Device · Machine
Moog
The Little Phatty on “Peggy Sue,” Lou Reed’s Moog on “Cheat on Me,” and the pedals and the theremin I brought back from the factory.
Moog Music makes analogue synthesizers and effects in Asheville, North Carolina, the company Bob Moog founded. The Little Phatty, from 2006, and the Minimoog Voyager, from 2002, are two of its keyboards. moogmusic.com
On Lou Reed’s “Peggy Sue”, 2011, the bass is a Moog Little Phatty. On the Lulu sessions with Metallica, the first song we recorded was “Cheat on Me,” which opens on a riff I play alone on the Moog; that Moog was Lou’s, a Minimoog Voyager. Lou brought the whole band to the Moog factory in Asheville on April 30, 2008, the day after we played the Orange Peel there on the spring 2008 tour, and I brought some Moog pedals back from there. It was also the day Lou first tried the Moog Guitar, which has its own page. I bought two Moogerfoogers: the Ring Modulator and the FreqBox. I bought the FreqBox because with an expression pedal, in sync mode, it gives a sort of wah: it restarts its frequency on every zero crossing of the input signal, so it stays in sync, and instead of sounding like a free pitch it changes timbrally as you change the frequency. Wild stuff. Lou got more than one; the most memorable was the analog delay, which I wanted badly, but it was very expensive. I also bought a Moog theremin that day, and I still have it.
The Moog that I played on “Cheat On Me” was Lou Reed’s Moog. It was a Mini-Moog Voyager, I believe, before Lou brought the whole band to the Moog factory. They call it Moog, but anyway, it was pretty great to see them making this stuff there. How few people were able to do all the output at that company. And I brought back some pedals from there. I’ve always loved those pedals; they’re amazing. The knobs are great.
Sarth Calhoun, September 26, 2026
The creditSarth Calhoun and Moog: a Little Phatty on Lou Reed’s “Peggy Sue” (Rave On Buddy Holly, 2011, Discogs credit), and Lou Reed’s Minimoog Voyager on the Lulu recording of “Cheat on Me” (2011); two Moogerfooger pedals, the Ring Modulator and the FreqBox, and a Moog theremin, bought at the factory on April 30, 2008.
On the record
The Discogs credit for “Peggy Sue” reads bass, Little Phatty. The first day of the Lulu recording, and the riff on the Moog, are in the note on the I Before E page.
My thoughts
The Little Phatty is the Discogs credit. Lou’s Voyager, the factory and the pedals are as I said on September 26, 2026, the Voyager confirmed the same day, and in my note on I Before E; the visit was the day after the Orange Peel, which Glide Magazine photographed on April 29, 2008.