hardware issues time for new voyager?

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 6:48 am

i would like moog to bring out a new updated voyager that addresses the hardware limitations in the current version. other manafacturers do this all the time so why not moog, i know they are a smaller company but bringing out a software editor is a not so good solution to some more fundamental hardware issues.(and it still doesnt work on my mac)
these are the issues im talking about.

1.lack of numeric keypad and data wheel-a massive oversight
2.no octave up and down switches-again what boards dont have these nowadays
3.filter cutoff not opening filter all the way so it doesn't have the top end sizzle of earlier moogs-something ive recently noticed that stops the voyager cutting through a mix like old moogs
4.filter not tracking glide-would be nice

come on moog sort out these issues so at least future purchasers wont have to deal with the hassle of moving patches to and from computer just so they can change sounds quickly on a gig. make the voyager more suitable for live performance and dont render its future use to just studios-these are serious problems that should not be present now. end of rant!
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gearlist-voyager ae,moog source,korg ms20,arp string ensemble,microkorg,juno 106,hammondb3, fender rhodes, clav d6.

base1001 · Post by **base1001** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:20 pm

i'll try to give this a shot..

you already have a keyboard, and now there is a preset editor available for pc and mac. data-wheel, i don't know what thet is.

really concerned about an octave up and down, then get a midi-controller for $40 that has +-5 octave. i have a pcr-50, if wanted i could use for the octave, however i have yet to use it for stated purpose.

filter cutoff settns are fine imo, maybe look at getting an additional filter and connect it to yer Voyager. i don't have much experience with some of the older models, however i have seen em on ebay and have came close to getting a model-d.

filter not tracking glide. i dunno.

what does bother atm, is hearing from other voyager users about switches in circuit boards because of older ones being buggy or something. i have a low serial number AE and would be dissapointed to find out my circuit board/s are buggy. i hope its just a rumor. from what i hear the most recently produced voyagers all carry new circuit boards, so if this is you, i am soooo jealus.

Demokid · Post by **Demokid** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 6:30 pm

I love my Voyager. Ok so it doesn’t sound like a Model D but what do you expect from a new synthesizer. Every musician wants to have a synthesizer that sounds unique, fat and is stable. It should also have memories, MIDI, other funky new stuff and still not so expensive. In my opinion this is an impossible equation…
The Voyager is offering all that but the trade off is that it doesn’t sound exactly as a Model D. The reason why old moog products sounds as they do is the electronics used back them. It didn’t have the tolerance that new components have. Oscillators drifting make them sound fat and organic but a hell to use onstage.
I think the Voyager is a fantastic instrument. I don’t have to tune it but it still sounds like a Moog, organic, unique and fat.

Those who are unhappy buy a Model D or a digital synth if they start complaining about the “instability” of analogue synthesizers.

I own a Model D SN:1737 and I love it. I usually don’t need to tune it, I just let it get warm. In the beginning it drifts in tune but after 30-40 minutes it is stable as long as the temperature is stable. I would never take the Model D on the road…

Kind regards
Demokid

PS.
I wonder how the Voyager will sound after 30 years… maybe better…
Owning a vintage analogue synthesizer or a Voyager is like owning a Ferrari. It has issues regarding functionality, endurance, comfort, stability, expensive repairs and so on. But with maintenance and tuned right it got something that NordLead’s, V-Synth’s and Emulators doesn’t have… character, soul and power. It is not for everyone. The rest buy a Volvo or BWM.

DS.

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:22 pm

i love my ae as well, but as a live performance instrument it is really let down by its arcane parameter access. ok heres an example. i have a tune and want to go to patch 15 but im on patch no1. what do i do? wait 4-5 seconds to scroll thru 14 patches? by the time those seconds have passed, the chorus has already started and i missed the first couple of notes of the melody. bad news. the editor does not sort this problem. there should have been bank select switches plus a numeric keypad for an instrument that has over 100 patches and that is at this price bracket. sorry if this offends anyone but in practice the voyager could be better equipped for patch changing, and should be complete without having to have any computer software afterwards.

regarding the sound the voyager does sound on par with the model d but the filter doesnt open bright enough for me. i just cant get that sizzle in the top end that i want, without eq. i'm thinking that maybe the filter can be calibrated internally to open wider as you would a wah wah pedal where the sweep can be adjusted.peas.

MC · Post by MC » Fri Dec 17, 2004 12:16 am

MIDI controllers have numeric keypads. Voyager has a MIDI IN jack. Hmm....

suthnear · Post by **suthnear** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:15 am

goldphinga,

1. I can see why moog left this out as both sets of controls would only be used for preset selection in the voyager. But that still poses a problem for live users. I can think of two solutions besides the ones already mentioned:
- moog could implement an OS update that implemented combo keys. If you held down, say, cursor and then pressed the +/- keys it would step in 10s or even 20s
- you use the editor as a patch manager to organise your patches so that they follow on from each other. Then you only have to change one patch number at a time. It doesn't get any faster than this

2. A pain, I agree. But again, combokeys might fix this: press enter, and then +/- to transpose the keyboard up or down an octave
3. I've already discussed this here. Short of an entirely new oscillator design (which, let's face it, is not going to happen) there is going to be no change here.
4. There does *seem* to be a hardware mod for this (I've never seen it officially confirmed, though), but then you have to send your voyager in. This is definitely something that could be implemented in the factory for future voyagers, though.

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:14 am

thanks all! just to say i do love my voyager but lets hope like u say that some of the issues can be fixed in software. cheers!

suthnear · Post by **suthnear** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:31 am

goldphinga,

Is it the moog source that the voyager's waveshaping oscillator is descended from? If so, how does the brightness of the voyager compare to the source?

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:33 pm

source sounds much brighter in the top end than the voyager, so i presume they arent using the same waves.also can drive the mixer more on the source. the voyager is very well behaved in that department

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 9:40 am

Gold -

Get a simple parametric EQ like a Presonus EQ3B (about $100) and place it in the Mix Out/Filter In loop. Adjust the EQ controls to taste. By emphasizing/cutting low, mid or high frequencies, you change the sound of the oscillators pre-filter. An easy way to adjust the 'character' of the Voyager. Also, by boosting freqencies, you drive the filter a bit harder, which can be a good thing!

Concerning the filter not opening up, have you tried plugging in a modulation pedal into the Filter jack? With the pedal floored, it should open the filter more than just simply turnng Filter Cutoff fully CW.

As far as selecting presets, you could always reprogram things so that required patches are grouped together. This is what the pros do for quick patch changes. Like you, I wish the Voyager had a keypad, but there are always workarounds (not to mention using a MIDI controller w/keypad like MC pointed out).

- G

Cruel Hoax · Post by **Cruel Hoax** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 11:39 pm

I soldered up a custom Mogami cable: TRS on one end and TS on the other. The tip and ring are soldered together. I plug the TRS side into the Mixer Out/Filter In jack (since T and R are soldered together, this doesn't interrupe normal signal flow) and the TS side into the External In. Now you can hit that filter section hot as hell! This is really a secret weapon. The cable is 5 feet long, so it can reach to the floor (to a pedal). This sounds different than patching an output back to the input. It's brighter (no filtering on the feedback signal).

You should really try it.

-Hoax

LWG · Post by **LWG** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:05 am

Cruel Hoax wrote:You should really try it. -Hoax

Hoax,

I believe you refer to the mixer feedback loop. The most well known is the
filter feedback loop in which the right output is fed to the ext. in jack. This works, but it requires pushing the master volume a bit, which I don't like to go too far with on the Voyager.
I prefer the mixer feedback loop myself as it allows you to apply a bit more beef on the signal, while leaving you with the right and left output if you so choose to use both. It also allows you to beef the signal while keeping the master volume at a more moderate level.
I mostly use this loop for patches based on the Model-D.
The mixer feedback mode wouldn't be bad as in internalized mod. It could be wired to external in switch. The switch could be replaced with a three-position rocker. It would allow an additional mode without altering the instruments stock appearance. This would yield three modes:

a) Off (no ext in)

b) On (external in "on" where an external effect can be placed between
mixer and filter.)

c) Internal feedback loop (with ext level knob controlling gain)

The external cable method however, is a more practical method of doing this, as modding an OS-based hardware synth is a different ballgame than synths of yore.
Again, the filter feedback loop is also an effective technique, but you have the aforementioned tradeoff.

Regards,

LWG

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hardware issues time for new voyager?

hardware issues time for new voyager?

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