hey everyone,
thinking about upgrading my OS to a new school. But I have a few questions about the new schools.
Is there a way to turn the backlights off? What if I don’t want the mod wheel and the pitch bend wheel to light up?
What serial numbers are considered old voyager models that were prone to issues?
Thanks.
Bad idea. The old school forces you to tweak, and forces you like the model d to have a deeper understanding and connection with the instrument. The presets and midi can be tempting, but just get a midi to cv converter like the MP-201 or kenton. I sold my voyager, mainly because the screen just didn’t feel right. I personally don’t like instruments with lcd’s or menus. If you really want something new, go for the sub phatty, and use your OS to control it.
^ I agree.
Question [dwightschrute]: what is it that Voyager does that VOS does not?
Mod bus slightly diff, midi sync LFO yup, midi, of course but what is it that appeals to you or your intended use of the instrument? Curious.
Patch memory, obviously. 
People who the OS and love it fine, it. A nice instrument. As for forces you to tweak, I do not agree. You can be forced and have a deep understanding just as much on the Voyager. Just because you have a preset memory and deep menus does no mean you have to use them all the time. On my voyagers many times I’ll tweak and or build a new sound from whatever “preset”. is called up. Many times I will forget there are several options in the menus, but nice to have them there. I am in the crowd that bought the signature edition when it came it out in 2002, it was nice to be she to store an recall the most used sounds, an gave always all treated it as a program, tweak and pay as you go.
Backlight should be able on turn off
I want the OS, but now they cost more than what they did new… 
I’m actually planning on keeping both, but yes, the Old School is fantastic for discovery;l’ll never sell it unless I can trade for a great condition Model D, which will likely never happen. Could someone please answer my original questions though?
As to the op. You can dim the backlight but it does not turn completely off. This does not effect the wheel leds, you would need to add a switch to turn the leds on/off. I don’t know about the various revs. issues, there were problems with the kybd after touch and with the early backlight electronics emitting a high pitched whine, other that that I don’t know. Also, check the function of the Mod 2 bus input, I believe it functions differently on the OS / NS. On the new school it wants an input between 0 and +5V which it outputs to the system as -5V to +5V, I think this has to do with running thru the digital board which is not present on an OS instrument. So, on the OS the input should operate over the -5V to +5v range. Anyone with an OS please post as to whether this is true. And lastly, you get the touch screen on the NS, which I like alot.
The model I’m looking at is serial number BL19740. Is this an early or late model?
The backlight can be turned completely off when the brightness knob is fully counterclockwise. Underneath the mod wheel assembly, there is already a switch provided to turn the mod wheel LEDs off.
This is about the same price (including shipping) I paid mine new (including sales tax) back in 2008 (sold it since).
Just for the record, my EB does not turn all the way off, even with the pot fully counter-clockwise. Didn’t know about the switch, nice, thanks.
You’re welcome.
Back when I had my EB, I remember that it did on mine… Maybe all EBs are not created equal ? Mine was an early model (low serial number).
They were $2,200 towards the end when they were new over here in the states. Just like the Andromeda, I remember it sold for $2,400 or so at the end new and look at it now…
Yeah but, frankly let’s be honest, the A6 offers much more than a Voyager…
The Andromeda was also cheaply made in Taiwan and full of bugs. I’ll take the Voyager.
Maybe it’s because it’s been 10 years or maybe the individual(s) that wrote the code on the Voyager really had their act together but I haven’t heard anything about bugs on the Voyager product line.
I know the platform ‘struggles’ with a less than speedy processor (suppose this was before all of the ATMega type controllers really took off) but if you are into that sort of thing, it seems like a very stable synth. Hats off to Moog on this one.
Yes, hats-off to Rudi Linhard for programming the Voyager ! 
The Alesis A6 was programmed by a team of people, and was/is still full of bugs indeed (and somewhat underpowered when rapid modulation is programmed, although there’s a “fast mode” available ). And no more firmware updates will ever be done, since the team was fired from Alesis, when the Andromeda project was abruptly terminated, just prior to going bankrupt. A huge amount of money had been invested in this ambitious endeavour by designing in-house custom analog chips, but the final product was never profitable despite a high price point.
The company was bought by Jack O’Donnell, who owns Numark and Akai Professional. He decided to restart the production of the A6 for a short run to use all the remaining available parts and try to recoup some of the money lost in the A6 project by the company he had just bought.
Too bad. Because the A6, with its 2 oscillators per voice @16 voices is another milestone in analog polyphonic synthesizers. And if Jack O’Donnell would have created a small team just to iron-out the remaining software bugs, and offered firmware updates, I’m convinced that the A6 would have eventually paid for itself at least. But alas that was not to be.
Don’t know too much about the Andromeda, but it’s little brother, the Micron, now turned into the Akai Miniak, that’s master programming. Sounds real good too.