The pedal we’ve got for Day Four here during “Moog Week” can’t really be put into any specific category, so we’ve decided to lump it into the super-generic and genre-jumping Filters category, as there was really no other place to put it. The MF-105 MuRF is a “Multiple Resonance Filter Array”, meaning it has 8 warm and resonant filters, which are controlled by 8 sliders. These sliders, coupled with the vast control section of knobs and switches, also provides a big, fat learning curve to really get the gist of how the MuRF can be utilized, but believe me when I tell you that, along the way, you’re gonna have a lot of fun.
The Heart of the MIDI MuRF is a bank of eight resonant bandpass filters tuned to fixed frequencies. The Animation module is a 24-Pattern sequencer triggering volume envelopes for the eight filters. The Freq Switch toggles between two banks of patterns; 12 bass patterns and 12 mid-range patterns.
The first thing you’ll likely notice on the MuRF are the 8 sliders located near the bottom of the pedal. These are resonant bandpass filters, each tuned to fixed frequencies, and work with the above Animation module (a 24-pattern sequencer) to produce the very unique and extremely expressive sounds you hear coming out of this gorgeous pedal. Contained inside the Animation module are an array (hehe) of rotary knobs that control different functions associated with the 8 filters, as well as holding a couple of other tricks up its sleeve as well.
The top knob is Pattern, which allows selection for one of 12 animation patterns. Envelope sets the shape of each pattern’s modulation, while Rate controls their speed. Mix is the final knob present in this section, letting the user control the mix of the wet and dry signals themselves, for precise and accurate blending. Two knobs outside the Animation module are Drive, which adds a little boost and grit into your signal, and Output, which controls the overall volume the MuRF produces.
As with other Moogerfooger pedals, the MuRF features an extensive back panel, with expression pedal jacks to control the Rate, Mix, Envelope and LFO/Speed functions, using a Moog EP-3 or similar expression pedal. There are also 2 Output jacks, to use this bad boy in stereo (which is awesome), and there’s even a Tap Tempo input jack, for easy synching up with the rhythm of whatever song you happen to be playing. Drive, Bypass and Rate LEDs at the bottom of the MuRF let you know exactly how everything is functioning when, making it a snap to have complete control over your sound in an instant.
A pedal like this is hard to categorize, like I said earlier, but it’s even harder to explain what it sounds like. For a sample of what it’s capable of, please refer to the video right below, As with all of their wonderful products, the Moog MF-105 MuRF is 100% analog, and although the model we’re looking at today is a bit older, the newest version of this pedal also features MIDI implementation, which I can only imagine breaks even more sonic barriers than this original model does. We’ve had an awesome time here during “Moog Week”, come back and see us one more time tomorrow for one of our favorite delays of all time. Cheers!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
