A4 + mfb 522

ancestor · 2013-11-20T17:00:55.000Z

Hi there,

At the moment I’m saving for an Analog four. A couple of months ago I bought a MFB 522 drumcomputer.

Is it possible to connect the MFB to the A4 and have the sound sent trough the A4? The MFB only has a Midi In and 4 minijack outputs.

Cheers

avantronica · 2013-11-20T17:14:35.000Z

you could separate the minijack stereo out and feed it through the two A4 1/4 jack inputs, but you won’t be able to sequence the MFB from the A4, the A4 does not currently sequence via midi, only cv !

you’d have to clock the mfb by a4 midi to get sync happening, if it takes sync this way

save up, you won’t regret it if you have patience to learn the depths of the A4

KrisM · 2013-11-20T17:38:14.000Z

Actually the 522 has 5 3.5mm (1/8") outs. Kick, Snare, Clap, and Hihat, as well as the stereo out (any individual out is separated from the stereo out).

You’d have to use the stereo out with the appropriate cable to split the L and R into two 1/4 (6.3mm) plugs.

The 522 can be synced to MIDI clock, so you’d connect the MIDI out or Thru of the A4 (these are labeled Sync A and Sync B, respectively) to the MIDI In of the 522. I don’t own an A4 so I can’t tell you how to use Sync A or B; surely it’s in the manual

To enable external sync on your 522, press and hold Play while turning it on. Unfortunately there’s no display telling you whether it’s in internal or external sync mode. But it’ll respond to MIDI start, stop, and clock while set to external; you’ll still need to use the 522’s sequencer.

The 522 is a nice little analog drum box, I like mine

ancestor · 2013-11-20T17:53:00.000Z

Thanks guys,

When I got my A4 i’ll make sure to post my experience with these two machines together

metalfalcon · 2013-11-21T21:12:47.000Z

Syncing to the midi clock of the A4 and running the MFB’s stereo out back through the stereo in’s will yield lots of fun when you route that signal to the effects and start locking steps on the effects track of the sequencer. Even without midi out note sequencing there is plenty of sound mangling to be done.

ancestor · 2013-11-23T16:40:28.000Z

Sounds like a lot of fun! Cant wait till I own an A4 myself. Just a couple of more weeks…

PES · 2013-11-24T22:48:24.000Z

Just tried the pair together, and they are an excellent match.

ancestor · 2013-11-25T10:11:44.000Z

""PES"":

Just tried the pair together, and they are an excellent match.

Could I hear or see a small audio/video sample of this setup?

PES · 2013-11-25T11:29:56.000Z

""ancestor"":

[quote=“PES”]Just tried the pair together, and they are an excellent match.

Could I hear or see a small audio/video sample of this setup?[/quote]
The two are placed neatly in a laptop bag now, but tonight or tomorrow I’ll try to do a recording of them - of the short 16 step pattern I made yesterday at the very least.

Dubkutter · 2013-11-25T13:01:36.000Z

http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/mfb-kraftzwerg-222239

http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/mfb-schlagzwerg-228448

ancestor · 2013-11-25T18:23:15.000Z

""PES"":

[quote=“ancestor”][quote=“PES”]Just tried the pair together, and they are an excellent match.

Could I hear or see a small audio/video sample of this setup?[/quote]
The two are placed neatly in a laptop bag now, but tonight or tomorrow I’ll try to do a recording of them - of the short 16 step pattern I made yesterday at the very least.[/quote]
thanks a lot! much appreciated!

PES · 2013-11-26T01:02:54.000Z

""ancestor"":

[quote=“PES”][quote=“ancestor”][quote=“PES”]Just tried the pair together, and they are an excellent match.

Could I hear or see a small audio/video sample of this setup?[/quote]
The two are placed neatly in a laptop bag now, but tonight or tomorrow I’ll try to do a recording of them - of the short 16 step pattern I made yesterday at the very least.[/quote]
thanks a lot! much appreciated! [/quote]
Managed to get a seat with electrical outlets on the train back home from work, so I did a recording of yesterday’s pattern:

[http://www.sunshineasylum.com/gs/PES%20-%20Train.mp3](http://sunshineasylum.com/gs/PES - Train.mp3)

PES_Train.jpg800×400 149 KB

Nothing special, but at least it shows what a portable duo this is (a double seat, two electrical outlets and a couple of batteries in the H4n…).

ancestor · 2013-11-26T12:17:54.000Z

nice! I like the sound. Thanks for the demo

PES · 2013-11-26T13:22:31.000Z

No problem, thanks

ancestor · 2013-12-02T19:24:11.000Z

Could someone explain to me how I midi-sync my MFB with the A4 and sent the sound trough the A4? Can’t seem to get it right

PES · 2013-12-02T19:43:35.000Z

""ancestor"":

Could someone explain to me how I midi-sync my MFB with the A4 and sent the sound trough the A4? Can’t seem to get it right

On the 522:

Hold “Play” when switching on the unit to set it in sync slave mode (if it isn’t already).

On the A4:

Open “MIDI config” in the global menu.
Open “MIDI port config”
Set “Out port func” to MIDI
Set “Ouput to” to include MIDI

Then go back to the “MIDI config” menu
Open “MIDI sync”
Tick the box “clock send”
Tick the box “transport send”
Make sure the receive boxes are un-ticked

Now the 522 will sync to the A4 tempo, and will play and stop according to the A4. If it doesn’t, restart the 522 while holding “Play”.

To hear the 522 sound through the A4, go to the FX track. Press the “ext in” button (osc 1). Adjust volume, panning and effects for the two input channels.

MWT · 2013-12-07T09:15:02.000Z

It is easy to sync the A4 with the MFB 522. If you want to play live I suggest you to connect the single outs of the MFB 522 to your mixer. If i play live I use the mute function of my mixer for the MFB 522.