Greetings,
Guitar player here. Purchased my first Moog product - the MF-102 Ring Mod - about two months ago, and today I received the MF-101 Low Pass Filter. Would love to hear what your favorite settings are for each.
Also, is it possible to patch them together to increase their potential? If so, do I need to use specific patch cables?
Thanks for helping out The Newbie!
Start with this:
Lord of the RingMod - An update of the classic guide to the MF-102 Ring Modulator.
KnobTweak/files/Moogerfoogers/MF-102 Ring Modulator/Lord of the RingMod - 2009.pdf
I’d use the envelope out of the Low pass into the Frequency CV input to the ring mod. Set the ring mod for the low range, and use it as a dynamically controlled tremolo ala the pigtronix tremvelope.
I didn’t care much for the MF-101 until I had an expression pedal for it. I typically set it up to sound like a “better” wah pedal. 4 pole sounds better to me. I can’t tell you exact settings because you may have a different pot in an expression pedal you might use. It’s simple enough to find a good setting on it.
People comment on how great the MF-102 sounds as a tremolo. I think that using an LFO to control the Mix on the MF-101 makes for an even better tremolo. Here’s something you can try:
Disconnect the instrument cable from the MF-102 entirely.
Plug your instrument cable in and out of the MF-101 like normal.
MF-101 Mix at 100%.
Set up the MF-101 while strumming your guitar so the cutoff is just below audible level (around 9 oclock), but with a tiny bit of lows still coming through. It should sound like you can barely hear the bass from a party a mile away.
Set up the MF-102 so the sine LFO is pretty slow. Whatever you feel is a good tempo for a tremolo. I think only the sine/square switch and Rate knob make a difference here.
Plug a cable from the MF-102’s LFO Out to MF-101’s Mix In.
Turn the MF-101’s Mix knob to somewhere around noon. You’ll know it when you reach it. Peaks should be full volume, dips should be no volume. Nudge Cutoff if the dips don’t sit right.
Play with the Resonance knob to see what you prefer.
If you turn the mix knob further to the left, you can start to get vibrato/univibe style effects.
This is my favorite tremolo setup that I’ve ever used. I use a CP-251 instead of a MF-102. Doing this gives you the ability to select a low cutoff point, so the trem has a warmth to it that I haven’t heard in anything else.
I love that tremolo idea - I need to try it next chance I get. Thanks Facon.
Another suggestion I have is to download the CP-251 manual. There is a patch in there that uses the mf-101 & mf-102 that you can do without the CP, the talking bass example. You just use the auto envelope or lfo from the ring mod to modulate cutoff.
You can use the envelope out to control anything on either unit.
If you have a splitter, send the same signal into the ring mod audio in and carrier in.
Thank you for the link, Greg! I found the piece to be very informative. Great job putting the information together!
Thanks for the tip, Facon! I love using the Ring Mod as a tremolo, so I can’t wait to go home and try this out!
I failed to mention that I also have the Moog EP-3 expression pedal.
Thank you, Alien8. I’ll definitely download the manual and try that out.