The Slim Phatty is a

monophonic Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...

analog synthesizer An analog synthesizer () is a synthesizer that uses Analogue electronics, analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a var ...

manufactured by

Moog Music Moog Music Inc. ( ) is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog sy ...

from 2011–2014. It is considered to be an entry-level synthesizer in the Moog family. Its design is based on the Little Phatty, which in turn is a more modernized version of the

Minimoog Voyager The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a su ...

. It is among the first synthesizers created and produced following the death of Moog founder

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthe ...

in 2005. The Slim Phatty is also the first Moog (beside the Little Phatty) that is capable of

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

connectivity. It was inferred that Moog would be releasing a new and possibly more stripped down synthesizer when reports surfaced that Moog had registered a trademark for the name "Slim Phatty".

Features

The Slim Phatty is able to make use of

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

controller integration via out, in, and "thru" channels. The only other Moog synthesizers that can boast this capability are the Little Phatty, Minimoog Voyager, and the early Memorymoog+. It also features two robust oscillators, diverse tuning controls, and the patented “Moog Ladder” filters. Also included are a large number of patches or preset sound settings. Unlike many synthesizers, it does not possess a keyboard, so a MIDI or other sound input is required in order to create sound to modulate or filter. It is also small in size, and weighing in at roughly 5.5 lbs. For these reasons, the Slim Phatty is useful in both studio recording and live playing.

Comparison to Little Phatty

As noted above, the Slim Phatty is essentially a stripped down version of Moog's Little Phatty. Moog removed the keyboard, as well as the pitch and modulator wheels, and compacted the entire setup into a unit that is only seventeen inches wide. For these reasons, many may find the control panel a little cluttered, although the use of smaller knobs and buttons helps alleviate this issue. Like its counterpart, the Slim Phatty possesses an "Overload" control, which acts a filter drive that "supercharges" the filter and sound. It also shares firmware versions with the Little Phatty, which gives it more flexibility - such as integration with the Little Phatty in polyphonic mode. Its lightweight and small size also give it an edge in regards to portability.

References

Slim Phatty
from Moog Music site
Synthgear.com
Trademark rumors
Synth Museum - Moog
The Synth Museum - Moog
MusicRadar.com
Gear Review
Sweetwater.com
Technical Specs

Discontinuation Announcement from Moog Music site {{Moog Music Moog synthesizers Monophonic synthesizers Analog synthesizers