Will you buy a FreqBox?

[chris allert]

But what I found after owning them is that they're actually alot easier, more convenient, and versatile to use than a rack enclosure would be. In fact, I now hate rack equipment... they're unneccesarily large, heavy, and cumbersome... and inconvenient to patch with jacks in back-- especially when racked.

Im also putting together a modular synth, but it won't replace the quick, versatile, and portable functionality of the MFs.

True, a CP-251 style box would be better (or even just chop off the empty stomp switch portion)... but this is probably their marketing slant-- guitar pedals. Not much market for synth modules...

i'd agree that rack mount equipment with stuff on the back is very inconvenient to use in a modular system. but i think the moogerfoogers kind of have the same problem. in my setup, i have my synthesizers.com system elevated off the floor, and then underneath it i have all the moogerfoogers lined up with the jacks facing me. this makes it easy to patch them, but then it's kind of awkward to get at the knobs and switches because they're upside-down. i don't really like the rack-mount option for moogerfoogers either because they take up so much vertical space.

anyway, the main problem with them is that you can't easily access the jacks and the knobs at the same time. but like you said, it's not as bad as rack-mount equipment where seeing the front and back at the same time is basically impossible. and it is nice how portable they are. and i have gotten used to looking at them upside down, so i can't say that they're really that inconvenient to patch. but the cp251s are just so much easier to patch.

but if more guitar players are buying them than modular synthesizer users, then i guess the stomp box format makes more sense. does anyone know who buys more moogerfoogers? guitarists or keyboardists?

[CTRLSHFT]

But what I found after owning them is that they're actually alot easier, more convenient, and versatile to use than a rack enclosure would be. In fact, I now hate rack equipment... they're unneccesarily large, heavy, and cumbersome... and inconvenient to patch with jacks in back-- especially when racked.

Im also putting together a modular synth, but it won't replace the quick, versatile, and portable functionality of the MFs.

True, a CP-251 style box would be better (or even just chop off the empty stomp switch portion)... but this is probably their marketing slant-- guitar pedals. Not much market for synth modules...

i'd agree that rack mount equipment with stuff on the back is very inconvenient to use in a modular system. but i think the moogerfoogers kind of have the same problem. in my setup, i have my synthesizers.com system elevated off the floor, and then underneath it i have all the moogerfoogers lined up with the jacks facing me. this makes it easy to patch them, but then it's kind of awkward to get at the knobs and switches because they're upside-down. i don't really like the rack-mount option for moogerfoogers either because they take up so much vertical space.

anyway, the main problem with them is that you can't easily access the jacks and the knobs at the same time. but like you said, it's not as bad as rack-mount equipment where seeing the front and back at the same time is basically impossible. and it is nice how portable they are. and i have gotten used to looking at them upside down, so i can't say that they're really that inconvenient to patch. but the cp251s are just so much easier to patch.

but if more guitar players are buying them than modular synthesizer users, then i guess the stomp box format makes more sense. does anyone know who buys more moogerfoogers? guitarists or keyboardists?

most guitarists probably don't even know what moogerfoogers are (admittedly most keyboard players don't either). it's a slim minority who appreciate analog effects, and even slimmer who might appreciate moog stuff.

i think prog/indie/experimental guitarists are really the core of moogerfooger purchases on the guitar end.. i'm willing to bet the rest (eg, majority) are synthheads; moog does make keyboards, afterall.

giving the option for people to purchase stomp-style OR cp-enclosure-style moogerfoogers would really make their product line ALOT more attractive. not to mention they could market to the synth crowd a little better, or at least with as much gusto as they have with the Little Phatty.

..don't have the stats though, i guess it could be the other way around.

[the_bot]

Actually, there's a lot of guitarists who are aware of and appreciate the Moog stuff, you'd be surprised. Admittedly not the general mass market, but there are loads of people who still appreciate analogue effects - remember most guitarists are usually against new technology (see valve amps vs modelling, any new design vs strat / les paul). Also John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a well known user of Moog stuff and one of the few 'guitar heroes' left.

I usually hang about on guitar forums and moogerfoogers get a lot of attention. They've also got the advantage of being reasonably expensive - everyone knows that money = tone.

[redeyeflight]

I'm a guitar player and I use my moogerfoogers at practically every gig I play. I play reggae, hip-hop, rock, and whatever else the gig calls for and the moogerfoogers always come in very handy. And I've seen quite a few other guitars players in the seattle area using moogerfoogers as well. Often people will come up to me and ask me why I have four of the same pedal and I have to tell them that they all do different things but never a musician. You'd be suprised as to who is hip to the moog bleep when you're actually out there gigging a lot.

[CTRLSHFT]

Actually, there's a lot of guitarists who are aware of and appreciate the Moog stuff, you'd be surprised. Admittedly not the general mass market, but there are loads of people who still appreciate analogue effects - remember most guitarists are usually against new technology (see valve amps vs modelling, any new design vs strat / les paul). Also John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a well known user of Moog stuff and one of the few 'guitar heroes' left.

I usually hang about on guitar forums and moogerfoogers get a lot of attention. They've also got the advantage of being reasonably expensive - everyone knows that money = tone.

i don't doubt it, but having a lot of friends who have worked at places like guitar center and know what people are usually purchasing gives me a different view point on the majority. i think the situation is pretty much the same in the synth community. lots of people are attatched to tritons and phatoms, not the real deal analogs. they might know the moog name, but only by proxy, not by experience. not looking to upset or insult guitarists here, just saying i think theres alot more hobbyist/enthusiast types out there that would rather get a Pod than one pedal. just like how theres alot more keyboard-oriented people buying crappy ROMplers than great analog gear..

[hieronymous]

don't forget bassists!

[eric coleridge]

but if more guitar players are buying them than modular synthesizer users, then i guess the stomp box format makes more sense. does anyone know who buys more moogerfoogers? guitarists or keyboardists?

I think that you have to remember that the market share for guitars(and guitar related products) is far larger than any other instrument market. This is undoubtably why the MFs are designed like guitar pedals... the market for analog synths--let alone modular synths, on the other hand, is tiny by comparison.

This is also why you have a chain of music stores called "Guitar Center." They sell everything, but their main buisness, by a wide margin, is in guitar sales.

So, in order for the MFs to appeal to the broadest possible instrument buying market (and so they can continue to sell and stay profitable) they are designed in a way that won't intimidate the average consumer (in other words, guitar players). So, even though they're obviously analog synth modules, they've been dropped into a format that is already familiar, and non-threatening, to a wide consumer base.

Now that I think about it, this may also be the reason why the jacks are all placed on the back of the MF--where they are obviously least accessable. Probably, it was intended to hide them. I think most people who are unfamiliar with using CVs and making modular patches would probably be initially confounded by this large amount of jacks.

It seems like it would obviously make more sense if the jacks were right in front where the stomp switch is... but probably this was thought to make them look too complicated...

For instance, I've been playing analog synths for more than 15 years (bought a MicroMoog for $50 in the early 90s at a pawn shop)... but it wasn't until I started using MFs in the early 2000s that I started to get interested in modular synthesis and using CVs instead of MIDI.

I was aware that my Micro had a bunch of jacks in the back that were intended for some kind of control functions... but I had no idea how it worked and was actually scared that if I plugged in the wrong jack it might "break" the synth. As foolish as this seems to me now, I seriously remember thinking this... But there weren't the same kind of internet resources back then, and it was impossible (as far as I knew) to find a manual for this "ancient" Moog synth...

In any event, if I put myself back in that mind-set, I can sort of understand how a dozen jacks placed directly on the front of a Moog "pedal" might seem daunting (to say the least).

[the_bot]

Now that I think about it, this may also be the reason why the jacks are all placed on the back of the MF--where they are obviously least accessable. Probably, it was intended to hide them. I think most people who are unfamiliar with using CVs and making modular patches would probably be initially confounded by this large amount of jacks.

It seems like it would obviously make more sense if the jacks were right in front where the stomp switch is... but probably this was thought to make them look too complicated...

I think it's because Guitarists like it on top. If you've got a pedal board it's easier to fit them on top of the pedal and it will avoid you kicking them as you put the stomp box on. It's just much easier to organise that way, and it's a fairly standard convention that if the jacks are not at the side they're on top.

Apart from that I totally agree with your post - better to get 1% of the huge guitar market than 50% of the smaller synth market. Making them look like a normal pedal makes guitarists much more likely to buy as we're such luddites!

[eric coleridge]

I think it's because Guitarists like it on top. If you've got a pedal board it's easier to fit them on top of the pedal and it will avoid you kicking them as you put the stomp box on. It's just much easier to organise that way, and it's a fairly standard convention that if the jacks are not at the side they're on top.

Yeah, you're right, that's true too. Maybe that's the reason... but it sure would be more convenient for me if they were in front. I also play guitar too... but I never use more than 2--or maybe at the most 3-- pedals at once when I play guitar. So, it would be alot more convenient for me if I could get right at the CV jacks... even if they don't line right up with my volume or wah jacks...

Making them look like a normal pedal makes guitarists much more likely to buy as we're such luddites!

I know you're just kidding--but just in case-- I didn't mean to suggest that guitar players are somehow less technologically inclined than synth players. Which is why I added that bit about myself-- how I also didn't understand CV at first.

It's a little bit esoteric.. and people in general are taught from an early age to be very careful around any kind of voltage. So I think it's a very natural response to be kind of initially hesitant to this weird world of CV technology.

[analoghaze]

To guitar players, most of the CV inputs mean only one thing. PEDAL INPUTS!

The CP-251 is what really pushes people who love 'foggers to experiment.

I remember getting my MacBeth Moroco, and beginning to mess around with my Sherman FB2. That put the taste of CV in my mouth. It was like a shark tasting blood.

[the_bot]

I know you're just kidding--but just in case-- I didn't mean to suggest that guitar players are somehow less technologically inclined than synth players. Which is why I added that bit about myself-- how I also didn't understand CV at first.

It's a little bit esoteric.. and people in general are taught from an early age to be very careful around any kind of voltage. So I think it's a very natural response to be kind of initially hesitant to this weird world of CV technology.

I was kidding, but thanks for the politeness! I think guitarists in general ARE less technologically inclined but that's why I like the Moogerfoogers so much, it's like a gentle step into the world of synths. Mind you, this stuff is bloody addictive, I'm now after a Freqbox and I'm hankering after a Little Phatty now as well.

[eric coleridge]

Mind you, this stuff is bloody addictive, I'm know after a Freqbox and I'm hankering after a Little Phatty now as well.

Yeah, tell me about it... It's just been maybe a year and a half or two years sinse I bought my first MF (knowing very little about CV)... I then started modding all of my synths for better CV control... and then I decided to just start building a modular (thought it would be cheaper than buying one)... I'm getting there...

[revstate]

4osc voyager

[latigid on]

I would like to know if the freqbox osc goes into the sub-audio range, meaning it can act as a multi-waveformed (continuously so!) LFO.

[redeyeflight]

I'd have to disagree that guitarists are less inclined to know about electronics than other musicians. The only place that would be true is keyboardists. But just think: the electric guitar is electric so guitar players usually have some idea about how to work effects and whatnot. Agreed, most guitarists don't know about CV but I think that's also true of keyboard players. People who are into analog synthesizers...and there are quite a few of us out there, know about CV and analog vs. digital, but to the rest of the music world, they couldn't care less. BTW, ever tired to talk to a horn player or a drummer about effects? It seems the majority of effects pedal users are quitarists so it makes perfect sense that the moogerfoogers are marketed as such. For you synthesists out there, there's plenty of stuff made for you. And for keyboard players (different than synthesists) there's plenty of stuff made for you as well. You can knock moogerfooger enclosures all you want but at the end of the day they are guitar pedals meant to be used on the floor....although they are awesome studio effects as well.