Few companies have the legacy that Moog Music has – after all, the company was founded by the father of modern synthesis himself, Dr. Robert Moog. A few years back, Moog took their creative signal processing ideas and applied them to pedal-based effects, and the Moogerfoogers were born. Offering tons of control capability, true analog circuitry, and broad connectivity, Moogerfoogers have been adopted by keyboard players, synthesists, engineers, and, of course, guitar players. However, Moog realizes that not everyone needs all of the options that the Moogerfoogers provide, nor is there space on many pedalboards for those larger than normal pedals.
Bring on the Minifoogers! Designed to streamline the Moog pedal experience at a size that’s completely pedalboard friendly, the Minifoogers also come in at wallet-friendly prices. There are five pedals in the Minifooger family: an MF Delay, an MF Drive, an MF Boost, an MF Trem, and an MF Ring (ring modulator). The pedals look great in their black enclosures with silver appointments. In addition to guitar inputs and outputs, the pedals include expression pedals inputs for real-time control (including Control Voltage sources).
As you’d expect from Moog, there’s something a little extra in each of these pedals. For example, the overdrive features both a tone control and a filter for tweezing the tone into exactly what you want. The boost offers multiple tone shapes for the boost effect, so you can tailor it to what you want – a clean boost for a simple volume or gain increase, or a colored boost for a particular effect.
Also as you’d expect, these pedals sound great. The delay is all Moog, with a rich analog sound that sits perfectly behind your dry signal. The versatile tremolo goes from swampy to jittery and adds a nice thickness to the sound. The ring modulator can go from chorusy to outer space. The overdrive sounds tube amp-like and can be used to add everything from a light grit to a boost to a crunchy tone that drives an amp on the verge of breakup into sweet sustain.
The Minifoogers are exactly the pedals I’ve been waiting for from Moog. They offer the essential control necessary to get great tones. They’re compact for pedalboard use, and they come in at great prices. Moog’s legacy lives on!