Hi team! I’m looking to make me a Moog purchase pretty soon.
Question: why should I go for a Moog Voyager when I can pay almost half for 2 Slim Phattys?
Voyager has only 3 oscillators, while 2 Phattys have 4.
What will I be missing if I decide to go for the Phattys over the Voyager?
Thanks in advance!!
Completely different machines. Methinks you may want to look into them both a little deeper.
Rick is right. Both are very different machines.
I’ll tell you what though… I sold an SP I didn’t like much and used the extra funds to buy the Voyager Lunar Impact. I have not looked back since.
In any case, determine your budget, needs, and wants… then look at both synths again. I was disappointed by the SP (lengthy warmup time on my unit back when I had it that interfered with my workflow… while the other synths it was chained to were ready to go, the SP required some added patience I did not possess and it was not as stable as the other guys), but I know that many others have enjoyed theirs and that’s cool because that’s what matters.
When you polychain (or simply note priority chain) two phatties, you don’t have the modulation options between the two synths that you would enjoy on the Voyager itself. While 2 SPs give you 4 oscillators, the Voyager gives you three that interact fairly well with each other. This is not to say that you can’t do a lot with a polychain or note priority chain. The latter has led to great results in my experience, in fact.
In my setup, the Minimoog Voyager is my bassist while other instruments fill other roles. Think about what you would use the two SPs for as opposed to one Voyager and vice versa. The possibilities may not be endless, but they are interesting.
Add to that the different specs on both machines. Do an A/B test if you can. Think about redundancy either piece would bring to your current setup, if any.
I hope that helps.
In the words of Forest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that.” 
one word: modulation
another word: voyager’s filter is way more flexible.
But modulation is the main difference I noticed when first using the phatty.
The 3 osc / 4 osc arithmetics is flawed. Too long to explain here. Everybody seems to equate “stacking” or “layering” with “power”. It is not so. A 32-oscillators synth in unison could sound thinner than a two-osc synth with pwn, sinc, freq mod, etc.
In the short amount of time I’ve owned a Voyager, I have noticed how very beefy its oscillators are. Playing just one saw osc on the Voyager feels and sounds somehow complete, like it doesn’t need anything else to go along with it. This is not so with the Phatty. Playing just one osc on my old Phatty made me feel strangely naked. Lacking, to rephrase. Also, due to the Voyager’s extensive modulation capabilities and remarkably smooth keyboard, it is infinitely more expressive than the Phatty. Velocity sensetivity, aftertouch, the ability to use osc 3 as a 2nd LFO, or, something I particularly like, using osc 3 as an individually tunable drone note… But now I’m gushing about my new instrument. I digress. 
Possibilities of Voyager aren’t endless?
I used to own a Phatty. They aren’t much different in their texture of sound are they? Other than the SP having less presets and oscillators?
Thought as much tbh.
Would it be accurate to say that the Voyager sounds fatter?
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Thanks for the feedback guys. Might have to go for the Voyager.
Also would it be smart to ask for a comparison of Voyager VS Prophet 08 on this forum?
No… (polyphony) 
I think it would be accurate to say that. We can sit here and talk up the Voyager all day long, that’s just what we tend to do. I don’t, however, want you to think that going with a Phatty would be in any way a bad decision. I had a Little Phatty for four years. I loved it to death, and I used it extensively on every recording I did during that time. Why did I swap it out for a Voyager? I outgrew it. The Litle Phatty is an amazing place for budding synthesists to get their hands on a real analog synth, and actually learn how to sculp sound with one. It sounds fantastic too, by the way. That being said, eventually you will get to the point where you know the Phatty like the back of you hand, and you’ll become aware of the many things you’d like to do as a synthesist, but aren’t able to do with the Phatty. The Phatty is not so basic as, say, a Rogue or a Prodigy, but it has its limitations and as you grow as a synthesist, you will recognize them. What I’m trying to say I guess, is that if you can sit down and play a Phatty for three hours and not feel limited, then you should go with the Phatty.
The way I see it is the Voyager is for people who have played synthesizers for a number of years, and have said to themselves: “Okay, this is something I’m really serious about. I don’t want to have any limitations on my creativity, and I don’t give a hoot how much it’s going to cost me.”
Don’t get me wrong: the Voyager, like every other synthesizer, or musical instrument for that matter, has its limitations. You just don’t really notice them. 
Comparing a Voyager to a Prophet would be pointless. They are both analog synthesizers, yes, but they sound absolutely nothing alike and are used for completely different things. You’re not going to get anywhere asking a question like that.
That’s very true. I have outgrown the Phatty. I know it in and out, backwards and forwards. I’ve accomplished every sound possible using the LP, MF102, MF103, and CP-251. Having these items at my disposal, and discovering I needed more, is what prompted me to go modular. Why not Voyager, you ask? Because I’ve heard the LP and I’ve heard the Voyager. I like the way the LP sounds, as opposed to the Voyager. They definitely have a different sound, and it goes beyond the LP’s Filter Overload.
I hear you loud and clear. I’ve had a Phatty and Micron for many years. Nows the time for me to up the game by getting my hands on an Access Virus and Voyager. I would want to be fully confident that I have the maxed out weapons to materials my ideas with.
In your own personal opinion, what do you think the Voyager and Prophet 08 are each intended for?
I would also like to add that I don’t believe in pigeon-holing synthesizers to a specific genre. Especially sophisticated ones that have advanced sound design capabilities.
Interesting. I thought they all sound the same. How would you describe the difference in sound?
I completely agree. I have, on a number of occasions now, found myself frustrated at the fact that I cannot recreate some of my favorite Little Phatty patches on my Voyager. The Little Phatty definitely has a certain bite to it that the Voyager doesn’t. I’m fond of its tone, and I miss it quite a lot actually. For the music I create, however, I do prefer the Voyager’s more refined, subtle tonality. To each his own.
That is an astonishingly patronising attitude there compadre… I could not disagree more. By your own peremptory logic you would have also “outgrown” a Model D or an ARP 2600.
Both instruments have their own sound and the interface is a part of that. To imply it is some sort of beginners synth completely disregards the musicality of the instrument and the player.
I’d still take the Voyager over 2 SP’s though.
I guess what I meant to say is that I wanted something more expressive. The Little Phatty is a great synth, not in any way should it be considered a “beginner’s instrument”, but I think it is a perfect synthesizer to learn analog synthesis on.
This I can get on board with! 
The LP uses a different oscillator design. One that is more bare-bones than the Voyager’s oscillator. The LP oscillator sounds…how do you say…harsher, I guess. It has more growl and bite than the Voyager’s oscillators which are softer, I would say. I prefer the LP’s sound over the Voyager’s even though I could use the various modulation possibilities that The Voyager has to offer. The sound for me is more important, because I have a .com in the works. I do a lot of experimental type stuff, that wanders into the almost musical, and the LP offers the kinds of sounds I want. It truly comes down to A.)How much you have to spend, B.)The type of sounds you’re trying to get, and C.)What features you absolutely can’t live without. I don’t require aftertouch, and while certain modulation options would be nice, there are things one can do with a full-on $3000 modular that can’t be done on a Voyager. I would NEVER sell my LP, even if someone gifted me a Voyager, simply because they are two separate instruments, and I really NEED a dedicated pads machine. My opinion, TIFWIW.
I wasn’t exactly impressed with the Phatty when I played one for the first time (Stage I), but none of the construction complaints that I have really are relevant to the SP.
The tiny difference in sound is not enough to pass over the extensive filtering and modulation options, because the Voyager can be fattened up in various ways with patching tricks that simply aren’t possible on a Phatty.
The Voyager just offers more for a synthesist in a beautifully designed knob-per-function interface that makes the instrument easy to learn on and it’s furniture quality cabinet rounds off the whole package of a professional instrument.
If people are in a position to CONSIDER a Voyager, they should get one. The only way I would choose a Phatty over a Voyager is cost, size, or weight was the most important factors.
I would have appreciated the Slim Phatty more if they put the interface on the front of the instrument, since it is suited to be in a rack.
To the guy who said that the Little Phatty was a good beginner’s board and out growing it, you are dead wrong sir.
The Phatty and Voyager are similar, they have slightly different sounds but they are like brothers. We are talking shades of grey here, not a black and white difference like between a Voyager and a DSI Mopho. The Voyager has the extra oscillator and aftertouch and more knobs, and more routing capabilities and you can get some different types of sounds on it because of the extra osc but the Little Phatty has a lot to offer too. It is cheaper, a lot smaller and lighter, and easier to gig with. I mean if you’re gigging, you’re going to have at least a main board like an Electro or Kurzweil and the Moog. Setting up a $3500 Moog and a $2500 main board on an X-stand in a bar full of drunk chicks and frat boys doing the running man would put the worry on anyone. A $1200 Phatty is a little less stressful. Plus it is more convenient to lug around and set up.
Sure I’d like a Voyager but truth be told if I had one it’d probably stay safe at home rather than pub crawl like my Phatty. If you have a studio the Voyager would be great but even then for the cost of the Voyager you could get a Phatty and Prophet 8 and have something with a different sound and polyphony. Don’t get me wrong I do want a Voyager but I’ll have to wait and it will probably just be something that I compose with at home in my study as opposed to something to gig with.
The argument that the Phatty is something you’d outgrow because it doesn’t have as many routing capabilities doesn’t really hold water. The Phatty can do a whole lot more than a Model D and you don’t see people griping that the Model D is just for kids, also the same argument can be said for the Voyager compared to a DSI Mopho or Prophet. The DSI’s have so many more LFO’s and so much more routing capabilities compared to the Voyager that it isn’t even funny. You can almost do anything you can think of on them, really flexible, but that doesn’t mean that the Voyager is a beginner’s machine.
Honestly the only two things that are really missed on the Phatty are aftertouch and a noise generator. You really lose a lot of expressive capability without aftertouch and you are missing out on a whole class of sounds without the noise generator. The Phatty would be perfect with both of those but maybe having it would take away some sales from the Voyager.
Swim Fast,
AnchovyD
I presume I am the one you are talking to, and I agree with you on most points made here. I think you may wish to review some earlier posts in this thread, as I rephrased my original statement at one point. I, however, stand by my comment stating that I had outgrown the Phatty. There is no way I can be “dead wrong” as it is a simple matter of opinion, and for the style of music I write the Little Phatty did not quite deliver. I think after owning it for four years I am a fair judge of that. The Voyager allows me to play the way I want to, and that is that.
anchovyd wrote:
To the guy who said that the Little Phatty was a good beginner’s board and out growing it, you are dead wrong sir…I presume I am the one you are talking to, and I agree with you on most points made here. I think you may wish to review some earlier posts in this thread, as I rephrased my original statement at one point. I, however, stand by my comment stating that I had outgrown the Phatty. There is no way I can be “dead wrong” as it is a simple matter of opinion, and for the style of music I write the Little Phatty did not quite deliver. I think after owning it for four years I am a fair judge of that. The Voyager allows me to play the way I want to, and that is that.
Man o man, this forum really always seems to boil down to this, and let’s just all agree for once and for all and discuss OTHER THINGS:
1- the Minimoog Model D is the end all be all and those who own one are blessed individuals
2- the Voyager is a new classic and deserves every bit of respect the D gets
3- the Little Phatty is its own synth and shouldn’t be compared to the Voyager because it kicks ass in a completely different way
can I get a witness?
Eyup! I wouldn’t trade my Phatty for anything less than a Moog System 55 with no blank panel spaces. 