New XL owner

[DeckardTrinity]

For my 40th b-day I fulfilled one of my long held dreams... to own an authentic Moog synthesizer. I picked up a factory b-stock white Voyager XL in absolute brand new condition for a very nice price... and I could not be happier! Having spent the last two years really studying subtractive synthesis, I was absolutely amazed at how little I had to read of the manual in order to get the sounds that I wanted out of this beast right off the bat.

I seriously don't think I have been this engaged with making sounds in all my life. I had read lots of posts from others on various forums describing the sense of "lost time" when sitting down to their favorite instrument, but for some reason I never did have that experience... until now. Every night for the past two weeks I have literally lost track of time - as soon as I power on and sit down, even just to experiment with one area (tonight's focus was supposed to be just PWM), I just get pulled in. It is without a doubt a very deep, inviting machine with which to make music.

I'm sure I'll be digging through the archives here to glean more tidbits, and will hopefully come up with some new and creative things to post back about. Just wanted to share... Voyager XL... bliss!

[Vsyevolod]

Welcome to the forum! Nice choice of a first synth too.

If I might ask, where did you buy it and for what price?

Stephen




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[DeckardTrinity]

Actually this is my first Moog synth - I've been playing mostly with a Virus TI2 and Analog 4 the past couple years, but really felt that going "all-in" with an XL was the right move for me. Getting the authentic Moog experience, as well as a really good step into the semi-modular world all at once, has been well worth it so far.

I picked up the synth on eBay from Noise Bug in Pomona, CA, for $3999. They seem to get demo or b-stock units in semi regularly, and previous purchasers had nothing but good remarks, so I figured it was worth taking a chance on this one (this was listed as Factory B-Stock from Moog, which to me reads as "factory refurbished", i.e., basically brand new). I missed out on an earlier sale they had on a demo unit from NAMM, so didn't want to miss out again.

I would have been pretty hesitant to shell out full price before laying hands on one, but now I'd probably have no problem at full price - for what I want to get out of synthesis, the XL fits right in as the centerpiece of my home studio. Can't wait to start sampling it with the Octatrack and layering effects with the A4 + TI2!

[Cpt Beardheart]

Sweeeet!

I've had pretty good results pairing the XL with the EHX 8-Step. It doesn't have trigger/gate out, so you can't fully sequence the XL with it, but if you're using a MIDI sequencer, you can sync the 8-step with MIDI and do some pretty cool CV sequencing in time with MIDI, or just use it asynchronously. Either way, pretty cool way to get some CV sequencing going for not a lot of dough.

[deltaphoenix]

He has an Analog Four, it has 2 stereo CV Outs and a 64 step sequencer…He could do a lot with that set-up-Pitch, gate, triggers, send LFOs (not that he needs them..) & Envelopes...

[Cpt Beardheart]

Ah, I missed that part. Yeah, I guess the 8-Step would be pretty weak in comparison.

[stiiiiiiive]

Congrats and welcome to the forum

For the little story, I got my Voyager OS off a fellow Mooguy who had it for its 40th birthday. Then his daughter needed a larger room and he had to free space. I promised him to love the Voyager the best I can

Ah, I missed that part. Yeah, I guess the 8-Step would be pretty weak in comparison.

That being said, I sometimes use the LFO square out of teh VX351 to drive the EHX 8 step and the voyager GATE input at the same time.... while the 8 step drive the pitch or whatever.

Worth trying while playing in standalone

[Cpt Beardheart]

Congrats and welcome to the forum

I sometimes use the LFO square out of teh VX351 to drive the EHX 8 step and the voyager GATE input at the same time.... while the 8 step drive the pitch or whatever.

Worth trying while playing in standalone

That sounds kind of awesome. Now I can't wait to get home from work.

A while back, I was using the XL's mults to receive and then echo CV from the 8-Step back out to various other pedals w/ expression jacks. That was interesting. Most elaborate and expensive mult ever!

[DeckardTrinity]

Yep, I've dipped my toes into the CV world a bit with the A4 + XL, just doing a basic gate + pitch trigger. I've been pleasantly surprised by how much modulation possibility there is just on the main part of the panel. I'll probably delve more into the CV side once I wear out my welcome with just the Mod Wheel & Pedal busses.

[EricK]

I tried to "upgrade" to one of their demo units by trading in my Voyager VX and CP and all they would give me was 1700 for it . Congratulations on the acquisition.

What do you want to get out of synthesis? It sounds like you want to go modular! Go ahead and get yourself a sequencer for it, a fixed filter bank, and some other goodies!

Eric

[DeckardTrinity]

That is a tough question to answer! I think these days I'm more into electronic music production, but not necessarily just 4 on the floor beats - I really like Autechre and am constantly amazed at how complex their polyrhythmic style can get. But, I also have an interest in trying to develop some apps for mobile devices (iOS mostly to start with), and would really like to compose some simple soundtracks for those as well.

For the most part the choice I had here was to go with the XL or start in on the modular world. I think eventually I'll go that route, but felt that the XL offered enough of a start there (especially when combined with the A4). I see lots of bleeps and bloops and filter sweeps in my future.