How much of the fun in playing and programming a voyager is in having the keyboard and knobs on the same instrument? I’m considering an rme to save money but think I might mis out on half the fun of having a voyager. At this time I have a motif 8 which doesn’t have synth action keys as my only controller.
Should I wait until I have enough money to buy the keyboard version?
I would get the Voyager for all of the CV inputs alone. I know theres an expansion option for the RME, but by the time you get that and a decent controller, you are in Voyager Keyboard territory again.
Yea, I was kind of leaning that way. Thing is I wont have the room for a keyboard version until the end of the year and I’d probably have to wait that long to come up with the difference in price. The RME is just a thought because I could have it now and I do have a controller.
i just bought an RME (instead of the keyboard) because of the space saving convenience. one of the things i was disappointed to find out is that an RME with the CV boxes is NOT the same thing as the Voyager keyboard. specifically, there arent as many CV ins and outs on the RME.
if you dont care about this, then save $1000 and the space. i love my RME but i wish i would have known this before i bought it.
hope this helps.
–shane
Thanks soundsubs.
I would not have noticed this. In the beginning I wouldn’t miss it. Once I get a good grip on programming the voyager as is, I probably will expand it a little. I’ll research the CV boxes to see exactly what’s missing.
I went with RME and the LP recently to control it.
For some reason, I’m just not down with the touchpad,
and i’m worried it’s gonna break down the road.
My Stage LP and RME feel awesome together!
Congrats!!!
I was blown away by this combo in the store a week or two ago, just a huge sound…I have been weighing the pro’s and cons of this combo, as I always thought I just wanted the Voyager…
likewise, I question the longevity of the touchpad on the Voyager [Key]
What do you think of the greatly reduced CV abilities?
This is a hot idea. Is there a lot of overlap in their sounds or are they two different flavors of moog?
I have the same setup. It depends…some patches can sound identical. Others are very different. The Voyager is a bit on the polite side whereas the LP can be very harsh sounding (in a good way). The Voyager can also do wierd spacey sounds and 1 finger ‘pads’ better where the LP is more of a lead/bass machine…to me at least.
As far as the CV on the RME…I’m actually surprised that the RME has less CV ins/outs than the keyboard version. The RME is meant to be used as a slave to other gear (controller keyboard/sequencer/synth…whatever). In my opinion it should have MORE CV routing than the keyboard version which has it’s own built in controllers. Doesn’t make sense to me…
I’m a little confused on the CV i/o. Doesn’t the VX-352 expander add all the CV i/o that the voyager has and then some? What am I missing?
Now that I’ve given this some thought, I think having an expander box with an rme might be better than having the CV i/o on the back. It would be a mess repatching behind a racked rme all the time with foogers and what not. And a decent patchbay would have a cost associated with it too.
Hello, here’s my opinion:
sonic overlap: i bought the LP, and I’m keeping both.
I love the aggressive nature of LP, while keeping Moog flavour,
I love Voyager RME sound for the softer touch.
i’m not a big CV guy myself, but sooner than later i will buy the vx352 and vx351 and the CP unit, and that will give me the CV in’s and out’s for the RME.
I really don’t want the touchpad.
p.s. i have already have my share of dealing with vintage synths and repairs, so for these moogs, i chose to go the new analog route. i love them a lot!
pardon my ignorance, but can you have both the 351 and the 352 attached to the RME?
Unfortunately I think you’re missing out. The touchpad is no more likely to break than any other part of the thousands of parts that make up any synthesizer you own and adds so much to the playability of the instrument. There are times when I’ll drone a note and use the touchpad for an entire performance. Other times being able to use it to produce subtle and/or rythmic effects is awesome. You can map the surface to multiple parameters and have it control not only the Voyager but any CV device (via the VX-351, for example). Luckily, you can always buy yourself a KAOSS pad and mimic the concept when you realize the error of your way 
but the bottom line is the touchpad is a really nice feature on the Voyager. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it breaking.
cool zbq, you could be right. by no means am i saying the touchpad is an evil concept at all, i’m just saying it’s not for me. or at least it wasn’t at first.
i didn’t get these 2 Moogs all at once - i only had enough money for the RME which i had to find used off ebay. than eventually i got the LP. and considering i’ve picked up kaoss pads in the past and sold them due to lack of use, i think i’m safe for now without the touchpad. if down the road i do pick up the voyager keyboard, i’m sure i’ll use it now and then.
ive been researching this a little bit…
I’m a little confused on the CV i/o. Doesn’t the VX-352 expander add all the CV i/o that the voyager has and then some? What am I missing?
actually no. if you look at the back of a voyager, there are many more CV inputs there that the RME doesnt have, even with the expanders.
and yes, the RME can have the 351 and 352 connected at the same time. one is input and one is output. unfortunately with all my research into it, this still doesnt seem to equal a voyager.
even with 351 and 352, it still doesn’t add up to the CV capabilities of voyager?
anyone else know?
Voyager CV inputs:
continuous-CV:
Volume
Pan
Filter Cutoff
Waveform
Pitch
Mod1
Mod2
Sample&Hold input
Envelope Rate
LFO Rate
Gate-CV (on/off):
S&H Gate
Env Gate
LFO Sync
VX-352 (RME) CV-inputs:
Continuous-CV:
Volume
Pan
Filter Cutoff
Waveform
Pitch
Mod1
Mod2
Sample & Hold input
Envelope Rate
LFO Rate
Touch Surface X-axis
Touch Surface Y-axis
Touch Surface A-axis
Gate-CV (on/off):
S&H Gate
Env Gate
Release On/Off
LFO Sync
Also, the VX-352 has 2 “active” (boost or cut) attenuators with DC offset adjust, and an extra 4-way multiple.
So in short, not only does the RME with VX-352 have every CV input the Voyager keyboard has, it actually has MORE flexibility when it comes to CV-patching, than the keyboard has! You can patch any kind of CV signal into the touch surface CV inputs, and using the Voyager EDIT menu → T.S. Destinations, you can route these CV signals in software to any destination that the touch surface can be mapped to. Yes, that’s three fully soft-assignable CV inputs… pretty sweet if you ask me. 
That’s exactly what I thought. Thanks to all who responded so far to this thread.
I played a little phatty yesterday and liked it a lot. I think there is something about having a small keyboard with the performance controllers right there that adds to the playing experience. I didn’t play it the same as I play my 88 note keyboard. So for my purpose and finances, it’s going to be an RME first with the 352 and LP added down the line.
thanks Amos, that’s what I remembered also!