Voyager purchase

[goldphinga]

Modulargirl i respect your views but why did u start this thread in the firstplace if u have no intention of buying a voyager?? if u want a modular then thats what u should get. i can do with out the problems and hassle, the space requirements and general out of dateness! i'm not gonna try and convince u anymore. u should see a synth psychiatrist.

[modulagirl]

Hi goldphinga, I was interested in buying a Voyager, as I said in my original post's. Modular synths, in my opinion, will never be out of date, witness the trend for increasing demand, and new manufacturers are springing up all the time. The fact is that you can achieve lots more with them, and they are very simple to understand, you can see everything in front of you, unlike the confusing pages of a soft synth. There is something very gratifying about creating patches on a modular, you can do things that other equipment wouldn't "allow" you to do, you can patch the input to the output for instance, and a lot of other perverse but interesting things as well, you can create endless feedback loops, unconventional routings, also, as in Doepfer's case, they are reproducing a lot of the classic ideas that Don Buchla though of in the 60's thats enough reasons for me to think that they will always be around. I can laways remember the day I walked into my first studio, valves glowing, huge modular lurking in the background, great big speakers and a mixing desk the size of a supertanker, WOW ! these things are important you know ! if you dont' know what I am talking about then you have missed out !
You got the feeling that you were a part of a huge machine, interacting with it in the true sense, touching, patching, feeling the warmth of the valves, the whirring of the tape machines, definatly not like the sterile enviroment of the computer based studio of today, not that their is anything wrong with computers, you pay your money and you takes your choice !
I am not one of these people who joins a forun and agrees with everyone, forums are about healthy debate and a chance to bring up ideas for discussion. The Voyager is probbaly a great synth for someone who likes that sort of thing, if it sounded like my old Mini I would have bought it on the spot, it was my opinion that mattered, I'm the one who is going to have to use the thing, you know as well as me that if something apeals it apeals from the moment you switch it on, and that didnt happen for me.

I respect your views too goldphinga, happy music making !

Take care,

Sonia.

[goldphinga]

Hey Sonia, its all good. have u compared the voyager side by side with a model d to confirm that it doesn't sound the same? are u still going ahead with a trial of the voyager or is that off the cards now?

[modulagirl]

Hi, yes, I am going to have the Voyager on loan for a week, I used to work for a hire compnay, and I am going to arrange the hire of a Mini Moog for a couple odays as well, that should be interesting, but I suppose I shouldnt really think of the Voyager as just another Mini clone, as it is a completely different instrument with lots of other uses. We will see, I may love it after a week, who knows, will keep you posted. Cant help thinking that Turnkey are having trouble selling them though, they seem willing to do anything to get a sale.

Take care,

Sonia.

[GregAE]

Sonia -

Be aware that the current Voyager OS is 2.5. You can download it here:

http://moogmusic.com/detail.php?product ... uct_id=109

Also, there are four factory sound banks for the Voyager. You can download them from the Performer and Anniversary Edition pages on the Moog site. I found the patches to be a bit of a mixed bag, but they should give you a good idea of what the Voyager can do.

Also, if you have any out-board processing available, give it a try, Since the Voyager doesn't have any built-in effects, some sounds don't 'come alive' until you add a bit of processing, IMO.

Oh, and don't forget the Voyager review in the November SOS. Worth a read if you're serious about the Voyager.

My .02.

Greg

[KarnEvil]

I would point out that although the Voyager isn't as bright and powerful as the minimoog, it still sounds very close. Yes, initially the Voyager will feel a bit more difficult to program than the minimoog, but after a while it be very intuitive and easy to get the sounds you want. You should definately not measure this synth (vger) by the factory presets. When did a synth have good presets showing of it's biggest potential? I think it would be a mistake to program the Voyager like that anyway.
I've been able to dublicate all the classic Emerson sounds from "Brain Salad Surgery" etc., and also gotten very close to those classic Genesis ARP sounds to give you a couple of examples. Yes, the Voyager can sound very big and brassy, but you need to work a bit to get there, unlike the minimoog which sounds fairly big, no matter what the knobs are set at.
This makes the Voyager much more versatile, if you ask me.
I haven't got a single original preset on my voyager left, either I've improved the existing ones or made completely new ones (for the most part). Before one gives up on the Voyager, on should spend some time tweaking and making your own sounds. Unlike the minimoog, the Voyager can in some cases sound a bit dull. However, it can also sound "quite" good when programmed right...

[GregAE]

KarnEvil -

Please consider posting your patches either here or at the Yahoo Voyager forum. Would be very interested to hear what you've done.

One sound in particular that continues to elude me is Emo's synth sound at the end of "From the Beginning". No matter what I've tried on the Voyager, I've had no luck. It's possible that it was done on Emo's Moog modular, which could be the reason why I can't get it on the Voyager. Have you tried to get this sound?

Greg

[KarnEvil]

GregAE:

My computer and midi-gear is at my parents house, far away from where I'm studying right now, so it would be a bit cumbersome for me to arrange this. However, I've made quite a number of very unusual (for moog) ARP-like sounds, that I want to express "my sound", and therefore I am a bit hesitant to release them. Sorry..., but I'm sure you'll understand.
For me it's very important to have my own sounds, and the ones I have now, took me many, many hours to create...

Regarding the Emerson (Karn Evil 9 etc.) sounds, it's very much in the filters. Using resonance and a slow opening of the filter attack and fast volume attack. Also using the decay correctly is important to get a punchy attack (somewhere around 10-12 o'clock, with the sustain opened up - pluss using the filtermix at round 2-3 o-clock). -but I'm sure you already know most of this...
The sound at "From The Beginning" is done on a Moog ModularIII, and is impossible to attain using the Voyager. Too bad really, because it is a very nice sound!
However, I really like to experiement with the BP-filtermode. It can really sound great. Kind of a mix between the Minimoog and the Odessey.

Anyway, I think the Voyager sounds awsome. BUT: I _always_ runs it through a decent tubeamb. It takes away the slightly sterile/pinched sound of the Voyager, when compared to a minimoog. A tubepreamp is absolutely a must for getting the classic minimoog-sound with the voyager IMO. When run through a tubeamb (I use digitech SGS-2112 actually, a guitar effectrack..), I can't think of a more musical sounding synth than the Voyager. Simply outstanding...

[Qwave]

I use the feedback loop trick to get the Voyager real close to my Minimoog #111xx. But not too much. If applied to much feedback the Voyager sounds a bit strange and very unlike the Minimoog. And using a single output (= single lowpass) is also a great methode to get closer to THE Minimoog sound.

Adding a tube amp is a great add-on for all synths. Even a Casio VL-1 will sound much nicer if played through a tube amp.

[GregAE]

I understand your reluctance to post your sonic efforts.

I kind of figured that the 'From the Beginning' sound was done on a modular. I think Trilogy was released just before the Minimoog came out. I'll have to check Arturia's Moog Modular software to see if that patch is there.

Totally agree on the tube pre. I use a Presonus Blue Tube to process my Voyager and it really makes the MMV come alive, especially with bass sounds. The cool thing about today's tube pres is that many of them allow you to swap out the 12AX7 tube - I swapped out the stock 12AX7 in my unit with a Groove Tubes 'Mullard' reissue tube (12AX7M). To my ears the Blue Tube sounds smoother with the Mullard tube. I tried tubes from China (12AX7C) and Russia (12AX7R) and thought they sounded a bit rougher, more agressive. It's a subtle effect, but there is a difference.

I also use a Boss VF-1 multi-effects processor with my MMV. The VF-1 has a number of great effects (amp/cab sims, time delay effects, vocoder, ring mod, etc.) including one that makes my Voyager sound like Pat Metheny's guitar synth! That MMV/VF-1 patch combination is my secret weapon which I won't share with anyone.

Cheers!

Greg

[KarnEvil]

>I also use a Boss VF-1 multi-effects processor with my MMV. The VF-1 has >a number of great effects (amp/cab sims, time delay effects, vocoder, >ring mod, etc.) including one that makes my Voyager sound like Pat >Metheny's guitar synth! That MMV/VF-1 patch combination is my secret >weapon which I won't share with anyone.

Hehe! I hear you..
I've also spent A LOT of time trying to get as close to the synclavier (??) guitar synth sound of Pat Metheny. (I'm a huge fan, I think I have about 30 cds with him...). I'm getting some fairly decent results with using only two oscs, and adding some very slight LFO to only one of the oscs.
Good enough for me anyway..

[LWG]

Hello,

Pat Metheny can be seen playing the Synclavier guitar synth on the dvd release with Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, and Dave Holland.
The selections in the performance are from the Jack DeJohnette release
titled Parallel Realities, also with the same personnel.


Regards,


LWG

[KarnEvil]

Thanks! I'll check that out. Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny... sounds interesting.

[modulagirl]

Sorry I have not kept you posted about my exploits, computer crashed and I had to re-format, now you know why I hate them ! Loads of things to catch up on regarding the internet etc but was offline for ages fixing things !
I got some bugs called googlemsn and coolsearch, they are difficult to erase, they infect your registry and replicate on boot up, the only option was to re-format. Tried all the fixes but none worked, so look out folks ! I spend a lot of time online so I gues I was vulnerable to attack, I now have a firewall so hopefully that will help.
Well, I don't have a Voyager, BUT I DO HAVE A MINI MOOG !! : It had to be done, it was chalk and cheese for me, the Mini just sounds so much fuller and bigger than the Voyager, I have "big" speakers in my "little" studio it is a bit like wearing headphones in my room, you can really tell, so I am happy now and can go to bed with the thought that I can look forward to a good relationship with my local repair center ! but hopefully not.

Take care folks, I'm off to look at my Moog

Best wishes to you all,

Sonia

[goldphinga]

Hey sonia, glad to hear u finally got a moog! still, i stand by my word that the voyager is every bit as fat as the mini. the mistake most people make when checking the voyager out is obvious. the factory presets are poor and the filters are set up completely differently to the mini.(ie stereo) a dummy jack in output 2 will give u the minimoog sound instantly.

i have created all my favourite mini sounds very faithfully on the voyager. its a shame u never really discovered the virtues of the voyager, it really can blow the minimoog away and sound like pretty much any monosynth to boot. above all though the voyager is an instrument in its own right and is the perfect present day alternative to the mini.the fact that the voyager sits a little smaller in a mix is a good thing, but it is no less fat or full sounding in my opinion. i have extensively compared and tested minis/voyagers/sources and they are all on par with each other in terms of sound quality. the mini out of all is the least suitable for live performance,particularly if u need more than one patch per tune. anyway enough ranting! all the best,dan.