Moog Sub Phatty Review 2025

Aggressive. Grungy. Sterile? There are a lot of very interesting opinions about the Sub Phatty out there, and only a few of them overlap. Released in 2013, it was the beginning of the Sub series of synths from Moog, and it marked a shift in tone for Moog synths for a while. So how does it stack up in 2025? Is it worth getting today? Let’s dive in.

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OSCILLATORS

The first thing you’ll hear, are the oscillators. There’s 2 main oscillators, plus a Sub Osc that is permanently set to Square, and plays 1 octave below Osc 1, and a Pink Noise generator.

Compared to the Slim Phatty, the Sub Phatty raw oscillator tone is aggressive and in your face. Where the Slim Phatty has a smoother rounder tone (partly due to the lower cutoff point for the filter, and also because of the chips used for the VCOs) suitable for vintage 70s and 80s sounds, the Sub Phatty is brighter and dirtier and punches through in a mix more noticeably. It’s not brassy like the Prophet Rev2, but much more aggressive than the Slim.

The 2 main Oscs have full wave sweep capabilities, ranging from pure Triangle wave all the way to narrow Pulse, in a continuous function. It’s quite nice for creating some very exotic dirty electro basses and Psytrance noises.

The Osc Sync function is interesting, although it doesn’t feel like it can penetrate the same territory as the Slim Phatty’s Osc Sync. The Slim’s Sync can veer into full on FM territory with a little coaxing, and DX7 style sounds can be managed on it, whereas the Sub Phatty’s sync never quite achieves the same variety of metallic and hollow sounds.

The Pink Noise generator is helpful for some classes of sounds - the manual states producers like to use it for Percussion sounds. But for modern Techno, House, and Trance producers, Pink Noise is much less useful for modern sound design, since the low frequencies tend to crowd out the rest of the sound and mess with the tone balance. Pure White Noise or some kind of sweepable Noise generator that allows for Pink and White Noise would have been much more useful for making modern Melodic Techno and Progressive Trance sounds.

The 2 layers of Detune capabilities for the Sub Phatty are a welcome touch though, as the single Freq knob on the Slim Phatty makes it very difficult to create detuned Trance and Psytrance saw leads without veering off into uncontrolled tuning territory. Being able to detune very slightly on the main Frequency knob and then adjust the secondary knob a tiny to taste makes it easy to make usable sounds very quickly.

It’s worth noting that pushing the Oscs too loud starts to overdrive them, so factor that into your sound design choices when working with it. A delicate approach is needed when trying to make smooth and gentle sounds with these oscillators.

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FILTERS

Besides the Oscillators, this is really what everyone goes to Moog for. But does it have that Classic Moog Ladder Filter Sound?

The Sub Phatty is brighter, is our first impression. It certainly cuts off at a higher frequency than the Slim Phatty. And that sound brightens up further when you reduce the filter slope curves. Tricky part is accessing those slope curves. There’s some obtuse ways to access them via some front panel controls, which I did manage with the manual handy. But it was far from convenient. With the VST editor from Moog, it’s much much easier to change those, and access some other deep settings that expand the sound design capabilities of the synth.

The resonance pushes into self-oscillation and yields some extremely gnarly sounds when cranked in tandem with the Multidrive. It doesn’t quite sound as bright on 303-style Acid sounds that use a low cutoff and moderate Envelope Amount settings, but it can achieve some nice grit that adds fun textures to Techno and Trance tracks.

It didn’t feel quite as ‘round” and smooth as the Slim Phatty, or even the Prophet Rev2, but it did surprise us with its character while experimenting with Plucks and deep Basses.

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ENVELOPES

The Envelopes here are pretty normal, as far as synths go, so there’s not too much to say here. The Attack is a bit shorter and tighter than Some folks may be accustomed to, so you have to push it really far to make slow evolving sweeps. It’s great for Plucked sounds, though. The snappy envelopes make Techno and Trance plucks a breeze to design.

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LFO

Now this is where some serious excitement is to be had. The Sub Phatty has 3 different LFO Speed Modes, which can be changed via obtuse key combos on the synth… or more easily on the VST editor. And that’s where the fun begins. Switching between Slow, Mid, and Hi speeds allows you to do really gentle wavering swells, more moderate vibratos, or even insane audio rate modulation. We got a lot of great use out of these settings while designing buzzy Hands Up and Progressive House Leads, and on some cinematic sweep type patches. This is one of the Sub Phatty’s strongest points, and really puts it in a league more in line with crazy super-mod synths like the Blofeld or Virus.

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MODULATION

As this is an analog synth marketed as more of a budget synth a notch or two beyond the Little Phatty, there isn’t too much to talk about here. Routing options are pretty minimal. It would have been nice if the Amount controls began at 12:00 and could be changed to positive or negative values to yield more exotic modulations. But for the synth’s overall capabilities, the modulation options are workable.

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EFFECTS

“Effects” is a bit of an inaccurate header for this section. All the Sub Phatty has is Multidrive. Which we found to be more of a Saturator on lower settings, and then at higher settings, it turns into distortion. It doesn’t mangle the sound quite as nicely as the Overdrive on the Slim Phatty or the Feedback + Multidrive combo on the Sub37, but it does yield some nice added grit to sounds.

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CONCLUSION

So, at the end of all things, is the Sub Phatty worthit? Is it still relevant in 2025?

While it lacks in modulation capabilities and the Pink Noise isn’t nearly as useful as the manual claims, this synth has a lot of heft to it, and if you are looking for a snappy semi-modern sounding Moog that can do aggressive sounds and more serene tones, this one would work well for you.

Its oscillators are big and aggressive, and the filter does add a lot of nice character.

In the right contexts, this synth could stand front and center in some very big tunes, and add a lot of welcome character. It definitely works great for Tech and Electro House basses.

So while it might not be our first choice for an analog synth, if you happen to find one at a good price, it could serve a lot of solid uses in your tunes and set you apart from everyone else. Its aggressive gusty character almost takes it to Prodigy territory, and if you can run it through other FX for reverb or distortion or chorus, you will get some very exciting tones out of it.

So overall, we might recommend a couple other synths before this one to Synth Newbies, but we would not turn our nose up at future opportunities to work on it either. We’d recommend it for producers and keyboardists after a specific kind of gritty sound.

That’s our take on it, anyway.

Keeping Your Moog Slim Phatty In Tune

Just got a Slim Phatty, and finding it drifts out of tune? Looking for a quick way to check it and make sure it stays in tune during your production sessions?

Watch the video below for a quick tip to keep your Slim and Little Phatty in tune!

What To Know Before Buying Hardware Synths

What was your first glimpse into the world of hardware synthesizers? Was it a producer's masterclass, and their wall of modulars that caught your eye? Does your favorite artist use hardware? Did you wander through a music store, and play around on a display synth, and decide you just had to have one?

No doubt you may be prowling through Sweetwater's or Reverb's offerings, and feeling a little overwhelmed. Maybe you want one, but aren't sure if hardware is for you.

In today's article, I'll break down some hardware basics, things to know, and how to help you decide what, if any, pieces of gear you should get.

1. Know Why You're Getting Gear

Let's get the big question out of the way first: what do you want hardware for? Do you have a specific need for hardware, that VSTs and samples can't provide?

Hardware synths aren't cheap (not good ones, anyway). There's no two ways about it. Beyond the actual synth itself, you are also looking at TS cables, MIDI/ MIDI-USB cables, patch cables (if you're going modular), and possibly a newer/ bigger audio interface to accommodate the synth. Before you get a synth, you need to ask yourself if you're willing to take on those extra costs.

Hardware isn't a magic bullet that will immediately make you sound instantly better. If you're not writing good music without hardware, you still won't write good music with it. It certainly helps if you've been producing for a few years, and have a few songs/ remixes out on a record label or two, before you start browsing for gear. Otherwise you're wasting time and money on equipment you likely don't need.

If you've been at it a while though, and feel like gear is the next natural step for your tunes, it's time to decide what type of synth you want.

Which brings us to...

2. Analog vs Digital

Just to clear the air here: I don't hold Analog on any magic pedestal compared to Digital. They both serve their purpose and have their own special characteristics that will suit different needs at different times.

The only reason we're covering it here now, is because there are certain aspects of analog synthesis you need to be prepared for before buying one.

Namely:

Analog synths frequently tend to be a lot more expensive than digital synths. Especially polyphonic analogs (more on that in a bit). They also tend to be much more limited with effects, voicing, and waveform options.

Analog synths, especially Moogs, often require extensive warmup times before they're properly in tune, and can be used for music that requires stable tone.

You may not be able to store patches and presets on slightly older Analog synths, so making and storing patches requires more time and a photographic memory to do.

However, Analog synths have certain timbral characteristics that make them desirable for music production. The analag signal generation and filters can lend a certain warmth and personality to a sound that a fully digital signal might not. This is because of the inherently imperfect nature of generating an audio signal from a voltage-controller oscillator. There are slight and subtle imperfections in the sound that give analog its warmer, "fatter" character. The filters, being analog, often sound smoother than digital filters, so you can make sweeps and sounds with much

That said, digital has more pros than cons - especially these days.

More built-in FX, more waveform options (including wavetables, and Super/HyperSaws), more routing and modulation options, much higher voicing, and higher likelihood of proper integration with your DAW via USB (or at least a VST interface controlled by MIDI data).

And so we go on to...

3. Monophonic vs Polyphonic

When you come from the VST world, it's easy to forget that there was once a time when synthesizers could only play one note at a time, due to the limitations of the oscillators. That time is long past, but Monophonic, Duophonic, and Polyphonic synths are all still around, still being made, and will likely be around forever. So how to choose?

First and foremost, a monophonic synth can only play one note at a time. No chords, or lush harmonic strings or pads will be (easily) gotten from a mono synth. They tend to be analog synths, and so thick basslines and distorted leads are what mono synths are most commonly used for.

A duophonic (sometimes called paraphonic) synth can only play two notes at a time. They're not super common, but they pop up occasionally.

A polyphonic synth can, as its name denotes, play many notes at once. A poly synth will typically range from 4-100+ voices, depending on the complexity of the patch. With a few exceptions, poly synths tend to be digital, and as such can create sounds and timbres no analog synth can generate. You can also write lush choir and string and pad sections, create sounds with long release tails, and layer chords in ways no mono synth is capable. As an added bonus, most poly synths have a Mono feature enabled, allowing you to turn the poly synth into a mono synth for specific sounds.

And due to the generally digital nature of poly synths, patch storage and recall is a feature of all poly synths, allowing you to store and bring back up presets and sounds you made, for future use.

4. Effects

Effects are a somewhat divisive issue in the synth community. Some love them in their synths, others prefer you only play and record synths dry (then use outboard effects).

Again, it largely boils down to personal preference, and the type of gear you're looking at. Analog synths tend to be more minimal on effects. You might get a Distortion effect, maybe a Chorus, and perhaps a Delay effect, if it's slightly newer. Moogs are famously minimalist in this department. Digital synths usually come with a full battery of effects ranging from Distortion, to Delay, Reverb, Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, possibly Saturation, and multiple types of distortion. Digital synths with lots of effects tend to be more expensive, but in most cases, the effects tend to be quite good (the Virus TI2 has some of the best onboard effects on the market).

When considering buying hardware, considering the onboard effects as well as the filters and oscillators will also be worth investigating.

5. Finally...

Do your homework. There are hundreds of synths out there, each with their own special timbral characteristics and features, and it would be impossible to try and list them all here.

As a general rule of thumb though, based on genres, these are features you'll need to look for to find a good synth you'll get lots of use out of:

Trance: Polyphonic, with 5-100 voices. Some kind of Unisono Spread/ SuperSaw detune feature to create wide, complex trance synths. Good onboard reverb and delay are nice but not necessary. A good Chorus effect will serve you well. The more modulation options, the better.

House: Depending on the subgenre of house, a Monophonic or Duo/Paraphonic synth will serve you well, although a Polyphonic synth for bigroom house producers will do you a lot of good. Fat Analog warmth for basslines and leads is helpful, as is decent distortion capabilities. Analog filters will definitely be a plus.

Dubstep/ Riddim: Polyphonic Digital, for sounds requiring wavetables and lots of modulation, as well as high enough voicing counts to handle complex wavetable modulation. Onboard reverb/ delay not quite as essential, but solid distortion is a must. The more modulation options the better.

Drum & Bass: Depending on the style of DnB, a good Mono or Para synth will serve you well for Reese basses, deep sub basslines, and intense leads. Either Analog or Digital will work equally well, although the added warmth from Analog distortion might add a nice touch to the basslines.

Techno: Largely depends on style of Techno, but an Analog Mono or Duophonic synth will sound just right for techno. All the warm fat low end and oddball lead sounds will be done quite nicely by an Analog Mono. A Digital Poly or Paraphonic synth will also do super nicely, but the extra voicing and tons of added features are a bit on the overkill side.

With this guide in hand, I hope you can go forward and make a better, more informed hardware purchase.

Play on!

Dawnchaser is a Pacific Northwest-based electronic music producer, mountaineer, documenter of all things adventure, mountain, and travel-related, and manager of Kulshan Recordings. If he’s not in the studio writing music about adventures, he’s out on one.