Notes hanging on Voyager Randomly

[kogmachine]

Hello,

I purchased a used Moog Voyager several years ago, and sometimes notes will get stuck and it will also play notes others than the notes I play on the keyboard. The problem is difficult to reproduce as it only seems to occur randomly.

Here's a Youtube video that I uploaded to illustrate the problem I am having.

https://youtu.be/ye0KtMNWDy8

When this happens, my Voyager becomes unplayable. Switching it off and on again does nothing, nor does the "all notes off function". The only thing that works is to unplug the Voyager and leave it unplugged for a few weeks to a month. The problem doesn't seem to resurface again for several months, but it will reoccur eventually.

I'm wondering if this issue is caused by a bad capacitor, because leaving it unplugged for a while seems to fix the issue, albeit temporarily. It's just a guess, and with my very limited knowledge of electrical engineering I'm likely incorrect.

I have contacted Moog about this years ago when I first noticed the problem, but I never sent my Voyager in for repairs since the issue seemed to resolve itself. I'm not sure Moog techs would be able to help because the problem might resolve itself in transit to the Moog factory.

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem with their Voyager? Were you able to find a permanent fix?

[stiiiiiiive]

Hi Kogmachine, and welcome to the forum.

Sad to see this problem on your Voyager. I'm not an expert I had a keyboard problem on my Voyager Old School at some point. It was different though.

Disclaimer: I'm not a tech but just unmounted some synths for examination and quick repair. I will only advise a connection check here, but please be aware of what you can and what you cannot do yourself

The first thing I would try would be to check the keybed connection. I'm not sure where exactly i is located but unmounting the left hand controller plate, you should be able to see if it's right there or going back in the main box. In the later case, you would have to unmount the main box -nothing critical- to locate the connector.

In any case, it's a good idea to contact MoogMusic again; they are the best option for answering you.

[Doddos]

As Stiiiive points out - start to check contacts and their sockets - You don´t need to be a tech for that. I´ve also fixed minor things on different synths through the years, as long the issues are visible and not in need for tracing with test equipment.

There are two screws on the left hand controller (LHC), if you loosen them it´s easy to carefully lift out the LHC and check the socket connections. I´ts also wise to check the 14 pin ribbon cable that goes from the LHC to the main board (through a hole in the wooden cabinet. I had some spooky issues due to a worn out ribbon cable (wrote about it here some time ago), and managed to replace the cable with a used one (standard component - reused the connections). You might also take a check on the keyboard PCB, if there are any loose contacts. To do this you put your voyager upside down (on a soft surface) and loosen the bottom plate.

[VCO]

I wonder if your contacts on your keybed have any debri or possibly some dust that interferes with making a connection when you depress or release a key. I thought I was having an issue with my oberhiem OBX8 in regards to its action, not responding properly but resolved the issue when I realized it wasn’t the keyboard that was causing the issue but audio cords. Hope you track down what the issue is and can resolve it easily and effectively. Hopefully it’s something minor.

[kogmachine]

I appreciate your replies.

I will make a point to check the connections of the keyboard cables and sockets by opening up the unit. I'm not a stranger to opening up most of my keyboards, and I've managed to fix a few.

I probably should have mentioned that as of right now, my Voyager is working fine. When the keyboard acts up I unplug the AC power cord for a good while (weeks), and the issue resolves itself and remains working normally for months.

The next time I have this issue, I will try opening the unit and poke around to see if I can get a favorable result. I have also considered that it might possibly be caused by my AC power cable (my Voyager didn't come with one and the one I'm using might be the cause), so I'll try a different cable next time. I will also try using an external MIDI keyboard to trigger notes just to see what happens. If that fails I will bite the bullet and send it to Asheville, NC.

I love the sound of the Voyager, and when I first played mine I understood why the Moog is so highly regarded. It will hurt to part from it, if only for a while.

If anyone else has any suggestions, thoughts or advice, please don't hesitate.

Thanks folks!

[RL]

Hi,
I guess the reason is a broken chip on the analog board (U17, TL064).
I had this problem very often on the signature version.