What's a Voyager good for???

[praxisaxis]

Okay. I'm putting some serious consideration into buying a Voyager. I already know its major technical features, and also own other synths, like my Little Phatty, Nord Stage, and various others.

So I want you to put in sales pitches here: What's it good for? How can it augment an existing synth setup? What's distinctive about it?

As I said, I know the technical bones of it - I'm just looking for other little titbits and anecdotes to push me over the edge .

Cheers!
-
Tom.

[MarkM]

The user interface is better for live performance; there is little to no menu diving. The tilting back panel makes it a bit more ergonomic. There seems to be a smoother sound. More ins and outs via VX351. The third oscillator adds more versatility as well as a richer sound. More presets and banks. More keys.

I own both, and the Voyager is always my go-to lead synth.

[ferran]

Minimoog Voyager plays well with my other synths, as well a Nord Stage. Voyager is a pleasure to play, to see, is an instrument that excites your musical imagination. also is fun to interconnect with Moogerfooers via VX351 or using the built-in CVs, and get sounds you never expect to find.

Its a great machine. I recommend, worth every penny.

[52weeks]

It feels the most 'like a real instrument' much moreso than any other synth you'll play. My first time playing it in a live gig, I was playing the keys with one hand, tweaking knobs/touch pad with the other, and using the mod dial with my elbow (this was before I got my expression pedal).

While I normally sequence my synths for home recording purposes, the Voyager demands that I play it live. It's just such a joy to interact with.

This playability goes far in converting a pre-set fiend like myself into a tweaker. It's also a brilliant learning tool for the basics and beyond of synthesis, as well as CV once you get some more toys to go with it (expression pedal, ribbon controller, just to start).

And let's be honest, the backlighting is ice cold awesomeness.

The Voyager plays very well with other synths. It can add bubbly, explorative atmosphere and textures, or it can add thick and richly destructive lead lines. I started off with the cheapy keyboards ($200 Yamahas and Casios), and I'd have to layer sounds to get anything real good. The Voyager is its own layering system, except with much better starting sounds.

[c7sus]

Doesn't simply owning a Voyager in Oz make it distinctive???

[praxisaxis]

Doesn't simply owning a Voyager in Oz make it distinctive???

Well, no, not really... You know we've got cities and stuff now .

[praxisaxis]

Having said that, I don't think they're selling like hotcakes in Brissie. That's why I'm able to consider getting one...

[monads]

For me it's got to be the user interface and touch panel. It's easy to integrate into a midi studio or Live setup. The sound of course is a BIG plus.

[EricK]

FIrst, the knob-per-function interface will spoil you quickly when you play another synthesizer with similar parameters.
The sound cuts through the mix extremely well.
They keyboard feels wonderful, The pitch and mod wheels are very smoothe and all of the pots are sturdy.

The Voyager is a well made, well designed piece of engineering, and its sounds are fantastic.

This, simply put is the best monophinic synth on the market today.

If its basic features and sounds aren't enough, it does have stereo outs, an effects loop, and audio input.

This is a great synthesizer upon which to learn, and a seasoned synthesist will still not run out of ideas.

If the basic modulation patching isn't enough, the software allows for programmable mod sources and destinations.

Filter pole selectabillity is from 1-4 poles.

Dual filters that can be set to bandpass mode.

Extensive Midi control, pots can control other pots and can be chained together so one turn of the knob does quite alot.

If thats not enough for you, and you are interested in going to CV, the Voyager sports several cv inputs of various parameters for usage with other analogue gear.

If thats STILL not enough to wet your whistle, then when used in conjunction with an editor librarian, you can remove the entire banks of 896 presets and store them while you create 896 more sounds. You can also warp two presets together or have your computers sequencer turn every knob for you during a live performance so you can focus on playing.


Finally,
if the features and presets aren't enough to make this synthesizer about as good as it can possibly get for a potential buyer, then consider that its features are constantly being improved upon. Since its release it has undergone hardware and software upgrades, and with our (the users) input, Moog continues to hone this synthesizer little by litle into the perfect machine. Whats in the future for the Voyager? Perhaps more memory, more destinations, a software based arpeggiator or sequencer, whatever the good people at Moog decide to add to this beast, that is usually just a simple Midi upgrade away.


Verdict?

[mayidunk]

What may be the most important question is what sounds can the Voyager produce that will fit in with whatever music you're doing. If you're in a cover band, then that's a pretty important question.

Otherwise, if you're doing original music, then does the sound palette offered by the Voyager fit with the vision you have for the music you're doing?

On the other hand, if you're a hobbyist, like me, then will the control surface and the sound palette provide you with the flexibility you require for your experimentation?

Otherwise, if none of the above apply, then, like war, the answer for you may be, "Absolutely nuthin'!"

Say it again, y'all!

Just a few random thoughts?

[cl516]

It is good for BASS!!

and

It is good for PRETTY!!

[praxisaxis]

Thanks everyone. Damn. I'm afraid this hasn't put me off buying one.

[LivePsy]

Prius, these posters are just Moog fanboys. Don't get a Voyager.

Only plays one note at a time (although you do get to choose which note you want next)
Way heavier than my Casio portasound
Limited to only thousands of possible sounds because of the tiny number of parameters
No ethernet, USB, SCSI, SATA or 3G connectivity. What were they thinking?

So you can now sit alone at home without a Voyager and tell yourself you don't need one

Or buy one, feel guilty for spending that much money for a few days, then enjoy living with the Voyager as your new best friend. Get the VX-351 and CP-251 too, I think they are essential for experimentation. Its already a semi-modular on its own, but these really open up some possibilities.

Congratulations on your future purchase!

[Unfiltered]

If you're looking for opinions, and obviously this is just that: Find a good deal on a model D, Oberheim 2/4 voice, ARP Odyssey, or even the new Moog-modeled modulars. I have a Voyager and a D, and originally I got both to see which is better, and neither is, because they're almost completely different beasts. There are 2 main factors that I consider when determining what to use: sound quality and versatility. Obviously the Voyager is extremely versatile, but less obviously, the D has a raw electronic sound that can only come from discrete oscillators and filter. I built an oscillator for a class and when I heard it, I noticed how raw and powerful it sounded, just from basic components, and I also noticed how similar to the model D it sounded, as far as just pureness and rawness was concerned.

This is something I don't hear from the Voyager, which is very clean sounding, and more refined and stable. As far as modern analog all in one synths go, though, i have never heard one better than the Voyager. The Doepfer stuff has a sort of rough rawness as well, but it has more of an edge that is not exactly moog-like. But to me, the sound is most important, and a simple patch that sounds good is enough for me. That said, If you like crazy experimentation, I would go for a modular. If you want a clean, reliable, stable live performance keyboard, go with the Voyager. If you want the sound of electricity in its purest form, go for a D or an Odyssey (whiteface or early blackface) or an Oberheim 2 voice which is currenlty being revised and put on sale soon by Tom Oberheim.

The Voyager is also the coolest looking keyboard I have ever seen, with the possible exception of the mellotron. Get a Mellotron with Voyager on Top!

[praxisaxis]

The Voyager is also the coolest looking keyboard I have ever seen

Yes, they did themselves a real favour to make it look sexy. Everyone wants the one that looks good, but of course the Voyager isn't "just a pretty face".

I guess another aspect of this is that I already have the Little Phatty, which I absolutely love. I want to augment this setup... I could get some other sort of analogue synth (with keys for performance), although there aren't that many options. But I'm wondering whether there's anything to be said for expanding the Moog sound... for one thing I know the Voyager and the LP have quite different sounds. I do a lot of studio work, but I'm also want to be able to do accompaniment+lead every now and then.

By the way, thanks everyone for the info. The little bits and pieces of anecdotes are important when researching gear, I think.