Moog MF-105 MoogerFooger MuRF

Read the manual, read the manual, read the manual

Lots of functionality on the guy, but like all Foogers the set-up is pretty intuitive once you understand what it is doing. Still, this is far from a one trick pony and doesn't save presets so it makes it difficult to use for live performance,

First let me say that I play guitar and own 4 Foogers already and expect the luscious analog sound from the Murf, It is very lush sounding at that, but it isn't very quiet. Like someone else responded, the Murf can be quite "white" noisy when activated and does "pop" when you stomp it, I love the 102,103, and 104 and realized that analog equipment will have some noise, but the Murf is by far the noisiest Fooger,,,maybe it was a bad one, but I really don't think so. Don't get me wrong, it was usable but I could see the novelty of this device wearing off over time. I had demo'd this a few times over the last couple years so I thought I knew what I was getting at low volumes, When I brought it home and hooked it up at loader volumes in stereo (with it solely in the chain) the noise was simply unacceptable for me,,,at this price.

It does sound amazing, especially in stereo. This pedal rocks in stereo !!!

Most Fooger stuff is good. I ebayed my 101 but still use the others religiously

Couple tips for future buyers:

You really need tap tempo for live use - my boss FS-5U worked great!!
Expression pedals are nice for the envelope, This knob is where the magic takes place!!
Pedal Power 2 plus can power it just fine out of output 5 or 6 rendering 250ma of regulated 9V DC (dip switch in normal mode)!!!

Despite the fact that I had all the above functionality, I returned the Murf after one week to Guitar Center. They wonderfully refunded my money. Too much white noise and pops and it is better served in the studio rather than live gigging as there is too much "thinking" taking place and not enough concentration on the music. It sucked my tone and added noise. To me this is unacceptable as I play through "clean" sounding gear such as Fender and Vox amps and a EJ stat and 335. It is a space hog on a pedal board as well, once you account for the needed tap tempo and expression pedal. I simply want to get back to playing and not thinking about "gear and effects". My tastes have become more refined I guess and I have sold great equipment in the past that most people glorify - such as Foxrox TZF *Moog 103 kicks it's booty, T Rex Replica - not so impressed like the fooger 104 better, Empress tremolo - it's digital and the 102 is crazy good, etc. I'm pushing 40 and have been playing since a kid.....so take my review for what it's worth. If you have a chance to play it in a store - please crank your amp at least half way and put it in stereo with another amp.....tell me if you hear white noise....maybe mine was a lemon

First you take some time to explore and learn how to handle the frequencys, then you will find all the produced sounds can be used depending only on their musical context.
The user manual is useful.

I use it mostly to chordal/rythm guitar playing, but it can be used on producing new sounds and rythm patterns, with keyboards and sequencers.
The sound quality is in fact, superb or trully professional.
Will be also useful to use an expression control pedal.

Yes, i can. Never failed one single time, its preety reliable and well built.

Never need assistance until now and i bought it used condition, almost two years ago.

I play experimental approaches mostly with electro/funk likes.
Playing for 16 years, the vintage gear usually delivers my tone preference, analog.
Actually the unit was shown to me by a sound engineer and producer.
It does help me to create moods and lush sounding.
My recomendation would be only to discipline your rythm and the dynamics of your playing, then the moogerfooger-murf will be absolutely shining through.
Outstanding, really.

It does so many things and has quite a few parameters to control. Also, very small adjustments of the knobs can create very different effects. Not an easy pedal to recreate the same sound on...but that's the fun of it!

Lush, warm, fat, liquid, analog sound through and through. There is a LOT of bass response with this pedal...just like all the moogerfoogers-I can't believe they made a bass version because this pedal already has so much bass response. You can really do a lot of different sounds with this pedal: from rhythmic patters to static eq fliters, to outerspace ufo landings, to subtle phaser sounds. This pedal can sound very very effected or very subtle depending on how you have it set and of course everything in between. It's a bit hard to use live but I love that it brings a chaos factor into play: you really never know what to expect when you kick this thing on! Sounds really cool through my D6 clavinet, wurly 200a, guitar, bass, and even the voyager.

Haven't had it long enough to really say for sure but I think that all the moogerfooger pedals are very reliable and very well built. They're also very expensive which for me means that I baby them a lot and keep them locked away on my pedalboard safely. I would say the realibility of the MURF in particular might be a bit less than the other moogerfoogers just becuase it has alo those little sliders which seem to be a bit flimsy.

They're good at answering your questions and it's a small company which menas when you call the phone number someone who actually knows what they're talking about answers.

I think that the MURF is a great pedal with some very unique sounds and a bit more versatile than the zvex seek wah, from which it was obviously patterned after. It takes a bit of pratice, patience, and time to really get to know it but you'll be glad you did. It's expensive as all hell but you get what you pay for and if you're an analog nut then this pedal is HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED!!!!!

It is not 'easy' like folks have already said... GOod thing the MANUAL is EXCELLENT! The knobs make sense... the filters make sense... The 'envelope' knob is a MOTHER TWEAKER. Extremes of the 'envelope' knob arent that useful... kindof a clicking sound...

The 8 "filters" are fun to mess with... Imagine when you were a kid singing the song "Bingo..." You know how you leave out letters when you spell Bingo? that's what the filter sliders do. They control the volume (or remove volume) of the sound at that moment... like the moment you leave one (or more) of the letters in B-I-N-G-O out, and each filter, like an equalizer, is also assigned a frequency of the tone at that moment.

Every moving part on this thing makes a pretty big to extremely big difference on the sounds coming out. All of these settings equal pretty much the equivalent of a large numbered "combination," if you will. ONE combination is tough to remember... and you cant really just move one knob to change sounds and get THAT sound that you got "earlier" OR "the other day." If I wrote it down, I'd just lose that or look silly holding everything up with a piece of paper...screwing with knobs... screwing with knobs... I have the tap-tempo switch (I feel a must have for using with guitar), and will soon get expression pedals for the 'envelope' and 'mix' knobs. Who knows... it may be a whole different review then!

I like the nonlatching footswitch... very nice LIGHT touch!

The reason for the 8 is just because it is SOOOO versatile... There are SOOO many sounds that I dig comimg from this thing that I can hardly pick a favorite or two to memorize and actually use... and sound good... in public. I can make some BAD ASS sounds with this thing at home... Live it's not the same... I sing and am the only guitar player in my 'group.'... so this pedal is a real handful... It really is like playing another instrument! If youre gust a guitar player, then it could be VERY fun... I wouldnt know though. I'd sooner put down my real addiction (guitar) than the mic. Good sounds all around. I'd like to try it with a theremin or Fuzz Factory when self-ocilating!

USA Ash Stratocaster> Wah Probe> Homebrew CPR> Boss DS-1> MURF > Boss TU-2> Blues Jr. or ZVEX Nano.

Sounds EFFING GREAT! This thing is only noisy when you are asking for it, and then it is a good noise IMO. VERY LIGHT popping when switching. ABSOLUTELY NOT A PROBLEM!

Sound quality... YOU WANT SOUND QUALITY??? Then this $400 chunk of metal, wires and wood is FOR YOU! Some of the things this pedal can do are EXTREME and would be difficult or impossible to use... say playing a Beatles tune or something... unless you practiced first!

"Pattern" #1A is not effected by a sequence. The filters are always on and there is NO SEQUENCE or beat. I don't know what the hell is in this thing, but this setting sounds GREAT!!! I mean it seems to add a major defination to my guitar's sound. SOUNDS FANTASTIC! Of the 24 "patterns" many are useful if not just cool sounding.

It's a MOOG. It cost $400. I'd have to kill someone if it broke. Backup??? (Sarcastic tone) Yeah... I'm saving another $400 for a backup MuRF... Seems VERY well built

I have confidence that the small company that is Moog would help a brother out...

I play ROCK AND ROLL. I have been getting more and more into guitar, and effects... considered buying a keyboard... like the Alesis Micron, but decided to see what other sounds I can make with guitar!

This pedal is awesome, and I don;t plan to part with it. If it were lost... hmm... I probably would not buy another. I would definately be PISSED and totally miss it, but right now I don't really use it at all live... MAYBE one or two songs. It will be better when I get the expression pedals! (...which I will do as soon as I finish typing!) The main pedals that come to mind that are similar are the ZVEX boxes... seek trem, seek wah, ooh wah II. The MuRF is MUCH more versatile (and confusing) though.

This pedal is inspiring. It makes me play stuff I would not if I were not playing through it.

I played with the knobs for a while and figured out what everything did. There is a lot you can do with this pedal, but for as much as it can do it was quite simple. You can also get expression pedals to controll the 4 main knobs with, which is cool. There is also a tap tempo input so u can keep thoes rythmic sounds along with the rest of your band.

This unit sounds beautiful. It's 100% warm analog sound. There is a little bit of noise, but nothing bad enough to would worry about.

My toggle switch was a little wierd when i first got it. I would hit it somtimes and the pedal wouldnt turn on or off. This problem soon went away and it never happens now. Maybe it had to be broken in? Other than that This thing is built very solid with metal and wood. I could see the sliders being a bit volnerable to getting stomped, but the switch is far enough out of the way that this shouldnt be a problem.

I tried calling once about the wierd footswitch. and got a machine.. they were closed, the problem went away and i never called again.

This thing is expensive, but i don't regret getting it at all. I play almost all kinds of music and you can get a shit load of sounds out of this thing. Appregos, awesome tremelos, beautiful phaser, chorus sounds and more. What i really like doing is using the stereo jack in the back. If you have 2 amps u can hook a cord up to each one and WoW it sounds good(it asspecially sound neat if you have a dirty amp hooked to one side and clean amp on the other). The folks at Moog did a good job on this one.

The new Moogerfooger M-105 is easy like sunday mornin'!

i am a mandolin player so all of the opinions expressed here are based on that fact.

manual is pretty good,and it does explain a lot (great for those new to analogue filters,sequencers,etc).

expression jacks for every knob, which is very important for me as as the right output isnt active unless the thing is on, so i leave it on and use a roland exp pedal for the wet/dry mix, and a tap tempo thing is a must if you plan on jamming w/ others.

definitly worth the price point and ive only had it for 48hrs.

my rig:
Epiphone mandobird iv>mod'd TS9>custom mod'd phazer>MuRf(left side)>
Quadraverb+>Q-tron>Lexicon MPX 500>dBX 266xl>Orange AD30H/vox AD212.
MuRf(right side)>Quadraverb+>Lexicon MPX 500>dBX 266xl>Fender dlux90.

this thing kicks serious ass. oh yeah! if you have been wondering if you should buy one, or if you have read about them, or if you are reading this right now then you should definitly save up the 400 us dollars and buy it, cause this beast is crazy. seriouly. buy it. now.

*ok imho the MuRF is kindy noisy, i plugged straight into it wo any other fx so i know it wasnt my rig, not so bad with the drive set at 11 o'clock and the output at 3 o'clock though.

once i make a pedal board its goin right on and never coming off.
as far as back ups are concerned........... well its 400 friggin' dollars so.........actually ive thought a bout a duplicate back up rig but i use quite a bit of stuff and that is pretty silly.

i love Moog gear i have some older stuff from the 70's and its great.

this puppy is built like a tank, i think it'll stand the test of time?!?!

ive never dealt with moog and i dont know that i ever will and that should tell you something.

i play a bit of every thing from ambient to funk and reggae, prog rock/metal,jazz, psychedelik trip rock,bluegrass/country and every thing in between.
The MuRF is perfect for the Trippy stuff but i think that i could be pretty hip with jazzy stuff or rock stuff anything you play i think that this effect has a home just about anywhere in the mix.
every rig needs a secret weapon or two and this is definitly one mine!! i'm thinking of getting an MXR BlueBox or an Effector13 Vintage Fuzz Maker (smooth mellow version) fotr this very reason both fine pedals, and both very weird and gritty!

If you read the manual, you'll have no trouble getting great sounds from this thing (plus you'll get a science lesson!) It'd be a 10 if you didn't have to read the manual, but then again, it might not be as versatile if it were simpler to use (lack of options, etc.)

I play with a Strat with DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups through a Mesa MkIV, with a WIDE variety of other pedals in the chain from time to time, including other Moog products.

This is my favorite pedal. It does one thing about a hundred million ways, and never sounds bad. I have had none of the problems the reviewer below describes with pops and hissing - I think he may have got a busted MuRF.

The top and sides seem super-tough, but the bottom seems just a tiny bit flimsy. Come on, it's $400 or so, put a sturdy backing plate on it. But yeah, I'd use it live without thinking twice (though I might lock it down to my board...)

Never had to call them.

Like I said, it's my favorite pedal. It only gets a nine because, well, it does cost like $400. That seems like nit-picking for such a great sounding piece, though. An incredibly musical little box.

No it's not simple to use. There's all sorts of weird dials and switches and a filter bank (IT'S NOT AN EQUALIZER! Don't ask me to explain why....) etc...

But that's why it can do so many different things so well. Just plug it in and fiddle with all the switches and enjoy all the swirly sounds until you find something you like. There's gold to be found in this box but you have to be patient.

Here's where I can't agree with the other reviews so far...I can't give this thing a 10 for two reasons. First of all there's a huge pop that occurs when you switch ON the BYPASS. It doesn't happen when you turn the bypass off (and thus the effect on...) but when you punch the pedal to turn it off...POP. Everytime...all the time.
Second problem...There's this high pitched swirly hiss that happens when you turn the effect on. Maybe a noise gate would help but it's there nonetheless. I'm thinking of calling Mog for advice about these 2 problems. Maybe I just have a bad unit. Am I the only one hearing this stuff?

The sounds it makes are great though. A very versatile and unique pedal. But for 400 bucks I would wish they could get rid of the pop and hiss.

I'm going to call Moog and see what's what. I'll post on here again if I get some cool service...

Very easy to get a good sound outta this monster. Has 24 preset animation patterns and every one can be tweaked using the filter sliders, rate knob, envelope knob, and of course any effects you put into her.
The manual is very clear in describing terms and prcedures, and shows clear graphic displays of many of the patterns.

Takes some time to learn how this works, but once you do...........My oh my.

I use a Fender Jazzmaster -> Vox Volume pedal -> Boss Blues Driver ->
Turbo Ratt -> Moog Murf -> EH Memory Man -> Fender Twin Reverb.
Deep warm analog sound, good amount of break up whith the drive knob.
Not noisy at all. There are some unusable sounds but most are quite scrumptuous. I never thought i'd buy a synth type pedal (can't stand phasers, auto wahs, or most other effects that take away from the sound of flesh on strings, but this thing is unlike any other, and I have found hundreds of usable settings (I do keep a notebook to keep track of how I got them).

The slider knobs make me nervous. One already fell off, and one other is getting wobbly. I would make sure this thing is kept in a pedal case when playing live. Moog sells a "pedal cozy" for it, but good god....more money???
I take it to shows because I am addicted to it and have had to break off relations with people because it is all I think about!!

Might worry about termites in the wood?

Never dealt with Moog, but they sure do seem like nice folks. Anyone who has the balls to make an analog effect in the digital age that does what this thing does is Kudos in my book. Chocolate and peanut butter Kudos to be specific.

I play instrumental music like Mogwai, Tortoise, Don Cabbalero, and I am in a band that does folk, Americana, Old Timey type stuff. Also love garagey rock and brit-pop Been playing since the Clinton administaration (pre Monica). I have tried many different pedals (Line6 Filter Modeler, Danecho, Boss Chorus, Bodd Synth) and this thing leaves them all in the dusty throes of oblivion. I can't see EVER not being able to find a good sound with the Murf. Plus being analog, the trails are just as warm as the initial signal, unlike digital pedals that just fart away and have not enough balls to plop down onto the table.
It doesn't get buried in the mix when drums, bass, etc are playing. Haven't gotten a Expression pedal yet, but I imagine I will use it to tweek the envelope cause thats where the really fun stuff is on this thing; You can make it sound like a drum machine, a delay, a keyboard synth, and when you add other effects the possibilities are limitless. Used with my Ratt and Memory Man is like buttered bread on the Bayou. Plus it looks shnazy with it's wood graininess.
It is true you can make it sound like a chorus, tremelo, phaser....but I think it sounds BETTER than most of those effects i've messed around with. It is perfect for me: I am always trying to get new sounds, and this folks is the Dirty Harry, the Evil Knievel, the Cats Meow. I wish it was softer so when I slept with it, it wouldn't give me splinters.
If it were stolen................
.............My, how I would miss her. Best use of steel and wood I hath ever seen.

Extremely simple to use. Killer sounds in moments. The manual is very in depth. You can actually control the whole unit using expression pedals, how cool is that?!!!

Sound quality is great with effect on. Not sure if its true bypass, but I use it in my GCX switching system anyways. Effects are super stong and full on life. 100% analog baby!! Doesnt get better than this. Definetly the cure for the bored guitarist. One of the best pedal purchases I have made in a long time.
You can get everything from smooth swells to ring modulation, to straight up OUT OF THIS WORLD craziness!!

Havent had it long enough to tell. Seems sturdy.

havent had to use it.

A great pedal. I would buy it again and again. I couldnt be happier.

This pedal is very user friendly, especially with the assistance of the manual. It tells you how to get started and how each pattern works, it's very informative. I have an expression pedal for the envelope function and also the tap tempo footswitch. With these extras I can get any sound I want without having to bend over to change the knobs. It just takes some creativity to get the sounds you want, but if you understand how filters work you should have no problem.

I am using this with a whole bunch of other gear. My signal chain the following: Fender custom shop 56' stratocaster relic or gibson br-9 lap steel--z. vex super hard-on--fulltone soulbender--cusack screamer--prescription electronics throb--moog murf--mxr 6-band eq--into gibson super goldtone--then from effects loop--ernie ball volume pedal--boss tuner--electro-harmonix deluxe memory man--return to amp. This is not noisy all on its own, however if you use single coils and have distortion running at high levels and experience noise when not playing, the murf will swirl the noise as a trem or phaser would do. I actually think it sounds really cool especially with feedback. To be honest, you could play the most simple guitar line and it would make it sound like god's voice. Also you can play really complicated riffs and with the tempo matched it sounds incredible. It is definitely a unique pedal very novel tones are to had with the beast.

I haven't gigged with it yet but I know moog makes pedals that will last. I'm not worried.

I cannot really comment. I have never dealt with them.

I use this pedal for every effect besides delay. I am actually thinking of selling my trem pedal because the murf does a more interesting trem sound. It also does a great leslie sound. It is definitely the staple of my sound I can spend hours messing with it and coming up with new sounds. It is the most versatile pedal I have ever used. Ever other pedal is boring and dry compared to this, it is not a one trick pony. I use this pedal in experimental music to rock whatever the need be. Applicable to any genre of music. A must have for musicians who want to make a statement.

It's not just a plain old stomp box, so you'll have to adjust the knobs. But they're pretty much self explanitory. The manual is great, well written and teaches you everything you need to know to understand some of the bizzare sounds that the MuRF produces. You can make alot of nice stuff by just switching it around but the manual is the key to making do what you need. But again you can't realy go wrong.

Analog and great. Couldn't be better. I doubt anything from moog sounds bad.

I have had the MuRF for a few months now and it's doing nicely. But the "equalizer" is very fragile. The knobs come off easly and the sliders get "wobbly". I try to take good care of my stomp boxes but they suffer some traveling and moving around, I haven't had any problems with any stomp box but the MuRF is missing 5 knobs and 3 sliders are "wobbling" from left to right. It's not nice to look at and makes it hard to see the settings of the knobs, but it still works like a charm.

Never dealt with them.

Most people like to compare the MuRF to phasers/tremolos/flangers/choruses/delays/filters but it doesn't do any of that. If your looking for a phaser go buy a phaser. The MuRF is not a multi-effect unit. On the other hand if you like sound samples of the MuRF then you will not find any other stomp box provideing you with the same results. The MuRF, even though useing the soundscapes of various effects, is unique and can not do anything but MuRFish sounds. You'll just go wrong trying to use it for phaser or tremolo (it gets close but you'll never have a good tremolo or phaser, I tried :/).

The box has 4 optional expression pedals, an optional tap tempo, a line in and stereo out. This adds a lot of diversity to the stomp box but the MuRF is also great with out useing any accessories.

The stereo out is simple, the eq-bands are divided to left and right channels so when playing stereo the animation switches you not only sends your audio signle to differant eq-bands but also switches from left to right and right to left. This creates some sort of pan or rotarary effect.

I wish it had a stereo input, but then again I wish all my stomp boxes had stereo inputs.

Get it and try it. That's an experience you won't forget.

Moog maps their stuff out in the most logical fashio as always.

I am using this with a warwick coeveete standard bass and a slew of other pedals into an AMPEG SVT 4 Pro. It's all analog goodnessdoesnt create a drop of noise when bypassed. There is literally an almost infinate amount of sounds you can get out of this box. I love it, the tap tempo makes it far more practical compared to other sequencer/random arrpeggiatirs like the OOH WAH and Robotalk. Without the animations this things is a serious filter bank. This things is flat out amazing really a brand NEW effect.

just got it but I assume it will be fine.

no clue

It's a badas* that's for sure. Tweaker tastiness mixed with a little practiality and a touch of I'm not sure what.....perfect!

Simple to use. You can't do anything wrong. Just follow your ears. It is a good idea, however, to read the manual, which is well written, just so that you understand the fundamentals.

100% Analog Cream. Need I say more?

Haven't owned it long enough to say.

Never had a problem with any of my Moog equipment before.

One of the most Interesting, Versatile, Functional and Great Sounding Pedals I've ever heard. It's Great Value for the Money! It's a Phaser, a Chorus Pedal, an "Equalizer", a Filter Box, a "Tremolo", a "Delay", and more All in One. It also makes a lot of trippy sounds as well. It's also Stereo, and has an LFO to modulate the filters. The "Animation" knob offers all sorts of cool patterns, or you can turn off the "Animation" and just use the 8 filters on their own. I could say more...but I don't want to bore you. Honestly, it took a guy like Bob Moog to come up with something this cool. Get one! You won't be disappointed.