Moog Music Forum

Hey there,
I am currently running a Little Phatty Stage II with a Slim Phatty via midi in poly and stack (both voices on one key press) modes.
I have just noticed that my SP is louder than my LP at the same volume knob position. Also when I control both (SP & LP) volumes from the LP by sending all CC's, still the SP is louder than the LP. It's not really a problem as I can (and do) adjust my mixer volumes accordingly when the synths are mixed into one signal, but it would be a bit better if they could match without the external mixer volume adjustment.

Can any other poly/stack phatty users confirm my findings?

If so, maybe a firmware volume scaling option to match LP's/SP's (if possible) might be a cool idea for the next update?

Regards,
David Smyth
New Zealand

silly question, but did you confirm your mixer settings, including channel strip, input gain and EQ are exactly the same? Have you swapped mixer channels just in case? Or maybe someone will confirm your issue. I am curious to hear, as even though I only have a SP as of now, I am considering adding a LP.

scdreger wrote:silly question, but did you confirm your mixer settings, including channel strip, input gain and EQ are exactly the same? Have you swapped mixer channels just in case? Or maybe someone will confirm your issue. I am curious to hear, as even though I only have a SP as of now, I am considering adding a LP.

Thanks for the reponse. The mixer I have is very basic - 4 mono inputs to 1 mono output with a simple volume knob for each input. I had both the channels (LP & SP) on the same mixer volume setting and I also tried different channels with the same result. It pretty much seems like when turning the volume knob on the SP compared to on the LP, the SP is generally slightly one step ahead volume wise. But it's not really a big problem - it is pretty easy to simply turn the SP down on the mixer a touch and then you're good to go, although I feel it would be a nice touch if a software update or similar could add a volume scaling function (say for the SP to scale down to the LP's volume).

I personally wouldn't let this slight volume thing change your mind about the LP, it's a great unit and awesome when used with the SP. I love the way they interact and sound.

Regards,
David Smyth
NZ

I do not have an SP and an LP (just an LP for now), but I do have a DSI Tetra and a DSI Mopho Keyboard. I have the exact same issue with the Polychain config. The Tetra is just a little bit hotter than the Mopho. My guess is it's in the design and prolly just the way it is. I adjust the volumes accordingly and just deal with it. The difference I notice, though, with Moog & DSI is DSI, at startup has a default volume regardless of the physical location of the volume knob whereas Moog, at startup will default to whatever position the volume knob is at.

So, I guess what I'm getting at is, it's just one of those "nature of the beast" things and just has to be compensated for.

Thanks for the response!

muksys wrote:So, I guess what I'm getting at is, it's just one of those "nature of the beast" things and just has to be compensated for.

Yea I think you're right, they are very similar designs in different housings, but not exactly the same. I'm happy enough compensating for it via the mixer, to the point where I'm adding another SP in two days!

Regards,
David Smyth
NZ

David Smyth wrote:I'm adding another SP in two days!

Hells yea! I'm not happy with how much it will cost, but, if moog doesnt roll out a polysynth soon, I'm fixin to get an SP every six months or so until I have 3 for a 4 voice Moog polysynth! Cannot wait!!

muksys wrote:Hells yea! I'm not happy with how much it will cost, but, if moog doesnt roll out a polysynth soon, I'm fixin to get an SP every six months or so until I have 3 for a 4 voice Moog polysynth! Cannot wait!!

I got a 12U 19"Rack setup behind my LP, so I've allowed for future expansion to 5 voices (LP + 4SP's @ 3U each). I'm happy to be getting the 3rd voice, as it will allow major and minor chords etc. I'll probably fill up the remaining rack space with two more SP's over the next year or so - like your plan, although it's tempting to get a mono mixer or something rack-mounted in with the SP's (I currently use a little box mixer). I guess I'll see how many more voices I feel I need when this third one comes!

Regards,
David Smyth
NZ

David Smyth wrote:I got a 12U 19"Rack setup behind my LP, so I've allowed for future expansion to 5 voices (LP + 4SP's @ 3U each). I'm happy to be getting the 3rd voice, as it will allow major and minor chords etc. I'll probably fill up the remaining rack space with two more SP's over the next year or so - like your plan, although it's tempting to get a mono mixer or something rack-mounted in with the SP's (I currently use a little box mixer). I guess I'll see how many more voices I feel I need when this third one comes!

3 SP's and some space for a 1U mixer and a couple of 1U effects!

muksys wrote:3 SP's and some space for a 1U mixer and a couple of 1U effects!

Sounds like a great plan!

Several months ago I purchased two new Slim Phattys to use with my LP Stage II to make a 3-voice poly synth. I immediately noticed that the LP's audio signal was significantly quieter than the two SPs. I have been through every setting I can think of to try and find a possible reason for the volume difference. I have settled on the partial solution of adjusting the levels in my mixer to balance the sound, but the core issue remains a bit frustrating. Is this common? Besides the initial poster and myself, have others found level differences between a LIttle Phatty and poly-chained Slim Phattys?