My Guitar Center Lunch hour.....with 2 Little Phatty's

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:10 am

So today I decided to drive over to Guitar Center (Cerritos, California) on my lunch break. Now I never shop there EVER, I was just killing time. I started by looking in the effects department for Moogerfoogers, nothing! Looked around at guitars then ventured over to the Keyboard room (now I know that GC has Moog Music products, right?) I find Little Phatty #1. I think I'll noodle around on this a little while then go back to work. Its powered off (I think?) Push the power button, Nothing! Check to see if its plugged into the power, yep! Try it again nothing. Change the outlet, Push power button, nothing. (watching my Moog time running out!) Give up

As I'm walking out of the department I eye Little Phatty #2, Its powered off, push the button "NOTHING!" check the plug and try the button again, nothing! change outlets and try again, NO SIGN OF LIFE! I give up on my Moog lunch hour and back to work I go.

Now I have shared this because I'm a Moog HEAD (Moogerfoogers) and my next addition is either a Little Phatty or a Voyager. I can't decide right now What I'm wondering is this just a Guitar Center experience or is there a Moog Music quality problem?

I would be so bummed If I spent serious cash for a Voyager or a Little Phatty and It gave me meltdown type trouble when it was brand new. I don't know what I would do? My question is: In a real world situation are these road worthy? Or am I at the will of the shipping department at said music store? Fedex? UPS? or is this just a fluke experience? Please chime in.......

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:17 am

Road worthy? Mine went back to the factory from Illinois to North Carolina, and came back without the side screws and was fine, compliments of UPS. Even though it was in a road case, I was impressed that UPS managed to not destroy it, especially with the front panel loose like it was.

BTW, mine went in for service, as one of the main board connectors was being stubborn and wouldn't go back in the socket after the LP fell off the stand. Amos put it right, and that's when I decided to get some of the LED's switched out with blue ones.

When he sent it back, he forgot the panel screws, which I realized after trying to get it out of the case.

Oddly enough, it worked perfectly.

I'm thinking GC had a blown fuse or something.

MarkM · Post by **MarkM** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:10 am

Is it possible the outlets you plugged into were not on?

Matt Friedman · Post by **Matt Friedman** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:47 am

Or a surge suppressor/UPS was not on?

Prime NL · Post by **Prime NL** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:15 am

Voltor07 wrote:...snip... Amos put it right, and that's when I decided to get some of the LED's switched out with blue ones...snip...

Additional non-info Voltor....

We all know that you have a special Amos Phatty version....

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:51 am

Okay,
I went into a guitar center one time...not that I shop there either or even hang out there. But I managed to see a phatty there and I had never seen any moog synths here in arkansas aside from the ones that I own. So I gave this stage I a trial run. Powered it up, hit some keys.....nothing.

I looked at the plug, tested the volume....nothing. THen I remembered back in the old days when my father had to reset the MicroMoog for me because as we all know, if we don't know anything about synthesis its easy to set it up where it negates its own sound. So I thought.....Wait...its a Moog! I tweaked the filter cutoff and lo and behold it came to life.

I imagine that people go in there ant tweak knobs all day long and set up a patch where the sound isn't coming out and they leave not knowing what happened.

WOrse comes to worse, when a Moog doesn't make a sound, open the filter up all the way and turn the attack all the way ccw and its bound to work.

Eric

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:34 pm

In answer to the original poster's question, that was a "Guitar Center is not on the ball" problem. I've never seen a Little Phatty that was plugged into a working power outlet fail to turn on at all, ever.

Which GC store is that? I'll be happy to call them up and ask WTF is with their Moog display...

Najati · Post by **Najati** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:22 pm

I say, buy with confidence, tubeampguy! I haven't dropped mine off anything (yet?) but it's survived a trip home on the subway, two moves, a few good bangs and thumps here and there. I try to be careful with my stuff, but st*ff happens and when it's happened to the Phatty, the Phatty seems to be able to handle it.

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:18 pm

Amos wrote:In answer to the original poster's question, that was a "Guitar Center is not on the ball" problem. I've never seen a Little Phatty that was plugged into a working power outlet fail to turn on at all, ever.

Which GC store is that? I'll be happy to call them up and ask WTF is with their Moog display...

Hello Amos, Please do so........

Guitar Center Cerritos
11155 183rd Street
Cerritos, California 90703

Phone: 562-402-4106
Fax: 562-402-4107

Manager: Will Diaz

Store Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11-9 | Sat: 10-8 | Sun: 11-7

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:32 pm

EricK wrote:Okay,
I went into a guitar center one time...not that I shop there either or even hang out there. But I managed to see a phatty there and I had never seen any moog synths here in arkansas aside from the ones that I own. So I gave this stage I a trial run. Powered it up, hit some keys.....nothing.

I looked at the plug, tested the volume....nothing. THen I remembered back in the old days when my father had to reset the MicroMoog for me because as we all know, if we don't know anything about synthesis its easy to set it up where it negates its own sound. So I thought.....Wait...its a Moog! I tweaked the filter cutoff and lo and behold it came to life.

I imagine that people go in there ant tweak knobs all day long and set up a patch where the sound isn't coming out and they leave not knowing what happened.

WOrse comes to worse, when a Moog doesn't make a sound, open the filter up all the way and turn the attack all the way ccw and its bound to work.

Eric

Both of these Little Phatty's were in groups of other company's keyboards fired up and ready to play. LP#1 was on one wall in the back of the department and LP#2 was in the front. Plugged into live powerstrips I checked the IEC cables (both ends) in several different outlets on the powerstrips. I will guess that in a room that size there is more than one circuit and both these LP were on different walls. Neither showed ANY sign of powering on (Dead!) This was not a LP filter being closed.

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:34 pm

MarkM wrote:Is it possible the outlets you plugged into were not on?

Outlets were all live. Other company's keyboards surrounding the LP's were online and ready to demo.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 5:00 am

Prime NL wrote:
Voltor07 wrote:...snip... Amos put it right, and that's when I decided to get some of the LED's switched out with blue ones...snip...
Additional non-info Voltor....

We all know that you have a special Amos Phatty version....

Right...sorry about that.

I'll make sure I don't mention it again.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 10:15 am

You ought to go there and say that you want to buy that PHatty, but since it isn't working you want a su[per reduction. 500 dollars. THen send it to Amos and hell fix it real good like.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:40 am

EricK wrote:You ought to go there and say that you want to buy that PHatty, but since it isn't working you want a su[per reduction. 500 dollars. THen send it to Amos and hell fix it real good like.

I wonder if that would work...

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:24 pm

tubeampguy wrote:
Amos wrote:In answer to the original poster's question, that was a "Guitar Center is not on the ball" problem. I've never seen a Little Phatty that was plugged into a working power outlet fail to turn on at all, ever.

Which GC store is that? I'll be happy to call them up and ask WTF is with their Moog display...
Hello Amos, Please do so........

Guitar Center Cerritos
11155 183rd Street
Cerritos, California 90703

Phone: 562-402-4106
Fax: 562-402-4107

Manager: Will Diaz

Store Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11-9 | Sat: 10-8 | Sun: 11-7

Hello Amos, I was wondering what happened with the phone call to Guitar Center?