Lurker ermerging from the depths

[DavyP]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd emerge from the shadows as I'd enjoyed the input/arguements from forum members and the advice given that I often wanted to post a comment of thanks etc. but obviously couldn't do so as a lurker.

I'm from Northern Ireland, bought my first Moog in January, a Slim Phatty. I loved it that much I quickly added a Voyager RME as company for it. The RME was as new so to good a price to turn down.

With my weakness for gear I then jumped at the chance to grab a Minitaur, these are like hens teeth in th UK and hard to source so I was pleased to see one on-line and in stock so acted with speed to get hold of it.

The Moogs did highlight how poor my monitors are so my last purchase for a while(to keep MRS P off my back) is a Pair of KRK 8 monitors and a KRK 12s sub to help along the bass. Can't wait til these arrive.

I've a few other synths but would mainly use my Access Virus TI Polar along with the moogs. I'm a hobbyist at this who's main source of inspiration is Depeche Mode(Been a fan for nearly 30years ), so the kit I have is great for the sounds I want to produce.

There is a bit of a learning curve with this gear but its fun to do. I found the Minitaur really helpful as it forces me not to take the lazy option and tweak a preset a little. Instead I have to be more considered and create my own sounds from scratch.
I then apply my knowledge from this to the Slim Phatty and Voyager. Still an awful lot to learn but I'm commited and really get my teeth into things when I have an interest.

Davy

[EricK]

First of all, welcome to the forum and congrats on taking the plunge.

Having a knob-per-function interface on the Voyager and Minitaur will really help. Another thing that might help is to take notes or keep an engineering log to document settings.

Patch construction is an interesting beast because you really can't create a bad sound with a Moog, but everytime you get to a stage, you turn a knob and it still sounds good. You create an inspiring patch, and then tweak another knob and that takes you in a different direction. Sometimes it can be hard to stay focused. You set it just how you lke it, tweak a few knobs and its so different, its hard to make your way back.
It's like getting lost in a forrest of knobs.

If you are new to synthesis, I'd recommend finding the Voyager tutorial videos on youtube. Find and download some vintage Moog manuals written by Tom Rhea. Don't hesitate to ask what you think might be the stupidest of questions.

Goodluck!

Eric

[thealien666]

I join my voice to others in welcoming you, Davy.

The rewards of taking the time to learn all about the instruments you own and/or use, are plenty!

Even myself, who has been playing with synths for many years now, am still learning new things about them almost everyday!

Looking forward to reading you, now that you're finally upfront.
And remember: there's no such thing as a dumb question, unless you already know the answer to it...

Al.

[analoghaze]

Hello and welcome.


Do you ever initialize the Voyager?

[Mr Shave]

Its funny how your first Moog somehow has this magical side effect of "I must get more gear!!!!"

Haha, that totally happened to me.

[DavyP]

Hello and welcome.


Do you ever initialize the Voyager?

I did, and had reasonable success in producing sounds. It can be a bit daunting at first because of the amount of tweakability the voyager has and the number of options for the LFO bus and modulation busses. The Minitaur simplified things and helped my understanding. 17 Knobs on the Minitaur looks less daunting than the vast array on the Voyager.

As for gear being addictive its so true. I have a real gadget weakness, phones, games consoles, synths etc. far too much to tempt me.
Thats why the Show your latest purchase thread is one I need to avoid, gives me too many ideas.

Thanks for the welcome, I'll try not to ask daft questions and search for answers on the forum before I throw my queries out there.

Currently getting my head around what CV control could add to my creativity but that looks like a bit of a minefield(and expensive) so I'll keep reading up on that for now and cross that bridge when I come to it.

Davy

[Voltor07]

Its funny how your first Moog somehow has this magical side effect of "I must get more gear!!!!"

Haha, that totally happened to me.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Once you have THAT bass with either the Minitaur or Taurus 3, it's really hard to use anything else for bass. Just another observation. And yes, welcome to the forum, Davy!