Just joined this board.
I’d like to add the Moog(ish) sound to my setup.
I currently have a Waldorf Pulse which sounds great but the programming interface is a bit of a pain (I’m not keen on editors).
I don’t have much space for another keyboard or table top so would prefer rack. I am wondering if I should replace my Pulse with a Studio Electronics SE-1(x) or Slim Phatty (in the absence of a Sub 37 rack!) although I’m not sure the latter is a massive improvement over the Pulse interface.
The SE-1X looks the part but there aren’t many demos around and is about twice the price of a Slim Phatty. Is it worth it?
Any other contenders I should consider?
I do not know anything about the SE-1X soundwise, I just saw on pictures that it had 3 LFO and 4 envelope generators as well as 3 oscillators with selectable waveforms (vs. 1 LFO, 2 EGs, 2 oscillators with continuously variable waveforms for the Phatty). But you must have figured that out yourself
On the other hand, I can tell a little story about the Little/Slim Phatty interface.
Back in 2006, I was merely into analogue synths but had a foot in the synthesis already. I had heard about the Voyager and I remember, when the Little Phatty was announced, I though “Guys, are you serious? 4 knobs?? Really ???”.
Three years alter, I stumbled onto a Little Phatty in a shop. It had headphones plugged in and was on, it begged for being played. I tried it. Something happened: it was fun (in addition to sounding good).
I bought one few months later and I’m still using it.
The 4 knobs interface seems constraining but I feel it is not. Actually, you are at most at one click from any parameter. Easier and handier than it seems.
Plus the pot-mapping allows controlling any parameter with any knob -read: you can for example control the cut-off frequency and resonance of the filter at the same time.
Plus (again!) Ok- you have a limited view over the parameters value as you can see 4 of them at any time… but with the LED collars, what you see is what it sounds like. Always. I haven’t found any better compromise between knobby interface and patch-memory than that.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yes it looks like the implementation is quite clever on the Slim Phatty.
I remember trying the keyboard version a long time ago and felt the knobs were plasticky and quite wobbly. Is that the case on the Slim Phatty?
