I’m the proud owner of a minimoog Voyager. I sold my old Model D some years back to get it because I really needed the reliability since I gig with mine. Anyway, of course my hat’s off to MOOG MUSIC with this updated release of the greatest synth of all time. However for some reason, an essential funtion somehow was forgotten and I to this day can’t for the life of me figure why. It’s the Modulation Mix knob.
The Modulatin Mix knobe resides next to the glide amount knob. When you have Osc. 1 and 2 routed to Osc. 3 for modulation, in the is case triangle wave vibrato, the Modulation Mix knob “mixes” the amount of signal that goes to Osc. 3 at one extreme position and Noise at the other extreme. The result is an organic, screaming sound that no other synth can produce (with the exception of a Modular of course). I actually have (and still gig with) a MemoryMoog which is also lacking this feature. It’s the ONLY feature to be left out of these synths. For those of you that don’t know what this sounds like, try listening to YES’ Tales from Topographic Oceans, side 1, The Revealing Scence of God. In the opening ‘prayer’, Rick kicks in with it when it starts to pick up in power. It’s just a single note, B, B octave higher, back down… etc. Rick uses it again during his solo at the end - you can hear him kick it in. It’s an unreal sound.
Now I’ve managed to fake this sound on Voyager by using the first modulation section for routing everything (no choice) to use Noise as a source, and mod wheel as a destination. Then, I use the second modulation section (foot) to route everything to LFO triagle for vibrato - and hear’s the trick - then remap the amount pot in that section to the mod wheel. THis is basically it, I don’t have the synth in front of me while I write this, but you see where I’m going in this.
Ok, here’s where I need help from guys at MOOG - preferably someone ‘OLD SCHOOL’. (Yes, I know it, it looks great but I’m talking human tech guys, not the new machine.) I don’t know how the Model D was hard-wired. A certified Moog tech friend of mine tells me that only Osc. 2 actually went through the Noise Generator, not all 3. He also believes that it also might have gone through the filter somehow as well. Since I’m not an electronic engineer, I don’t know the answer to this. I guess the original schematics would show what’s going on behind the Model D panel. Anyway, the result I’m getting is ok at best, but still doesn’t sound as good as the old Model D. Close, but still very lacking.
By the way, world renouned Synthesist Wendy Carlos dubed this effect “Magic”, which I think is a very good term for the sound. It’s one of the main reasons (I’m SURE) that Rick has his old Model D handy to the right hand even today, while his newer Voyager is over on the left side of his rig.
Any suggestions for beefing up this great sound?? Any hope of MOOG doing a bit of programming to resolve this classic feature that’s been cast asside?
The minimoog noise generator is a reversed biased BJT transistor in breakdown mode, none of the oscillators have anything to do with it.
Technical detail: the PINK/WHITE switch on the model D minimoog did two things at once. When used as an audio source to route through the filter, it selects pink/white noise. When used as a modulation source (which is routed to MODULATION MIX control), it selects red/pink noise. Red noise has less high frequency content and closely emulates smoothed S&H on the Voyager.
I was looking for a solution using SHAPING on the mod buss but it does not offer noise source or S&H for a shaping source. Don’t count on this option being implemented in Voyager software as it is a hardware solution which is not available.
You’ll need a CP-251 and a VX-351. The VX-351 offers smoothed S&H at a dedicated output, so route this to the CP-251 four input mixer, CP-251 LFO triangle to the mixer, then the output of the mixer to the MOD1 jack on the Voyager rear panel. Then set Mod Wheel Buss Source=MOD1, Destination=Pitch. Use the CP-251 mixer input controls to blend LFO and S&H, then the mod wheel should fade in the blended amount.
This basic technique is also described in the Little Phatty User’s Manual, in the section on using the CP-251 with the LP. This works, but the effect isn’t quite the same.
A VX-351 (which only works with the Voyager) and a CP-251 will provide you with a better way of creating the ‘magic’ Modulation Mix effect, as MC suggests.
You can do this modulation mix trick with the Voyager’s pot-mapping function- you could assign Mod Wheel Amount to control Pedal Amount, 100%, Inverted. Set the Mod Wheel Buss Source to Osc.3, and the Pedal Buss Source to Noise. In pot mapping assign the Mod Wheel to control MOD1 100%, Normal. Set both Mod bus destinations to the same thing (Pitch or Filter) Now the Mod Wheel sets the level of both mod busses, and the Mod Wheel buss Amount pot controls the balance of Osc. 3/ Noise modulation.
It still isn’t exactly the same as the original mini but is a reasonable facsimile and requires no external hardware…