It's been 15 years since Moog introduced the original MF-101 Analog Low-Pass Filter. Since then, Moog has released six other Moogerfooger pedals, from the Ring Modulator to the Cluster Flux, all of which have developed cult favorite status for their quality and innovation. The MF line is, however, not without its drawbacks. Hefty price-tags and substantial footprints can be less than convenient for players with limited space or budgets.
Enter the new Minifooger pedals. All coming in at under $200 new and with 5.75” x 3.25” casings, the Minifoogers provide a compact and affordable means to obtain that quintessential Moog sound. But what's most remarkable about the line isn't just their quality and originality. It's the sheer versatility of tonal options present in each pedal (which is only expanded by the optional Moog Expression Pedal). Read a bit more on each of the five Minifoogers below:
MF Boost
Featuring gain, tone, and level knobs along with a boost switch which alters the pedal between OTA and VCA signal paths, the MF Boost is one of the most open-ended boosts out there. Tonal options extend well beyond the regular call of duty for a boost, and this Minifooger works flawlessly as a clean volume pedal, a more traditional boost effect, and all the way into to overdrive territory. The optional Moog Expression Pedal allows for a broader gain spectrum allowing lush swells and more nuanced volume control.
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MF Drive
Overdrive is an intrinsic element of any guitarist’s pedalboard, and the MF Drive is about as versatile an overdrive as you're going to find. Packing a Moog Ladder Filter alongside controls for gain, drive, filter, peak, tone, and output, the pedal provides all the necessary tools for creating an overdrive to fit the needs at hand. The baseline drive sounds on-par with a hot tube amp (minus the accompanying sound clutter), and with a little sculpting, you can easily go from overdriven tube to fuzz, with all the clarity and grit in between. With this Minifooger, the added Expression Pedal can function as a wah that easily goes pound-for-pound with any Cry Baby.
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MF Trem
Moog’s rendition of a tremolo, like every Minifooger, offers a classic effect with the tools for explore newfound sonic territory. The shape control is particularly engaging, allowing the player to toggle between saw, sine, square, and sloped waveforms for a wide breadth of tremolo sounds. The depth control on this pedal is also notable for the dark to bright lengths it's capable of reaching. The extra Expression Pedal controls the speed of the tremolo, which allows plenty of opportunity for ritardandos, accelerandos, and straight-up epic swells.
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MF Delay
You’ve got the drill by this point: a quality-made standard type of a pedal with extra work under the hood to take things further. In this regard, the MF Delay might just win me over as my favorite of the Minifooger litter. The time control on the pedal allows for delays between 35mS-700mS, and the delay can be stretched even further with use of the Expression Pedal. The MF Delay offers a dizzying amount of routes to explore: slap-back, natural decay, infinite feedback loops, and atmospheric ambiance to name just a few. This is a quick means to that '80s The Edge sound without the thousands of dollars invested in rack-mount processors.
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MF Ring
Last is perhaps the most intriguing of the bunch: the MF Ring. Playing little brother to the Moogerfooger Ring Modulator, this pedal best embodies the experimental legacy of the Moog company and is the closest you’ll get a Strat to sounding like a Voyager synth in this price range. An interior oscillator, controlled by the frequency knob, produces frequencies that meld with an instrument’s tone to create sounds ranging from melodic to chaotic. Hearing the tones this ring mod can churn out will definitely inspire the creativity of any player. This should definitely be on the wish-list of any experimental musician searching for new tools.
See MoreWith the Minifooger pedal series, Moog has extended an invitation to the frugal and curious alike to have a seat at the Moogerfooger banquet table. These pedals not only encapsulate the ingenuity and innovation at the core of Moog (by the way, if you haven’t seen the eponymous documentary on founder Bob Moog, do yourself a favor and check it out), but also provide an opportunity to grab a piece of the classic Moog sound without emptying your coffers.