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Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:13 pm
by pcx9
I'm really interested in picking up a Voyager Old School once one shows up for a good price again (missed a few nice deals sadly.) However since I can't test first I have some questions.

1. On some other Voyagers the filter did not track the glide, so that even if the oscillators would take a few seconds to move from one note to the next, the filter jumped there right away. Is this fixed in the Voyager OS?

2. This seems obvious from the manual, but I read a post somewhere which seemed to contradict, so... When you assign, say, aftertouch to control the LFO depth, regardless of what the amount knob is set at, there should not be any modulation unless you actually trigger aftertouch, correct? Someone said it was always triggered on every key press which is not at all ideal...

3. What is the range of serial numbers affected by the faulty TI chip?

Thanks!

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:59 am
by MC
1. On some other Voyagers the filter did not track the glide, so that even if the oscillators would take a few seconds to move from one note to the next, the filter jumped there right away. Is this fixed in the Voyager OS?
Should be, I helped Moog developed that fix. It became a production mod shortly after that, which would had been long before the OS model.
2. This seems obvious from the manual, but I read a post somewhere which seemed to contradict, so... When you assign, say, aftertouch to control the LFO depth, regardless of what the amount knob is set at, there should not be any modulation unless you actually trigger aftertouch, correct? Someone said it was always triggered on every key press which is not at all ideal...
The OS lacks the processor so it doesn't offer pot mapping. Has to be done through the mod buss. Moog did offer a modification to improve the aftertouch, not sure it is still available.
3. What is the range of serial numbers affected by the faulty TI chip?
There has never been a list published.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 1:16 pm
by Markyboard
MC wrote:
2. This seems obvious from the manual, but I read a post somewhere which seemed to contradict, so... When you assign, say, aftertouch to control the LFO depth, regardless of what the amount knob is set at, there should not be any modulation unless you actually trigger aftertouch, correct? Someone said it was always triggered on every key press which is not at all ideal...
The OS lacks the processor so it doesn't offer pot mapping. Has to be done through the mod buss. Moog did offer a modification to improve the aftertouch, not sure it is still available.
I believe the OP is referring to the standard Voyager where the shaping signal provides additional gain to the source signal. If the mod amount knob is set to 0 or the wheel/pedal is set at minimum then the shaping controllers have no affect, i.e. no modulation. Of course anything but 0 then you get modulation before the shaping control is initiated. Using the pot mapping mitigates this nicely.

The Voyager OS does not have this issue as the mod buses are not tied to the mod wheel or foot pedal. You don't have "shaping" signals, you just select a controller. Of course I've learned to live with my pot mapping addiction.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:40 pm
by pcx9
Markyboard wrote: I believe the OP is referring to the standard Voyager where the shaping signal provides additional gain to the source signal. If the mod amount knob is set to 0 or the wheel/pedal is set at minimum then the shaping controllers have no affect, i.e. no modulation. Of course anything but 0 then you get modulation before the shaping control is initiated. Using the pot mapping mitigates this nicely.

The Voyager OS does not have this issue as the mod buses are not tied to the mod wheel or foot pedal. You don't have "shaping" signals, you just select a controller. Of course I've learned to live with my pot mapping addiction.
Yes, this is what I meant. Someone in another thread I found had commented that their VOS was not behaving as you and the manual describe so just had to double check. All good then!

That is a bit concerning re: not having the serials. I guess it is better to look for the older units.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:00 pm
by Markyboard
pcx9 wrote:
That is a bit concerning re: not having the serials. I guess it is better to look for the older units.
AFAIK there were 2 official emails from Moog regarding this issue. The first attempted to identify specific Voyager models and serial numbers. The second email basically bounded the issue to units produced between 2010 and 2013 as posted here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21943&start=15

I’m still reading about related failures where Moog is covering this under warranty - one just last week. It almost seems like if any of these TI chips ever fail Moog will cover it. Because apparently other than this one bad batch these chips are indestructible :roll:

Hey I’m not complaining-damn nice of Moog. I do wonder if they’re replacing the entire analog board or just replacing the failed parts.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:37 am
by Nordlicht
pcx9 wrote: 2. This seems obvious from the manual, but I read a post somewhere which seemed to contradict, so... When you assign, say, aftertouch to control the LFO depth, regardless of what the amount knob is set at, there should not be any modulation unless you actually trigger aftertouch, correct? Someone said it was always triggered on every key press which is not at all ideal...
This is correct. Of course the modulation only is activated after using the assigned controller (e.g. aftertouch or mod wheel).
pcx9 wrote: 3. What is the range of serial numbers affected by the faulty TI chip?
Mine is serial no. 0573 and the previous owner of the synth actually had to change the mainboard because of the TI chip problem (broken oscillators). Since I got my OS in 2016 it works fine!

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:56 pm
by MC
Nordlicht wrote:
pcx9 wrote: 3. What is the range of serial numbers affected by the faulty TI chip?
Mine is serial no. 0573 and the previous owner of the synth actually had to change the mainboard because of the TI chip problem (broken oscillators). Since I got my OS in 2016 it works fine!
Early Voyagers - such as my SE - had sockets for the ICs.

Later models did not have IC sockets. Probably why the mainboard had to be swapped out.

Another tip: early Voyagers used polystyrene caps for the VCO timing caps. Later Voyagers substituted mylar caps - presto, instant tuning drift. I discovered this on my RME while diagnosing the tuning problem. Moog may have made the substitution due to supply issues - I could find no US source for 3900nf polystyrene caps, had to buy them from the UK. Once I replaced the caps with correct ones, tuning was much better.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:03 am
by suffixfoe
pcx9 wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:13 pm What is the range of serial numbers affected by the faulty TI chip?
There has never been a list published.

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:15 pm
by bichuelo

Re: Some Voyager OS Questions

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:12 pm
by ummagumma
MC wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:56 pm
Early Voyagers - such as my SE - had sockets for the ICs.

Later models did not have IC sockets. Probably why the mainboard had to be swapped out.

Another tip: early Voyagers used polystyrene caps for the VCO timing caps. Later Voyagers substituted mylar caps - presto, instant tuning drift. I discovered this on my RME while diagnosing the tuning problem. Moog may have made the substitution due to supply issues - I could find no US source for 3900nf polystyrene caps, had to buy them from the UK. Once I replaced the caps with correct ones, tuning was much better.
that is an interesting bit of info, about the caps affecting the OSC tuning! and the IC sockets

Bichuelo, I thought I had seen a list of affected serials but couldn't find it in a search. thx for the link!