Suggestion: MFB Synth 2

[Meso]

When they come out with a Phatty rack mount I doubt we will have threads like this.

Is that in the works? why didn't they just come out with one right away? I mean who wants a synth with min keys that looks like weird metal oyster from the back? I swear, the way the back of that synth looks is a total deal breaker, everything else I love though.

The Little Phatty (horrible name btw) does not have mini keys, and to me looks is the least important part of a synth, its all about its sound and control,
but still i would probably prefer a desktop/rackmount LP over a KB one, as long as it has the same amount of control, because it will be cheaper and I don't need any more keyboards.

[schlachthof]

I havent owned any other analog but the Mfb has to be the best sound for the amount of money of all synths.
Check out my posts in the listening lounge. I have used it on all of them.

[Taxidermy]

Little Fatty is little in the name only. I think its meant as the little brother to the voyager because it has one less oscillator and less modulation options. Its a lot larger than I thought it would be in the flesh, and its very heavy.

[Jiggz]

when you say the envelopes are slow - do you mean that its not punchy? what side effect does that have?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean - they're not very punchy. Plus i dont like the shape of the attack and decay phase, it's just not the sort of shape you would expect from an analogue synth...more from a cheap VA. But then i suppose the envelopes are digitally generated, so that would account for it.

[phwb]

When they come out with a Phatty rack mount I doubt we will have threads like this.

Is that in the works? why didn't they just come out with one right away? I mean who wants a synth with min keys that looks like weird metal oyster from the back? I swear, the way the back of that synth looks is a total deal breaker, everything else I love though.

The Little Phatty (horrible name btw) does not have mini keys, and to me looks is the least important part of a synth, its all about its sound and control,
but still i would probably prefer a desktop/rackmount LP over a KB one, as long as it has the same amount of control, because it will be cheaper and I don't need any more keyboards.

Woe! Am I crazy, I played this thing for like 2 hours and I distinctly remember thinking how it was smaller than I thought it would be and that the keys were not full sized. I was probably pretty stoned but there was only about another 50 keyboards there for me to compare it to. please tell me I'm not crazy.

I don't know why they bother making anything in keyboard form anymore don't they know that anyone who buys this sorta stuff already has at least one keybaord and doesn't need the waste of space? I think that was the one good idea about the Radias.

I think the front panel is genius but I don't know what the h**l they were thinking in the back. The fact is, thanks to the engineers, the marketing and design teams have the easiest job in the world. They could of built this thing into a hello kitty lunch box and put a pink race car spoiler on it and called it the genital wart and we'd all still want them and they'd still get bonuses at the end of the year.

[Pete]

When they come out with a Phatty rack mount I doubt we will have threads like this.

Is that in the works? why didn't they just come out with one right away? I mean who wants a synth with min keys that looks like weird metal oyster from the back? I swear, the way the back of that synth looks is a total deal breaker, everything else I love though.

Well, I am assuming they will. It would also make somewhat affordable to have a polyphonic Moog.

[Meso]

Woe! Am I crazy, I played this thing for like 2 hours and I distinctly remember thinking how it was smaller than I thought it would be and that the keys were not full sized. I was probably pretty stoned but there was only about another 50 keyboards there for me to compare it to. please tell me I'm not crazy.

I played on in a local music store a few weeks back and I don't remember it having mini keys, I may be wrong, can someone else confirm/contradict this?

Doesn't look like mini keys, if they are then they are only slightly smaller than regular ones i guess.

[MitchK1989]

I don't know why they bother making anything in keyboard form anymore don't they know that anyone who buys this sorta stuff already has at least one keybaord and doesn't need the waste of space? I think that was the one good idea about the Radias.

'Cuz no one wants to rock a midi controller live, yo.

Actually, I just like having keyboards. I have the space, so why not? Gives each synth it's own 100% dedicated controls. I can grab one and bring it to a gig and only have to plug one thing in, rather than a midi controller and a rackmount.

[Sir Ruff]

Hmm, i'm in the process of sending a Synth2 back to the retailer because when it arrived, the plastic housing had come apart due to the plastic screw housing shearing off inside (there was loose plastic bits rolling around inside).

When i opened the box, i was quite shocked to see how loosely packed it was, so much room for it to bounce around. There was only a single piece of bubble wrap, and the psu was sitting on top of the knobs when i opened it!

To be honest, this has left a bad taste in my mouth about it. But I managed to put the casing back together with the rear socket panel back in place so i could have a play.

There are some great sounds to be had from it, but overall i'm not impressed. Spec wise it sounds great, but I dont particularly like the trashy digital ring modulators, and the envelopes are very slow, not to mention the build quality.

In the end i suppose you get what you pay for, but the build quality is so poor I dont think it works out very good bang for the buck in the end due to longevity. I'm thinking of asking for a credit or save up a little and get a Little Phatty.

Clearly there is some issue with how they are packing stuff, but on the build quality in general, I hear people b***h about how cheap Pro-1s feel all the time, but that doesn't seem to have stopped people from buying them over the years... I realise there are certain analogue traits that keep you from being able to compare these directly, but frankly, the MFB has everything the pro-1 has and more. the only 2 major complaints I keep hearing are 1) poor construction i.e. it's made of plastic.. so what. and 2) slow envelopes... which one can workaround by using a single-shot lfo.

if they hadn't raised the price-point recently, these would still be the best deal in town.

[hyphen nation]

Woe! Am I crazy, I played this thing for like 2 hours and I distinctly remember thinking how it was smaller than I thought it would be and that the keys were not full sized. I was probably pretty stoned but there was only about another 50 keyboards there for me to compare it to. please tell me I'm not crazy.

I played on in a local music store a few weeks back and I don't remember it having mini keys, I may be wrong, can someone else confirm/contradict this?

Doesn't look like mini keys, if they are then they are only slightly smaller than regular ones i guess.

spent an few hours in the store trying to come to a decision between the LP, the Voyager, and the PEK...and I think the LP and the PEK have the same keys, the voyagers are a step up in terms of solidity...but, be that as it may, the LP just screams to be played....there is something about it that really makes it a pleasure to play...even though I love all that the PEK has to offer, I am starting to lean heavily towards the LP + Voyager rack...[not sure I really need the touch pad on the voyager] and I like the idea of getting both synths for almost the same price as the Voyager....

An LP Rack, that expanded to poly would be sick...what do you think the price on that'd be? $700-800? 4 voice moog for around the same price as the PEK....

[wardshorsehead]

Woe! Am I crazy, I played this thing for like 2 hours and I distinctly remember thinking how it was smaller than I thought it would be and that the keys were not full sized. I was probably pretty stoned but there was only about another 50 keyboards there for me to compare it to. please tell me I'm not crazy.

I don't love the keyboard, but it isn't mini. In fact, given that it has 37 instead of 44 keys, it isn't that much smaller than a Voyager - the Little Phatty is only 3.5 inches shorter in length (which accounts for those 7 keys) and 3. 5 inches less in depth than the Voyager, though the Voyager is about 5 inches taller, fully extended.

I actually thought it would be quite a bit smaller...it has the same weight as a Juno 106 which is about a foot longer!

[JSRockit]

The MFB Synth II is worth the money no doubt... as long as it comes in one piece. Mine was packed right, I didn't feel the envelopes were slow, and it sounded great. However, once I got the Voyager, I thought it was redundant. Sold it for more than I bought it new since the new prices came in.

[Bitexion]

I am so embarassed about that LP name, I refer to it as "that new moog synth" when I ask to try it in stores.
I do however see the problem of finding a good name for a new synth when all the planetary and space names have already been taken. 3-letter abbreviations aren't exactly cool sounding..JX-3P etc. sounds more like a Star Wars robot than a synth.

I wonder if they considered Enterprise? Since the other Moog is also named after Star Trek..

[JSRockit]

I wonder if they considered Enterprise? Since the other Moog is also named after Star Trek..

NASA used the Voyager name in their program as well... I was hoping it was more NASA than TV.

[Bitexion]

I don't think there is an Apollo synth yet.