Least Obese Moog Synth

[George Nada]

I recently got a Minitaur. Great warm synth, but incredibly huge and devoured everything in the mix so it had to go back. So, I love the Moog sound but, as strange as it may seem, I need something less "fat". I'm thinking maybe the Slim Phatty? I probably should act soon on this one if I still want to get one new. I can't try one out so all I got are online demos and opinions here. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[mattyp]

Its not called slim because its less fat. You will most likely find the same with most moog synths. EQ is your friend here.

[ozfunghi]

I recently got a Minitaur. Great warm synth, but incredibly huge and devoured everything in the mix so it had to go back. So, I love the Moog sound but, as strange as it may seem, I need something less "fat". I'm thinking maybe the Slim Phatty? I probably should act soon on this one if I still want to get one new. I can't try one out so all I got are online demos and opinions here. Any thoughts? Thanks!

If it devoured everything in the mix, then maybe the mix was the problem? The Slim Phatty is basically the Little Phatty minus the keyboard (hence the name). I've got a Little Phatty, really like the sound, you can make it sound really fat and huge as well, but it probably is a bit more versatile than the Minitaur, from what i gather.

[George Nada]

I'm sure the mix was part of the problem, as I wasn't tweaking much with the EQ and mostly playing multple synths together live. But it wasn't bad or anything, the Minituar is just a huge sounding synth!

[stiiiiiiive]

I'll certainly sound like a pita but I think the mix -altough not bad- was the part to work on, as well as maybe the patch. Try a program with only one oscillator, for example. Or add a bit of the second one just to have that thickness impression, but not a huge sound.

I use a Little Phatty as (left hand) bass in a rock electro duo. If you want to hear how sound it can sound, tell me and I'll indicate you.

[ozfunghi]

Yeah, honestly, if i were you, i'd just try to work on mixing it in properly before spending money on a new synth and losing money on selling the Minitaur. And personally, if one instrument overpowers all others, then i don't see how you could say the mix wasn't bad. I mean, to me, that seems to be the definition of a bad mix. Maybe the same settings worked for other synths or instruments, but then you just have to adjust it. You can't replace a drum with a vocal and expect it to be good, just because it worked before with other instruments.

[_DemonDan_]

I recently got a Minitaur. Great warm synth, but incredibly huge and devoured everything in the mix so it had to go back. So, I love the Moog sound but, as strange as it may seem, I need something less "fat".

Hi George,

mattyp called it on the nose, as did all of the responses that followed him:

You will most likely find the same with most Moog synths. EQ is your friend here.

I recenly went on this very mission to find the right EQ for my Little Phatty, Sub Phatty, and Sub 37.

I had just spent serious private time with a System 55, got spoiled, and found myself longing for something that was, at least a little bit, like its Fixed Filter Bank.
(Spoiler Alert: There is no pedal EQ anything like it.)

But here are the two that I liked the best:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Perfect10EQ

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/10BandEQ

The Perfect 10 clearly had more accurate frequency bands. When hit with white noise (CP-251), with all sliders down and one up, it was a bit closer to the spirit of the Fixed Filter bank. And it certainly looks sexier with its golden LEDs.

But, the MXR is $130 cheaper, takes less space, and (this was a biggie) shows clipping at both the pre-EQ and post-EQ stages by blinking its corresponding red LEDs. This is important with instruments that can radically change amplitudes (I'm looking at you, FEEDBACK and MULTIDRIVE). And, when just playing, the differences between the two were just a little above subtle.

The key thing was that both made All My Moogs (interesting idea for a daytime soap opera?) sound like something other than Moogs. They made them much easier to fit into any mix; and they certainly made multitrack Moog recordings sound more interesting, and less inbred.

I honestly haven't made my mind up yet, but I'm pretty certain it'll be one of these two.

[lushr]

So pairing the sub 37 (sub phatty and I think. The Minotaur engine) with the little phatty stage 2 (slim phatty engine)

The newer sub phatty/Minotaur engine is much slimmer, I didn't get any phat sounds out of the Minotaur. Not compared to my phatty which has the detuned breadth, the bass end which the filter doesn't cut out... It's also "looser" since the vco's arent digitally tuned the way the sub 37s are.

If you want slimmer than the sub 37/sub phatty/Minotaur I'd go werkstatt.

[klfnk]

I had just spent serious private time with a System 55, got spoiled, and found myself longing for something that was, at least a little bit, like its Fixed Frequency Filter.
(Spoiler Alert: There is no pedal EQ anything like it.)

Hi Dan,

Ever since seeing your video with the system 55 and the filterbank i've been doing some research on the same thing, how to get a nice FFB. It sounds gorgeous.
Regarding the Moog FFB, i read somewhere that the pots have a click at the 0 position, allowing you to turn of the corresponding filter. Is that true and will the MXF3 also be passive in the 0 position?

Another thing, how does the Moogerfooger Murf compare to the FFB unit, with regards to filter sound and noise floor? The murf looks very promising, but it is not a cheap buy

[mmarsh100]

If you have a modular, there are several options for a fixed filter bank. SO many knobs!

Including this lovely beast: http://www.yusynth.net/Modular/EN/BANK/index.html

[_DemonDan_]

Regarding the Moog FFB, I read somewhere that the pots have a click at the 0 position, allowing you to turn off the corresponding filter.

I don't remember there being clicks on the knobs.

Watch my System 55 video (at 2:22)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3K_fZDvINs

Notice that, when all of the Fixed Filter Bank knobs are at zero, NOTHING comes out of it. When all of the knobs are up, EVERYTHING comes out of it. So... neutral is all knobs up.

Will the MXF3 be passive in the 0 position?

Yes, because unlike the Fixed Filter Bank, this is a Boost/Cut Graphic EQ. So, in this case, center is neutral.

Another thing, how does the Moogerfooger MuRF compare to the FFB unit, with regards to filter sound and noise floor?

The MuRF is unlike either the Fixed Filter Bank or a Graphic EQ. Watch as many MuRF videos as you can and you'll, only then, start to get all it can do.

[_DemonDan_]

If you have a modular, there are several options for a fixed filter bank. SO many knobs!
Including this lovely beast: http://www.yusynth.net/Modular/EN/BANK/index.html

OK, mmarsh, now you've made me want to build a DIY project; and I haven't built one in decades!

Do you think enough of us would be interested in building that we could form a little club to help each other out with finding sources for the parts, etc?

Do you have even a rough idea of what those parts would cost?

Or is there anyone reading this who could make them faster than we could and sell them to us?

Here's a variation that has each of the bands separated to individual outputs as well:

http://www.yusynth.net/Modular/Commun/B ... ienFFB.jpg

I want this so bad, I can taste it!

[mmarsh100]

Absolutely up for this, Dan! I was going to build one but Paul from MOTM never got the project done. I need one for my 5U modular.

As far as cost goes, the big ticket items will be the panel, pots and jacks, and the PCB. The other components are inexpensive Mouser/DigiKey things. I'll lookat the BOM and get an estimate, but we are probably looking at roughly $150.00 if you have the tools already.

[mmarsh100]

We're in luck: http://bridechamber.com/Yu_FFB.html he at least has the PCB which is great. All told, $140.00 if he has it in stock, then it's a matter of soldering and the dreaded panel wiring

Looks like a fun project! Haven't built any 5U in 10 years!

[DonutDude]

FWIW, synthesizers.com offers a fixed filter bank in 5u for $315.00.