Little Phatty vs. Voyager: With one should I buy?

[EricK]

I think its spliting hairs at this point. I gave my opinion...which is all anyone can give. No ones is absolute.

All of the differences between the two units have been listed on this and countless other threads. Im going to let the man evaluate for himself and get what he wants to get and look forward to his input in discussions.

[edmang]

It didn't state what kind of music the band played or if they were gigging. If it is a cover band playing out, the phatty should cover what is needed. It is lighter than the voyager and at the end of the night, probably will appreciate the lesser weight.

And god forbid any mishap at a gig, a phatty is cheaper to replace than a voyager.

[Electrong]

Someone who really loves what they do, someone who is really passionate about their craft, well they deserve the best they can provide themselves.

I certainly wouldn't argue with that. But then again, more isn't always better. Some kinds of music need a very wide variety of timbres, but that doesn't make them better or more challenging than other kinds which stick to a smaller range of timbres and emphasize other features. So, by extension, an instrument isn't automatically better or worse by being more complex or simpler. And a musician isn't automatically less dedicated or skilled or inventive if they prioritize something besides the widest possible range of timbres.

I think people can end up talking past each other in conversations like this because the question "what am I missing out on" can be taken in two ways. In technical terms, it's pretty easy to answer how the Voyager objectively offers "more." But in artistic terms, it depends a lot more on intangibles...

P.S. Just to be a little pesky, there might also be such a thing as "missing out on simplicity."

I completely agree with this. One of the few things the topic starter said was he was a keyboardist so he might be distracted by more crap on there that he never had any intention of using; whereas a LP will get his feet wet in synthesis leaving room for another poly synth or poly keyboard controller, thus allowing for maximizing the player's strengths. After he sees all that the LP can do he'd be better equipped to decide if he wants to upgrade.

This also depends on the psyche of the artist. I know some of the best artists need the limitations to keep themselves focused.

Besides: it's not a rocket ship--nor is it a calculator--it's a musical instrument. It may SOUND like a spaceship, but....

Edit: I can see both perspectives, though... if I were to be able to freely choose which Moog instrument to get, without monetary considerations I would certainly choose the Voyager. You have all that tactile control over all the modulation busses, 3 oscillators plus LFO with S&H waves, X/Y pad, several routings on the back for audio inputs and controllers, it is open-ended, and very much like a modular in a nice neat Moog-quality package. I certainly believe that both products are home-runs for Moog. I have doubts that any poly-synth they could come up with would be of the same caliber. The Voyager is the flagship synth for Moog, the flagship name in synths. People will find in the future it has serious staying power in the analog synth arena.

[smithdwsn]

Voyager is better than Phatty. I suggest you to buy Voyager because it has many great features and functionalities compare to Phatty. It is very simple and easy to use. It is very effective and reliable. It has touch-screen display,short-cut menu, camera and web browsing etc.

[MC]

Twitter works better on the Voyager too.

[Klopfgeist]

I find OSX runs better on the Voyager than Windows 7 does on Phatty. Taurus must run Linux.

[Voltor07]

I find that Snow Leopard runs better on the Phatty when OS2 is disabled. Anyone else notice this?

[Klopfgeist]

I don't have a Phatty, but I can confirm that Snow Leopard gives a really warm analog tone when running on the MIDI Murf. You just have to make sure you send all of the Sysex info in the right order. Hope this helps.

[kidgloves2]

I use my Phatty mainly for leads, so the overdrive feature is important to mei

Can a guitar overdrive pedal be used with the Voyager to achieve the same effect? Like a MXR overdrive/distortion pedal?

[Voltor07]

I use my Phatty mainly for leads, so the overdrive feature is important to mei

Can a guitar overdrive pedal be used with the Voyager to achieve the same effect? Like a MXR overdrive/distortion pedal?

I recall Greg AE saying something about using an overdrive pedal to achieve a similar, but not exact effect. I can't recall the particular pedal he suggested. Perhaps it's on KnobTweak?