Lead through moogerfoogers, yes please

[namahshaman]

I realize that I'm new here, but may I recommend to anyone looking to add dimensions to your Lead . . . Moogerfoogers! So far, I've used the Freqbox, RingMod, LPF, and Clusterflux. Wow, talk about warming up the sound and offering some serious depth. Right now the CF and LPF are in my rig, our bass player is using the Freqbox, and our guitarist and I fight over the RingMod

Anyhoo, glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

Oh, and here's what I'm currently working with:

[bdodds]

You're killing me, I want to see what you're working with! (You linked to an image that was in your gmail account, and none of the rest of us can see it. You can either host it somewhere like a free image hosting service, or better yet, attach it to your post and include it inline, so it can stay here forever.)

Welcome, and welcome to a connoisseur of tone! I love Moog's products and have a bunch of their synths but none of the Moogerfoogers.. I was drooooooling over their MF-104SD but couldn't justify the cost, a decision I regret..

Odd how I'll spend the cash on their synths but their stomp boxes are "too pricey"..

[namahshaman]

Oops . . . sorry

[namahshaman]

did that work?

[matthewcoy]

This is interesting. I was thinking of sacrificing my NL2 for a Juno-60, but I wonder if a moogerfooger would do the trick?? So many times i've gotten really close to that Juno sound with the Nord, but just not enough mustard. I really don't want to sell the Nord because it's good for so many other things that the Juno's can't do. How would you say that a Nord+Moogerfooger stacks up next to a Juno?? Do you think it would give me that little extra phatness that's missing??

[bdodds]

ooooo an anniversary edition!

The DL-4 is one of my favorite pedals, I've owned a couple until I left it at home in exchange for an M9.. the M9 is not as playable as the DL-4, though.. that one I definitely prefer for live play, but the M9 does so much more that I need unfortunately..

[stiiiiiiive]

Hey Namahshaman! Welcome... here as well

So Nord Lead and Nord Electro are part of your adventure too? Nice!
I havent' tried my fooger's "driveness" on the Nord Lead yet, but will do asap. I was grown on a G2 and borrowed some DYI oscillators and filter patches, which I included in a basic NL2 architecture. The result is amazingly more analog like than the first version of the patch (built in osc and filter modules), and than the NL2 itself.


Lately though I got a Lead for hand-on purposes. I was a bit disappointed at first since I thought I knew the sound of it but was actually used to the G2's customized patch. I got used to it then.

This is interesting. I was thinking of sacrificing my NL2 for a Juno-60, but I wonder if a moogerfooger would do the trick?? So many times i've gotten really close to that Juno sound with the Nord, but just not enough mustard. I really don't want to sell the Nord because it's good for so many other things that the Juno's can't do. How would you say that a Nord+Moogerfooger stacks up next to a Juno?? Do you think it would give me that little extra phatness that's missing??

Matthew, last week I tried something and obtained cool results in terms of fatness: EHX LPB 2ube. Very nice for about 100 Euros used.

I think the BlackFinger or TubeEq of the EHX Tube series can be serious addition for the Lead to sound more Juno-ish.

[namahshaman]

matthewcoy,
whatever you do, don't sell your Nord. ha ha. A couple weeks ago I considered replacing my Lead with a Virus TI (in my rig only, never actually considered selling my 2X). Last week I got the chance to visit a bigger nearby city and try out a Virus . . . Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing synth, but it could never replace my Lead. I decided to run it through the moogerfooger ringmod that our band had recently acquired for guitar. I was instantly blown away. After that, I stole my LPF back from our bassist and ordered the Clusterflux, and haven't looked back. SO, to answer your question, I've never been in a position to hear my 'foogered-nord next to a Juno, but I'd say yes, definitely. Try your Nord through some 'foogers and other stuff (like stiiiiiiive's suggestions) before you trade it for a roland.

bdodds,
Yes I lucked out and got an anniversary edition without even trying. When I went to order it from Sweetwater, Paul talked me into it. Glad he did too, it's one of the few keyboards that I think looks good with reversed keys. Also, love the DL-4, great pedal. It's little brother the Echo Park is surprisingly a great little pedal as well. I've tried replacing it a couple times, and can't find a small delay that's as versatile and offers all the weird tricks I like. (I know I know, to some of you I'm probably overdoing it with the DL-4, echo park, and space echo, haha)

and finally, my man stiiiiiiive,
So glad to see you on this forum as well. I've learned so much from you guys over at the Moog forum that I decided to further-expand my Nord knowledge over here, and everyones been so welcoming already.

Thanks everybody

[stiiiiiiive]

Soooo...

I've just been A/B testing the Nord Lead througt two stompboxes: the Moog MF-104 and the EHX LPB 2ube.

- From the MF-104, I could not get something satisfying :/ When the effect is bypassed, cranking up the drive brings up some dirty cracklings, not what I'd call a soft distorsion. Maybe the buffer... When the effect is on, it's easier to manage since the output level control is active. However you have to set the dry/wet mix at zero if you don't want any effect and more than that you have to control the dry/wet mix with your hand rather than use the footswitch.This is not a problem in the studio. On stage, this is not a problem either for keyboardists but some guitarists may have difficulties. Anyway, we are talking about Nord Lead players and guitarsits do have great solutions to warm their sound.
That being, if Namahshaman says his Fooger's preamp does somehing to the sound, either the Moog delay and RingMod are different or my ears are not acute enough, which is likely.

- From the EHX, I can easily get a nice soft distorsion, something like 'Hey there is fire in me!!", something under the sound that seems to push up to get out of it. This characteristic can be more or less prominent based on the gain/volume settings. Nothing more to say, actually. Honestly: easy. Definitely worth the trial.

[namahshaman]

I think what helps in my particular chain is having the MF-101 at the end. I haven't tried the EHX, so I can't really comment on a comparison. I DO know, based on everything I've read here and elsewhere, that Stiiiiiiive knows much more than me when it comes to all things musical. So, if you were going to make a purchasing decision based on our advice (which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, ha), you should definitely go with Stiiiiiiive on this one. His experience far-exceeds my own.

Also, just a note, I don't own an MF-104 (really wish I did), I was running mine through the MF-108, then the MF-101 (originally I had the MF-102 in place of the 108, but the 101 was still at the end). . . not sure if that makes a difference in this scenario or not.

Let's keep the conversation going though, because as always, whether I'm right or wrong, I'm always learning more, and I thank you all for contributing to my musical education.