5 Voice Polychained Slim Phatty Video Is HERE!

[EricK]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfPMvBxwdbg

[EMwhite]

Berry berry nice. A few (a bunch of) questions come to mind.

If you have the same patch on all units and you turn up the mod wheel (with an LFO sending tri wave to filter), who is to say that all of the LFO's will be in sync (unless they are indeed sync'ed to Midi) and even if they are, do they actually "start" at the same time (rise and fall in unison) or are they just running at the same rate?

Another approach would be to turn off the filter and amp ENVs on all of the 2..n Slim Phattys with SUS 100% then take the audio out (which is pure OSC) and back into the master thus playing the same ENVs and filter. LFO would therefore do the right thing.

But I suppose having all independent ENVs lets each subsequent note ride it's own envelope from Note on (as opposed to re-trigger or legato). Sort of the way that the old Matrix 6 works.

Dumb question here but is there an extension to OS 3.x that allows a 'master' Phatty to send it's LFO over 14 bit Midi and all Slim Phattys to receive the CC and allow binding of Filter or Wave to incoming 14 bit value?

I've got an arrangement with my Matrix 6 doing spillover to a Matrix 6r but depending on the patch selected, sometimes the 7th and 8th note played are discernibly different. On other patches, you can't tell the difference.

Don't get me wrong, it's very very cool but does bring some questions to mind... I especially like the part of the vid with Amos talking and the patches being stepped through (lights dancing in unison)

[Assar]

Is there a quantity discounts for SP?
;o)

[Assar]

How about an even Slimmer Phatty?
Without the control knobs, just midi in/through and buttons enough to recieve patches.
Then it would be really modular!

[Kenneth]

How about an even Slimmer Phatty?
Without the control knobs, just midi in/through and buttons enough to recieve patches.
Then it would be really modular!

I think what Moog ought to seriously consider is releasing something like that. A one, maybe two oscillator module, MIDI ready, that is affordable and useful for those of us who can't afford to drop thousands on several Slims just to get the polyphony we so desire.

[ColorForm2113]

what i would like to know is if there is a way to chain then to function similar to the korg mono/poly. program each phatty individually and have each note cycle through to the next phatty (ie; note 1= phatty 1 32' squarewave, note 2= phatty 2 8' saw wave, note 3 = phatty 3 16' triangle wave ect...)

and how does the arppegiator work between multiple phatties? is it round robin style (phatty1, phatty2, phatty3 etc) or is it unison (phatty 1,2,3 each triggering the notes like they would if they were in monophonic mode)

thanks

ps either way this is set up it sounds amazing!

[CaptainKeytar]

How about an even Slimmer Phatty?
Without the control knobs, just midi in/through and buttons enough to recieve patches.
Then it would be really modular!

I came here to say exactly this. One afterthought on that video was: "what a waste of such wonderful knobs!"

[EricK]

Never can have too many knobs!

[Marzzz]

I still think it should be pretty reasonable to come out with a Phatty Expander-a 1 rack unit device with all of the electronics of a Slim Phatty, but no knobs or display, which can be controlled by a Little or Slim Phatty. That would be a great pathway to a cost-effective polyphonic Moog.

[GovernorSilver]

Now let's hear the "Birdland" horn section! I know 4 Slim Phattys are different from an Oberheim Four Voice, but I'd still like to hear the Phatty take on that sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae0nwSv6cTU

[Assar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae0nwSv6cTU

That was the signature tune to "Stockholm Gay Radio" in the 80s. I didn't know what it was until now. Thanks!

[EMwhite]

I'll put up a vote for a Slimmer Phatty but the Product Manager in me (my day job) says it's going to be tight...

I don't have a SP so cannot take it apart : ) but the Little Phatty's main board (despite being close to the entire width of the synth) is actually split in two right about where the ENV section begins and there are a series of connectors that join the board; analog, digital, etc. So rejig the components and you know it will fit. If you looked inside of the SP, you'll likely see something similar (a single board).

Here's the issue: after basic packaging and subassembly engineering for the Midi connections and audio in/out is done, move onto the front panel interface. There has to be some interface on it if for no other reason then to allow setting of Midi channel, Poly chain member #, and have some indicator of midi activity, power status, a hard volume control, headphone jack possibly, etc.

New sheet metal manufacturing, production line retooling, subassemblies engineering and sourcing, packaging, documentation, a potentially different firmware build and there are some costs to cover.

Point is, how much can Moog charge for this? Dave Smith sells the Mopho for $399; can Moog meet this? Considering the margin that distributors and retailers keep can Moog source the parts and assemble for < $275 and still make a profit? I'm not sure. Send it to China and you're talking a different situation, but that's not Moog.

If it's $499 or $549, that's getting awfully close to the $799 that a Slim costs.

I'm sure Moog went back and forth about what the Slim should be and the current design is brilliant; gives up almost nothing on the LP design, is at home in the rack as much as it is with the nice wood shroud. I have no insight on Slim Phatty sales numbers but I have to think that they are selling well. Certainly their marketing engine is just getting started.

[anotherscott]

If it's $499 or $549, that's getting awfully close to the $799 that a Slim costs.

Not so close as to not make the difference worthwhile.

Examples, assuming you're driving them with a MIDI keyboard you already have...

5 voice Slim Phatty = $3,996 (or $3196 for a 4-voice)

Theoretical 5 voice Slim Phatty using four $499 slave modules = $2,795 (or $2,296 for a 4-voice)

Pretty significant difference!

Plus if the slave modules could be smaller (maybe even 1U?), the whole thing would be a lot more portable...

[nerve]

How about a virtual multi-voice slim-phatty expander! Soft