u-he

2ZrgE · Post by **2ZrgE** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:23 am

I'm on the fence of completing my U-he collection with another product (thanks Bitwig!)

I have to decide between MFM2 and Filterscape. Which one should I choose?

I tested both, and atm I tend to MFM2 (at least because of that awesome new Spaced-Out skin you can find here), and not to Filterscape (because of that factory skin which is really not up to modern standards.) I could of course use both, and find both impressing feature wise.

I'm also interested if there's updates planned. So maybe someone of the U-he crew (after the Musikmesse of course) could give me a hint for which of the two gems further developement (updates etc.) is more likely?

Anyway, any suggestions from experienced users what I should choose is highly appreciated.

lnikj · Post by **lnikj** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:36 am

Filterscape was the first U-He plugin I bought, back in 2004, and I used it for a while until Volcano came along (then Volcano 2 and now I've moved on to The Drop). I still think it sounds good but I never really loved the interface.

MFM2 I only picked up a couple of years ago, but I use it regularly, and you are right, Spaced Out makes a big difference.

I recall Urs saying that both are going to get some love soon, possibly this year, and on that basis, I would say that Filterscape is most in need of an update, and therefore is likely to improve the most. Urs has so much expertise in filters now that I would expect it to sound incredible.

So, whilst I would say MFM2 is probably the most useful of the two right now, it is Filterscape that I most look forward to seeing updated and may jump ahead in my estimation.

At the end of the day though, do you want a delay or a filter? Or should I say, do you want a delay or a filter *first*? If you are that close to completing your U-He collection you know you are going to get both eventually

Erkenfresh · Post by **Erkenfresh** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:56 pm

Should you have an apple or a carrot for breakfast?

MFM2 is great, I use it all the time as my go-to delay plugin and occasionally as a creative effect. Can't go wrong there.

audientronic · Post by **audientronic** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:05 pm

Start with MFM2, add filterscape later. I think there's some talk of a filterscape update sometime in the unspecified future.

Garzita · Post by **Garzita** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:08 pm

that is a hard decision

I love Filterscape VA, even though I have Bazille, Ace, HIVE and Zebra, it is still, IMHO, the most fun of U-He's line of synths, Hive a close second, the things you can do with the Morphing EQs on that little synth is insane, plus you have the arpeggiator. Dont get me wrong, I can spend hours with Bazille, but if i want to fire up Ableton, throw a loop and jam Filterscape VA is the first synth I choose.

But yeah, the UI is indeed very outdated and not very pleasing to the eye. I also use Filterscape Q6 a lot.

Having said that, MFM2 is great, the latest presets are amazing, I especially love the Dub folder and the Spaced Out theme really opened it up for me as far as understanding the signal flow.

I still think Filterscape is more bang for your dollar....
...Also you can always mod the skin, right? I sure did change my Filterscape VA skin but I havent shared it as I am not sure if anyone would like to use it, as it is a bit too Miami Vice! hahahahaha

Sampleconstruct · Post by **Sampleconstruct** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:14 pm

Some sounds for both, so you can compare what each one does:

MFM2
http://soundcloud.com/sampleconstruct/s ... wista-mfm2

Filterscape
http://soundcloud.com/sampleconstruct/s ... collection

MFM2 still has the most versatile routing matrix on the planet as every delay line can be freely routed into any other delay line (or itself).

2ZrgE · Post by **2ZrgE** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:15 am

Thanks for all the input. Right now I'm tending to MFM2, but mainly because of the skin (and because I like feedback experiments) and because I haven't demo'd FC much (mainly because of that skin).

My main concern is that I don't want to buy a product which may will be left behind, so I guess I'm also waiting for official statements. Strangly enough Urs for example didn't comment at all both on the "Spaced out" and the Zebra Redux skin, so I'm not sure if we see upgrades skin-wise for both products. I know it's all about Zebra3 from now on, but it's always good to know that the 'older' stuff is still maintained.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:38 am

Filterscape won't be left behind... it is just patiently waiting for a new factory skin (so is Zebra), and perhaps some other improvements too.

woodsdenis · Post by **woodsdenis** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:28 pm

MFM 2 first and Simons presets are great too. I had an issue with filterscape on some hosts, weird sync issues. Urs said on that thread that an update/upgrade would probably happen in the future, great plugin but not essential, MFM 2 gets loads of use here.

xx JPRacer xx · Post by **xx JPRacer xx** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:29 pm

MFM2 with default skin!

2ZrgE · Post by **2ZrgE** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:25 am

Lol, I would never buy MFM2 if it wouldn't support the new user made Spaced-out skin I mentionend (GUI design is an important factor in my buying desicions when it comes to VSTs). Same goes for Filterscape - that's why I hope for an update soon.

But I guess it's all a matter of taste.

u-he

KVR Audio

MFM2 or Filterscape?