Moog Little Phatty Tribute Edition

Four main controls and no need to scroll through menus made this a no-brainer for me. I had been playing a Waldorf Pulse and Novation Bass Station and I never was able to learn those boards well enough to create my own sounds. The LP synth is laid out simply and offers so much control. I still have yet to upgrade my stock Tribute Edition Moog Little Phatty. As with ANY synth, the presets are a great place to start, but to really get the most out of the LP, you need to tweak the stock set and make your own sounds. That said, it is very intuitive and user-friendly making tweaking the presets a joy. The manual is simple and shows you what you need to know without the rough translation of overseas boards. There is also a nice "intro to synthesis" section that gives bass players like myself who were new to the analog synth world a source of reference. I must also add that having played the Stage Edition and having to play a stage on some gigs, the Tribute LP had better stock sounds for my playing.

Monophonic analog synth with 100 digitally-recalled presets. The preset also allows tweaking of the filter et. al. and can then be switched back and forth between the preset and the active panel. This feature alone makes the Phatty scream to be tweaked and played live. The ease of use section comes into play here again in that the board is so easy to use and get good sounds out of that it is worth its (relatively) high pricetag. The only feature that I find to be missing would be an onboard arpeggiator. That would make this synth kill for bass use. I have found though that the lack of an arp has made my technique stronger. The overload feature is very fat, pun fully intended.

I could go on and on, but the sound palette is truly amazing. It has the classic Moog sounds and so much more. This synth is the best for thick, warm bass sounds. With the overload filter the LP can also get very nasty as well. I can't really get over how much I love the sounds and responsiveness that the Phatty offers. As a bass player looking to expand my low end sound palette with a synth, I have found that I can almost express myself better on the LP than on my trust p-bass, which is scary. An amazing synth sound and response wise.

I used this synth for two years in a touring band through sweaty clubs, house parties, etc. and I never worried about it (other than trying not to sweat on it too much). It is very solid and reliable, just give it 10-15 minutes to warm up and it will stay true through any set.

Moog Music employs people who are very proud of their product and willing to please.

I think I've covered everything here, it's an amazing value for the price and an extremely "alive" and responsive instrument. As a bass and guitar player, I was surprised to find an "electronic" instrument that was this responsive to the operator. I even had a regular gig where a long road trip from out of state found me at the next gig with only my Moog and no electric bass. The band leader was reluctant to have me play, "that thing." Now he won't let me show up with an electric bass, I am only allowed to play the Moog! That should explain how valuable this synth is more than my own colorful prose.

Could not be simpler to use.I prefer this to the voyager as the voyager has features I don't need.The presets are ok but you change them up sooner or later.

Simple mono synth.No fx which I prefer.Other reviews mention midi features.I didn't buy it for the midi.

Here's my take on it.Every synth has a personality.This is like the old mini moog but slightly more hi-fi in a way thats hard to describe.I think new parts contribute to this and not at all in a negative way.I'ts the 1 and only moog ever produced with a very useful tweekable overdrive section in the filter..VERY HANDY!!If I was starting from scratch and wanted a minimoog and someone showed me the little phatty I think Id opt for the phatty.It does what is expected of the usual moog and then the overdrive gives it a whole personality.

Newer means more stable and less trips to the repair guy compaired to my old minimoog.

Never needed it.

Within the range of pure analog synthesis I think this is a future classic.I never wanted the voyager but this thing is a powerhouse for most practical aplications.CV/GATE I/O is also a plus.Who else but moog could pull this off?It's portable and not too pricy and the moog personality is evident in it's tone.My one and only wish is for the keyboard to have one more octave.

Using version 1 of the software.
I like the presets apart from about 5 or 6 that seem to have been a waste. They're easy enough to alter anyway and just as easy to save so they aren't there anymore and you can use what you luke.
Editing patches is as simple as it gets. When I first read about soft switches having several functions I wondered if I was biting off more than I can chew, being relatively new to sound synthesis, but now I've had one for a few weeks I'm finding it very easy.
Excellent but fairly slim manual. It tells you all you need and you can go online for more information and user hints. There is a short tutorial which is very helpful. If you knew a little bit about sound synthesis you probably would prefer to play with the knobs rather than read anyway.

It's a monophonic keyboard but the action is fairly light. Despite that it feels well built. The Tribute Edition is supposed to be hand-built whatever that may mean. I would be reluctant to gig with it because I bought it new and wouldn't want some drunken punter anywhere near it.
Built in effects are limited to the hardware but as you can control so many aspects of the sound from getting a little tinkling to gut wrenching phat bass I can't see why you would want to edd effects as well. The mod and pitch bend wheel are very good with rubber grips.
The firmware can be upgraded via the midi ports I believe. It has midi in and out. There is also the potential for putting your own sounds through the LP filters.
It does not seem to have touch sensitivity but I expect you could use a midi keyboard to achieve this.
No sequencer but that isn't what I bought it for.

Does not seem to have these but as you have total control over ADSR then I cannot see that it matters.
There are not preset instruments as such. I have a Korg ix300 and Akai S3000XL if I want to play instrument sounds. I bouth the LP for sounds that are not normal instrument sounds and cannot see why anyone would buy a LP to sound like a violin or cornet.
It is a monsynth for playing lead although it plays amazing bass sounds as well. I think the musical style would depend upon the musician. I mainly play electronic stuff so it really suits me.
As you have control over the ADSR envelope the effects are as good as the effort you put into changing the presets to something you like. If you want presets there are plenty of keyboards out there costing much less.
I find it encourages me to play in a certain way depending upon the sound it is set to make and it does not limit me the way normal presets can sometimes do.

It is new so this is a difficult one to answer. It seems well built but if I was to gig I think I would probably midi it to a different keyboard.
I think anyone who gigs without a backup is an idiot.

I bought it through Turnkey in London and I believe backup and repairs could be done easily.

I would want to replace it but if I was to gig I would probably buy the normal edition when it comes out.
I have been playing for about a year and a half, a dabbler with aspirations.
I also have: Korg ix300 (which I love), Korg Micropreset (which is good for sampling), Microkorg (which is good for lots of things including the arpeggiator), Yamaha DJX (good for fun and easy lo-fi sampling), Jen SX1000 (also good for sampling and a nice keyboard to play), Akai S3000XL (fully expanded and midied to the ix3000).
My PC has an Evolution MK149 plugged into it for playing soft synths and using Cubase.
I love the eccentric look of the LP Tribute edition. I wish it was polyphonic but there's nothing I hate about it.
I compared it to other projects including the Voyager but decided I could not afford the Voyager. I did look at Mini Moogs but decided I wanted a new keyboard as all the others were bought second hand.
I wish it had either a sequencer or an arpeggiator but I can manage without.
It does help me to make music. I set the ix3000 playing a backing track, or the Microkorg playing arpeggios, and then play along with them.
I really like having it. It looks good and sounds good. If I had ??2000 spare I would buy a Voyager as well. It is so easy to use and play around with I can't ever see me letting it go this side of death.

As simple as analogue synthesis can get. Press the button corresponding to the parameter you want to change then turn the big dial. Lights tell you where the dials were left last time the sound was edited. Very quick to tweak on the fly as you've got visual representation of all your settings via the blue leds surrounding the four analogue dials.

The presets are on the whole very well done, particularly the osc sync patches that allow you to morph through wave shapes via the mod wheel.
Manual is very informative and well written.There are the usual filler presets but all can be overwritten.

Obviously to meet the price point Moog had to cut some corners. The design is solid and feels like it will last a lifetime. It looks great as well.

For me its not a big deal but i wish the Lp had a noise source, thats the only thing i miss from my Voyager and Source. Also even though the buttons are lit blue its hard to read the panel legending in the dark. It would be nice if they had backlit it or made some flourescent type lettering, but hey you cant have everything!

New features wise its great that Moog add a filter pole selector option like the voyager. I can recreate Arp Oddyssey and Korg Ms20 patches very easily with this feature.

The overload control adds a new dimension to the LP and is VERY musical. It can add subtle warmth right through to ear shredding madness. A very welcome control that can get the Lp right in the ballpark of an orginal minimoog or source where you could push the mixer into subtle clipping.

Great midi capabilty as all the controls send and recieve midi cc and the performance sets for sounds are a very easy way to use several presets per song from anywhere in the 100 preset list.

A future classic i think, it can nail mini and source sounds, is very light and portable for gigging and is capable of new more freaky sounds with its mod capabilties and the overload circuit and the quality of the raw sound is beautiful, warm and phhhattttt! The keyboard transmits polyphonically and the filter reacts to velocity as well.

So far in the day that ive had it its been very reliable. I can report no issues with mine. Rock solid. Wouldn't hesitate to depend on it night after night on tour.

Absolutely first class customer support. Arrived on time, very well packed as ordered. Everyones been very friendly and helpful with anything regarding the order. They always answer emails as well.

The LP is gonna come into its own as a live performance instrument. Its so quick to see and hear where your sound is at from the very informative interface. It is a modern replacement for the Moog Source and sounds just as good, but is more versatile.

If it was stolen id get another straight away. My Lp is gonna be my gigging monosynth as the Voyager can be a bit daunting for quick tweakage on stage.