My Little Phatty Review

thewaag · Post by **thewaag** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:06 pm

If anyone is interested, here is my review of the Moog Little Phatty Tribute Edition.

Please excuse me if I gush....

My new Little Phatty Tribute Edition (#245) just blew into town, and I got to spend my first evening with the new LP. The only thing that was missing from that first encounter is the cigarette afterward and the LP cooking me breakfast the next morning. It was that great.

In the Forward of the LP’s users manual, Moog President Mike Adams states the following:

“We feel that we have created a product that not only looks great but sounds great and is intuitively easy to use”. Score!!

“The LP user interface was designed to have you up and running in a matter of minutes”. Yes indeedy!!

“(Bob’s) aspiration was for a less expensive Moog synth that more people could afford to own”. Not only is it a less expensive Moog synth, but it is a GREAT less expensive synth, and the anticipated release of the LP Stage Edition will make owning a Little Phatty even less costly.

If these were Moog’s goals when they designed the Little Phatty, they hit a home run with the end product. Moog definitely has a hit on their hands with the LP. Actually, it is more than a home run for the folks at Moog Music—it is also a hat trick, a shut out, a long return for a touchdown, hitting for the cycle, a hole-in-one…. You get the idea.

What a great little synth. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at; it just reeks of quality. The keyboard feels great—very similar to that of the LP’s grandfather, the Minimoog. It has a much nicer touch than most of the RolaKorgaha synths in my home studio. And if you think the LP looks great just sitting there, just wait until you turn it on. The panel comes alive with flashing lights in cycling patterns, reminiscent of the old Cylon warriors on Battlestar Galactica. Just watching it boot up is an analog rush.

The sound of the LP is truly in keeping with its Moog Heritage. You can hear the inherent “Mooginess” in every one of the preset patches. The gut wrenching bass and screaming lead tones that made the “Moog Sound” famous is there with the LP. In a side-to-side comparison with my venerable Model D, I was able to come close to most of the Model D sounds with the Little Phatty. When comparing the two on my favorite Minimoog patch, Rick Wakeman’s lead sound from Journey to the Center of the Earth, the LP got very close to the vintage Minimoog. Closer comparison showed that the LP is missing that silky high-end shimmer that the Model D is so legendary for. To be fair, however, the Voyager is missing that tone as well (and for twice the cost of the LP Tribute Edition and three times the cost of the soon to be released Stage Edition). That sound is the property of the Model D alone, but the Little Phatty sure does a good job of coming close. And, to be honest, the LP is capable of doing much more than the Minimoog Model D. ADSR envelope generators instead of ADS, more modulation capabilities (pulse wave modulation—Yay!), overdrive, octave up/down buttons, PRESETS (!), MIDI implementation, and oscillator sync are some of the features found on the LP that are absent on the Model D. True, the LP is missing the Model D’s noise and the Voyager’s sample and hold, which I feel are important omissions, but for another $369.00 you can add the CP-251 Moogerfooger and have it all. I am sure that this was taken into consideration when the LP was in the design stages.

Is this a complete love affair with my new LP? Well, pretty much. There is not much to dislike about this little beauty. I must admit that I miss the one knob per function of the Model D and Voyager, but the set-up of the LP is pretty well thought out (kind of amazing actually), and it is certainly a lot easier to work with than my old Moog Source. As mentioned before, I would have liked to have seen a noise source and a sample and hold circuit. If the LP had these, I feel for sure that it would be destined to be a classic. But as it stands now, it is still probably destined to be a classic anyway. And while I wish that I could exactly duplicate those Wakeman leads on my LP, it still comes close. Let’s not hate the LP for not being an exact duplicate of the Model D or Voyager. Let’s let the Little Phatty be what it is (at ½ to 1/3 of the cost of the Minimoogs) and watch it become a classic in its own right.

When the Little Phatty Stage Edition is released (at a rumored street price under $1,000), those babies will be flying off the shelf. Sure, there are other synths out there for that price that have more features (MEK and Nordlead 2 come to mind), but they don’t have that coveted Moog Sound and they aren’t nearly as intuitive to work with. If you have been looking to add those big, fat (these days I guess I should say phatt) Moog sounds to your tonal palate, the crew at Moog has made this possible at a great price. Frankly, I am glad that I paid the extra money for the Tribute Edition. The wood end panels scream Moog, and add to the tremendous looks of this beautiful synthesizer.

If you are one of those people who scans eBay and Craig’s List in search of old Prodigys and Rogues, I would suggest that you run (don’t walk) to your nearest Moog dealer and put some money down on a Little Phatty. It is brand new, under warranty, just a kick in the pants to play, and its looks are stunning.

Congrats to Moog Music for coming up with this fantastic new synthesizer. Bob, with the help of your crew at Moog Music, you did it again!

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 7:55 am

I concur with everything you said. Excellent!

For those interested in reading more about the LP, the October editions of Keyboard Magazine and the Future Music (UK edition) feature reviews of the LP. Keyboard gave it a 'Keybuy' award, and both magzines cited the LP's authentic Moog sound, intuitive controls, great looks, ease of use and low cost as reasons to own one.

- G

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:46 pm

No question, the LP is a fantastic synth, seems wrong to say "little"

, there is a lot of power under the hood. Quickly playing mine last night with the Voyager and Model D was a joy, fits in just as I thought it would if not better. I'm looking forward to doing more side by side by side comparisons, but more importantly looking forward to just playing with it.

I also think it's a home run hit right out the park, into the football stadium next door for a touch down, then transferred to.....All of the team at Moog did a fantastic job and should be very proud.

Enjoy
Brian