Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

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filosofem
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Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Sun May 30, 2010 6:29 pm

Any opinions out there about whether or not a Voyager requires a Mic-Pre?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by EricK » Sun May 30, 2010 9:37 pm

I dont think anything like that is necessary. What are you trying to do with it? COlor the sound or just boost it?
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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Mon May 31, 2010 12:14 am

Hi Eric, thanks for your time. Ummm... good questions, see, I know it's subjective but the question is does a Voyager need additional Pre-Amp colour? Do you use a Pre-Amp for additional saturation? Regards.

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by EricK » Mon May 31, 2010 1:37 am

Pretty much what I do with my Voyager is record songs and make albums. Im not curently performing anywhere. I am lacking in the amp department, currently running through a Crate keyboard amp. If im doing a recording I will either run directly into a multi-tracker or into a Peavey 14USB mixer. I might use some of the Fooger effects, especially the delay.

I would use a tube preamp if I had one. My sister had a 40 watt marshall haze briefly (had 4 they were all defective) and I wanted to run it through there. Its really up to you. Anything you can do to make your sound original or unique you are surely welcome.

It wouldn't hurt.

THe only thing..if you are going for a particular waveshape or tone, adding tube saturation might square your waves up a bit, but generally if someone runs something through a tube amp, they either want crystal clean (fender style) or saturation (marshall style) or something like that. RIght?

Hope this helps....but really I don't have a lot of experience with tube amps or preamps.


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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Mon May 31, 2010 5:08 am

Do you run a DI box to balance the impedance like a Radial J48? The SWR LA 15" Combo I run is a clean pre-amp and raspy timbres with a quarter anti-clock wise turn on the bass hit that sweet spot just right. Re-Amping isn't bad either and for DI my gut is telling me to stay with a clean mic-pre. Just wanted to hear peoples preferences and experiences with working with different combo's of clean and/or saturated mic-pre's. Saturation meaning warmth not overdrive or mud.

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by psicolor » Mon May 31, 2010 6:42 am

Here the Voyager's mono out goes into an analog delay unit from where the signal goes directly into a line-in channel of my mixer. I don't like overdrive, saturation, chorus, flanger, compressor or other effects on the voyager. Of cause this is a matter of taste, but for me all those effects seem to worsen the voyager's signal...

(Just to make it clear, i like effects with other instruments, but not with the voyager)
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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by Klopfgeist » Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:13 pm

A DI is a must for studio or live. For recording, occasionally I'll run the Voyager through a tube pre (presonus studio channel), but not usually. Live, just a DI to foh. I usually run the Voyager through tons of effects, though, unless I'm going for a more traditional synthesizer sound.

I have not played the Voyager live, but if you are looking into DIs, Radial is pretty much the best sounding and most reliable. I swear by the J48. I also have the cheaper stereo DI and I've run my Mono Evolver through that live before.
So this thing only plays one note?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:34 pm

The current consensus is to not add a coloured Mic pre-amp. A result I would not have predicted.

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by Klopfgeist » Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:37 pm

Mic pres will not add as much color as you think they will. Overdriving a tube mic pre is not the same as plugging a synth into a JCM800. If you want the subtle character and compression a tube pre can offer but in a more useful effect, I highly suggest the ZVex Super Hard-On.
So this thing only plays one note?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:07 am

Thanks for those suggestions Paul, I'll look into the ZVex Super Hard-On pedal. As an upgrade I'm looking at a new DAW frontend like Focusrite with Digital I/O but not willing to go API at present.
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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:23 pm

Any difference between Z-VEX Super Hard-On and BBE Sonic Maximizer?
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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by Klopfgeist » Thu Jun 03, 2010 11:35 pm

I have not used a Sonic Maximizer, but it looks like they are two completely different designs.
So this thing only plays one note?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Fri Jun 04, 2010 4:02 am

Do you own the Super Hard-On, Paul? Do you own any other Z-VEX Effects pedals?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by Klopfgeist » Fri Jun 04, 2010 1:26 pm

Yes, I have a Super Hard On and a Fuzz Factory, which is really cool with the voyager.
So this thing only plays one note?

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Re: Does Voyager Old School need Mic-Pre?

Post by filosofem » Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:10 am

Paul, if it's not to much trouble can you post a video covering both of those Z-VEX pedals experimenting with your hard-wired mini moog?

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