I fell in love with the Moog Prodigy sound years ago. I’ve wanted to buy a Moog for ages and I’ve finally gotten to the point that I can afford one. I love the Moog sounds from bands like The Anniversary, The Hippos, Depeche Mode, The Get Up Kids, BMSR, etc. I really want to be able to reproduce these super WARM Moog sounds with my own keyboard.
I tried a Little Phatty Stage II recently and I could NOT find that sound. I assume you guys know the sound I’m talking about - it is so WARM that it just makes you feel good inside. I don’t know if I just needed to mess with the dials and find the sound myself (and create a preset) - because I was mainly messing with the presets on there. I was changing the dials a bit to change the sound but not too much.
My question is - is that warm Prodigy sound possible to create on a Little Phatty? Or if not, is it possible to recreate on any of the new Moog offerings?
uh oh! another old vs new thread! start your engines! lemme go ahead and tell you, sadly, no it’s not possible…BUT, then again, yes, of course it’s possible, and can even be improved upon! haha-
seriously though, from my perspective, I say yes- and I promise I did own and use a Prodigy that I sold, then eventually bought a LP - you just have to learn how to make the LP sound the way you want- don’t get confused by preset sounds when you’re auditioning one- for that Prodigy sync tone I always made Osc 2 a square and only up one octave from Osc 1- It’s easier for me to get the Prodigy goo tone coaxed out of my Voyager, but once again, you have to learn how to work the new synths first- there’s no magic vintage Moog switch… but the new Moogs are plenty warm, almost to a fault with the Voyager!
but then again, why not just buy a Prodigy? they do sound amazing and if you’re new to subtractive synthesis, they’re very very easy to use- when you realize all the mod, etc. options you’re missing, then you can sell it- and trust me, the old ones definitely hold and build upon their value…
If you want a Prodigy, then, as Filtered said, buy yourself your old dream.
There are always some on eBay.
I would really like a Micro Moog, for the same reason as you… But there seem to be less of those around.
I love my Micro, but theres a vintage synth tax when you own one.
I know the character you refer to. An AB comparison of a Voyager’s single Osc vs the Micro, in my opinion, the Micro has a timbre that is superior. But if you think about a rain storm the Micro begins to drift. It would be good to have the bushings replaced. Some of the switches will detune the oscs. If you know how to correct these issues and can perform the work, then that makes vintage units wonderful to own, but if you can’t then you pay the tax.
Id pay the tax for a Model D or System 15 or even a MultiMoog.
Even if you get a Prodigy it might not sound exactly like the one you remember but odds are it will sound closer to what you want than something else (no big surprise).
If you can try a Little Phatty then maybe you should. Maybe it won’t sound good enough, maybe it will sound better than the Prodigy.
