I don’t need any convincing that the Voyager is the right synth for me, but I have other concerns:
I’ve been told it has OS 3.4 installed but I’m not sure what that entails.
What does the version history of the Voyager look like? are there any “lemon” periods of development? For example I’m not even sure this version has a backlit LCD screen. How old is that? Can it be updated?
Should I be paranoid about all the money I’m going to have to spend to get caught up, or should I just concentrate on the sounds?
I would love to own the synth I’ve been lusting over for years at such a good price but I’m paranoid. Help!
No thats a great deal on one if you have the cash. Go for it. The only “lemonesque” periods would be before any of the hardware modifications enabling 7 banks of 128 presets. THose weren’t even lemons in that respect but if you owned one you would have to upgrade the hardweare to benefitfrom the expanded memory so it would be a hidden cost from a third party purchase. Its not needed though but its handy.
With the exception of the Voyager Old School edition, all Voyagers have backlit LCDs. If you’re looking at a Voyager with an LCD that isn’t backlit, there’s something wrong. You should get a close look at this Voyager if you can, and check for signs of abuse/rough handling (damaged panel, missing knobs, gouged casing, etc.).
OS 3.4 is the lastest update. It contains some new features and enhancements, and is recommended for all Voyager owners. To verify that it has been installed, press the MASTER button then press the ‘-1’ button to scroll down to ‘Software Version’ and press ENTER.
There were no ‘lemon’ periods for the Voyager. Throughout its development, Moog has made improvements to the Voyager, most notably by upgrading the patch storage from one bank to seven banks. If the Voyager you are considering is one of the earlier models, it may not have this memory expansion (of, course, you may not care if 128 patches is sufficient for your needs). The good news is that you can always add it later - Moog offers a DIY memory expansion kit.
To check if the Voyager has more than one bank of memory, press and hold the CURSOR button, then press the ‘+1’ button. Look at the top line of the LCD and you will see the bank displayed in the upper left (designated as banks A-G). If you don’t see this, the Voyager doesn’t have the expanded memory.
The OS 3.4 is the latest released version. So this is OK. And if it has an OS (operating system), it is the Voyager with memory. So this is OK. The LCDs all came with backlight. But some Voyagers also got backlight for the scales and labels of the front plate as an extra. And most Voyagers got these clear thumb wheels with backlight.
The price appears to be OK, if te unit is not broken. Check all knobs and wheels before buying it. Just buy electronic music instruments like you would buy a violin or other classic instruments. Check them before paying. Or be sure you have a methode to get a refund when it isn’t like the description.