Moog Music has announced the release of Phatty OS v.3.1, a major firmware update to the very popular and portable Phatty family of analog synthesizers.
The update to the Phatty operating system coincides with an aesthetic update for the Little Phatty Stage 2 Edition, as Moog introduces new black sidepieces. Introduced in 2005, The Little Phatty is a true analog monosynth in every sense: it’s a monophonic, monotimbral, monaural subtractive synthesizer with analog circuitry throughout. It is ideal for beginners and pros alike, used by artists such as Jack White, Chick Corea and Ke$ha. Since its release last fall, the Slim Phatty has been acclaimed for its small size and big sound, based on the iconic Minimoog Model D sound engine and featuring the legendary Moog Ladder Filter. In addition to shaping the sound of its on-board oscillators, the Slim Phatty’s filter is a valuable production tool that can be used to process external audio, sweetening any audio source with everything from smooth analog warmth, to dripping wet resonant filter sweeps.
Changes in Phatty OS v3.1
- Volume Velocity Sensitivity: The ability to map note velocity to output volume with fifteen adjustable levels of sensitivity saved per preset. [Tribute Edition hardware does not currently support this feature]
- Legato Glide: Automatically engage the pitch glide between legato notes. Non-overlapping notes snap instantly to a new pitch. The user is able to play or sequence dynamic bends and slides mixed with cleanly-articulated notes.
- LFO Reset: The ability to reset the LFO cycle at the start of each note. Two LFO trigger modes provide dynamic new modulation possibilities.
- Sustain/Hold Mode: A sustain pedal or control voltage plugged into the CV GATE input jack can now be used to send MIDI Sustain on/off, and to polyphonically sustain MIDI notes from the Phatty keyboard.
- 14-bit MIDI: All Phatty synths can now send and receive high-resolution 14-bit MIDI messages for critical voltage-controlled parameters.
- MIDI Output Filtering: New options control which MIDI CC messages are sent from the Phatty, for maximum compatibility with external gear.
- Expanded MIDI Clock sync options: 22 clock divisions including triplet values for both LFO and Arpeggiator MIDI sync. Clock divisions range from 32nd triplets up to 4 bars.
- Improvements to Arpeggiator:
- Global Arp Setup menu: Set important arpeggiator parameters at a global level. Arpeggiator also remains active when presets are changed.
- Gate Length: Adjust the arpeggiator note length from 50% to greater than 100% (overlapping), for a range of new sonic textures.
- Arp Clock Send: Arpeggiator can now send MIDI Clock, MIDI Start and Stop messages, allowing you to synchronize other gear to the Phatty internal clock.
- Improvements to Polyphonic Mode:
- New polyphonic note-allocation scheme: Uses a “round-robin” algorithm to share notes across multiple Phatty synths in a natural and very playable way.
- Polyphonic arpeggiation: Multiple ways to use the Arpeggiator across a poly chain of Phatty synths, from tight integration to completely freeform.
The Phatty OS v.3.1 update is a free firmware update for all Phattys: Little Phatty Tribute, Stage 1, 2, and the Slim Phatty. It is also available as a Factory Update from Moog.
More information: Moog Music