Question about Phatty and Avalon U5

The Moog Forum Little Phatty & Slim Phatty Forum
1

Hi everyone. I have a Phatty SE since about 3 years (one of the 1st run). I really love this synth and is a perfect companion to my VST and Daw.

After Phatty (my 1st hardware synth) i buy a Virus Ti snow and about a month ago an Elektron Machine Drum SPS1 MKI.

I record all my hardware with a Focusrite Saffire Pro 10. I really love the warm, analog, fat sound that cames from the Phatty and i think the focusrite saffire pre amp are working good.

So my question is:

  1. I would sell the saffire pro 10 (is a model that now is discontinued) and get a Motu Ultra Lite MK3 (to use with volta to control my two Moogerfoogers MF 101 and 102)

  2. Or keep the saffire and buy an Avalon U5.

What would you do?.

Are MOTU preamp better than saffire?. Are A/D D/A convertors in the Saffire better than the ones in MOTU ultra lite?.

Anyone is using Avalon U5 as a Direct Box (or same kind of preamp) with the phatty?. I read in elektron forum that same guys are using Avalon U5 with Machinedrum and fall in love. In theory Avalon U5 are great with the lows and sublows frequencies. So, any experience?.

Worth to buy an Avalon U5 to use with Phatty and Machinedrum?.

Thankz a lot for our answers and sorry for my bad english. I´m from a spanish country, Argentina.

Cheers.

2

I have a U5 but I’ve never actually put my LP through it. I’ll try it and get back to you.

3

HB3 thankz a lot for your time. I wait for your answer.

4

Wow, they weren’t kidding. It sounds really good. Switching back and forth between going direct into the board (w/ phantom power) and into the U5, the U5 definitely sounds better. Keep in mind I never use the tone knob – always straight. So, yes, while it sounds good, I wonder if there might be a cheaper option.

5

Thankz. In wich frequencies you feel more the power of U5? Sublows? Lows? Middle? High?.

Does de U5 a great job with the lower frequencies?.

6

yes, “punchier, more defined bass,” as they say.

7

Woow! Thankz. Only as a curiosity, wich soundcard do you use?

8

I am using a very old, Layla 24.

I recorded my album “HB3 Plays the Piccolo Bass,” a collection of piccolo bass instrumentals, with the U5. I don’t know if it’ll be helpful to listen to, but it does have a very full low end, and I think the U5 had a lot to do with it.

www.youtube.com/thehb3channel

I used it on some of the stuff on “The Veldt” as well, but not on everything, and there’s so much instrumentation, it might be hard to tell. I did use it on the distorted piccolo on the track “Green Fire in the Forest,” though.

9

Thank you so much for all your answer. I listen your youtube channel. I really like your music and sound excelent.

10

Hey, thanks for the tip about the LP and U5.

11

Any opinion more?

12

I suspect your mileage will vary depending on what kind of music you’re doing. If it’s strictly electronic music, you’ll probably be able to tell the difference.

I’m recording some songs with the Taurus patches Amos wrote for the LP; I did one track w/o the U5, and just did another one with it. With all the distorted guitar on both tracks, though, you can’t really tell the difference. Electronic music w/ the Machinedrum, though…I bet that’d sound good.

13

Thankz again HB3. Yep! I´m making minimal/trippy with the Machinedrum. I´m thinking very carefully about buying the U5 because in my country (Argentina) the U5 is about 1000 dollars each. And here 1000 dollars is a lot of money (abour 4000 of our money).

14

That’s a tough call. I’d probably want to try one on a returnable basis. Is it not possible for you to do that?

15

Argentina is a really strange country. Moog has excelent prices here, but in another things the prices are really high. Avalon U5 is only a “pre order” buy. You pay and 3 or 4 weeks later the product arrives. So you can´t listen to it and the price is near the double that the price in USA.

16

Hmm…I dunno, man. I don’t want to make your decision for you. It sounds good, but I don’t know if I’d pay double for it. In truth, I loved my phatty and the sounds I get with it before I tried it through the U5.

17

is there any way that you could get someone to buy one for you?

if so I would go for it, it’s worth $700, but not any more than $1500.

I love my U5, I use it with my bass guitar, LP, and SM58

18

I use my LP Stage 2 often with an Avalon U5. In fact I use my U5 almost daily. In my opinion it is one of the best sounding, clear, detailed and mostly transparent DI’s made. There is a reason people rave about it so highly. I’ve been an Audio Engineer and Sound Designer for 15 years now and it is my go-to DI box for synths, keyboards and bass guitars. Seriously the Avalon-Moog combo is just incredible.

My advice, is, by all means if you can afford an Avalon U5 to pair up with your Moog you will be thrilled. But make sure your sound card, mixer, & monitors are all up to the same quality of the Avalon or you won’t experience as much a difference.

Remember your whole signal chain is a chain and quality starts at the source and can be diminished at each link. But quality can’t be increased from stage to stage, once signal quality is lost it’s gone. So a good DI is an important link as it gets your keyboard signal into your mixer or audio interface in as high a quality manner as possible but aif you monitor through garbage speakers you wont be able to discern much of a difference. The difference will exist, but your monitors will prevent it from being transferred to you.

Also, paying $1k or more for any 1 channel DI is a pretty big pill to swallow. I’d consider getting a used one or look into other purchase options before paying that even with how much I"m impressed by the Avalon.