Moog Moogerfooger MF-107 FreqBox Guitar Demo

[Vercus100]

Thanks for the great demo! I too was turned off by the "drum machine knob tweaking" video. Yours explained a LOT about how this thing works. It had be trying to decide if I liked it or not, and to be honest, I'm still not sure if I want to buy it or not. It's definitely an "out there" kinda pedal. Thanks!

[penguinrock]

@Vercus100

If I didn't also have the Ring Modulator (I use the Ring Mod's LFO to sweep the FreqBox's frequency input about 90% of the time), I probably wouldn't have kept the FreqBox.

[TheMrspongebob1111]

Awesome pedal

[penguinrock]

@MRcyclon1

Thanks for the compliment! (Even though the video's old by now and I had no idea what I was doing at the time.) The delay used is a Boss RE-20 Space Echo.

[MRcyclon1]

Hi Nick ! very good and informative video! Which effect unit did you use for delay at 8.28 min ? Thanks!

[GuitarLuke777]

it's mooger fooger, not mooger fooger

[naquelas123]

I couldn't understand the connection between the MF 107 and MF 102. Did you connect the guitar into de audio in of MF 102 and the MF 102 Audio out into the MF 107 audio in? Is that correctly? Later on the video, you connected the LFO out from the MF 102 to the Frequence Input of MF 107, right?

Thanks!

[joshuafeichter]

you definitely sold me mate! i've been debating if i wanted to get a slim phatty for my bass rig or a Moogerfooger set. cannot wait to start jamming with it.

[CowardsBendTheKnee]

@4:33 - OMG, that is amazing!

Can it do a theremin-like sound? That would be the icing on this cake.

TIA

[penguinrock]

@CowardsBendTheKnee

The closest you could get is by turning the Waveform and FM Amount knobs all the way down, and keeping the Envelope Amount in its lower range. I've had all of my gear at my band's practice space lately, so I can't try it out as I type this...

[CowardsBendTheKnee]

@penguinrock Thank you indeed for your swift reply. Do you reckon you could try it out some day and perhaps post it? I'm asking this because

a) i love theremin sounds and

b) I'm the drummer, so they usually ignore my ideas for pedals, but they wouldn't, i guess, with this one :)

Thanks again!

[unitykp]

Thanks for keeping it real, and you definitely played that like one bad Guitar Moogerfooger.

One question for anyone that has played around with it: how do the low-notes, or even drop tunings sound with this bad boy? I guess I would hope to use it at times as almost a bass synth rift, but wasn't sure if it sounded to ehh...poopy or cackly, or if the low-end notes come through alright.  Thanks in advance.

[penguinrock]

@unitykp

The trouble where the FreqBox breaks up is if you play notes that are too high (as demonstrated in this vid). The FreqBox tracks extremely well with the low register. Sounds terrific with a bass and drop tunings will track well. The thing to keep in mind is that for whatever frequency range you're playing in (low register on bass, high register on guitar, etc.), there's a corresponding range on the Frequency knob. You won't be able to play super low tones with a guitar through it.

[unitykp]

@penguinrock

thank you, sir!

[HOOKSnKISSES]

I say run the freqbox through a talkbox and scare the neighbors by going "ULLAH"!!!

[goribigon]

hi, can u plug in direct to a "line in" input on a audio card ?

tnx.

[penguinrock]

@goribigon

Yes, you can. Just be aware of what you're using and what your audio card can handle. If it can truly handle a line level signal, you can use either the effect out or the oscillator output from the FreqBox. If it's only designed to accept an instrument level signal, you could only use the effect out (and be sure to be gentle with the output level knob).

[TenebrousSounds]

Your clean sound is dirtier than my overdrive sound =D I'm still really unsure on this pedal. The way it interacts with other 'foogers is interesting but can it be used clean, or is it always so harsh?

[penguinrock]

@TenebrousSounds

This is one of my first videos. At the time, I had only had the amp for a couple of months and didn't really know how to tweak it (I think I have a grasp on it now!).

This pedal IS rather harsh and IN-YOUR-FACE overall. Clean tones can be carefully coaxed from it (with waveform and FM amount knobs turned down for more simple tones), but it really shines when it's loud and dirty, and if you're running a hot, compressed distortion signal into it.

[TenebrousSounds]

@penguinrock Thanks alot :] Loud and dirty really isn't my thing though but to each their own! I remember watching one of your other videos a while back when I was checking out the ring mod and I was wondering if you went ahead and bought the CP-251? I'd love to see a guitar demo of that if it isn't too much trouble. Been searching for a while but yet to find anything really informative on it past the Moog site for guitarist. Thanks again!

[Desmaad]

I think Moog should put a pitch-to-CV converter in this thing and make it a proper guitar synth. They should also make a dedicated fuzz/distortion pedal since the drive on this thing is so good!

[penguinrock]

@Desmaad

I don't have the CP-251 like I've been "intending" to get for quite a while now. Lots of other gear have taken priority over it in the past year and a half, including a Gibson Flying V and a Jackson Soloist!...

If (or rather when) I get the Control Processor, I will most certainly make videos showing off its chops.

[thrcman]

The Moog Freqbox, in my humble opinion, is the worst sounding and most useless effects pedal when used in conjunction with anything else but a synthesizer.

Keep posting though, love watching.

[diazr065]

can u do Satriani's souls of distortion FX w the freqbox?

[Psykel]

2:51 - R2D2? :P

I guess they used something like this for R2 back when they made the Star Wars movies.

[tetilt]

@Psykel A synthesizer.

[MedicineMelanch0ly]

All the guys asking how you'd use this in a live setting - did you not hear the awesome tones towards the end?

Have you ever listened to a Daft Punk record? They use plenty of weird FM stuff to very musical effect.

[choobr549]

Hmm--neat, well done vid--but has alot of useless tones--unless you are playing sound effects for commercials or something. Seems like a ton of work to find the good useable tones when playing with a band. It does sound great at times though. Thnaks for posting this--you kept me from making a mistake

[penguinrock]

@choobr549

Pair it with one of the other 'Foogers (for the CV options) or the EP-2 expression pedal and its musical usefulness is greatly expanded. Anyway, I am glad you were able to make an informed decision from one of my videos.

[TheBong12345]

I love this vid !!!!!! I kept looking at these and thinking ( I wonder what they sound like?? ). And thanks to you I have now got one !!!! GREAT DEMO :)

[XFattMonsterX]

Look freqn' fun! sounds aLOT like a Fuzz Factory at many settings...

[penguinrock]

@XFattMonsterX

Over the past couple of years, I've had a hard time deciding if I want to buy a fuzz pedal. I'll try one out and think, "My FreqBox is more flexible than this."

[bostich1]

Nice!! Many thanks for post this video..

[holleyab]

How on earth would you use this in a musical setting?

[kfras0200]

@holleyab lol look up some of john frusciantes solos

[777jordan]

maybe dumb question, but does the drive work like an overdrive?

[penguinrock]

@777jordan

It can if you crank it enough.

[BeArtist1]

A little bit of overdrive *Click*

WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!­!!

Classic surprise in sound :P

[penguinrock]

@BeArtist1

*sigh* I'm never gonna live this one down.

[elefantkaputt]

@penguinrock haha i think its the third dude who comments about this since i saw this video xD

[777jordan]

if you were on a desert island with one fooger, what one would it be?

[DustTheFirst]

WOW finally someone who knows how to use and USES the pedal they're explaining. THANK YOU!

[mourningleaves]

This demo kicks ass!!

[psklpt]

OMG

[georgewagner2]

A random wave from the CP-251 would be awesome!

I'm buying one of these as soon as I can afford one.

[Itseasyifyoutry]

Hey does this thing have expression pedal inputs? or is there some way to tap in rates/levels?

[penguinrock]

@Itseasyifyoutry

Yes, of course. Each of the knobs have a corresponding control jack on the back of the pedal that works with an expression pedal (watch my Moog EP-2 demo) or CV from an outside source (in this instance, the LFO from the Ring Mod).

[BonkeyMucket]

This was actually useful. Thank you.

[darksquid13]

so this is with a guitar?

[Pikachu25sci90vt]

Dude, when you were tweaking that knob between waveforms, it sounded a little like a chorus in between

[wolfman3902001]

Your "clean" wasn't even close to clean you dirty little man.

[penguinrock]

@wolfman3902001

Ha ha ha!!! This was my first demo video, I promise it gets better from here!

[wolfman3902001]

@penguinrock Let us hope. (It was still quite a good review.) =P

[elefantkaputt]

@wolfman3902001 i think hes one of these guys who use so heavy distortion and effects all the time that this had to sound pretty clean for him^^

[penguinrock]

@elefantkaputt

True. Also, I had just had the amp for about a month before filming this and didn't know much about how to tweak it. But, your statement is 99% true.

[batitombo]

a lot of OD dude! not a little!

[penguinrock]

@batitombo

...Yeah... I know... I had my amp for only about three months by that point and hadn't learned to really tweak it.

[seifukusha]

id like a bit more playing..

[adrianmeekings]

Great demo mate. Im using a Gibson SG with the rythm pickup only. otherwise the VCO cant seem to decide what harmonic to use. Clean chan.

Buzz/Fuzz Dist.

Frq 2, FM 10 Env 6 Mix 5 Wav 9 o'clk Driv 12 o'clk

waH Harmonic slide fuzz vocoder emul.

Frq 1 FM 0 Env 10 Mix 10 Wav 5 o'clk Driv 12 o'clk

Play soft. Flat pick to get Wah, strike hard to get a squeel at start. Hit bottom e, let it ring - hear sort of harmonic slide.

muff. dist.

Frq 5 FM 7 env 3 mix 10 Wav 8 o'clk Drive 5 o'clk

Cheers A

[thanman11]

hey this is a great vid, looks like a really cool pedal.

BTW what is the delay you are using???

[penguinrock]

@thanman11

I'm using a Boss RE-20 Space Echo. Just uploaded a video on it last weekend, check it out!

[SandovalRoldanR]

thanks man, excellent review

[MoonlightShadowlolz]

How do people use these things???

[sliverhandsonbasses]

Clear Rewiew! Great job!

[danardone]

I've always thought it was pronounced Mooooger-Foooooger rather than how you say it Mow-ger Fow-ger.

[penguinrock]

@danardone

It's Moog as in, rhymes with 'Rogue' (the name of one their old synths, actually). Bob Moog himself talks about his name in the special features section of the documentary film DVD made about him.

[roxyrockinrolling]

talk too much!

[bigghettobooty]

God damn... Moog stuff is always so interesting....

[camracca]

hey nick, could you please do a demo of the lowpass filter if you have it? i thought it was cool on the piano demos, but ive never seen a actuall GOOD guitar demo and i dont know if i should buy it

[penguinrock]

@camracca

I don't have the Low Pass Filter. I've come close to buying a used one at least twice! If I come across another one and decide to buy it, I'll probably do a video.

[TUBEMAN192]

with the both on and the delay on = sonic heaven! i must get both of them. Absolutely brilliant demo.

[penguinrock]

The Ring Modulator and the FreqBox complement each other very well.

[chris141325t]

I love the riff you played at 5:26!!! Can you send me the tabs please?

[penguinrock]

Sarcasm? Haha... My playing is sucky on most of these videos, and I would normally be embarrassed to let folks on the interweb see me when I'm sucking at guitar, but I'm more focused on the teaching aspect. In my opinion, simple riffs and melodies work better for gear demo videos.

[chris141325t]

Sorry, hope I didn't offend. It was certainly tasteless humour - though not directed toward your playing at all but rather the fact that the notes at that particular point faded into an unusual robotic sound (hence I found the notion of having 'tabs' for it quite funny). It is a good demo of this modulator, dude. Cheers!

[myownse1f]

dude i used this with a digitech whammy pedal it gets insane

[cosmogang]

I was like "Meh..." Untill you did the lead sound......that was awesome. Cheers.

[EmptySpaceOrchestra]

This pedal is epic.  I need one. Great review!

[SirCorn]

You got that stuff on a pedal pad??? Very nice!

[penguinrock]

Hell yeah! I've been using Pedal Pads for about four years by this point. The one you see in the video is my second Pedal Pad, and I've got even one more empty unit that I picked up off of Craigslist for cheap, sitting in my closet. Haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it yet.

[SirCorn]

Sweet dude! I'm about to get my first one, I'm pretty stoked. I've negated buying a pedal board for years until I saw them. They seem pretty legit. Man you could totally sell that one you've got in your closet to me, haha ;)

[penguinrock]

I would suggest putting a power strip inside the upper section of the board for any funky "wall-wart" power supplies... Like the Moogerfoogers need. I've got a Monster Power Pro 800 in mine and power everything (including the board's Power Pad) through it.

[SirCorn]

That sounds like a good idea. I imagine there is plenty of room underneath the panels?

[penguinrock]

Enough to work with, but it gets tight. Give yourself a good 2-3 hours to effectively plan out where everything is going to be: your pedals and velcro on top, and the power strip, power cables, and patch cables underneath. A lot of logistics mixed with trial-and-error, but when it's done, it's DONE. The Pedal Pad MPS-XL is one of the best investments I ever made.

[83shug]

Awesome demo man. Very straightforward and informative

[9r9t3]

Great demo, thanks.

[SotR59]

Those are pretty intense, not sure how much I would ever use one.

[Efreeti]

Another amazing and interesting moog product. Thanks a lot for the informative review!

[JAL2K]

Very good demo you never really see good demos like this

these should be amazing for experimental music

anyway cheers for this!

[MrBluesilverred]

Thanks for the demo. You did a very in depth demo. However, I don't know what the fuck I would use this thing for. Thanks again!

[Rhythmicons]

I agree that there are not many videos on the net really showing off the subtleties of the Foogers. This is the goal of my videos as well. THanks for your effort.

Moog Lives!

Eric

Rhythmicons

[gfmgma]

i just can't imagine how could that be used in a song throught a melody...maybe for techno music

[penguinrock]

It helps to think of it more in terms of timbre or texture.

[nibblhansalt]

You can use it as a normal fuzz-/drone-effect... the difference to a big muff or something like that is that it takes single notes better than chords and that you can really cool and extreme stuff with it.

I think it's the best and most versatile fuzzy-sounding pedal on the market.

[Rhythmicons]

@nibblhansalt I did a video Freqbox with Rhodes and Bass Guitar demonstrating this, as well as a second with the Freqbox and the Bassballs pedals on my channel.

Eric

[josephcintron1980]

how do you think this pedal sounds on a Bass guitar. the Akai Deep Impact bass synthesizer is getting more expensive. last i check $800

[penguinrock]

It sounds fantastic with a bass! You can play with the Frequency knob in its lower ranges without the oscillator cutting out.

[dontbelievethahype]

Yep sounds great with bass. An excellent combo in an analog -1oct (no dry signal, just wet) like an OC-2 into a GEB-7 with highs cut&lows boosted into the Freqbox--- this aids significantly in tracking, allowing you to play with clean waveforms that will track way down below audible frequencies :D Put that through a Lowpass filter and you have a simple monosynth!

[MezcalPromotions]

Thanks man for the demo, i too am frustrated with the lack of guit/mfooger videos. i just ordered the low-pass filter and I cant wait for it. but now you got me thinking about these other SICK pedals or modules. post more vids

[Innaband]

Great job with the demo, but what's an example of a song that I would use it in? Who uses one, as far as cover tunes go?

[penguinrock]

Hmm... I've only heard of a few artists using it so far. Depeche Mode on "Sounds Of The Universe" which came out this year (I haven't heard the album), and Tara Busch on her "Pilfershire Lane" (great album, I haven't been able to pick it out of all the synths, but I can ask her). I think Weezer uses the FreqBox in the background on the song "Miss Sweeney" from the deluxe version of the Red album.

[tainteddrunk]

Hey Nick, great video, cheers. You're absolutely right, that does sound very like the Zvex FF, I was thinking exactly that as you were showing the frequency cutting out 'round about the 6 mins mark. Awesome, I want both pedals! It'll always be Moooog to me ;) Sorry, Dr. Bob.

[penguinrock]

I recently went through a "phase" where I was maybe interested in getting a fuzz pedal... I checked out a few, including Death By Audio's Supersonic Fuzz Gun.

I gave up the search. My FreqBox rules.

[mindphlux]

great review!

[carpeteria]

Excellent stuff - thanks for these demos. I've used Moog products for years, but only synth and theremin stuff. I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a Fooger for sometime, and this sold me. Moog ought to send some royalties your way! Thanks again.

[psicolor]

Thank you for the demo!

But what happens if sync is on and you play chords on your guitar?

[penguinrock]

The FreqBox will track basic chords with the Sync on--fifths, otherwise known as POWER CHORDS. It has a hard time tracking anything more complex than that (open chords, major, minor, sevenths, ninths, etc.) because you're simply giving it too many different frequencies to reset the oscillator. You get a bunch of unwanted noise (unless you're that type). Stick to fifths and octaves.

[psicolor]

Do you know the EHX Microsynth? It's able to track chords, as far as i understood it. But does this mean that the Microsynth has more then one oscillator?!

[penguinrock]

The EHX Microsynth seems like it's really an octave pedal with a filter section that creates the animated synth-y sounds. I'm not sure if the Microsynth has an oscillator in it, even though it's entirely analog. Chords, then, wouldn't really be an issue.  I hope that made sense...

[mynmyself]

the microsynth is monophonic... although when playing chords it gets crazy wich can be usefull and attractive in some cases...

[Airslair08]

great man

[warsaww7]

thank you!!

[bernhardtsen74]

It would be crazy to think what Buckethead could do with this Pedal!

[ThunderExpress]

Awesome! it sure sounds crazy! =D

[yasushi73]

Coooooollllll!!!!!!!

[BrokenBoySoldier1]

Can you run these effects throught the moog little phatty keyboard?

[penguinrock]

You can run the Little Phatty (or any keyboard, or any sound source!) through the Moogerfoogers. In fact, they are designed to handle even line-level signals, which is not very common among pedals. The FreqBox can also be implemented as a third oscillator for the Little Phatty, since it only has two.

[GuitarLord71]

can you please do a demo on the ring mod. please?

[penguinrock]

The Ring Mod demo is done!!! Check it out!!!

[GuitarLord71]

thank you!!

[Sherbrick]

Thanks for making this demo... you really do a thorough job showing how all the settings work and interact. The FreqBox seems like something I should really love, but it really just sounds like a glorified distortion to me... if there were a pedal that combined the best of this pedal and the Mothership, and then made it 6-channel multiphonic, that'd be the holy grail for guitar-synth enthusiasts :-D

[mrblackmagichimself]

great video man!

[JRBain7]

This is a very good demo. However, since my taste is so very specific, can it manage anything resembling a Pat Metheny-ish Roland guitar synth style lead sound? I'd consider buying one if it can... Thanks.

[penguinrock]

Hey dude, I'm totally unfamiliar with Pat Metheny... I tried looking up his name with "Roland" or "guitar synth" so I could see what you were talking about, but to no avail. I've tried out the GK-3 pickup on a Roland-Ready Strat, but....? I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with your question.

[JRBain7]

Cool. Thanks though man... Good examples would be the songs "Red Sky" and "The Heat of the Day"...

[allobarr]

hi..great demo and very intresting the combination between the 2 pedals and drive..

one question..the drive button on ring modulator do affect the sound when it's off? is this annoying or difficult to have it on your pedalboard?

[penguinrock]

The drive knob on the Ring Mod is constantly active, even when it's off.

The FreqBox has proved to be a valuable companion to me in making a very WIDE array of sounds which have been useful both for live and recording purposes, so I don't mind having this big thing, especially when combined with another Moog pedal for interconnectivity. Sonic Infinity! That being said, I did have to carefully plan how and where everything was going to fit on my pedalboard.

[tbnmusic]

Great demo. I'm considering saving up for one now.

[briankeary]

thanks I was considering buying one and cant seem to find any in the shops here. so its very helpful. one on the ring modulator would be great also. thanks

[shinobibass000]

for sure the best demo i've seen of the freqbox, thanks!

[chaskamaska]

Awesome demo! Can you do a demo on the ring modulator as well?

[penguinrock]

There's already a lot of Ring Mod demos available, so I wasn't originally planning on doing a video for that, but now that I'm asked... I can cut one next week.

[chaskamaska]

awesome thanks

[hamstadude12345]

by the way your video is better than all the demos ive seen. =)

[penguinrock]

Thanks dude. This was sort of a "test" to see if anyone in YouTubeLand would appreciate any gear demos I'd put out.

Maybe I'll make more...

[hamstadude12345]

What happends when you turn the tuning frequincy all the way off?

[penguinrock]

If you were to turn the Frequency knob all the way down, you would simply have a looow note. KEEP IN MIND, though, with the Sync switch in the On position, that the FreqBox's oscillator needs to be set higher than what you're playing on guitar... I mentioned in the video that it works great with bass; most of the notes you'd ["typically"] play on a bass would be lower than the FreqBox's oscillator, so the pedal tracks it very well. Hope this answers your question!