PAiA FatMan

I'm using the FatMop 1.9. I also ordered the front panel along with the rest of the kit. Literally all of the controls are on the front panel, including the MIDI, CV, and output jacks. It is a simple analog synthesizer that happens to respond to note on and off messages, their velocities, and pitch bend messages. What could be easier to use?
The operation part of the manual is not always written for the electronically uninitiated. Thankfully, you will only be needing it when you tune the FatMan, and this part of the manual is reasonable.

The FatMan is a monophonic analog synthesizer. It is controlled by 18 knobs and two switches (not counting the power switch), as well as by MIDI through a small MIDI to CV system built into the unit. The MIDI subsystem understands note on, note off, note velocity, and pitch bend messages. The front panel knobs and MIDI subsystem are not associated in any way, which brings the cost of the unit incredibly low.
Two saw VCOs are mixed and feed a low-pass resonant A(S)R VCF followed by the ADSR VCA. The sustain part of the VCF envelope can be eliminated with a switch. The VCA may be given additional attack punch with a switch.
One feature not to be ignored is that you have complete access to the innards of the thing. A large number of mods have been published, some quite easy to perform. The FatMan is a very popular choice among DIY types, and is also used as a "normaled section" in some modular rigs.

I find the number of sounds I can make with it quite limited, especially since I use MIDI to control everything.
There is no LFO, ring modulator, hard sync, or anything interesting like that. Pure bread and water here. Good bread and clean water, but bread and water nonetheless.
Why buy one? With a simple mod, it makes truly crushing bass.

You will rely on it as much as you have confidence in your own ability to put one together.
Also, there is no case: the PCB hangs off the back of the front panel with two L braces. This scares me more than a little.

PAiA is very good about fixing your FatMan after you fail to assemble it properly. Their repair rates are cheap and their warranties fair. I was a little worried that I'd spend four days putting it together, fail, and have to trash it. I did fail, but PAiA fixed it for me for US$19.01. They also sent me a very exact list of what I did wrong, which was heartening.

If I had the money (which, come to think of it, I do) I'd buy a BassStation instead. If you have time and a soldering iron, but can't justify spending upwards of US$600 just to experiment with analog bass, the FatMan may be your ticket. If you have a strong DIY ethic, or were thinking of designing and building your own analog synth, the FatMan is perfect.
There was a page "Zen and the Art of Kit Hacking" that was very helpful to me when I was assembling my FatMan, but I can't find it now.

Well, you have to put it together yourself. That knocks it down a few 'ease of use' numbers there. Otherwise, you get abour 20 knobs at your disposal. The kit-building manual is great, I mean that -- I've never soldered before I started the Fatman and I did it. Took me (complete novice) about 24 hours (not all at once!) to do it. The biggest pain is to get all the wires from the circuit board to the panel knobs. They remain my biggest problem as they are always getting caught on things and falling off.

One note at a time -- but who needs more? You get your two oscillators you can offset and pan between. It's got that sound, acutally maybe about 4 or 5 different main sounds, filters on, filters off, resosance and freq pots, and all that... nothing is midi controllable except note on, note off, pitch bend, and velocity.

I wouldn't use this as anyhting but a techno / noise kind of thing, but whatever you're into... so many knobs to play with, it actaully is more fun that way though. My model, probably my error, but my model sticks sometimes, I'll be playing a note and it'll stay there after I liftoff until I power down. Also it trips up sometimes if you hook it up to a fast arpeggiator.

I can't depend on it, but that's only because I made a mess of it when I built it. If I did it again, with the experience I have now, I'd make it more solid and then I'd have no problem depending on it. That's not Paia's fault, that's mine. :)

Excellent! Very helpful people. They'll fix it for you if you've got a problem, but they can usually answer most questions over email or phone for you. Real quick delivery too. Every single part (there were hundreds!!) was safely in the box when I got it.

If it were lost, I'd probably build a new one, sure. I've had it for 6 months now, and it fits in nicely to all my other midi gear; sound modules and arpegs, samplers, computer... It's great because it looks so homegrown and sounds so distinct and also is about $1000 cheaper than something that would sound similar. On the other hand, I wish I was a better solderer :( I say buy it if you're interested in delving into the DIY world.

It is a relatively simple analog synth kit that you assemble yourself so there are no presets. On the other hand it has 18 knobs so you have complete control of the sound and it is a breeze to use. The manual is pretty straight forward.

It is a classic 2VCO 1VCF lowpass with resonance and 1 ADSR. Its a monosynth so it has no polyphony but it is great as a sourse for those fat analog samples or basslines. It is a rackmount so you provide the controler but it responds to velocity and pitch bend. It has MIDI in and thru and outputs pitch velocity and gate control voltages. also it can recieve on any MIDI channel.

It's a perfect synth for techno, or those retro 70's sounds. Can create fat pads and good strings. The filter could be better though being only 12db. It reacts well to velocity. Can create some nice fx.

It seems very dependable.

The support was good. When I needed to do some repairs the guy was helpfull and did a good job.

Would buy it again. Its the best bang for the buck synth I can think of unless you get some old used synth. Don,t bother if you arent handy with a soldering iron. An LFO would be nice but it is easy to add one. Polyphony would be nice but for this price what more can you ask?