Sub Phatty - My user experience

[IgorCristo]

wacopaco
Uneven keybed from factory?? Faulty pots within weeks??
It seems like a quality control issue to me. I know that this is happening to a minority of users (the ones that complaint), but still a quality issue to me, mainly the uneven keybed.
I still like mine quite much, and still with it, but I really need to point these things for new potential users.

[h4ndcrafted]

My experience is that it sounds fantastic. The limited amount of modulation is hard to deal with, things get boring fast.

It does certain sound amazing and you can get some really nice analogue donks with the bass, nice for house stabs etc.

The thing that frustrates me most is it is just too controlled , I like a bit of drift and that makes an analogue feel alive, this feels just too perfect, I know I know progress.

But having the Sub makes me long for a Moog Rouge or something, the Sub is a little too well behaved.

A bit soulless .

Unfortunately I have had quality issues too and the filter encoder has died after 3 months of use, this could be isolated to a batch of dodgy encoders though ? But I am not the only one.

[Mmm...Martin]

Ok, so this is an old thread but I just got my Sub Phatty and I feel the need to fend it's corner here. In the past I've owned 3 Minimoogs, the Source, a Micromoog, a Rougue and a Little Phatty. I love the sound of the Mini and (to me) that is THE Moog sound. Had to sell my last Mini in 2009 and have had a hole in my heart ever since. I tried to mend it with a Little Phatty but that didn't help at all. I found the whole LP experience totally underwhelming to be honest. Probably not the most popular view on here, but that's how I felt. The sound was just too polite and sterile and I found the modulation parameters limited to 'safe' ranges, keeping it well clear off any experimental territories. Certainly not a replacement for a Mini. The Sub is a completely different story though and after two days of tweaking I'm in love! I've successfully replicated most of my favourite Mini sounds (including the superfast lfo modulation of the filter that some tend to refer to as FM). With the editor it's an absolute doddle to create subtle detuning of the oscillators for an organic/earthy experience or keeping it super tight with the oscillator gate reset function for a more modern vibe (something none of my Minis could ever do!). After first having watched ALL of the reviews on ALL of the internet ("This is what the saw wave sounds like and this is how the filter sounds when swept...") I'm just blown away by how versatile this little bugger really is! On top of that the user interface is an absolute dream (well, at least when paired with the editor) and the way you're allowed to configure the synth to fit a certain playing style is pure beauty. Basically there's sooo much more to the Sub than the sum of it's components and I'm extremely pleased to say that my lust for a Mini is pretty much all but gone. This thing sounds and feels like a proper Moog, something I couldn't say about the LP unfortunately...

[stiiiiiiive]

Hey Martin!!

Welcome to the forum, glad you're happy with your Sub

[ozfunghi]

I've been a Little Phatty daddy for almost three years now. I told this story several times, but I remember when it came out, I said to myself "What? Four knobs?... Come on Moog, serirously?...". A few years later I had a casual oportunity to play one in a shop and I was amazed how funny it was despite the light controls. A few months later I took an oportunity at a good price.
Four knobs, yup. But the principle is quite simple: press the button of the parameter you want to edit, and here you go. LED collars and different knob mode choices seal the deal to me as I don't have to bother with values being not matching the knob positions when changing a preset.

The biggest mistake they made (imho) with the 4 knob / led ring interface is, not having the knobs rotate infinitely (without a stop). Say you turn a knob all the way to the left (let's say you want to change oscilator 1 to triangle wave), then you want to change the knob function to alter a second function (let's say you want to turn the volume of oscilator 2 down), you first have to turn the knob to the right (because it already is as far left as it can go) in order to be able to turn it down again. So you'll first have to increase the volume of OSC2, before you can decrease it. Had they just used knobs that could turn infinitely, you would not have this problem. A second (less annoying for me) issue, is that you can't do both those actions at the same time (because both functions use the same button).

Other than that, i don't share the negativity regarding the LP sound others here have voiced. But i'm sure it's personal taste, as i've read more people saying the Sub/37 sound to be anemic compared to the LP.

[stiiiiiiive]

I have a Clavia G2 too and the combination infinite encoders + LED collars are indeed great... but... they do not feel as "natural" as potentiometers. The "track" knob mode of the LP is alright for me, but I totally get your first point.

As far as the second one, did you try the pot mapping? Not a perfect (read the simplest) solution but a solution still.

[Mmm...Martin]

Hey Martin!!

Welcome to the forum, glad you're happy with your Sub

Cheers dude!

[Meneer Vincent]

I am also very happy with my SubPhatty and the endless possibilities you get with creating sound. The only thing I don't like is the hardware keyboard. It's to light and it makes to much noise when pressing the key's.
I already had a replacement but after a while it start making noise again.
If I could replace it with a better solid one I wouldn't hesitate.
For the rest it's TOP.

[lushr]

It's awesome reading what people like best about a particular synth, you get this all over the Internet, but at moog you'd expect everyone to stick to the party line, but the truth is we all have our preferences. I love that.

I'm sure if we were all in the same room together we'd be able to demonstrate the quirks we like or don't, wouldn't that be awesome!? To actually talk and compare with other moog owners?

But for me it highlights that there is no perfect synth, that there's always something to strive for over the horizon. This is the stuff that drives engineers I'm sure!

I hope moog find new things to dream up that fulfil our wildest feverish wishes.

[mmarsh100]

Strat or Tele? SG or Les Paul?

For me, it's not an either/or thing - each instrument has its charm and pain. And each has a place in music. I like them all, but I do have favorites. It's the same with any instrument (of quality).

I guess that's kind of stating the obvious

[magikroom]

I like mine a lot, sounds nice and beefy, but for the life of me I can't get the Editor to work well, without it hanging notes etc. Mine was bought used so have not been able to register it, so only have version 1.0.3 that was sent to me, has there been a new version since?

[GregVDS]

Well,

regarding that knob position vs setting discrepancy, I was thinking lately that one amazing stuff would be to use motorized potentiometers. Maybe not the ALPS ones, but some less high end would do.

So when you would change from one preset to another, all your knobs would rotate from their current position to the ones of the preset. Wouldn't that be purely amazing? Now, motorized pots are a tad less smooth, they are more resistant to quick movements. Also, I would not think they would be able to follow modulation, even not quick or fm modulation. In that case, they would simply point at the medium setting around which the value is modulated...

More generally, this kind of motorized potentiometer could be used in true fully analog circuits (where the pot is directly wired to the analog board, not sensed by a software layer that after that recreates CV to pilot audio board) if stereo ones are used. One bank (let's say left) would be used to 'sense' the potentiometer position, the other one used for its real role in the circuit. Preset would contain the position of the pot, reproducing with the motors until the recorded resistivity is achieved.

But to motorize all the knobs of a sub37 with stereo ALPS blue velvet would be quite expensive to produce, and amazingly expensive to buy . Anyway, hint at Moog, as they do not seem too afraid to produce high price tag synths .

All the best,

Greg