What's the overdrive characterisitics of the MF-102 like?

[cactuseskimo]

Hi. New here. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm a guitarist wandering about the MF-102. Basically two things:

I've read by turning up the "input Drive" on the mf102 that you can mildly clip (yellow light) or even push it harder (red light). I was interested in knowing if this overdrive is any good? Like something I might want to have in front of my amp to sweeten or fatten it up a little bit? Like a very subtle preamp. (ex. Tube screamer - okay, that's not that subtle)

Also, the product info says something about getting harmonically rich distortion. Is that what they're talking about? Or are they talking about the ring mod section adding in different harmonics?

Thanks in advance.

[cactuseskimo]

No replies? I know the drive control is on most of the moogerfoogers. So, anyone with a guitar, amp, and moogerfooger could answer my question. Does having the moogerfooger in the effects chain (even when bypassed) sweeten things up at all? Thanks.

[GregAE]

No replies? I know the drive control is on most of the moogerfoogers. So, anyone with a guitar, amp, and moogerfooger could answer my question. Does having the moogerfooger in the effects chain (even when bypassed) sweeten things up at all? Thanks.

Not a guitarist, so I can't relate how the RM's Drive circuit fairs against other OD/Distortion/Fuzz devices or stompboxes (I am a big fan of stompboxes, BTW).

What I can tell you is that the Drive circuit is in the signal path even when Bypass is engaged. The pedal has no true hardware bypass. This means that if you wanted to use the RM's Drive for a bit of fattening up, you'd need to add an A/B switch to switch out of it.

You might gleen a bit more info by checking out "Lord of the Ring (Modulation)" on MoogSpace. In particular, look at section 6 - Drive as Waveshaper. You can find the complete article here:

http://www.moogmusic.com/members/index. ... 0id%20DESC

Hope this helps

Greg

[electrical_engineer_gEEk]

Wow Greg,
I've never seen that document before!
Did you write that? It's really well done. If you did, I really think MoogMusic should put you on the payroll!!! After reading it I really really want a MF102 of my own, it has been far more convincing then anything i've seen on the moog website!

I wish that everything in the world came with a block diagram representation such as the one seen on page 3......as an engineer it is invaluable to see a visualization somewhere between a schematic and the knob labels on the actual product.
Thanks!

[OysterRock]

Did you write that? It's really well done. If you did, I really think MoogMusic should put you on the payroll!!!

Who do you think wrote the LP manual?

[eric coleridge]

Also, the product info says something about getting harmonically rich distortion. Is that what they're talking about? Or are they talking about the ring mod section adding in different harmonics?

I don't have the manual in front of me, but I think they're refering to the actual ring mod effect adding harmonics. The 'drive' pot doesnt add alot of gain: just enough to bring the input signal up to a level where it will interact better with the internal oscillator, not enough to distrort the input much.

However, alot of people on this forum do talk about using this drive as a kind of pre-amp stage for their guitars. So, it's probably right along the lines of what you're imagining.

The Ring Mod effect itself is useful (when used moderately) for adding in subtle 'side-band' harmonics to your input signal before sending it to your distortion. This application of Ring Mod has been used on alot of commercial stomp-box distortions in the past (I think on both the Ampeg Scrambler and Fender Blender, among others). It's a very cool effect on guitars and definitely adds a different edge to an otherwise normal distortion sound.

The 102 can also very easily descimate your input signal completely if you want it to. So much so that a friend of mine who just plays guitar (and wasn't after a far-out synth effect) found it to be of not much use to him. Unless the RM effect is used very moderately, it can easily over power any kind of melodic information introduced at the input.

[GregAE]

Wow Greg,
I've never seen that document before!
Did you write that? It's really well done. If you did, I really think MoogMusic should put you on the payroll!!! After reading it I really really want a MF102 of my own, it has been far more convincing then anything i've seen on the moog website!

I wish that everything in the world came with a block diagram representation such as the one seen on page 3......as an engineer it is invaluable to see a visualization somewhere between a schematic and the knob labels on the actual product.
Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I did write that document. It was posted on the SquareWave site last February, so it's been around for a while now. If you have a Voyager, the MF-102 is a must-have IMO!

I completely agree with you about the block diagram/visualization thing. As an EE myself, I find that kind of information invaluable to convey what's going on 'under the hood'.

Glad to hear you found LOTRM helpful!

G

[Modularfan]

Did you write that? It's really well done. If you did, I really think MoogMusic should put you on the payroll!!!

Who do you think wrote the LP manual?

I think Greg does the interviews on MoogSpace, too.

[vintageabuser]

If you want to use a moog for a preamp/distortion try the murf; you can stop the automation and use it like an eq, and it gets really gritty when you turn up the drive.