Moog Music Forum

What are the differences between the slim phatty and the new oberheim sem? Other than the phatty is completely digitally controled and the sem isn't? I wonder why oberheim didn't make the sem reissue all analog with all digital control so COMPLETE presets could be saved?? It is a new era and the technology exists...and it's affordable. The slim phatty is testament to that.

Why would anyone buy a sem when the slim phatty is practically the same thing, yet the phatty is 1000X more convenient and cheaper? And cooler

sonically, its like the difference between a Marshall (phatty) and a Hiwatt (SEM).

i have a little phatty stage II, a minimoog voyager, a 2 Oberheim SEMs (1 patch and 1 midi).

the phatty has its own lovely, dirty, gritty sound. the SEMs are more hi-fi to me if that makes any sense.

I have both also (a Phatty Tribute and a Midi based SEM). If you are after the SEM sound, there is no substitute, the filter just kicks you in the balls somehow; hard to describe. It's got a High pass and knotch with Bandpass switch.

The envelopes on the SEM are primitive or better put, the are EXACTLY as the original years and years ago. No fancy features such that the Phatty has but the Midi module actually beats Phatty in two dimensions. 1. It has a Midi to CV converter onboard that can be used [obviously] to control the SEM and also for outboard CV gear such as a Freqbox. And 2. It has a mapping facility that will map a 2nd Midi CC Source to CV. It also has PERFECT pitch tracking, and portamento that maps/translates to CV out (which I cannot say for Phatty with CV out).

To be clear, the CV-Out option is for Little Phatty, not Slim, but I'm rather disappointed that pitch bends and glide do NOT make their way to the Pitch CV out.

The reason that Tom didn't introduce Presets and all sorts of complexity is that ... well, he is a) Tom and b) 75 years old; he's the old school old school guy working out of his kitchen. The Tom Oberheim version of the SEM also is a straight drop in to replace modules in a 4 voice or a 2 voice that you may have kicking around from the old days.

Phatty, on the other hand has Arpeggiator, S+H, Noise, ability to do Poly (which Tom is also adding via So4V) and a full slate of CC mappings.

Hard to choose, you may end up with both like many of us. If you are just starting out with Analog, get the Slim; from a bang for buck perspective, it's 'more' in my opinion.

White's assessment is spot on. I wish my sem could be poly chained, but oh well. Play around with note priority settings and you can do it.

Still, the sonic difference is in the filter and the near perfect tuning and stability of the sem. Tom told me in an email that the sem needs only a moment to warm up and ensure stable oscillators. Ask that of a slim! Still, it has its place in my setup with other analogs... minimoog, LP tribute, slim, and sem.

Sem is great... give it a shot.

Slightly OT. Do you guys with the Phatty and the SEM have any links to your tunes? I recently got a Phatty Solar and am going to be getting an SEM (and likely a Mopho) too. Back in the day I had a Minimoog and an SEM that some guy had modded to work together better. Sold them ridiculously cheap. Now I'm trying to get myself back in the ballpark of some of my old gear. Anyways, the SEM clips I hear online totally take me back. Would love to hear some of what you guys are doing with it and a Phatty.

Wzup Gruv,

Sure, here's a track I composed a while back using only the SEM and one of Cubase's reverbs. It was all improvised, and the first time I used it.

http://soundcloud.com/cam-suarez-bitar/sem-0270

I hope that helps.

--Spitfire.

p.s, I will be finishing up a track within a week or so in which I use my LP/SP/SEM setup. If I can remember, I'll post it here so you can listen to how such a setup would sound. That track is much more melody-driven than the one above, since it (the SEM track) is more of an ambient improvisation.

edit: I found a track I wrote a while back with the LP/SP/SEM working together. The walking bassline was played by the Nord Lead 3, but the synth chords you hear (ah yes, chords on a Moog) were played by a Moog and Oberheim to play triads. Check this link:

http://soundcloud.com/cam-suarez-bitar/prologue

Very cool stuff Spitfire. Thanks for sharing. You've got me wanting an SEM even more now. Do you have any moogerfoogers you've been using with your rig as well. Saw a vid somewhere of someone using a CP-251 with the SEM. Was planning on getting it and the freqbox.

I'm selling a lightly used Midi SEM in perfect condition ($800 shipped), Oberheim Matrix 6r (6 voice lush strings and pads $450 shipped), and other gear to make room and generate cash for the upcoming So4v (Ob 4 voice). Contact me with a PM if interested.

Wzup gruv,

No, I don't have any moogerfoogers. The only fx I use on the sem are either built in cubase fx or, the one that's always processing a combined analog signal: the eventide space. It is simply awesome.

Bear in mind that the sem doesn't have patch memories, but on the MIDI version you can save the panel settings into the only memory it has. Tom is easy to reach by email and a very nice guy. Dealing with him is the direct opposite of companies like novation or some other large company using automated answering services. I bought it for its sound and historical significance.

The only advice I can offer is to avoid redundancy in your studio if you are not a collector to some degree. Such an approach can save you lots of money and eBay visits in the future. After all, all of this musical gear that is out there and actually of high quality will be expensive.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, just ask.

the SEMs are more hi-fi ..it's really great. I recommend it.