MusicRadar

• Related News
• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

The output section is simple, with a volume control, an always-on headphone port and a switch to route sound to the physical mono line-out on the side panel. This glows a satisfying pink colour when selected.

The LFO Modulation section is also simplicity itself. One switch for LFO source shape (with six choices), a rate dial with rotary encoder, a switch for the destination of the LFO and an amount switch, which also uses the encoder as its graphic.

One nice touch is that the LFO source LED flashes at the selected rate – rotary encoders are good for most things, but not for showing LFO speeds!

The master section features octave up and down buttons, the glide on/off switch, master tune and an encoder for scrolling through the presets.

All of which brings us neatly on to the sounds themselves.

They simply ooze class. As so many hard and soft synths offer factory patches with Moog references in the title, its easy to wonder what all the fuss is about.

It's not until you've got a real Moog sitting in front of you that you see just how great these boxes really are.

Despite the simple architecture, this unit can produce sumptuous warm bass, bouncy synth sequences, resonant drones and ear-splitting leads in equal measure, plus everything in between.

Okay, it's a monosynth, so that provides its own limitations, but if you're into techy music of any sort, there's plenty here for you.

The 99 preset sounds provide a useful starting point, but it's hard to select one of these and not immediately reach for its dials.

Playing live

Moog always designed his synths with performance in mind, and while the Little Phatty isn't strictly a live tool, there are a number of features designed for onstage use.

The pitch-bend wheel is programmable to operate over a two-octave range, whilst the mod wheel provides vibrato for you.

The Little Phatty can also be programmed to organise presets or sounds you've saved in any order you choose, so you can switch sounds midsong without having to keep dialing up and down.

The manual is clear and incisive, with a great tutorial, which will appeal to teachers.

The accompanying DVD contains a touching dedication to Dr Bob Moog by his wife and audio clips, some of Bob's published papers and an extract from the official documentary of the man.

Summary

Bob Moog defined subtractive synthesis – it's a simple, endlessly varying model that's capable of such a huge spectrum of sounds, it's hard to believe they can be produced by a single instrument.

Most synthesizers, even those drowning in knobs, are still synthesizers.

Moog managed to build musical tools that encouraged precise tweaks and, dare I say it, practice, in the instrument tradition.

The LP is a great release for Moog Music, it continues Bob's legacy, while hinting that their products won't always be aimed at the wealthy minority from now on.

It's good to know Bob oversaw development of Little Phatty before he died. It's clearly his instrument and we're sure he'd be proud of it.

How should we remember him? In a way encouraged by sound '00' in the preset bank: 'Thank You Bob'.