Moog Kills Little Phatty, But The Phatness Lives On

little_Phatty_PRMoog Music today announced the that it was discontinuing the Little Phatty Stage II analog synth.

Moog plans to build a limited quantity of units at their North Carolina factory “while parts and materials last,” which is expected to be two months at most.

The Little Phatty was released in 2006 as a tribute Dr. Bob Moog. It was the first Moog synthesizer designed by Moog Music’s Chief Engineer, Cyril Lance. Over the course of its seven-year run, the Little Phatty has gone through three incarnations: The Tribute, Stage I, and Stage II; and it has been used by Rush, Jack White, Queens of The Stone Age, No Doubt, Bernie Worrell and others.

In conjunction with the announcement, Moog Music released a short documentary that looks at the Making of the Little Phatty, and explains why the ‘Phat knob’ had to be cut:

The lineage of the “Phatty family” of synths lives on through newer instruments, including the Sub Phatty analog synthesizer and the Slim Phatty desktop synthesizer. More information on the Phatty class of analog synthesizers is available on the Moog Music website.

One More Thing

As a thank you to existing Little Phatty owners, Moog Music is offering a free Little Phatty Gig Bag (an $80 value) with the purchase of the Little Phatty CV Output Modification. The modification adds one gate and four CV outputs to the Little Phatty. Moog Music is also offering a free percussion and legacy preset pack for Phatty owners available.

What do you think of Moog’s discontinuing of the Moog Little Phatty? And does it have ‘the worst synthesizer name in history’?

33 thoughts on “Moog Kills Little Phatty, But The Phatness Lives On

    1. Marketing. When they’re not available they eventually become collector’s items, thus preserving the Moog brand as the collector’s choice. Look for a limited edition reissue in 2023.

  1. I think the little phatty is a great design with an okay name. It was one of the first synths I know of to properly implement a few knobs with multiple functions each. Th only reason I never got one is the moog sound doesn’t really suit my aesthetic. But it’s a fantastic synth. Destined to be a classic. IMO.

    1. Sorry…. I meant to thumbs up the last comment. Don’t know how to reverse it. Anyhow…
      The little phatty, is exactly that… Small in size and has a huge sound.
      A new keyboard is on its way… I can feel it

  2. It’s cool to see that old prototype, and how it kind of resembles the Sub Phatty. Confirms my suspicion that the Sub is basically just a more-fully realized version of the Little – like the technology finally caught up to their imaginations and allowed them to pull it off. Makes sense to discontinue the Little Phatty now, seeing as how well-received the Sub Phatty seems to be.

  3. With the release of improved oscillators (more stable, w/ beat freq control) in the Sub Phatty, I think they are working on a new incarnation with that tech in mind, and letting the older unstable ones end. My guess is theres some new design, likely a keyboard, on the way if they are closing down an entire line. What’s peculiar is that the Slim Phatty is still being made, and its oscillators were even more unstable than the Lil Phattys. I experienced this and sold mine out of frustration for quick stage load-ins, and it’s been made known by Amos on the forums. Maybe with the new stabilized oscillators a useable polyphonic one is now a possibility? All guesses!

  4. I love Moog, especially the MiniMoog, but I never liked the sound of the Lil”Phatty, it seemed too muffled for my taste, let’s hope the next incarnation won’t have the same problem.

  5. I love my SlimPhatty, it sounds like magic to me. I dont mind any of it’s so called “flaws.”
    Hope they make a desktop version of the SubPhatty.

  6. I bought a used LP stage 1 – my first real synth – about a year ago and it’s an amazing instrument. I’m sorry to see them go, but the Sub seems to be the direction they are going in. I’m guessing they’re shooting for more knobs, less buttons (which certainly is cool). You’ll notice the recent appearance of the Korg MS-20 mini and the Arturia Minibrute on the market – totally following the affordable modern analog synth model that started with the LP. I don’t think Moog will pursue a polyphonic in place of the LP (as has been suggested on some of the posts) – the new thing will probably be like the Sub, but with more keys. If Moog ever did a polyphonic synth, I would expect it would be super expensive. But I wish they’d start making the Taurus again!

  7. I dunno. I can’t imagine they’re ending this synth line to make room for another this year at NAMM.

    Hasn’t the Sub Phatty basically already replaced the LIttle Phatty and cannibalized the market for it? They’re close enough in price point and have similar features, I just wish the Sub Phatty had 37 keys.

  8. I am waiting for the polyphonic moog rack.
    Dave smith has done one, whats the hold up with moog? I don’t need the gold version. That is rather poor taste in the present economic climate.
    Good bye LP hello poly rack for around 1300.

  9. So what kind of voice-assignment design do you suggest for arriving at that polyphonic Moog? Should it be 100% hard-line analog and set up like an Oberheim 4-Voice? Or should it resemble a Prophet-12, with a super-accurate wavetable and analog guts downstream from there? Does anyone know of any other approaches that would yield actual polyphony? Also, would a minimum of 4 analog voices do or does this ideal polyphony mean you have to be able to wail on it like a Hammond organ? The fact that higher-end workstations/synths allow you to build very analog-y monster tones clouds the issue, too. In short, what kind of musical job(s) do you need a poly-Moog FOR? I’d like some other views on it, since this keeps coming up. I see it as a technological band-reject filter situation, because the end product would most likely be too expensive for practical reality.

  10. I think 6 voice poly is a good compromise. Voice assignment: no need to be purists. It is mostly a question of deciding if it should be multi-timbral. I would think so (2 or 3 timbres). The Chroma had a great way to do it back in 1982 (and the Polaris after that), and it did not compromise the playing in any way I can think of. And now microprocessors are so fast and cheap…

    1. Okay, if its going to be a 6-voice, how many real analog components do you think will be required to keep the purists from screaming like a flock of startled macaws? 😛 Seriously, if you want that analog aroma so badly, hot-rod an MS-20 mini with some teeny cigar-box modular (lot of nice ones out there now), a couple of Moog pedals and a dedicated multi-effects box. Its roughly no more expensive than a mid-range workstation, especially if you mix-&-match new and used gear. Put that on top of whatever you have now and get your polyphony somewhere less problematic. I also swear here and now not to bitch over it if they DO release a new MemoryMoog. It’ll be too amazing.

    2. Exactly this. They should look at the past the chroma was an amazing analog poly synth. Moog could totally step up their game by going for a new analog poly with added technology of today. It would mean a great deal for moog fanatics and enthusiastic musicians all around the world who would finally play chords again but with the classic moog sound! It would totally fit in todays musical era where people seek the musical sounds from the late seventies and early eighties. I would buy one.

  11. I hope for a sub phatty with 37+ keys to make it usable for a musician. 2 octaves are not enough. I love my Little Phatty for being an all-in-one piece of music gear. Plug in and play. A combination of rack + (cheap) midi keyboard doesn’t offer the feeling of a music instrument. It’s the all-in-one synth that has the personality 🙂

    I trust moog completely.

  12. I finaaly found a used mini moog, when i heard about the little phaty
    a couple of years ago. i want to the local store to get one,
    but it sounded nothing like my minimoog, didn’t have pulse width modulation,
    and I stunned it had NO ONBOARD FX! I wanted it to be all in one.
    I’m still hoping Moog comes out with something a bit nicer, even though
    I really like the white one!

  13. I didn’t understand why Moog discontinued the Little Phatty. because I though it was a cool synth that I would have loved to buy. They could have done so much more with the Little Phatty series, like a Little Phatty Stage III with built in CV outputs to connect modular devices. The fact that the Stage II had arpeggio built into the synth meant that the people who where complaining that Moog did not have a “polyphonic” synth could finally have one. Oh yell, I’ll have to get one used.

    1. Look at the Sub 37 first. I just got mine and the sequencer and arpeggiator are really awesome. So is the fact that is is duo paraphonic. The Sub 37 definitely makes the Little Phatty feel obsolete.

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