbox to make it sing.
And Novamusik.com offers such great deals on stuff, just when you think you can’t afford something they have a nice special or will come down enough to make you realize you can buy many things.
Symptoms: Having the money for a Moog but the desire to hold out on buying it quickly turns to a purchase confirmation email.
Since you are obviously suffering from this condition then you are now in Moog Purgatory.
(For those of you not educated in Eric’s dictionary of Moog disorders, Moog purgatory is the state of being in a constant waiting period caused by the recent purchase of a Moog Product. SYmptoms appear upon initial purchase but do not fully manifest until the parcel is “Out for Delivery” in the period before the package arrives. Upon Arrival of the package the patient enters the final phase which has come to be known as Moog Heaven)
THere is no treatment for this disorder other than being broke or being bogged down with bills.
I will keep you in my thoughts as you work through your condition.
EricK, can I put my order in for a leather bound, gilded copy of The Moog Diagnosis Handbook? I’m totally serious here, not being my wiseass self. That would be an awesome thing to have!
I also bought a rack for my 2nd row of 3 MF’s. Now I have 2 signature pedals (Phaser and the Delay) and 4 regular pedals (FreqBox, Bass MuRF, Lowpass and the Ring mod for a complete set.
I have half of a short rack with a CP-251 waiting for that day when I can get a Voyager and the CV expander.
I am totally stuck in loop, happily. If Moog would just resort to making crappy stuff, then I wouldn’t have to buy all this great equipment
No, the delay time is controlled via a control voltage, meaning that any changes in voltages cause the delay time to change too. This means that when the square wave starts at it’s maximum, you have one delay time, and when it switches to it’s minimum it has another time, causing the delays to slur and change pitch, which is a neat effect.
What needs to be figured out, is how the user would tap a momentary switch at a specified rate, and then translate that into one constant voltage. From there the voltage value would need to be sync’d to a delay time that equals the tap rate.
As an example, you tap at a slow beat speed, a CV for that speed is generated via “some kind of thingy-mo-bobber”, and connected to delay time CV. When you tap faster, you would generate a lower CV value compared to the last to speed up the delay time.
Essentially we need a constant voltage supply that is attenuated by the rate you tap your foot.
But the problem isn’t with making a voltage from a tap delay.
It’s making that voltage correlate to every pedal manufactured. Where the pedals are not calibrated to a particular standard. I was trying to think of a way that this lack of calibration could remain whilst offering a triggering/timing solution.
Let’s say you have what is it, 5V? And without actually thinking about curves and everything for the sake of argument 2.5v is 120bpm.
Even if your pedals are sure that 2.5v is 120bpm, how can you be sure your CV source is giving that voltage?
I understand the loop of calibration required a little, and I’d have a go at calibrating if adjustments were provided, but I think there are too many variables and it’d need an additional digital module to measure the tempo and output a voltage to become part of the delay itself (and for that delay to then be calibrated in the factory, which I expect is a time consuming process). And then awkward buggers like me would either want a trigger in to synch to my synths LFO, or a MIDI input to sync it to MIDI clock.
It’s already £500 here. With those bits in I’d expect at least another £100.
But then I will need the inbox and outbox to make it sing.
