Voyager VS Model D : Compare and Contrast

[Electrong]

I have owned a Minimoog D for a few years, and have owned 2 or 3 prior to that, that I just ended up selling. There are some peeves I have about the D, no sync, oscillator instability, very bare-bones feature set. However some of the "weaknesses" of the Mini D are also what I consider to be strengths. The Oscillators on my D are really robust, and the filter is outstanding, although it is due some maintenance particularly having some of the pots and switches cleaned for more dependable voltage attenuation. The keyboard still works great, and every time I sit down and play my Mini D I feel like new cool sounds are gotten.

I went to the local GC several months back and played a Voyager that the keyboard sales agent called me about and I was a bit perplexed, to be honest. I found the Voyager to be a bit confusing. Nowhere near as intuitive as the Mini D. However, I also picked up on the fact that the Voyager, compared to the Mini D, is a true monophonic analog BEAST. It seems like Bob Moog simply wanted to create a synth that--while nodding to the Mini D--was also loaded with modern amenities and extra features that were the bane of Mini D users. He had the advantage of being able to take the general outlay of the Minimoog D, and create a new synth that had appearances similar, and some of the same signal path intuitiveness to it, and expand on it to create a synth that was a real keeper.

The only place Bob and company could not really make the Voyager superior was in simplicity, and possibly a bit of the old-analog fatness. Still, this is more than compensated for by the great extra features. And the onboard processor is upgradable. I'm sure Bob wanted a synth with staying power, that could be a flagship synth for his company for years to come. That's why I have serious doubts about any kind of Polymoog ever really getting past conceptual development at Moog: polysynths just never have been a forte of Moog. The Minimoog has been, and is, right now, their forte.

SO, I am kicking myself for not trying to buy that Voyager which was a trade-in they received and was offered at a really good price. And, even though there have been several topics comparing these 2 for obvious reasons, I thought I'd start one right now, after several years of the Voyager. It's looking like the Voyager may well outlast the longevity of the original Minimoog. That is quite a feat, I think, considering how fickle the synth market is and how often some companies come out with new synths.

Please, if you have time could you speak on what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of both synths. I still own my Model D but have been pondering selling it and getting a Voyager. I don't want to regret my decision, because my Model D is an earlier version and it really sounds great. I'd probably be more happy to keep the D in the studio and save up and get a Voyager (and several other synths on my wish list). But I would appreciate especially those whose opinions are based in first-hand experience, and those who've owned both synths and what they think and feel about them. Thanks!

[Paul Norheim]

Interesting question, Electrong.

I have no experience with the Model D - only with the rack mount edition of the Voyager. But I have a feeling that the balance between complexity and simplicity is perfectly implemented in the Voyager.

I would hope that someone who is familiar with both the old Minimoog and the Voyager Old School could chime in here. That would be a very interesting comparison.

[Niko]

I love my Mini Moog D and I love my Mini Moog Voyager (select series) too. The sound of both are just great. Nothing else I know can compare with it. However the Voyager send out stronger gravitational waves which attracts me always when it becomes in visual sight. This is probably because of the many new routing and modulation functionalities the Voyager offers. Starting with a preset sound and modify it you easily can spend hours and hours and discover sound areas where no one has gone before. Voyager really means Voyager! At the beginning I did not know what should I do with Midi, so I'd rather thought to go for the Old School version of the Voyager. But in the meantime I want this feature and it expands my possibilities with computer and external expanders or keyboards significantly. And minimizes the machine volume in my little studio and of course at gigs or sessions. The Voyager keyboard works great as a Midi master keyboard (although it has only 3 1/2 octaves).
But actually I'm now in a process to mutate from a normal keyboard player which supports the guitar or the vocals with polyphonic layers towards just a Mini Moog player. I want to concentrate on the great solo sounds rather than on chords. For this attempt the Voyager is the right companion for me.
And here now my subjective pros and cons:

Mini Moog D
+ sound
+ intuitive operation
+ reliability (my one with serial no. M 10052 works fine without any problem since 1978)
- weight
- no Midi
- no touch sensitive and/or velocity keyboard

Mini Moog Voyager
+ sound
+ sound capabilities
+ velocity keyboard and touch sensitive pad
+ probably also very good quality (however I just use it since January 2010)
- weight
- financial strain (because I need another one)
- health problems (because of lack of sleep while investigating new sounds)

[Just Me]

I love the tuning stability of the Voyager over my old D. At first, I thought the touchpad a waste of space. That was before I started using it! Now it is a main draw for me. The advanced routings and greater ins and outs mean I no longer have to have a Mini and an Arp to get the sounds I want. Interfacing on the Voyager is phenomenal. The sound is so close between the two, it's a toss to pick the 'better' one. The D didn't have Hi pass or the ability to select number of poles. No sync on my D was a real drag.
I could go on, but I'm glad I sold the 2600 and the D and have a Voyager and a small modular set up now. They compliment my Hammond, piano and digital poly's very well.
(Oh yeah, I love the new keyboard over the one on my D. It had seen better years.)

[MC]

I own a Voyager and an RA Moog model D. I hot-rodded the model D with a Lintronics MIDI retrofit and I also got the tuning to be stable.

There were times when I asked myself: do I need both of these?

Then I play them both, and the model D had one edge over the Voyager.

If you open the filter wide open and pump a ramp or square through it, the model D has this razor edge high end that the Voyager doesn't get. Of couse the Voyager can get many more sounds that the model D isn't capable of.

I stopped asking myself if I need both.

[Electrong]

Thanks MC, my mini is a musonics mini with the old oscillators. The tech who tuned and calibrated and fixed a filter envelope issue on it told me that he finds the sound of my older mini "warmer" than later minis. And, the oscillators are very stable, just not syncable and of course with some warmup there's a bit of tuning required but overall very stable considering it never got one of those factory oscillator tuning stability updates--mostly stock although the tech did replace the lamp cord with a 3 prong grounded cord (not sure if I really needed that and kinda regret it no longer having the original cord, but oh well). So maybe the answer isn't to compare the 2 and get the better one, but to utilize the D and save up and get a Voyager!

Just Me, I'm thinking the Voyager must be incredible if you're not missing the old Model D OR an ARP 2600!

However--thanks for the responses and please feel free to chime in!

[goldphinga]

[analogmadness]

I had the first rme voyager in belgium. Realy nice synth sold it half a year further wanted to have the keys .
So then after a few monts and some saving i goth the voyager anniversary edition VERRY nice realy relyable super direct and fast envelopes great filter blablabla....
But still it had is own new scool sound and dident really satisfy me with my opinion of what the oldscool mini sound was in my head. Close but not yet there.
Sorry for my bad spelling btw.
So short on cash i had to sell it to buy other gear you know and left the moog dream aside.
Bougth the arp 2600 with 4012 ladder filter.
Sound capebiletys you cant emagin plus the classic moog sound ( in my opinion )
Then again i goth the moog flu and had to have a vintage model d.
So i went looking it toke me buying and selling 3 model d's before i goth satisfyd in the sound.
Now i goth a snr 22xx with switched filter en envelope boards yes sir RA moog boards.
Now the sound is bang on what i wanted and had in my head.
Sitting side by side with the 2600 it can do all the moog can do. But its just the bang on frequency buttons, filter arrangments
really stable, stays in tune, great overdive wil geth you the sound youd like in a minute (arp is something els) is what i like about it.
Still im looking for a voyager again just for the new sounds it haz and now with the foogers en controllers that are out the.
Endless sonic capebilitys in this trio.
To the point now
Good model d's are great but expensive and hard to find.
Voyagers are the synths of the future... the controllers and the foogers it will never stop. Just love it.
If you goth the money buy both there not the same and never will be. But both two masterpieces in the synth world.
Gotta love it.

[LivePsy]

If you open the filter wide open and pump a ramp or square through it, the model D has this razor edge high end that the Voyager doesn't get.

This is unfortunately correct. The rise times on the Voyager waveforms are terrible and the sound is too soft for that sharp saw, square and triangle with a pulse in it. This is probably because of the wave shape pot and circuit. I would prefer we had a selector instead of mixing the waves, and the waves selectable were really accurate. If the oscillator is a relaxation type, then there is a sharp saw wave in there somewhere.

I hate to say a bad thing about the Voyager, but this is a dissapointment for an otherwise perfect instrument.

[Electrong]

Interestingly when I tried out the Voyager that was one of the first things I noticed about it. The continuous waveform pot reminded me of a Micromoog (they have that as well). I was also sorta disappointed with that, although I can see where you could manipulate the wave shape in real time and it would be cool..

I'm reading the above posts to mean that an old Model D has "that sound" (if you can find the right one) that not even the Voyager can match, but the Voyager is a most excellent and very deep synth. I'm not convinced yet that selling my very old model D is a very good idea. I'll need to find another way to save up some bones for a Voyager!

[LivePsy]

Its a subtractive synth, so you are supposed to start with sharp waveforms with lots of high harmonics and filter them down as you need. I would love to see an upgrade where individual waveforms from each oscillator are available on a VX-like module. And of course, nice sharp waveforms.

[gd]

I bought my miniD in '74, I bought an AE with the idea of retiring the old gal, kept the AE for a few years and ended up selling it. A wonderful feature rich synth, if I didn't already own a miniD I would still have it, but I just preferred the D. I am sure that many others will prefer the Voyager with its capabilities - I miss that X Y pad, I am just glad that Moog is once again in the mkt. and building fantastic gear!