Hi i am trying to decide which of these to buy and i am stuck,i’ve played a voyager but not a prophet5. Mainly i want a synth that excells at pads,sfx etc. I know the obvious pro’s and cons like the voyager will be brand new the prophet will be 25yrs old etc.Can anyone help me decide,has anyone out there got both? Thanks in advance for your replys 
The voyager is a monosynth, the prophet 5 is a polysynth. the voyager can only do 1 note at a time so you cant do pads.there is no current moog synth that will let u make polyphonic pad sounds.id get the polyevolver keyboard, or wait until a moog poly comes out.
Comparing a Voyager and a Pro5 is comparing apple and pears (germany common saying).
I think there are many synth player out there that take polyphonic for granted on synths. But if you started playing synth at the time when monophonic synths made about 90+% of all synths you think the other way round.
The Pro5 is a great classic synth. And the Voyager is a classic synth available brand new. But due to their different nature (poly vs. mono) they can’t be compared. At least I have no clue how to do that without being not fair.
I’ve got both and the Prophet-5 wins! Can’t beat the sound really!
why bother having a voyager then? sell it and go on a round the world cruise
As has been pointed out, the Moog plays only one note at a time (although by playing with the relative volume of the oscillators, you can give it a type of pseudo-polyphony). The P5 gives you an amazing (for the time) 5 notes. Several versions of it were made, and the last verson, v 3.3, is generally accepted as having the best feature set and sounds.
However, in spite of the increased polyphony, the LFOs didn’t match (and don’t match) those of the Moog. IMO it sounds thinner and less rich.
If you are looking for rich, full-bodied, Moog-like pads and a synth with polyphony, there are two that I recommend.
- The Oberheim Matrix 6 (also 6R and 1000). It’s like having 6 Minimoogs. You can link up to 6 together (the link is built in) for 36 voice polyphony that is absolutely unbelievable.
The 6 has a keyboard; the 6R is a rack version w/o a keyboard; the 1000 has no programming ability but 1,000 storage spots for saving patches. They are very stable and right now incredibly cheap for the amount of power you get.
- The Yamaha SY77/99. Yamaha’s DX7, having 16-voice polyphony, astoundingly realistic sounds for the time, and a price less than half that of the P5, helped to end the marketability of almost all American made synthesizers as well as put the companies that ran them out of business (combined with those companies’ poor business practices). The SY77, and it’s big brother, the SY99, was the highest form of FM synthesis ever popularly marketed, and with it the thin sounds of the DX7 were gone forever. (In sound quality the DX7 is to P5 as P5 is to Moog).
Most synths today are still variations on sample playback systems. The 77 combined advanced FM and sample playback both as layers of the same sound and modulating each other. The result, IMO, is a synth that has never been topped in capability and sound quality.
The 77 is slightly smaller and the 99 has slighly improved sound characteristics, a bigger keyboard, and the ability to do a bit of sampling. The TG77 is basically an SY without a keyboard. Either keyboard would be the finest ever for doing pads.
As a warning, however, both the 77 and 99 are known for having two problems. First, the floppy disk drives are known to fail. Yamaha charges an outrageous amount for replacements, so look to the internet for reasonably-priced aftermarket replacements. Second, the backlight for the small displays is known to give out. There is no fix for this, although some people have added interior light to fix this. Also, there are some aftermarket methods to increase RAM in the 99 for greater sampling memory.
YMMV
Sorry Don,
but I can’t second your recommendations. I used to have a Matrix6 several years. It was not bad, but by no means as bold as a Voyager. And the envelopes were not triggered that fast as the ones of the Voyager or other synths. The modulation possibilieties were not bad, but somehow some modulations were not that often updated as on the voayger. So higher modulations didn’t sound right.
Hmmm…It depends on which sound you prefer. The Voyager has a very nice discrete sound which is typical of the 70’s. The Prophet 5 uses IC’s to generate its sound. Depending on which revision you get, you will either get an SSM based synth (revision 1 and 2) or a CEM based synth (revision 3).
Saying that the Matrix 6 is like 6 voyagers is utter crap. A matrix 6 is like a Jupiter 6, and a Prophet 5.3, both of which are CEM based synths. If you like the CEM sound get a Poly Evolver, as it uses CEM’s as well.
Thanks for your advice guys!! but may be i phrased the question a bit wrong.I roughly have about £2000 to spend on a synth,i already own a pro one and was just contemplating which one would be more usefull for my needs,i am also aware that the voyager is monoponic but when i played about with it i did get some wicked sfx out of it etc i was really just wondering what the prophet’s capability’s/sound was like compared to the voyager(i understand they are two totally different cups of tea) In a perfect world i would have both but i can’t afford both 
the p5 i am interested in is the rev 3.3 btw thanks again…
WAIT A MINUTE!! Doesn’t the Minimoog Voyager module have an added feature that will allow you to stack modules polyphonically with each other, or with the Voyager keyboard? I mean, yeah it’s more expensive, but it would certainly equate the most versatile and hugest-sounding analog polysiynth since the Oberheim SEM systems. I’m pretty sure that’s right.
Now, if only I had the dough for one MM Voyager keyboard and five modules . . . or six modules and an M-Audio MIDI controller.
I dont think it would be quite as versatile as the Andromeda in terms of modulation capabilities…
If you already have the Pro One, then you’ll probably already be familiar with the Prophet-5s interface.
Apart from the polyphony, and its good looks, the P5 doesn’t have any confusing software updates to apply. Saving and loading presets on it is so easy even I can do it!
My advice: Spend an equal amount of time trying both before buying. You may have quite a bit of cash left over by buying the P5. If you want the same amount of polyphony with the Voyager, its going to cost a LOT more!
I realize that liking certain qualities is all a matter of personal preference, but I do wish you’d read what I posted before dissing.
Qwave, you wrote that the Matrix is “by no means as bold as a Voyager.” But I didn’t say that it was! I said that was good for “rich, full-bodied, Moog-like pads and a synth with polyphony.” No Voyager today can do that.
You also wrote that on the Matrix “the envelopes were not triggered that fast as the ones of the Voyager or other synths.” Whether that’s accurate or not, of course, is a matter of perception. However, you missed the point. The original poster was looking for rich PADS, not something with fast envelopes. That’s why I wrote “Moog-like pads.”
You also wrote that on the Matrix “higher modulations didn’t sound right.” What you mean is that they didn’t sound right to you. Other people not only think they sound right, but have been able to find musical uses for them.
Array, you wrote “Saying that the Matrix 6 is like 6 voyagers is utter crap.” Okay, that’s your opinion. But nobody here said that. I wrote that a Matrix is “like having 6 Minimoogs.” There have been several threads on the difference in sound between the classic Minimoog D and the Voyager. Had I meant the Voyager, I would have said so.
I would also suggest that one of the reasons there is a classic Moog sound is not the sound sources, but the 4 pole 24db filters. The sound of the Jupiters and Prophets never approached this, while the Matrix did.
You may certainly prefer the sound of one instrument over another, and that’s fine. But if something someone writes upsets you, take a deep breath, relax, and re-read it to make sure you’re accurately interpreting what they posted.
To the original poster–ya know, what Qwave or Array or I write is basically just a guide at best. You’re going to have to use your ears and your own taste to see what you like. If you’re looking for rich, polyphonic pads, a Matrix 6r or 100 can be had for under $300. Will you like it? I dunno. Try one out yourself. You might prefer a Jupter 6 for $800 or a Prophet 5 for far more. However, if you want to spend more than $300 but less than $800, try the SY77/99 or TG77–for rich pads. Listen to them yourself and make up your own mind.
Saying that the Matrix 6 is like having 6 minimoogs is still utter crap. The Matrix 6 is STILL a CEM based synth, and the minimoog is STILL a discrete synth. Two very differant beasts.
And what do you mean by
I would also suggest that one of the reasons there is a classic Moog sound is not the sound sources, but the 4 pole 24db filters.
?
The original engineers would suggest differantly, and argue that the sum of all the parts is what makes the synth sound the way it does. Again, the signal flow within the MiniMoog D or Voyager (by all intensive purposes, this can be considered to be the Model E which never made it to the market in the 70’s) is not limited. The circuitry freely produces inaudible signals which cause audible modulations. This is why the MemoryMoog, despite having the patented discrete Moog ladder filter, didnt sound like a MiniMoog. It still had CEM VCO’s, VCA’s, and EG’s.
Actually I think its pretty funny how you can compare a Matrix 6 and having 6 MiniMoogs, and yet you point out the fact that I confused the Voyager for the Model D. I have blasphemed!! 
This is the sort of advice i was looking for not to spark a fuelled debate i’m sorry if i’ve annoyed anyone with the title of this thread but in ways i think it was appropriate also i was just after some advice!!! give a guy a break geezz
Cheers.
If you do go for the P5, make sure its a Rev 3. If you have an earlier model which breaks down, god help you when you have to find someone to repair it!
Thanks mate i will only purchase a rev 3 one othewise i will not bother
Hey Boeing,
Have you ever owned, or used a Prophet 10? If so, I’m curious about the sound and the application. The hype is that it’s the basic equivalent of 2 P5’s tied together. Is the hype accurate?
Also, is there a way that you can get eight voices to play from one manual with one sound and 2 voices to play from the other with a different sound?
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Of course, I did address this question to Boeing, but anyone can respond to it.
Hi
I have never been near a Prophet-10 before. 
Sorry.
But if anyone wants to ask me if the voice of a Pro-One sounds identical to 1 voice on the P5 feel free! 