MFB MFB-502 (01) PDF MANUAL

The MFB-502 is a compact drumcomputer with eight real analogue sound sources. Realtime control is provided for each sound in various ways. The MFB-502 also includes 72 programmable patterns (Rhythmen), each with individual fill-in, that can be combined to eight complete songs.

To power up the MFB-502, insert the supplied Power Supply. Connect MIDI IN to any keyboard’s or sequencer’s MIDI output. The Stereo Out has to be connected to an amplifier. Now turn on the drumcomputer by pressing the ON/OFF button and then the amplification.

It is possible to use the individual outputs of the sound sources by connecting their outputs to a mixing console. Using an individual output automatically excludes that specific sound source from the Stereo Output.

The eight instruments (1/BD…8/HH) can be manually triggered when hitting their individual white instrument buttons on the machine. All instruments can be played by MIDI, too.

The MIDI note assignments are:

B (35) = BD Hi

C1 (36) = BD Lo

C#1 (37) = SD Hi

D1 (38) = SD Lo

D#1 = Clap Short

E1 (39) = Clap Long

F1 (40) = Lo Bongo

F#1 (41) = HiHat

G1 (42) = HiBongo

G#1 (43) = HiHat

A1 (44) = LowTom

A#1 (45) = Open HiHat

B1 (46) = MidTom

C2 (47) = MidTom

C#2 (48) = Cymbal

D2 (49) = HiTom

Attack controls the intensity of the first soundphase. Turn clockwise to enhance or even overdrive the attack level. Pitch adjusts the instrument’s tuning. Turn the knob clockwise for higher pitches. Decay adjusts the length of the instrument’s release phase. Turn clockwise to increase. This knob also influences the general pitch of the instrument.

Attack controls the level of the initial sound phase. Turn the control clockwise for more bite or even overdrive the sound. Use Noise to add floor to the sound; the level of noise is increased by turning Noise clockwise. Decay controls the release time of the snare drum sound as well as the general pitch. Turn clockwise for longer release times and higher pitch.

Attack controls the width/length of the clap sound. Turn clockwise for longer release time. Tone adjusts the brightness. Turn clockwise for a brighter sound. Decay adjusts the reverberation time. Turn clockwise for a longer reverb.

Attack controls the first sound period of the cymbal sound. It emulates the intensity of the drum stick’s hit. Turn up the knob if you want the sound to reach the sustain phase at medium volume quicker. Tone adjusts the character of the cymbal sound between noisy (left position) and metallic (right position). Finally Decay controls the overall length of the sound.

Decay adjusts the length of the sound.

Hit Play to start (or stop) the sequencer. The Tempo control sets the speed of the playback.

Hit Fill to toggle between the playback modi. The left LED indicates that only the basic rhythm will play. The right LED indicates that the fill-in will always follow the basic rhythm.

Press and hold Rhythm. The white instruments buttons select the first eight patterns. To select higher memory locations, press a second white button (Rhythm is still hold). The LED’s will display the corresponding location. Selecting different rhythmic patterns can be done live on the fly without worry about getting out of timing. The MFB-502 will always play the previous pattern to the end before starting the next.

Select a rhythmic pattern before recording. Press Play to verify if any rhythm is stored on that location. If so, press and hold Rec and Rhythm for 1 second to erase.

Select an instrument first by pressing and holding Rec, while selecting the instrument (e.g., 1/BD). The MFB-502 now displays the BD track lane. Use the eight instrument buttons to set and delete odd 1/16th notes. For even 1/16ths, press Shift at the same time.

All instrument tracks are programmed the same way. Select Rec and:

1/BD: Bass Drum Lo (press twice to select BD Hi)

2/SD: Snare Drum Lo (press twice to select SD Hi)

3/HC: Hand Clap short (press twice to select long Hand Claps)

4/LT: Lo Tom (press twice to select Mid Tom, press three times to select Hi Tom). The pitch range of the three tom sounds is adjusted with the Pitch control.

5/HT: Lo Bongo (press twice to select Hi Bongo)

6/CY: Cymbal

7/OH: Open Hi Hat

8/HH: Closed Hi Hat

Setting the Accent is similar to an instrument’s programming. Press Rec and Shift to set full accent. Press Shift twice to set medium accent.

The MFB-502 has eight song memory locations. Each can hold up to 64 patterns that can be freely arranged for playback.

Press Song and one of the white instrument buttons to activate Song Mode. Play starts the selected song.

Press Song and one of the white instrument buttons to enter Song mode. To start programming the song sequence, press Rec. Now enter the pattern memory locations step by step. Specify between basic rhythm and fill-in first. Then press and hold Shift, select the rhythmic pattern with the white instrument buttons and then release Shift. Proceed in the same way to select the next pattern in your song. To define the end of the Song, simply press Rec.

To change the MIDI channel, press and hold Shift and Fill. Use the tempo control to define the MIDI channel. The LED will indicate the corresponding value 1 – 16. Exit and store by releasing Shift and Fill.

The MFB-502 can run in internal or external mode. Change between these modi by switching the machine on while pressing Play. Only in external mode will the MFB-502 accept MIDI Start, Stop and Clock information.