As I posted in previous Topic , I’m after my first HW synth and Sub/Slim Phatty on my top list .
I called to order the SubPhatty but they run out of stock - will have it only in about 2-3 month .
Slim and Sub have different sound , mostly because Sub have extra sonic options .
Do you think it will be bad decision to buy now the slim and get the Sub later ? ( Probably more bugfree future unit/maybe rack version )
I mean sounds wise , do you think when I’ll get the Sub I just wont use the Slim anymore or they have really different sound and I will be able to exploit both ?
As you said they sound different, but they are also quite different in terms of workflow.
Workflow for the Slim involves a fair amount of menu diving, and its plugin/standalone software is not the greatest. It is excellent at processing sound due to the overdrive. The overdrive is so useful Moog could probably sell that circuit as a standalone MoogerFooger.
Workflow for the Sub is fast once you learn the alternate knob and button functions…zero menu diving. The plugin and standalone support appears to be in the last stages of testing, but as you can probably see from forum posts it is a superior sound editor and librarian then what is offered for the Slim. I do not find the Sub MultiDrive to be quite as useful as the Slim Overdrive for sound processing because it is a bit cold and boxy sounding.
Either is a solid option and they are distinct enough to warrant having both in a studio. I traded my Slim in for a Sub because of the better workflow and more flexible sonic palette. The Sub maybe a functional replacement but it does not have the instant fuzzy warmth which oozes from the Slim.
Whichever you get, you may want also consider a Minitaur. The thing is a beast and complements the others in the lower registers.
I have the Little and the Sub… to me, they’re different beasts with the moogy sound. Really nice compliment to each other… I can see myself buying some Slim (3 to be exact) to polychain to my Little Phatty.
Didn’t compare both in video yet, but I really hear the difference between them. The Sub for instance is more agressive and sound modern… the Little on the other hand is capable of very soft and warm sounds, with nicer filter.
I don’t know, but if you like the Moog sound, I’m sure you’ll be happy enough to buy another, just like me.
Short answer: 1) if you buy a Slim, buy it on eBay and save hundreds. 2)order your Sub Phatty from Sweetwater. They have them in stock and they have absoluty wonderful customer service. 3) if you own both, youll use and love both. The slim is just as flexable as the Sub, just in different ways.
the long aswer: A little bit of info to preface my opinion. I bought my first synth at age 17 in 1997. It was the then new Yamaha An1x. I then purchased a Nord lead and have had/have dozens of hardware synths since then. I didn’t buy a nice analog until I bought my first Moog, which is a Sub Phatty. I’ve had a few old Korgs that were analog but… Anyways. I also have tons and tons of awesome softsynths. From all of the NI stuff, Uhe, Fabfilter, Tronsonic, TAL… many, many more. As much as I love my soft synths, let me tell you; once you experience your first physical synth, no matter how many cool soft synths you have, you’ll love having a real world instrument. And least I would think you will. Growing up experiencing firsthand, the progression and advances of VST synths, I still absolutely love a ‘real one’. And when it comes to a Moog, I’m late to the party but this is the best sounding synth I’ve owned; and like I said I’ve owned many. Yes, the spec sheet is not like that of a Virus TI, but a Virus TI doesn’t sound like a Moog.
NOW, on to my opinion: being an owner of both a Sub Phatty and a Slim Phatty… It’s easy to look at the spec sheets and say ‘ok these both have basically the same exact features with a few differences.’ But, it is more than that. I watched plenty of videos and listened to comparisons on soundcloud, I went in and played both at a local shop… But it wasn’t until I had both of them alone with me in the studio that I really grasped the differences. They absolutely compliment eachother, and like many will say; they have their own sound. I’m so glad I have them both. If I wasn’t spending so much $ adding other stuff to gear up for a new project, I’d add a second and third Slim. I’d even add a minitaur. And eventually I will add more Moog synths and more Foogers.
No matter the order you buy them in, you’ll enjoy them both and I can’t imagine thinking, ‘now that I have this one, I don’t really need that one.’.
The Sub does have excellent bass, but there is something very warm round and punchy to Minitaur bass that is very very appealing. Also the Minitaur simplicity its part of what makes it so great for rapidly dialing in and tweaking a sound and it has a sweet standalone editor for saving patches.
Good luck trying out the Slim vs Sub, in the end thats what it comes down to, you really need to hear them in person to appreciate their value.
Monophonically, sure -
the Sub Phatty is a MIDI controller, so it could be used to send MIDI keyboard (note, pitch, mod wheel) messages to the Slim Phatty.
However, I don’t think the Sub Phatty currently supports poly-chain control like you can get with combinations of the Little Phatty, Slim Phatty and Voyager, so you wouldn’t have a true polyphonic setup …
I got the Sub when it first came out. I use it for a live band, we play prog-rock, more or less. It elbows its way into our rather busy sound, which I credit to the many different flavors of overdrive and the particular howl the resonant filter offers. Pair with a thickening delay, and it’s just right. I jumped on it when it came out because I was playing a vintage Moog and wanted the presets. Now that I have them and the expression pedal, I seldom touch the knobs. Which brings me to my two gripes - you really can’t tell where the knobs are set by looking at it. As long as all of your knobs are centered more or less, turning them this way or that gives even results. But it you’re at the end of the rotation range, you’ve got a situation. My second gripe is that there are many many useful settings that are ‘under the hood’ but no real way to see them while you’re playing. In the studio, noodling around, no one looking, you can change them and listen for the difference. But live, people watching, band banging away, no way. As it happens, I use three patches so I’ve come to know all of their settings and developed some habits.
Then I bought a Slim. I bought it for a different project. I wanted something more portable, didn’t need keys, and I was a little frustrated with not being able to tell what was set to what. The Slim doesn’t have as many routing and envelope features as the Sub, which is OK for my purposes. What it does have is a little display. Which is why I’m bothering to write this. I’ve seen more than a few disparaging references to the ‘menu diving’ that is necessary on the Slim and Little. While this is true, the settings are all listed and the values visible. Nothing to memorize, nothing to look up on a chart. Plus, all of the values that show up on the knobs, show up on the knobs. It’s made live tweaking a little easier. On the downside, I find the knobs a little ‘touchy’. A little does a lot. In terms of sound, I find the oscillators less versatile with less of the overdrive offered in the Sub. I’ve always found the wave shapes vague, and the sub from the Sub will give you a square wave every time. For my purposes, however, that’s not a problem since my needs are very straight-forward -I need to shake the paint off the walls. Done.
EDIT- Last BIG difference is that you must let the Slim warm up where you do not have to let the Sub warm up. If you’re setting up after the last band gets off, that can be a big deal if there’s nowhere else to plug in to warm up. /EDIT
I fiddled around with chaining the two together. You have to get fancy with the MIDI routing options or in my case I used an external keyboard because I wanted the Slim in front. When you turn the knobs on the Slim, the settings on the Sub ‘jump’ to where you set them. This is very cool because the lights on the Slim tell you what you’ve set. As for sound, playing them over top highlights the difference. The Slim comes off rounder and wider where the Sub felt like the tip of the spear. It is an enormous sound. Then if you want to control the tones separately, you can use the MIDI signal filtering to block the knob twists.
-CCQ-
There is, but I was in a hurry. The MIDI routing is really flexible and kinda great on both. There’s a local control on/off setting which would probably have let me loop the MIDI data in the way I wanted but it was a temporary thing.
I just recently got a Sub. I am really a guitar player and just getting into the synth world. That being said, I have my eye on a Minitaur to go with the Sub. I think it will add much more to my sound than a Slim. The Slim is awesome and does a ton, but layering the Minitaur with the Sub seems to give me much more when I have played with them.
I never liked the Slim. Sold it after a few weeks. Very unstable tuning (considering how it was in my studio with a good AC) and took forever to warm up. It is the only Moog I have ever disliked… I thought it couldn’t be possible to dislike a Moog!
Never tried the Sub, but it’s got to be better than the Slim.
I’m about to get a Sub Phatty and I’d like to sync it with my Slim Phatty for some 4 osc. monophonic delights…
I’d like to be able to use the Sub keyboard as a master keyboard sending MIDI note to the Slim Phatty then going back to the Sub as a final stage. By doing so I could make profit of the LP’s arpeggiator and alternate scale tuning, without having to use an external MIDI keyboard…
Then, for maximum sound flexibility, what patching/setup do you suggest me ?
I also have a Moogerfooger MF-104M and a MP-201 Multi-Pedal that might help…
Should I consider a CP-251 in the synching process ?
wish me luck 