Time to buy a Voyager

[slabwax]

So I just sold my LP and I think it's time to buy a Voyager. How many of you are using your Voyagers for just soundscapes and drones? How many are using a VX-351? Thanks

[EricK]

Which Voyager are you looking at?

[slabwax]

That is a great question. I love the idea of a VOS I'm not much of a midi person and I don't need presets. That said I like the idea of the XY pad the ability to change between 1-4 pole. And I hate to say it But I just dig the looks of the E.B. I guess I don't have a definite plan other then I'm going to get a Voyager and a VX-351. Any suggestions Erik?

[EricK]

If I had it to do over again, and I was sure I was going to get a Voyager....I would probably go the old school route.

I rarely use the touchpad, but it's nice to have handy in case I want to start sequences or CV the foogers. If I didn't have it, I probably wouldn't miss it. It scratches so easily, I mostly use it for gate outs.

I do love the filter poles though.

So my choice would either be a Performer or an Old School.

If you like the EB, then get the EB.

The only other thing that I might consider is finding a demo unit or used XL, and Id probably not be willing to pay more than 3700 for it 3500 if I could get away with it, but I don't know how realistic that is. The extra keyboard and ribbon controller do it for me.

If I wasn't sure I would buy a Voyager, I would go entirely the dotcom route. My 1 osc modular with the multimode filter sounds every bit as good as the Voyager.



Forgive me if you have seen this before but this is some drone stuff I did awhile back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQCpK9_QYI

Eric

[slabwax]

Great drone!! The XL would be cool, but more then I want to spend and too large to schlep. I'f I go for any kind of modular synth it will be a small (8-10 panels) Buchla. When I sell off a few more bits of gear 3-4 panels will be mine. But in the here and now a Voyager is in my sights. Wold you miss the poles? Anything else I'm missing on a Voyager vs VOS?

[Kenneth]

I bought an Old School last year (time flies!) and I recommend going that route for anyone who has their sights set on a Voyager. Reasons:

1. It's cheaper than any of the models with digital control interfaces. About $1000 cheaper, if you find a good deal.

2. I've been told that the lack of digital tuning functionality affords the Old School a more "unstable" characteristic in its oscillators, which, if true, makes the OS sound more organic than the others.

3. Simpler is better.

4. Did I mention that it looks waaaaaaaaaaay cooler than the ones with flashy LEDs and LCDs and touch-screens and hoo-has?

[fyvewytches]

If I wasn't sure I would buy a Voyager, I would go entirely the dotcom route. My 1 osc modular with the multimode filter sounds every bit as good as the Voyager.

Which filter do you mean ? The 107 ?

Thanks.

[thealien666]

...2. I've been told that the lack of digital tuning functionality affords the Old School a more "unstable" characteristic in its oscillators, which, if true, makes the OS sound more organic than the others.

I don't know you told you that, Kenneth, but that's totally unfounded.

The regular Voyager converts digital values from its computer section to analog control voltages before going to the analog board where the oscillators are (which is the same board in both regular and Old School version of Voyager).

So, essentially, the oscillators in all versions are exactly the same and are driven by analog CV and drift all in the same manner. BTW, the drift is more subtle than on a vintage Minimoog, but there nonetheless.

That being said, there is the fact that the Old School is 99.5% analog (the keyboard scanning is digital but with D/A conversion onboard), and as such, offers a continuous control (almost infinite) of the voltages that drives the machine, as opposed to the limited 16384 available ones on non Old School ones. Although one would be hard pressed to detect a 0.000061 Hz frequency change in pitch, for example...

[EricK]

Yeah the q107.

[misterpete]

Hmmmm <shrug> that scratching bidness doesn't add up for me... I haven't scratched mine at all ~ and I use the Touch Surface Controller absolutely every single time I play it, without fail! ~ the TSC on my Electric Blue which I have owned for about 16 months looks just as untouched shiny mint new ~ as the one on my actual brand new as the XL I got a few days before Xmas!
Mind you I do cut my nails ~ ~ but I tend to use the skin on my fingertips anyway~ side of my thumb, or even the palm of my hand ~ you can program so much with the X, Y, A & Gate PLUS the percentages make a huge difference in the sensitivity, ~there's a whole lotta power in that TSC!!! In fact, I use them even when I'm not even playing the actual keyboards() ie with the EXT switch on ~ or to control other external (not voyager) gear

SLABWAX~ you can read up on TSC tips and tricks in the manual here: http://www.moogmusic.com/sites/default/ ... _combo.pdf

It scratches so easily

It's really going to come down to personal preference... I like the look of the Electric Blue best too ~ the backlighting, the lit wheels ~ I like the shiny light dials on the Phatty and the blinking LFO on the Taurus. I also absolutely love the look of my White XL, too — so much more than the wood grain cabinet on the original XL. I actually get pleasure seeing the blue/black and white painted wood, too! If it's what inspires you then use it right? The other kooky thing is if you totally LOVE your Moogs like I do you will probably want to buy a dustcover for them. The dustcovers are brilliant. Well made. Perfect fit even with your CV patches plugged in and will keep the instrument in best possible condition. They will also completely cover the cabinet as soon as you put it on no matter which model you selected, equally well.

I do have a lovely Mahogany Hammond Organ that was built in 1962.
Hammond customers could pick different wood to match their home decor because they were designed to sit in (1960s) living rooms ~ not on stages and in recording studios. Just like with the Hammond ~ the custom woodwork seems to me like a misguided way to legitimize electronic instruments and disguise them as something more 'respectable' and 'traditional' ~ like a piano. And because I don't have a Hammond dustcover the M-101 is usually shrouded in a blanket when I'm not playing it ~ like all the rest of my precious instruments. Last thing I want to do is have some schmendrick pour coffee on one ~hands off, baby. hands off!

[slabwax]

Misterpete

Thanks for the post. I had a dust cover for my LP if it was not in its case it was covered with the Moog cover and it looked like new 4 or 5 years later. Take care of your gear and it will take care of you. I don't think I can make an absolute decision between the VOS or EB It will end up being which ever one shows up at the right price. And l'll be just as happy ether way. They each offer things I want and things I can live without. Congrats on the XL That beast looks like a ton of fun. And I do mean TON.

[stiiiiiiive]

I don't think I can make an absolute decision between the VOS or EB It will end up being which ever one shows up at the right price. And all be just as happy ether way.

This

[misterpete]

Cool~ that's EXACTLY what I would do ~and then get the OTHER one when a deal for it came along
YES> The XL is totally out of this world a zillion times better than your wildest dreams. MUCH bigger than the sum of it's parts.
~
Another selling point for the unfairly maligned TSC -- it is a great workaround in situations where you want to tweak something but don't want to send a specific CC. You may have seen posts about that ~ Requesting MIDI CC filtering in the next Voyager FW version, or asking how to filter out unwanted CCs in your DAW.
Aside from having a massive effect on any particular sound the LFO knob sends a 'SOLO' track CC message to my DAW which is extremely aggravating! However, if I map the LFO to the TSC I can control it WITHOUT sending the 'bad' conflicting cc.
The Phatty and Taurus have MIDI filtering built in~ but on the MInitaur you can't do this ~ turning the knob or even using that incredibly powerful CV mapping built into REV 2 ~ if you adjust that parameter LOGIC will 'solo' your track

Misterpete

Thanks for the post. I had a dust cover for my LP if it was not in its case it was covered with the Moog cover and it looked like new 4 or 5 years later. Take care of your gear and it will take care of you. I don't think I can make an absolute decision between the VOS or EB It will end up being which ever one shows up at the right price. And l'll be just as happy ether way. They each offer things I want and things I can live without. Congrats on the XL That beast looks like a ton of fun. And I do mean TON.

[vasago]

Well, for starters it's woprth mentioning not getting memory storage is kind of dumb. If youre going to spend 2-3k on something, get the bells and whistles. I understand some people like the OS and I understand their reasonings, but if youre not truly passionate about those reaosnings, its worth getting the digitalized version just for memory. Also, pot mapping. Pretty cool feature.

I dont really use my voyager for sound effects, because other instruments do that kind fo thing much better. I use my voyager for leads/basses. Kind of generic, but it is REALLY good at doing those. I have a vx351, but rarely use it. I do use the CV in's already built into it though.

Hope it's helpful

[GovernorSilver]

I like the sound effects/soundscapes I get with my Voyager PE - the bubbly pad, the "Mod Wheel Howler" patch, etc. I tried to replicate the Mod Wheel Howler on my Korg M3 but failed multiple times. The one sound I found on the M3 that got kind of in the neighborhood was from the EXB-RADIAS board that added 4-op FM, virtual analog modeling, etc. to the M3 - more lively than the rompler sounds but still not as lively as the Voyager's, and without the Voyager's bassier character.

My synth drone friends do prefer devices that don't have patch memory (eg. Drone Commander - aptly named!!!, Drone Lab, Arturia Minibrute, etc.) because of the one-knob/one-slider per function hardware UI and you know exactly what each setting is at all times, as opposed to a Voyager where you may know what a knob setting is for one patch, but once you change patches, the value represented by the knob position may be completely different!

It seems to me my drone playing friends that prefer preset-free devices dial up a specific sound and use that for an entire set, as opposed to, say, cover band guy who has to dial up different lead sounds or whatever for each song and thus needs a synth with patch memory. OTOH if you are a drone guy who spent hours creating an elaborate soundscape patch, you may want to be able to save your hard work and recall it with a couple of button presses. Having patch memory was handy when I was guesting with my friend's band - she wanted specific soundscapes/sound effects for specific songs. But it wouldn't be essential for a drone gig where you sculpt a long, evolving soundscape for a 20-30 min. long set.