Day Three of “Moog Week” is upon us, and this one is a mammoth. The beauty of ring modulators is that they are unpredictable at best. Especially when you’ve got one like today’s pedal, the MF-102 Ring Mod from Moog – this thing has got so many controls and such big ranges on each, it’s easy to get blissfully lost in a sonic wash that overtakes your amp, ears and anything else that might be within shouting distance. Producing some of the most far-out sounds you’ll likely hear coming out of a pedal, this big hunk is sure to surprise and delight you again and again.
The Amount knob controls the amount that the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) sweeps the MF-102’s carrier oscillator, while the Rate knob, also included on the left hand side of the pedal, varies the LFO’s frequency, from 0.1 Hz to 25 Hz. There’s also a rocker switch here, that lets you select between Square and Sine waveforms as well, completing the LFO portion of the pedal. On the right side of the pedal is where the Modulator controls reside. The Mix blends the wet signal from the MF-102 Ring Modulator and your original dry signal, adding in as much or as little of the effect as you see fit. The Frequency knob varies your frequency over six octaves, allowing for a ton of range to choose from and experiment with at the same time. There’s a rocker switch here as well, labeled LO/HI, which selects between the low frequency carrier range (2 Hz to 130 Hz) and the high frequency carrier range (60 Hz to 4,000 Hz).
In the middle of the pedal stands a lone control, Drive, which adds in gain from your instrument’s input signal, and is measured by a tri-color LED labeled Level. There’s an LFO LED as well, which shows you the speed of your rate in a quick glance, and finally a Bypass LED to let you know the pedal is, in fact, on and functioning. There are four stereo input jacks on the back panel (Frequency, Rate, LFO Amount, Mix), each of which can be controlled by a Moog EP-3 or similar expression pedal, making for easy, hands-free, on-the-go adjustments. Finally, a Carrier Out jack lets you use the carrier signal with other external devices as well.
As for the sound of the MF-102 Ring Modulator, just check out the video below for a teeny, tiny glimpse of what this pedal has to offer. Like all the Moog pedals I’ve ever had the pleasure to test out or own, this one is simply a sonic work of art, creating an enormous canvas for you to paint, and use all the controls, expression pedals and external devices to paint your masterpiece with. We’ve still got a couple pedals left to discover here during “Moog Week”, so make sure to come back tomorrow and Friday (and every day, ideally) to see what else we’ve got to show you from the Wizards of Asheville.
Specs:
* AUDIO IN 1/4″ phone jack – accepts any instrument-level or line-level audio signal from -16 dBm to +4 dbm.
* AUDIO OUT 1/4″ phone jack – -4 dBm nominal output level.
* FREQUENCY, RATE, LFO AMOUNT, MIX, all of which are stereo 1/4″ jacks that accept moogerfooger EP1 (or equivalent) expression pedals, or control voltages from two-circuit or three-circuit 1/4″ jacks.
* AUX AUDIO IN – provides a means of applying an external signal to the ring modulator, in place of the carrier oscillator.
* LFO OUT jack – delivers the LFO voltage for use by other voltage-controlled devices.
* CARRIER OUT jack – delivers the carrier signal for use by other devices.
* +9V POWER INPUT jack – accepts standard 9 volt power adaptors (power adaptor included).
* CASE: Black panel with hardwood sides – classic analog appearance.
* DIMENSIONS: 9″ x 6″ x 2-1/2″
* NET WEIGHT: 2 lb
Submitted by Mike B, Website
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