A humble perspective . . .

[Khatru2U]

I am 54 years old and have had a full and interesting life so far, encompassing the occasional highs and lows, but with most of my living occurring in the day-to-day grind of existence somewhere near the middle. From a relatively early age I have literally cherished prog rock — particularly for the keyboards. When my peers were consumed with pop radio, I played my Yes, Genesis and Floyd albums (and others) on my crappy little turntable until I actually wore them out and had to replace them. (I for one was ecstatic with the convenience and durability provided by the introduction of CDs) I do not apologize for my tastes in music and neither should anyone else have to defend their choices. “My” music has brought me great joy, satisfaction and comfort over the years, and if someone else with different musical tastes attains the same thrill from their chosen genre, well more power to them.
I was not a musician but lived in a fantasy of someday being one. My fingers merrily “played” the “keys” of any flat surface as I followed along with some intricate tune, happily imagining myself in the studio or up on a stage with one of my heroes, my gods — Wakeman, Wright, Banks and Emerson (among others). At age 40, flush with the cash of birthday offerings I headed out and bought a Casio “synth” and played it to my hearts content, reveling in the joy of making music and exploring the possibilities that modern keyboards offer. My initial purchase was soon followed by Alesis, Kurzweil, Novation and Korg products, and of course, stands, cables, mixers, amps, monitors, etc: I found myself in keyboard heaven. I am still not a “musician” but I love my rig and what I can do with it brings me untold hours of peace of mind and productive entertainment. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My only regret is that I didn’t buy that initial Casio or its equivalent years earlier.
So why the autobiography? As I grew, though not a musician, I loved the Moogs, Mellotrons, Sequential Circuits, Arps, Hammonds, etc. I knew them all and hunted for hints to their particulars in an age before the internet (in many respects life with the Web is soooo much easier). And now (deep breath) I own a Slim Phatty and have ordered a Voyager XL. I have followed the nuanced, passionate, insightful, joyful and sometimes angry debates that have flowed back and forth across the forums concerning the legitimacy of the XL and have come to my own conclusion. I now have the chance to possess my own piece of history from the beginning and I am not going to squander this opportunity. I have no doubt that in the future Voyagers and Phattys will surely generate the same intense passion and fervor of the beloved Model D and other legendary synths. And now I have the opportunity to cherish, pamper and most importantly, play these instruments straight out of the box until I no longer can. In my humble opinion, I believe that in 20 years the XL will be the instrument that legions will regret they did not purchase when they had the chance (then again I might be totally off the mark!). Are the XL’s prohibitively expensive and do they strain my budget? Of course! However, I have friends and acquaintances with vacation homes, motorcycles, boats, sports cars, horses, etc, and compared to what they pay for their pleasures, well I think I’m getting off relatively easy. So that’s my uncalled-for perspective and I want you all to know that that I have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from what you have had to offer in the forums and genuinely look forward to your musings, advice and camaraderie in the future.
Respectfully,
chris

[EricK]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for that.

[stiiiiiiive]

Thank you for sharing, Chris

[namahshaman]

awesome, Chris. and well-written to boot. Welcome, fellow 'fooger. I'm glad you're here with us.

[thealien666]

Yes. Welcome Chris. You will, no doubt, find the XL quite a beast, literally. It's huge and quite heavy, both in weight and sonic possibilities.
And as for spending that much cash on it, some people (a few on this forum) have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on modular synthesizer stuff. Sometimes, enough to having bought a house instead.

We only live once. So why must we always settle for compromises ? At some point, we deserve to spoil ourselves once in a while, don't we ? Of course we do.
I'll always remember what Steve Wosniak (co-inventor of the Apple personal computer) said in an interview: "When I was a teenager, back then a computer with 4K or RAM cost as much as a house. I told my father that one day, instead of a house, I would buy myself a computer.".

So congrats on your purchase, and may you enjoy it thoroughly !

Al.

[stiiiiiiive]

We only live once. So why must we always settle for compromises ? At some point, we deserve to spoil ourselves once in a while, don't we ? Of course we do.

I have to second that.

And I'd add my usual mantra: PLEASURE FIRST.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you do with it

[BHC303]

Welcome to the mad house!

The XL is beast! I love mine

I believe that in 20 years the XL will be the instrument that legions will regret they did not purchase when they had the chance

I had this exact thought

[filtered]

I love that you compare your purchase to a vacation home! It IS a bit like going on vacation every time I flip that switch! Welcome!

[Voltor07]

Welcome to the party!

[synthguy1]

"Blow it all! Have a ball!" I aways say. "You only live once!" and "you could be dead tomorrow" I also always say! As far as my kid's inheritance goes, she can sell all my stuff and probably be better off than if I left cash!
I paid 10K for my LAMM alone; worth every nickel.
I've easily dumped 3 - 4 K into my MM+ on top of the original purchase price of $4,600.00 back in 1983.
And, I've done this crazy stuff when flat broke and food on the table was more of a priority.
Why? Because I'm crazy like everyone else on this forum!
Take away the boards, take away a part of me. I, too, am 54 years old and music has been my life since I started piano lessons at age 4.
Too many people out there have found nothing to fill that hole in their lives so they waste away miserable; or they spend their lives searching...
Consider yourself lucky! You've found a creative outlet that gives you great joy! It's worth any amount of $$$
Welcome!
synthguy1

[grapeflavor]

This is a very inspirational post. Even though i'm just a lowly college student, i had to get my hands on something Moog. It took me a while to save up enough, but i couldn't be happier with my Little Phatty.

Something i always find a little funny: I will occasionally get called out by friends for spending $1,100 on just a "keyboard" , but they usually shut up when i ask them why they spent over $1700 on just a guitar.

[Khatru2U]

OMG guys, my XL has arrived and she is literally stunning! I did put a bit of electrical tape on the top of the rear bracket ears so that when the panel is raised it wouldn't be metal on metal back there. I haven't played it much because I'm still in the "I can't believe it's mine, let me just look at it as the LFO cheerfully blinks at me" phase (I don't know from personal experience, but I imagine it's a similar phenomena to when you see your kid for the first time at the maternity ward) I get giddy when I purchase a new instrument cable, so you can't imagine how ridiculous I feel right now.
Thank you for all your feedback and welcomes in reply to my original post in this thread. I quite honestly thought it would be generally ignored for its irrelevance, so thank you for your kind words.
chris

[synthguy1]

I don't know from personal experience, but I imagine it's a similar phenomena to when you see your kid for the first time at the maternity ward) I get giddy when I purchase a new instrument cable, so you can't imagine how ridiculous I feel right now.

chris

EXACTLY!

[Mr Arkadin]

Being ten years younger than yourself I totally relate to the Prog part of your story. In fact I think the internet has allowed to people to 'come out' about Prog which was vilified for years. If anything I am more into Prog now than when I was younger. I even bought a Rickenbacker bass on the back of Chris Squire's sound and Genesis and Yes are the reason I put my deposit down for the remake of the Taurus pedals.

I'm Prog and I'm proud!

Enjoy your purchase and no justification necessary - people spend more on cars and bikes which genreally devalue very quickly. Good synths don't.

[stiiiiiiive]

OMG guys, my XL has arrived and she is literally stunning!

Congrats Chris, enjoy it