New Shit

i certainly will! will post some sample tracks and sounds when i get them :)

Wait, I have important things to say, even though I may have the weak and feeble body of a woman...

There's a distinction to be made between:

VCOs

Digitally controlled oscillators (the pitch is digitally controlled, though the signal is analogue. Not all DCOs are the same and equal i.e. the Elka Synthex has unique DCOs that work differently from the stuff you would find in Roland/ Oberheim gear)

Digital Oscillators - if the Oscillators on the MFB stuff have D/As then they're digital full stop, not DCOs. In which case they don't have a 100% analogue signal path.

The MFB sounds like what is correctly termed a 'hybrid' synth. That's not necessarily a bad thing, there are some good hybrids, new Buchlas, one of the Waldorf Qs etc.

The guy who wrote that review is righ t to be pissed off if they're being marketed as 100% analogue.

*tentative lol*

yeah maybe - it doesn't seem like anybody knows for sure coz i keep reading different things about it - some people say DCO's and some people say digital oscillators with D/A coversion - the MFB website and the places that sell it just call it an analogue synth.... not that bothered though, as long as it's not an analogue modelling synth (which i have already) i don't really mind! and it was only £170 so fuck it.

I love the MFB-502. Its sounds are fairly limited, but it has a very nice character. With good use of the individual outs, sound improves and you don't have everything panned funny. My advice regarding the cymbals is turn them down completely if you aren't using them. They have a constant hiss.

  BCM said:

yeah maybe - it doesn't seem like anybody knows for sure coz i keep reading different things about it - some people say DCO's and some people say digital oscillators with D/A coversion

super easy way to check - is there a DAC in the audio signal path?

(hint: block diagram)

so i got the synths, got drunk and made this - purely the 502 drummachine for drums with a few effects and purely the SythLite II for the other noises, again with some effects.

i quite liked it :)

WOW, you made that 502 sound a LOT better than I expected. I can even tell which one is supposed to be a handclap!

You should totally sell this track to MFB

That was nice - you should jam those live!

That drum machine really sound like ErsDrum.

  vasio said:

That drum machine really sound like ErsDrum.

that's a VST isn't it? i hope it sounds a bit more organic than that really.....but there's loads of different timbres i can experiment with by altering the decay, attack, pitch and tone of the instruments, so may sound a bit different on other tracks....

excellent!

so, what do you think about the 502? you like the sound or not? the bassdrum seems a bit weak, the snare is very nice and the hats are quite unique, from what i can judge.

Yes a good lofi drums vst.

I've never got the comparision to the 808, the MFB drum machine sounds much more distinct, at least now you have warm and fuzzy drums! Start making italo :)

  kokoon said:

excellent!

 

so, what do you think about the 502? you like the sound or not? the bassdrum seems a bit weak, the snare is very nice and the hats are quite unique, from what i can judge.

i love the 502! i guess i just need to figure out the right eq and maybe add a bit of compression on the kick to give it more punch, i'll work it all out....

Just ordered a Kraftzwerg because it's cheap, small, semi-modular and you can't get a FutureRetro XS in the UK at all it seems (I've been waiting since Feburary, aah). The website demos are crap but I've heard good things about the Synth 2 on the interwebs and this is pretty much a semi-modular version of that. I'll post some demos when it comes through, probably!

  vasio said:

Yes a good lofi drums vst.

 

 

I've never got the comparision to the 808, the MFB drum machine sounds much more distinct, at least now you have warm and fuzzy drums! Start making italo :)

i think the 808 reference is just referring to the pattern sequencer not the actual sounds.

Hmm, that was a pretty sweet demo. MFB seems to fit nicely in a niche between the crap the old guard Japanese companies like Roland and Korg are churning out and more expensive boutique companies like Jomox, Elektron, etc. Maybe I should check out some of MFB's cheapo Euro modules...

  rex sole said:

Just ordered a Kraftzwerg because it's cheap, small, semi-modular and you can't get a FutureRetro XS in the UK at all it seems (I've been waiting since Feburary, aah). The website demos are crap but I've heard good things about the Synth 2 on the interwebs. I'll post some demos when it comes through, probably!

nice! i'm gonna get a kraftzwerg next i think....have to wait until after christmas when I can afford it, but it's definitely on my list. look forward to hearing what it can do when you get it....

  children r r future said:

Hmm, that was a pretty sweet demo. MFB seems to fit nicely in a niche between the crap the old guard Japanese companies like Roland and Korg are churning out and more expensive boutique companies like Jomox, Elektron, etc. Maybe I should check out some of MFB's cheapo Euro modules...

yeah man, MFB gets the thumbs up from me! the synthlite 2 sounds so wicked and i've only been fiddling about with it for a few hours last night....will give it a proper workout at the weekend :)

do you have to build these from parts?

how do you order them?

  BCM said:

so i got the synths, got drunk and made this - purely the 502 drummachine for drums with a few effects and purely the SythLite II for the other noises, again with some effects.

 

i quite liked it :)

sounds fantastic, the only part about that machine that sounds lacking to me is perhaps the bass drum. Can you get the bass to ring out anymore on the bass drum or the initial hit to be more slappy (not as soft).

  YEK said:

do you have to build these from parts?

 

how do you order them?

Do you mean the MFBs or the Kraftzwerg?

  Awepittance said:

  BCM said:

so i got the synths, got drunk and made this - purely the 502 drummachine for drums with a few effects and purely the SythLite II for the other noises, again with some effects.

 

i quite liked it :)

 

sounds fantastic, the only part about that machine that sounds lacking to me is perhaps the bass drum. Can you get the bass to ring out anymore on the bass drum or the initial hit to be more slappy (not as soft).

My experience is that there's not too much you can do about the kick drum. Definitely not long 808 style hums. Maybe it can be modded to do that?

  scones to die for said:

  YEK said:

do you have to build these from parts?

 

how do you order them?

Do you mean the MFBs or the Kraftzwerg?

 

  Awepittance said:

  BCM said:

so i got the synths, got drunk and made this - purely the 502 drummachine for drums with a few effects and purely the SythLite II for the other noises, again with some effects.

 

i quite liked it :)

 

sounds fantastic, the only part about that machine that sounds lacking to me is perhaps the bass drum. Can you get the bass to ring out anymore on the bass drum or the initial hit to be more slappy (not as soft).

My experience is that there's not too much you can do about the kick drum. Definitely not long 808 style hums. Maybe it can be modded to do that?

after trying out a lot of gear that is specifically designed to do analogue bass drum sounds, the best 'clone' or off-brand ive heard is the Jomox Xbase line. Most if not all other bass drum generating hardware I've heard can get really deep tones, but lacks the snappiness/click that the 909 and 808 are capable of. Some of the tama and simmons stuff can get those nice sustained ring outs, but the attack isn't too pleasurable. I really do like the other drum sounds on this MFB drum unit, thanks for posting the clip BCM.

This gets me thinking, how many other non-roland analogue synth based drum units are there out there?

JoMoX is pretty much it, unless you have $3000 for a Kentonised 808

I have an AirBase 99 and yep, it does incredible kicks. (edit: fitrst track on my myspace uses all the analogue instruments in the airbase, and only the analogue ones)

You can also get analogue single drum modules, and ther also the TBS / MAM / Vermona DRM-1 (all actually the same unit with small tweaks)

Like the MFB, it's got a "pre 808" vibe and is better suited to tweaking than thumping acid beatz:

  YEK said:

do you have to build these from parts?

 

how do you order them?

no, all come assembled etc - i ordered mine from Musikhaus Thomann in Germany. they ship all over the world though....

  Awepittance said:

  BCM said:

so i got the synths, got drunk and made this - purely the 502 drummachine for drums with a few effects and purely the SythLite II for the other noises, again with some effects.

 

i quite liked it :)

 

sounds fantastic, the only part about that machine that sounds lacking to me is perhaps the bass drum. Can you get the bass to ring out anymore on the bass drum or the initial hit to be more slappy (not as soft).

no, not much more you can do with the raw bass drum. i could get it deeper and more punchy with effects, compression and some EQ though (which is what I shall be experimenting on this weekend)...not too bothered though, have another couple of drum machines but they're not analogue, so wanted to try sticking with this one for a bit....I'll be able to get some nice kicks out of it with some fiddling I reckon....