105M does it suit me? All input appreciated!

[MBlom]

It might just be about time to get another Moogerfooger. Love the ones I have, though honestly, the CP and Freqbox doesn't get much love. The phaser, delay and lowpass (as delay-loop insert) however, is almost constantly on and tweaked when doing my bass duties in my band. But to vary the sound a bit, and before my bandmates hit me in the head with the phaser, I'm quite keen on the Midi Murf. Problem is I have a hard time grasping what I could do with it. I see and hear all those demos with rythmic filter variations, but that's not what I'd want it to do. So here's some questions:

1- Can I make it change settings (eq curve - for lack of a better word) only when I press a key? I play a Minimoog Voyager EB and haven't got the VX-351. I would like every note to get a slightly different tone.

2- Can I make it change seemless between eq-settings, or is it always a distinct change? Freely that is, and not when pressing keys.

3- Does it get very vowely? I love the Daft Punk-ish use of vocoders and talkboxes, and would like to make bass sounds that sweep through or snap between different vowel-eq-settings.

4- How many different eq-curves can I switch between?

To summarize my needs. I would like to use it making my bass sounds change more "organic" than most of the rythmic step sequencer demos tend to show. Like sweeping through different eq-curves.

And if anyone cares to make a little demo of a bassynth with the filter quite open and some vowely settings sweepin and snapping through, I'd very much appreciate it!

[Alien8]

1. Yes and no. There are ways to trick it into doing this, but it would be specific to the pattern that you create. There are a couple of ways to trigger the MuRF that can get very granular in control, however more of an on / off response than not. So - you can trigger the step of your pattern to fire either with CC 108 or using the tap / step in control (likely using your voyager gate out). You can also use midi notes to control the specific filter to fire, or mute. You can also use midi CC to set the slider volume. I think to fully answer yes you would need an MP-201 so you can stream MIDI CC messages to the sliders using LFO's to cycle through settings. I don't have a voyager or know if you could use MIDI out from it to do this...

2. Yes, but probably not the way you want. You have to manually control each slider, or use a MIDI controller to do so en masse. Or you could program a pattern and trigger each step. The catch is that you have to coordinate slider levels, rather than just have each filter drop out and appear using the envelope. Using a DAW, no problem, but with outboard gear its harder.

3. I haven't found a way to make it distincly say "yeow" or "ooo-ahh" yet, but there are settings that have elements present. It's very dependent on what you feed it too. You could probably get there, but I haven't done it on purpose.

4. Technically infinite using the pattern editor on the fly, or a DAW, or manual slider adjustment.

So in summary: the slider level (which when the sequencer is not running) creates an eq curve. When the sequencer is running the specific bands of the EQ are turned on and off based on the envelope setting. When on, the specific band is only as loud as the slider is set. There are smooth transitions between each programmed step present, or more choppy ones based on the envelope knob (and you can blend with original signal the mix knob). The slider levels can be controlled manually or via MIDI only - no CV. The slider levels do not save with the pattern either, so what you see on the front is what you get.

[MBlom]

Ok. So you can't save different filter settings and make a pattern that switches between them?

Thanks for taking your time!

[Alien8]

Reading the manual for the pattern editor, you can save "panel" presets - I don't know if those are saved to the pattern in the unit, or just in the editor on the PC. If the latter is the case, you would need a PC to manually select the preset you wish to load. Next time I have it on I will try this.

Another way to look at it would be that the patterns, when slewed together with a long envelope, begin to overlap and essentially vary the EQ curve. The result is somewhat repeatable, and may be enough of what you need. When you add the internal LFO the EQ curve shifts and starts to sound like a phaser.

[MBlom]

Trying to understand it by reading the manual, but I still don't really get it. At least it seems like I can manually switch between steps when pressing a key by sending it a gate out. Although the Voyager Electric Blue doesn't have Gate Out, right? Guess I'll have to use the Kenton Pro Solo MIDI-CV for that then.

It puts me off quite a bit if all that can be done is either having the filter poles of or at the manually set slider values. That way I can only change between no effect, physical slider settings and parts of the manually set slider settings. I understand there can be quite some animation using "only" this, but I was hoping for being able to sweep between different slider settings for each filter pole. Or am I underestimating what this sonically means?

I never use a computer while playing. It's fine for programming but after that I want to be able to unhook it and being able to switch if power without having to connect to a computer again.

I would be very dissapointed if it resembles what I can do with the phaser. Then it's not worth it for me. The phaser can get a little vowely, but I'd want the Murf to be very much so.

[MBlom]

Anyone else got experiences about my third question?

[MBlom]

Ok. Now I think I've got it. Read the manual twice and watched a bunch of videos. The only thing that keeps me from ordering right away is this:

I play bass (Voyager) in an electronic band and I'd like a MuRF to keep me from putting the phaser on on every song. I would use it in bass mode and, I imagine, with a self programmed pattern where the upper half of the frequency poles are varied but lower freqs always on, as well as having Gate Out sent from the Voyager to Step In on the MuRF. This to maintain the bass and having different sounds on each note. I like the idea of the envelopes making that snappy sound with different frequencies. Buy my worries are that, having the Envelope knob set to "snappy" might reduce the bass as well. Getting just a staccato bass sound. Of course I don't have to use the Mix knob on full effect but still...

Do I need to worry?

Will this add some nice flavor for a bass-synth player (not interested in rythmic drum-like patterns or evolving pads) and not be just a one trick pony for those purposes?

[JnGd]

Hi,
quoting you "as well as having gate out sent from the voyager to step-in on the MuRF " (what do you use to get a gate signal from the Voyager to the Murf ?)

thank you

[MBlom]

A Kenton Pro Solo midi-to-cv

[Alien8]

No worry

I made you a demo: https://soundcloud.com/alien8-3/murfing-around

Playing a real bass, through a synth pedal into the MF-101 filter some other pedals (comp & DI) for tone, then into the MuRF. Rough takes with warts n'stuff, but gives you the idea.

I made my own pattern with the bottom 3 bass filters on each step (in Bass mode), and some motion in the uppers. Really simple, just to give you the idea. Then I kept the same setting and made adjustments to the envelope knob, turning on and off the LFO, and playing in mono, then stereo. Mix is fully wet, and the input is driven. I use the 101 envelope out into a home made gate gen (Yusynth based), then the start trigger from there into the MuRF. (Because of the sensitivity & my lack of a filter on the envelope signal there is some extra triggering going on, but it's obvious enough that I'm not trying to fool anyone.)

What I notice most is that it fattens things up - if nothing else it give a decent tone some more oomph. You have to feed it some high content to truly benefit from the resonant filters, without it just sounding like a swell / tremolo effect. The LFO makes is sound very phaser like, but different still. Some vocal sounds in there too, I'm sure it can do it.

Thanks for explaining your idea, it is a good one - off to try the idea posted in the other thread

[MBlom]

Thanks for taking your time to make me a demo! That really answered a lot of my questions about the "sound" of the MuRF, although I will play a (bass)synth. But that will only enhance the character of the sounds you demoed, so I'm quite pleased. I'll make sure to post a demo when I've gotten it.