I'm buying one of these right now, first new hardware in a while, I think it might be exactly what I need in something new.

...I just got one on Wednesday. Absolutely love it.

Sorry Ninjabob... I don't know about your power supply issue.

Yeah, it's a great little thing. Kind of hard to keep in tune, but after a while it stabilizes itself.

Do you guys think that the problem is with power supply compability, or do you think the synth is fecked? That would suck extremely hard.

the build quality of mfb synths aint that good. so maybe you better let it check.
one friend has 3 different mfb and all have a hardware problem.

Build quality is fine on my Kraftzwerg! Midi to CV convertor could be improved upon but hey...what you get for your money with a Kraftzwerg probably can't be beaten by any other kit in modular world.

heres a cut down version of my very first session with it in stand alone mode, bits of the 3rd movement remind me of some horror incidental music.

Hey ninjabob! sorry to hear about the prob with yours! I would suggest you do try and get an exact PSU match before anything else, although the spec of the new one did sound fine? but you just never know so eliminate that unknown first.

I went all over town today on a hunt for the right PSU. Couldn't find anything that yielded other results than the same problem with the ADSR lights being on all the time, and no sound. Could this have to do with the fact that the synth needs AC? Also; the Monacor psu that came with the synth says this on it:

Pri: 230V-/50Hz/11VA.
Sec: 12V-/550mA.

I've only focused on the secondary values, and not the primary: what does 11VA mean? For the Vanson adaptor I bought says this on it:

Pri: 10-240V-50/60 Hz 0.55A.

Is the 11VA of the original PSU linked to the 0.55A on the replacement? And could this be related to the trouble with my Kraftzwerg?

Sorry for going on about this so much, kinda panicking for next week's tour here...

A replacement PSU must output AC. Don't plug a PSU that is outputting DC into the Kraftzwerg!
I am pretty sure the 11VA is just a reference to the overall capacity of the PSU 11VA = 11watts.
If the Vanson you bought is AC output and is 12v/550mA it should be fine! and the problem is most likely with the Kraftzwerg. It is probably a simple fix whatever the problem is but i guess that doesn't help with the tour, unless you know a tech who can fit it in before you go.

Good luck!

So, I got an email from Manfred Fricke first thing Monday morning after I sent an e-mail on friday evening, stating that I'd need an AC/AC psu, not AC/DC. So I went on an AC/AC hunt and managed to score one in the outskirts of town, and everything is now working perfectly!

So let the record state that your Kraftzwerg will act weird unless it gets proper power from an AC/AC PSU. And that Manfred is great at replying to customer e-mails!

I quite liked it, but I wasn't blown away. I found the connectors to be a bit of a pain in terms of getting an out into my interface and the envs weren't awesomely snappy... which prompted me to sell it to simonator.

Interesting... I personally find the envelopes to be incredibly snappy (for a non-percussion-specific synth.).

Check this demo of the MFB Synth II (Same as Kraftzwerg, only with patch memory & sequencer... but no semi-modular re-routing options.):



As for the connections... turned out I had the bits lying around already; mono-mini-jack to XLR cable > DI box > Line-in of my interface. Seems to be working a treat.

Personally, I absolutely LOVE the thing. Just wish I could snatch some more time to use it... maybe later today!

So I was right about making sure you had AC output.

Ditto Simonators findings re-envelopes, they are pretty snappy, with definite percussive possibilities and tight attack bass sounds.

Yep, thanks a lot!

... I didn't state explicitly (though it does vaguely mention it in on screen text.) that even the drums in that video a couple of posts back are all from the Synth II (Kraftzwerg).

I'm finding myself dialing in some attack on amp envelopes, even on sound I want to be punchy.

will these ever be re-released?

They seem impossible to find now?!

Manfred has moved on to the Dominion synths. The modules that make up the Kraftzwerg are still available though if you wanted to build one in Eurorack format.

MFB now has a Kraftzwerg II, don't know if you can actually buy one. Some European dealers list them as "not currently in stock".

Probably not. It's been discontinued from MFB. Actually they only sell Dominion 1, Tanzbar and 522 now. And some eurorack modules.

http://mfberlin.de/en/device/

A shame. But I got my Kraftzwerg ll one year ago

I recently got a kraftzwerg,
but I can't find the service manual,
so I don't know how to tune the VCO.
If anyone knows what parameter the internal variable resistor is,
can you tell me?

It's been a long time since I've seen the back of mine, but I think it's just four pots on the back of the panel. Just start twisting until you figure out which one is which? Not ideal I know.

Thank you for your reply. I'll open the front panel and play around with the four variable resistors.