MFB Kraftzwerg Analog Semi-modular Desktop Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"MFB is the brainchild of Manfred Fricke, boutique analogue designer who has been running out of his Berlin HQ for many years now. This is his latest and greatest synth design, and it follows the MFB tradition of offering powerful but tiny synths for a very reasonable price.

Its small footprint is significant and, as far as analogues go, this might have highest feature to size ratio of any semi-modular synth out there. To give you an idea, the case is a couple of inches smaller than a copy of FM.

Inside you get a triple VCO, dual LFO, 24dB low-pass filter, VCA and dual ADHSR modules. Add 34 knobs, 13 switches and 37 patch points to the surface and a MIDI-CV converter to the back and you get a synth with loads of sonic potential.

Architecture
As the name suggests, in a semi-modular synth all the modules are connected internally, and it should be able to make noises without the need to do any patching. The patch points provide the opportunity to explore and experiment with the signal path and combine different modulation sources.

The modules are laid out from left to right. Dual LFOs are on the left, followed by the triple VCO and the low-pass filter in the middle. Next we have the VCA and on the far right is the dual ADHSR section.

To understand the normal signal flow, all you need to do is examine the patch points and their associated knobs up close. MIDI note messages are automatically converted to CV and Gate values. These are wired in to the oscillators and envelope sections so there is indeed no need to patch up anything to get a sound going.

Each of the three oscillators and the noise source has its own volume level – these route into the filter and on to the VCA. Turning the gain past five opens it up and gradually lets the sound through without triggering it with a volume envelope.

Envelope 1 is routed to CV cut on the filter. This is joined by a second CV input that uses a small pot to set the amount, and is normally linked to key-tracking.

Both LFOs have predefined functions – LFO 1 is assigned pitch modulation duties. It can be switched between all the oscillators or just OSC 3 and, as mentioned before, LFO 2 automatically goes to the VCA section.

Without any patch cables, there's plenty of room for tweaking, and the high contrast white on black labelling makes it easy to see what's going on. Even the knobs for the dual ADSR, which are quite close together, leave enough space for tweak-happy fingers."