i was just about to get a prodigy until i saw this on zzounds.
i’m considering getting it. just wanted to know if anyone has had a chance to play it.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MOOLITTLEPHAT
The Little P. isn’t available yet. It doesn’t ship till June. But there are sound samples up on the Moog Music website. I don’t think samples really give a very good impression of any particular synth though. In fact, unless it’s a really specific sample of a sound that only a specific synth makes, I can barely tell the difference between samples of different synths. I doubt if anyone could identify a particular synth in a blind listening of synths samples. Others might disagree…
That said, I’m guessing the LP will use a similar synth engine as the Voyager. The Voyager sounds about the same as a MiniMoog to me. Some people say there’s a difference- but I think that may have as much to to do with the interface of the Voyager and the way people percieve a sound as they play through different controllers, as it does anything else.
So, if the LP competes sound-wise with a MiniMoog for the expected price of $1000 (for the Performance Edition, which is supposed to follow the Tribute Edition), I’d say it’s a much better synth for the money then a Prodigy.
I’ve never owned a Prodigy, but I’ve played one in a music store, and I don’t agree with people who say it has the same sound as a MiniMoog. As much as I want to believe it does, it just doesn’t. It could have been the particular Prodigy I played, or maybe I didn’t explore it long enough, but what I heard sounded much closer to the sound of a Rogue. I have owned and played a Rogue and an MG-1. They are very fun synths. period.
The Rogue and Prodigy do have a round MiniMoogish type sound, but alot of synths do. They have a cheap feel, and a kind of brittleness about them. They don’t feel like a professional instrument to me. I believe the only reason they fetch the high prices is because they are collectors items with Moog logos.
I’m sure alot of people will disagree with what I’ve said about the Prodigy. Even so, I’d bet the LP is a much better instrument, and when it arrives and people play them side by side, I think it will be obvious.
I personally don’t like all the electronics on the LP and I would prefer it without an LCD screen, but it does have alot of useful features. It will likely have good Midi implementation, and if you use Midi, this makes it alot more functional than a Prodigy with a Midi/CV box. I would guess there will be Midi control of the Knobs giving you access to the Filter, Osc. Sync, etc. Also, Midi control of volume and possibly velocity(I’m guessing) will be a great asset.
Plus it has CV jacks, which most Prodigy’s don’t.
It is pretty cool to have an older collectable Moog, I’m susceptable to this impulse also; But the thing is, these little budget Moogs arrived long after Bob Moog left the company and were produced in the cheapest way possible to cash in on the Moog legacy (i.e. the high regard held for the MiniMoog and Moog Modular synthesizers).
Just one opinion, but I’ve owned and played alot of synths, not just Moogs, so I’m basing it on real experience.
thanks, that helps. i didn’t think they were “out” yet, but i assumed someone on here had opinions on it regardless. i too don’t like the idea of the LCD screen, -they don’t age well and look dated real quick.
my main reasoning for spending the extra cash on the LP is for the stable oscillators. i love my rogue but that 2nd oscillator just won’t stay put. hence why i’m looking for another synth.
do you happen to know the release date of the “performance” LP?
It says June on the web site. There’s no release date for the performance Edition yet, but it’s supposed to come soon after. I think I read that the initial run of Tribute Editions have already sold out.
I guess in todays keyboard market, most people who pay $1000 and up for a synth expect alot of high tech crap. I don’t get it though, I hate all those names for each patch and so on…
But, I have a feeling the sound will more than make up for any percieved short-commings. same goes for the Voyager. I was very sceptical until I actually played one. It such a great synth, it feels so solid. The Little Phatty looks to be the same quality.
I’ve never owned a Prodigy, but I’ve played one in a music store, and I don’t agree with people who say it has the same sound as a MiniMoog. As much as I want to believe it does, it just doesn’t
You are right.. The Prodigy was my first synth. They are awesome and have a dirty sound and feel all their own, but they ain’t no Model D.. They are more of a professional instrument than the MG1 and Rogue, but still not the quality of Model D, Voyager, Little Phatty..
Spec wise, I think the LP is closer to the Prodigy than any other Moog.. People say its a Source sans arp. and sequencer, but take those away and its really nothing like a Source anymore, except for the multi function knobs..
The LP looks EVEN BETTER in person ! Even better than the glamour shots of it. It feels sturdy as a tank (like it’s big bro The Voyager), the wheels and buttons are really comfortable, as they are a soft and kushy rubbery stuff..
The Prodigy is not very well manufactured, it has literally nothing but industrial hot glue holding the whole thing (except for the keyboard) in place. The shaft of the Pots are plastic, and alot of Prodigy’s I’ve seen, (including the one I sold for my Voyager) have at least one pot broken off. They also lose their cosmetic caps easily. Most prodigy’s I’ve seen also have cracked pitch wheels. Due to their age alot of them have really fallen apart. The LP would never do you like that..
Also a warranty was unheard of when looking for an affordable Moog synth til’ NOW !!!
the LP has the same exact analog oscillators and filter as the Voyager. Even the rotary encoders somehow route the actual control voltage, and so are not digitally affecting the sound source at all.
Prodigy was my first. For years I went to gigs on public transportation with the Prodigy in a pillow case and it never sustained any damage. Loved it but had to sell to cover university tuition bill.
I loved the Prodigy, but I would get the LP now. Velocity keyboard, MIDI, and the Voyager osc (continuous waveform) and filter are too good to pass up. Only reason I’m not getting the LP is I’m too Mooged up already.
i owned a rogue which was my first moog. when i bought it it was all smokey. some smoker must have had it in his smoking den or something.
i loved its sound though. it was a little bit cheapish on the higher notes and had a bit of drift sometimes.
what i loved about it were the basses it could make. they had this rubberbandy kind of sound to it, hard to describe. the filter sounded funny too, it had a certain toylike quality, but the rogue could sing in a way i like.
the look of the new phatty reminds me of the rogue and the prodigy. i m curoius what these new features will be that moog announced.
i wonder what they’ll come up with. maybe a ring modulation routing or something.
i am looking forward to testing a phatso first hand in the summer…
if it comes with a ring mod i’ll eat my hat!
It seems unlikely, since they’ll still want little phatty owners to get the MF-102 and the other foogers. These other features are probably along the lines of a couple of sub-woofers, some phat chrome spinnaz, and neon ground effects lighting. Maybe some hydraulic shocks, too. So that people know when you roll on to the stage.
A custom paint job will top it off!
A feature I thought might be cool would be assigning multiple parameters to one encoder.
Example, on the LP you press RES button you get RES, press Cutoff, you get Cutoff. But what if you press both and get both? Press both buttons, turn the knob and tweak both parameters.. Not sure who else might find this fun or useful, but it was just a thought I had.
That way you could have the res up the cutoff down, and tweek both. The RES would go down (if it couldn’t go up any more, like a gate that knows which way the parameter should go regardless of which way the encoder is turned…) and the Cutoff go up.. It could be close to a TS effect, without a TS of course…
- Nick
NIck, can you feel the detents on the encoder or is it a smooth rotation?
congratulations Moog. You reissued the Source in a different package. Bob Moog is turning over in his grave!
Ah! but the LP was Bob’s last project!
I don’t think soo man… Bob wanted to see this happen, and they made it happen.
Plus, it’s way closer to a Prodigy (spec wise) than a source… No arp or sequencer. Thats what made the source the source.. For me at least.. No membrane control panel.. What else???
The LP is the homage to Dr. Moog!!! 
His circuits… His mind, His heart, His soul to music.
It’s a Dr. Moog musical experience which many can afford!!