I just got a Minimoog Voyager Performer Ed. (April 17th, brand new in a closed box!!), and I’ve been enjoying it very much! It was a dream of mine since I got my first Moog, a Little Phatty. Since then, I’ve bought a lot of things before realizing that the only instrument I really needed/wanted was a Voyager. Before that, I simply couldn’t justify spending a lot of money on a monosynth, which now I see as a mistake. I’ll keep a few others, but I’ve sold a lot of stuff in the past month - couldn’t be happier!
Anyway, just wanted to share how happy I am with it. It is really an incredible instrument and I’m pretty sure that I’ll keep it for life.
I also wanted to ask a few questions, although I know that some of them can be found on this forum, I’ve been trying to look for answers for a long time without success (14 years worth of information?). I’ve also read the manual and didn’t find these…
Is there a shortcut for current panel settings?
Is there a way to save the “show parameters” thing to NO?
Does it take some time (secs maybe) to save things to the buffer edited preset (so I can compare it)?
Is there a shortcut to compare preset vs edited sound?
Thanks a lot! If you can share any other shortcuts I’d really appreciate it.
I recently felt the same thing buying what is -paradoxally- my first bass. Sometimes, you even try alternatives to just understand that you already have your instrument or effetct of choice. Anyways, congrats on your Voyager, glad to read it suits you perfect!
As far as your questions, I’ll let anyone answer since I’ve only ever played with an Old School Voyager.
EDIT: question… have you part with your Little Phatty since then?..
Thank you for your comment. Yes, it’s a love history! I’m ecstatic that I finally got it.
To be clear on what I’ve sold, these are the ones that went away in the last year: Nord Electro 4 73, DSI Prophet 08, Volca Sample, Volca Bass, Boutique JU-06, Boutique JP-08, Boutique JX-03, Bass Station 2 and a KC-150 amp. I didn’t sell these to fund the Voyager - I could afford it without selling any of these, but I wasn’t willing to spend that much on a mono synth (big mistake on my part) and space was kind of a problem.
As for the Little Phatty - I won’t ever sell it. It has a very special place in my heart. Not only it is my first analog synth, it has a sound that I simply love and the portability that I consider ideal. I just love my Little Phatty, just as I now do love my Voyager. It’s a totally different feeling when compared to other synthesizers I had. There’s one synth I regret selling and it’s the Roland V-Synth GT - one instrument I also loved but at the time was insanely addicted to the P08 sound and couldn’t afford it without letting the V go.
The following assumes you have OS 3.6 loaded but I think many of these functions are also in 3.5 and maybe a few versions earlier:
Is there a shortcut for current panel settings?
In the Edit menu find the “Preset Cursor” function. Set it to 3 - Real Panel Values. You’ll then have to save this to the patch(es) you want to use it for. Or set it to 0- Global Cursor and again save it to the patch(es) you want to use it for. Then in Master mode go to Cursor Button and set it to Real Panel Values.
Is there a way to save the “show parameters” thing to NO?
Yes hit the Panel button (maybe twice) and go to Parameter Display; select No. It should remember this setting on power cycling.
Does it take some time (secs maybe) to save things to the buffer edited preset (so I can compare it)?
Hmmm - not on mine as it’s fairly instantaneous
Is there a shortcut to compare preset vs edited sound?
Same procedure as your first question above - just select 2 - Compare Sound
Hmmm… maybe something is wrong with mine. I’m using 3.5 (from factory) and when I power it up I need to do the same routine of going thru the menus. I thought that maybe there’s something I need to do in order to save this preference. Now I’m worried.
As for shortcuts, I was able to do it by navigating thru the menu, I just wanted to know if there was a faster way. Nice to know that I can save the “panel mode” per patch. Good.
I’m gonna search more for this panel setting to see if I’m missing something.
Yes! I’ve been following that group for a long time (for Little Phatty related stuff). It’s a great source of information.
Answers to my own questions:
In order to use the global cursor function, you have to be on latest versions (3.6 only?). After switching the GLOBAL CURSOR to its functional state, you have to access MASTER > COPYRIGHT > +1 > GLOBAL CURSOR, so you can enable it for the entire bank (and it has to be done for each bank individually).
The parameter display preference is saved on the more recent updates (maybe I was using OS 3.0 for some reason). No problems here.
It is fairly instantaneous, just as stated by Markyboard.
Pretty much the same as question 1, but instead of selecting “real panel parameters”, you’d choose “compare sound”.
I was searching this forum for some information, and started wondering the points where the oscillators on the Voyager would be closer to the Model D. After some time searching, Greg from KnobTweat (great source for Moog information), pointed to a small document that had all I wanted.
The following information was provided by Greg Kist & Brian Glock on “Vintage, Voyager or Virtual – A Comparison Test”.
_Our experience in conducting these tests brought to light some of the basic considerations for translating a Minimoog patch to the Voyager. If you should ever need to do this (such as translating a patch from the Minimoog Patch Book to the Voyager), here are some things to keep in mind if an authentic Minimoog re-creation is the goal:
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Use a single output taken from the Voyager’s RIGHT output only. This output is unaffected by the SPACING control, so that knob setting makes no difference in a patch (helps to keep thing simple).
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Make sure the Voyager’s filter is set to Dual Lowpass (LP/LP) mode.
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Don’t include waveform modulation (the Minimoog has no PWM capabilities).
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To duplicate the Minimoog oscillator waveforms on the Voyager, use these WAVE settings:
Triangle Wave: 000
Tri-Saw Hybrid Wave (aka ‘Sharktooth’ wave): 025 Sawtooth Wave: 088
Square Wave: 178
Pulse Wave (35%): 220
Narrow Pulse Wave (15%): 250
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Filter Keyboard Control: The Minimoog’s keyboard control switches 1 & 2 provide 1/3 and 2/3 keyboard scaling control of the filter cutoff, respectively. To duplicate this behavior on the Voyager, use these KEYBOARD CONTROL AMOUNT knob values:
Keyboard control 1: 98 Keyboard control 2: 180
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The Voyager’s AMOUNT TO FILTER control is bipolar, but the Minimoog Filter’s AMOUNT OF CONTROL function is positive only. Keep all Voyager AMOUNT TO FILTER adjustments in the positive range.
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The Minimoog doesn’t have a dedicated RELEASE envelope control knob, so set the Voyager’s DECAY and RELEASE envelope controls to the same values._
This is not something I’ll be going for frequently, but it’s a nice guideline for conventional sound or when using old Minimoog sounds for reference. Cheers!
You’re welcome. I’m exploring the Minimoog Voyager a bit more before getting it to be the main part of my sound. I’m loving every minute.
I’ve done some conversions on the waveform for those who, like me, don’t like the “display parameter” thing… these values are based on the numbers that go on the knob for each parameter. The decimals are approximations for when the knob isn’t perfectly positioned for the value.
Waveforms
Triangle: 000 - knob at 0
Sharktooth: 025 - knob at 1,2
Sawtooth: 088 - knob at 3
Square: 178 - knob at 7
Pulse: 220 - knob at 8,5
Narrow Pulse: 250 - knob at 9,7
Keyboard control of filter
1/3: 98 - knob at 4
2/3: 180 - knob at 7
Also messed a lot with pot mapping… this is a super nice addition to the Voyager! Key pitch to filter spacing at 25% sounds magical!!
Hey guys, I’m kind of sad now… I’ve just perceived some kind of oscillator leakage on the left channel with the filter totally closed. I don’t know if this is a miscalibration thing or really a problem, but either way, I’d have to open my Minimoog to adjust something or send the boards to Moog Music.
I’ll search more information on this forum about it, hoping for the best. Already contacted Moog Music, I’ll wait for a response tomorrow… I know I shouldn’t, but I’m really worried. Sending this from Brazil will be tough.
Yes, the small oscillator leak continues, but I’m not actually really worried about it, as it seems simple to solve with some calibration on a VCA trimmer (according to Adam and also a friend of mine that works with electronics and builds his own synths as a hobby). I’m currently waiting for Moog to share with me which trimmer controls this VCA I need to adjust.
Here’s my baby…
Wanted to share with you a simple video that I did, tweaking some sounds on the fly, trying to show what the Voyager can do. It’s a long video, but I actually liked the result, even though it’s not exactly a musical video. I didn’t find any video like this one when I was lusting pretty hard for the Voyager, so I thought that maybe it would be nice to make one myself.
Thanks. I couldn’t agree more… what an incredible instrument!
It seems that this trimmer is the overall output adjustment, isn’t it? I received the calibration manual but didn’t want to open the thing before being 100% sure of what I need to adjust, so I can do it only once.
The question is: isn’t there any other trimmer related to VCA stuff that isn’t documented in the calibration manual? I wonder simply because the leak is single sided (left output), and not on both.
