Moog MF-105M User Manual
Understanding and Using
Your moogerfooger®
MF-105M MIDI MuRF®
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Getting Started............................................3
Frequencies and Filters...............................5
The MIDI MuRF’s Filters...........................7
Envelope Generators.................................10
Sequencers and Pattern Generation..........10
The MIDI MuRF’s Animation..................11
The MIDI MuRF’s Tap/Step Input..........13
Audio Level Controls and Mixing............14
Using Both Outputs Together..................14
Expression Pedals and Voltage Control....15
Using MIDI with the MIDI MuRF...........16
Some Typical Setups.................................24
Technical Information...............................23
Appendix A - the MuRF’s Patterns...........28
Appendix B - MIDI Implementation
Chart.........................................................32
Appendix C - Warranty Information........33
Appendix D - MF-105 Specications.......34
Welcome to the world of moogerfooger® Analog Effects Modules! Your
model MF-105M MIDI MuRF is a rugged, professional-quality instrument,
designed to be equally at home on stage or in the studio. Its great sound and
jaw-dropping effects come from state-of-the-art analog circuitry, designed and
built by the team at Moog Music in Asheville, North Carolina. The MF-105M is
full of the very same analog goodness that Bob Moog designed into the original
award-winning MF-105 MuRF and the MF-105B Bass MuRF.
Your MIDI MuRF is a direct descendent of the original Moog® modular
synthesizers and professional rack effects. It contains two basic functions: an
8-band array of resonant lters that can be voiced for bass or mid frequency
response, and a pre-programmed "Animation" module that generates sequences
of envelopes that modulate the levels of the 8 lters. Several of the performance
parameters are voltage-controllable, which means that you can use expression
pedals, MIDI-to-CV converter, or any other source of control voltages, such
as other moogerfoogers, to play your MIDI MuRF. In addition, the front panel
rotary controls and switches can be controlled through the use of MIDI. The
patterns of the Animation module can be synced to a MIDI Clock, and the MIDI
input allows for users to customize the internal patterns. A software application
that is both MIDI Controller and Pattern Editor is available at Moog Music’s
website: www.moogmusic.com.
While you can use it on the oor as a conventional effects box, your MIDI
MuRF is much more versatile and its sound quality is higher than the single
xed-function "stomp boxes" that you may be accustomed to. You will nd that
your MIDI MuRF is a deep electronic musical resource and will become your
creative companion as you explore its possibilities.
The following pages will rst tell you how to hook up your MuRF and set
the panel controls for the ‘basic’ setup. Next, we’ll explain how the functions of
your MIDI MuRF work. After that we’ll go through the panel features and give
you suggestions on how to use your MIDI MuRF in specic applications. At
the end of this booklet you’ll nd technical specications, service and warranty
information, information about Moog Music and diagrams of the MIDI MuRF’s
Animation patterns.
GETTING STARTED
Here are some simple instructions on how to plug in and try out your
MF-105M before you have read through the entire manual.
1. Unpack your MF-105M. Place it on a table while you become familiar
with its controls and connections. Gently pat the wooden side pieces of
your new moogerfooger to let it know that it has found its new home and
that it will be well cared for.
2. Check that the power adaptor has a nominal rating of +9 volts,
providing at least 300 mA (milliamperes) of current and is also rated
at your country’s standard power voltage (120 Volts AC for the United
States and Canada; 100 Volts AC for Japan; and 220 Volts AC for most
other countries). Plug the power adaptor’s cord into the MF-105M’s
‘+9V’ jack. Then plug the power adaptor itself into a power voltage
receptacle. Note the MIDI MuRF uses a power supply which is rated
at 300mA output current. Using a power supply that is rated for less
current may not allow the device to power up properly. Make sure to
use the proper power supply.
3. Note that the BYPASS light is on. It will light up either red or green.
Red indicates that the MF-105M’s effect is off-line (bypassed), while
green indicates that the effect is on. Pressing the ‘stomp switch’ will
toggle the BYPASS light between red and green. For now, leave the
BYPASS light on red.
Refer to Figure 1 for
steps 4, 5 and 6.
4. Connect an
instrument cable from
the LEFT/MONO jack
to a line-level input
on your amp or mixer.
Turn the volume control
on your amp down but
not off.
Figure 1 - Basic Connections
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5. Connect a MIDI Cable from the MF-105M’s MIDI In to the MIDI Out
on a MIDI Controller of your choice: MIDI sequencer, Drum Machine, a
MIDI foot controller like the MP-201 Multi-pedal, or a MIDI keyboard.
The MIDI MURF defaults to MIDI Channel One so make sure that the
MIDI controller is transmitting on MIDI Channel 1. Be sure to check out
the MIDI MuRF Controller and Pattern Editor application available from
www.moogmusic.com.
6. Connect an instrument cable from your signal source to the AUDIO
IN jack. You can feed virtually any instrument-level or line-level signal
through your MF-105M. Examples are guitar, bass, keyboard, theremin,
drum machine, or Effects Send output on your mixer. Play your
instrument (or turn on the signal source). Adjust the volume control on
your monitor amp so that the sound level is comfortable.
7. Now set the MF-105M panel controls as follows (See Figure 2):
PATTERN 2
ENVELOPE 2
RATE 6
MIX 10
FREQ switch MIDS
LFO switch OFF
Filter Sliders 1-8 All the way up.
Figure 2 - Basic Settings
Press the stomp switch. The BYPASS light will now turn green.
Playing your instrument, set the DRIVE control so that the DRIVE
indicator lights up yellow most of the time. You will also hear the ltered
signal. Adjust the OUTPUT control so the MIDI MuRF’s effected signal
is about the same loudness as the bypassed signal.
8. Continue to play your instrument. Low-pitched, sustaining sounds
with a bright timbre will work best to learn the sound of the MIDI
MuRF. Your instrument’s signal is going through the MIDI MuRF’s
lters. Listen to how it affects the quality of your instrument’s tone.
You will hear the level of each of the 8 lters being turned up and down
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automatically in sequence by the Animation at a tempo determined by
the RATE control. Note that changing the ENVELOPE control affects
the shape that turns the lters up and down. The PATTERN rotary switch
selects different patterns that dictate the sequence that turns the Filters
up and down automatically. The MIX control is used to blend the direct
sound of your instrument with the effected sound.
8. If your MIDI controller can send MIDI Clock Messages, start sending
them. The Rate LED changes color to Orange when syncing to MIDI
Clock. The MIDI MuRF’s Pattern should be synced to the tempo set by
your MIDI controller. Try sending CC1 messages to the MIDI MuRF.
This will modify the ENVELOPE control. If you have downloaded the
MIDI MuRF controller software from the Moog Music website, you can
control the parameters of the MIDI MuRF and program new patterns.
See the program’s documentation for more information.
9. In the next sections we’ll explain exactly how the MIDI MuRF’s
Filters work and what the Animation does. For now, get a feel for the
controls by experimenting with different settings.
FREQUENCIES and FILTERS
Let’s start with some denitions. Please read this section carefully, as
it will help you to understand the basic ideas behind the MF-105M MIDI
MuRF’s lters.
Sound is a vibration of the air. The speed of vibration is called the
frequency. It is measured in Hertz (Hz). One Hz is one vibration per
second. We hear vibrations from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Musical sounds generally have many frequency components. They’re
called harmonics, or overtones, or partials. They are what give a sound
its characteristic tone color, or
timbre. A graph showing the strength
of each of a sound’s harmonics is
called a spectrum. A typical spectrum
of a musical sound is shown in
Figure 3.
Figure 3 - Harmonic Spectrum
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In general, bright sounds have lots of strong overtones, while darker,
mellower sounds have fewer (and weaker) overtones.
A lter is a signal-modifying device that colors a sound by
emphasizing some parts of the audio spectrum and attenuating (cutting
down) other parts. In general, a lter has a quality of its own which is
superimposed on the tone color of the original sound. Some types of
lters (like the bass and treble controls on your sound system) have
subtle, gentle effects on a sound’s timbre. Other types of lters have
stronger and more dramatic effects, and are frequently used as elements
in the music-making and sound design process. Strong lters include
phasers, angers, and wah-type resonant lters.
A graph showing what a lter does is called the lter’s frequency
response. The horizontal axis is frequency. The vertical axis is the lter’s
gain. A gain of "1" (unity) means that, at that frequency, the output of the
lter is just as strong as the input. A gain of less than unity means that the
lter’s output is attenuated at that frequency, while a gain of greater than
unity means that the output is actually greater than the input.
Figure 4 shows examples of the
frequency response characteristics
of two common types of lters:
(a) a lowpass lter, which passes
frequencies without attenuation up
to a so-called ‘cutoff frequency’,
and attenuates the frequencies
above cutoff; (b) a resonant lter,
which emphasizes frequencies
around the lter’s ‘center
frequency’.
Both of these lter types are
widely used in electronic music.
Each of them has its own distinct
Figure 4 - Filter Frequency Response
sound, a large part of which is
directly related to the shape of its frequency response graph. The rst
type is the same as in the moogerfooger MF-101 lowpass lter, as well as
the lowest lter in the MIDI MuRF’s BASS voicing; the second type is
in the top 7 bands of the MIDI MuRF’s BASS voicing and all 8 bands of
the MIDS voicing.
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The MIDI MuRF’s FILTERS
The MIDI MuRF contains 8 lters that can be congured for bass or
mid-frequency voicing by the FREQ slide switch on the front panel.
In the BASS voicing, the lowest lter acts as a lowpass lter with a
cutoff frequency of 110 Hz. This is ideal for bass players or bass sounds
that need to retain the presence of all their lowest frequencies. The
remaining seven lters are resonant lters with center frequencies of 160,
240, 350, 525, 775, 1200 and 1800 Hz.
In the MIDS voicing, all 8 lters act as resonant lters with center
frequencies of 200, 300, 450, 675, 1000, 1500, 2200, and 3400 Hz.
The MIDS voicing is very good for processing sounds with dense midfrequency harmonics, including guitars, vocals, or synthesizer pad
sounds.
Each lter has a slider that adjusts the gain of that lter. In this
respect, the MuRF resembles a graphic equalizer. When a lter’s slider
is all the way down, the gain for that lter is zero, and the lter’s
output is zero. When the slider is all the way up, the lter’s output is
at maximum. However – the resemblance to a graphic EQ ends there.
The MuRF’s lters have characteristics that set them far apart from a
graphic equalizer. First, they are resonant lters. They boost the signal
at the center frequencies of the lters. Second, they are tuned so they
don’t overlap. A graphic equalizer will theoretically not color the signal
at all when all the sliders are set to the same level. The MuRF’s resonant
lters on the other hand color the signal a great deal, adding warm analog
resonances at pleasing intervals throughout the frequency spectrum.
We’ll now show how the MIDI MuRF’s lters affect the MF-105M’s
frequency response. We will always start with this ‘basic’ panel setup,
shown in gure 5, which is:
1) Set each of the lters’ sliders to all the way up.
2) With the FREQ switch in the MIDS position, switch the PATTERN to
Pattern 1. When Pattern 1 is active, the Animation is turned off so you
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can hear the effect of just the lters.
3) Make sure the effect is on, and MIX is at
10.
4) Connect just the "left/mono" output
to your amplication. You may want
to experiment with the panel controls
and switches as we discuss each of the
Figure 5 - Testing the Filters
parameters.
5) Now, play a bright, sustained sound, preferably of low pitch into
the MIDI MuRF - keep in mind that lter effects work by removing
frequencies, so you must have a bright sound to hear the effect! Figure 6
shows the MF-105M’s MIDS frequency response, the response that you
hear when the panel controls are set up as in the basic setup. Note that
there are 8 resonances – they impart warmth and color to the sound. For a
moment press the bypass switch and turn the effect off. Note the change
in character of the sound. Now switch the effect back on.
Figure 6 - MIDS Frequency Response
6) Now turn all the sliders down except the lowest one. While playing
your instrument, turn each slider up one at a time, while the rest of the
sliders are all the way down. Pay careful attention to the sound of each
lter. When you have learned the sound of each individual lter, try
various combinations, such as the bottom two and top two. At this point
you will want to repeat steps 5 and 6 with the FREQ slide switch moved
to the BASS voicing position. Figure 7 shows the frequency response of
the 8 lters in the BASS voicing setting. This will familiarize you with
the sounds of the two voicings. Note that even without Animation, the
MIDI MuRF is a VERY POWERFUL lter bank with many possibilities
to sculpt your tone!
page 8
Figure 7 - BASS Frequency Response
7) The Filters’ resonant frequencies can be shifted up and down by a
small amount to create an effect similar to phasing. Figure 8 shows
a graph that portrays the results of shifting a resonant lter’s center
frequency. In the MIDI MuRF this can be done two ways, depending on
the position of the LFO slider switch. When the slider is in the "OFF"
position, the lters’ center frequencies can be shifted by an expression
pedal (such as the Moog EP-2) or CV plugged into the LFO/SWEEP
Jack. To hear how this works, return to the basic setup described in
Figure 5. Plug a Moog EP-2 into the LFO/SWEEP control input. Then,
as you play into the MIDI MuRF, rock the EP-2 back and forth. You will
hear the lters’ frequencies shift with the motion of the pedal.
When the LFO slide
switch is in the "ON"
position, a LFO (Low
Frequency Oscillator)
shifts the frequencies of
the lters as a group up
Figure 8 - Filter Frequency Shift
and down automatically.
The LFO is a sine wave. The LFO rate is initially determined by the
pattern. An expression pedal (EP-2 or equivalent) or CV connected to the
LFO/SWEEP jack can modify the LFO Rate from .08 Hz to 20 Hz.
To hear the effect of the LFO on the MIDI MuRF’s lters, return to
the basic setup outlined in gure 5, then move the LFO slider switch to
"ON". Now as you play through the MuRF, you’ll hear the lters swept
up and down automatically. To change the speed of the LFO, plug a
Moog EP-2 expression pedal into the LFO/SWEEP Control Input. The
EP-2 can now slow down or speed up the LFO.
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ENVELOPE GENERATORS
Now that we have explained the MIDI MuRF’s lters, let’s proceed
with some more denitions to explain the Animation function.
The term "Envelope" is used to describe the changes that occur to
a musical sound, from its start to its end. A musical sound can have a
rapid onset, like the plucking of a string or the striking of a drum. It can
also have a gradual onset, like a slowly bowed violin. With the term
"Envelope", the shape of the start of a sound is called the "Attack". The
end of a sound can have different shapes as well – it can be abrupt, like
on an organ, or it can be very gradual, fading out like a piano note held
down. The shape of the end of a musical sound is called "Decay". Both
Attack and Decay are time-related, and can be measured in seconds or
milliseconds. Figure 9 illustrates the components of an envelope.
An "Envelope Generator" is
a circuit that produces a control
voltage that corresponds to the shape
of a musical sound’s envelope. The
signal that comes out of an Envelope
Generator is sent to a control, such as
Figure 9 - Envelope
volume, and is used to automatically
turn up and down the volume to shape the start and end of a musical
sound. An Envelope Generator is started by a trigger - a signal used to
start the envelope shape.
In the MIDI MuRF, there are 8 Envelope generators, one for each
lter, that shape the Volume of that Filter’s signal. The shapes of
the Envelopes are all determined by the setting of the ENVELOPE
Control. The timing and sequence of the Envelopes is determined by the
PATTERN selected. To understand that, let’s continue.
SEQUENCERS and PATTERN GENERATION
A Sequencer is used to generate reoccurring rhythmic patterns, often
by triggering sequences of notes in synthesizers or drum machines.
However sequencers can be used for purposes other than triggering
notes - they can be set up to create reoccurring changes of timbre as
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well. Vintage sequencers were typically designed so there were a certain
number of "steps". The term "step" refers to the individual components
of a pattern. For instance in a bar of music in 4/4 you have four quarter
notes. If the rhythmic activity is no more complicated than quarter notes,
this would correspond to four steps. In vintage analog sequencers, a
sequencer typically had eight or sixteen steps available to build a pattern.
In its simplest form, as a sequencer plays back its steps, each step can
be programmed to send a trigger signal, or step can be passed over like
a musical rest. The trigger signals can then be used to trigger envelope
generators according to the way each step is programmed - creating a
rhythmically reoccurring pattern.
ANIMATION
The MIDI MuRF’s Animation contains a simple 8-channel
sequencer, one channel for each lter, each capable of triggering an
Envelope Generator that shapes the volume of the lter. In a Pattern,
each channel can be up to 64 steps long, and each channel can have a
unique number of steps. The MIDI MuRF MIDI controller and Pattern
Editor Application allows the user to customize most of the Patterns
in the MIDI MuRF. For each step, on each channel of a pattern,
the corresponding lter’s envelope can be triggered, or paused. The
ENVELOPE control morphs through different envelope shapes as you
turn it, creating effects that are highly rhythmic in nature, or are swirling
and ethereal. The RATE control sets the speed of the pattern. The
patterns, selected by the PATTERN selector rotary switch in conjunction
with the FREQ slider switch, have been selected to provide a useful
variety of rhythmic timbral effects. There are a total of 24 patterns,
arranged in two banks of 12: one bank for the BASS voicing and one
for the MIDS voicing. Note that pattern 1 and 13 are xed as having no
Animation and can not be modied by the user.
An easy way to understand the Animation is to look at a simple
pattern displayed on a grid Figure 10 shows a graphic representation
of pattern 2 in the MIDS setting. The columns going left to right are
the steps of the pattern. The rows going from bottom to top are the
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