Does anyone, who owns the Voyager, hate it?

Tips and techniques for Minimoog Analog Synthesizers
drxcm
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Post by drxcm » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:59 pm

I noticed novamusik has LUNAR edition voyagers now, no pics, but I suppose this is going to be a white backlight? maybe even a white panel / case? sounds interesting. I like mine black and orange though!

The only other model which I really like the look of is the maple electric blue at bigcitymusic.com. That is hot.

The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:33 pm

I have an AE in maple, which looks identical to EB maple edition. Great looking machine.
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JSRockit
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Post by JSRockit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:54 pm

Nova always give me the best prices...so I went with the cheapest one they had in stock. If they had the preformer edition...I would have got that. The maples are my favorite though...no doubt. Lunar edition? Damn, if that is white, it may look nice.

mee3d
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SMS 2000

Post by mee3d » Sat Nov 04, 2006 2:16 pm

My take on the subject.

I have been working in media for 20 years... People in London call me a Photoshop guru, my 3d product visualization work for blue-chip clients have won many awards and quite a few new products that I have "mocked-up" in 3d have made it to production.

In the last 20 years I have owned at least 100 analogue synths... so I have had access to pretty much every big name synth going.

So... looking at the available photos my take is this -

The shot of the synth on the orange table and the shot of it in wrappers are real photos of a real object. Naturally there maybe some Photoshop work done to these images but that goes without saying... If I was marketing a new product I would want to tweak the image.. no photo leaves my studio without going through PS!

These images are not 3D modelled and rendered in my professional opinion (and you can quote me on that!).

The photo of the SMS 2000 on the music store counter to me looks a little suspicious. I can't quite work out what is wrong with it, there's a flatness to the control panel that worries me but it could be just a tweak in the exposure.. the panel looks darker in contrast then what I would expect from the placement of the unit in that scene. It looks to me like the cabinet was shot in-situ but perhaps they replaced the control panel.. perhaps it was the original white face prototype and for this shot they wanted to showcase a black face model?

Now, the shot of the unit in the exhibition booth is all Photoshop fake, and not a good one at that. I would imagine the unit was placed in a fake booth and photographed, so it is real hardware but all the other elements were added... the posters on the wall, the man demonstrating the unit the woman with the brochures etc... I can see a lot of standard PS drop shadow going on!

It isn't uncommon for companies to create such imagery for brochures and pre-manufacturing marketing.... lets hope this unit does make it into production as it looks great.

Mal
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The Unknown
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Re: SMS 2000

Post by The Unknown » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:00 am

mee3d wrote:Now, the shot of the unit in the exhibition booth is all Photoshop fake, and not a good one at that. I would imagine the unit was placed in a fake booth and photographed, so it is real hardware but all the other elements were added... the posters on the wall, the man demonstrating the unit the woman with the brochures etc... I can see a lot of standard PS drop shadow going on!
Absolutely. But I still think this machine is a red herring, Mal, and it is this particular photo, which is the give away. Aside from your comments, the acute angle of the rear panel in this shot is highly suspicious, as it must weigh as much, if not more, than the Voyager's. That being the case, there are two important questions that need realistic answers:

a) How is the rear panel supported?
b) Why, when at this angle, does it not tip the whole unit over?

Now, you could argue that the keyboard section could have a fair amount of ballast within it, but that hardly makes for good design, and the thing would probably weigh as much as a CS80! As for how the rear panel is supported, well I am sure it could be done, but it is interesting to note, that there appear to be no rear view shots of this machine, unless someone knows different?
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

mee3d
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Post by mee3d » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:10 am

Yeah... but I think that's a small point as it would't take too much engineering to produce 2 metal hinges that swing out from the rear of the keyboard housing to support the top panel and help to steady the complete unit.

There are little interesting things about these photos that make me think it is a real prototype, well at least a real hardware mock-up. Look at the keyboard closely and you will notice that the C and E keys are yellowed more then the rest, often prototypes are created from left over components... maybe the keyboard is from the original SMS 1000?

Naturally if you were going to create a hoax you might also use left over components... but my point was that these shots are mostly real photography.. the unit exists somewhere in hardware form whether it has electronics in it or not!

If someone has gone to the trouble of creating this thing for the fun of it then I tip my hat to them as it's a job well done (next time call me for the photoshop work though!).

Mal
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The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Sun Nov 05, 2006 5:35 am

mee3d wrote:it would't take too much engineering to produce 2 metal hinges that swing out from the rear of the keyboard housing to support the top panel and help to steady the complete unit.
True, but at such an acute angle? You're right about the C and E keys, which is interesting. I wonder if the truth about this thing will ever be revealed?
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

mee3d
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Post by mee3d » Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:18 am

It gets more weird.

And why the Union Jack? Is that a clue? (It's you The Unknown!).

Image
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The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:07 pm

Ha! Ha! I can assure you it isn't me, mate! Funny you saying that though, as it did cross my mind that POLYMOOG could have been the hoaxer. It really is a mystery, this one. If it is genuine, why all the intrigue? If I had created this, I'd want to get it 'out there', ASAP, in LARGE quantities.
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

mee3d
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Post by mee3d » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:30 pm

I took this photo in my studio today! (wink, wink).

Mal
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The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:38 pm

Really, Mal? I didn't know you owned a PolyEvolver! :wink:
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

mee3d
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Post by mee3d » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:44 pm

Ahh... I've been rumbled.

Actually I quite fancy a polyevolver... perhaps Santa will be good to me this year.

Mal
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The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:03 pm

Yes, but I bet they're not half as good as an SMS2000! That's what I'll by asking for. In fact, I'm going to do a 'Noel Edmonds', and cosmic-order one. That'll definitely prove as to whether it's real or not!

On a more serious note, how many synths have you got these days? I know you had to sell a few, when you left London.
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

mee3d
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Post by mee3d » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:20 pm

On a more serious note, how many synths have you got these days? I know you had to sell a few, when you left London.
Yes...sad days indeed.

I sold pretty much my entire collection...

Prodigy
multimoog
model D minimoog
MIDImoog
Oberheim OB8
Oberheim Matrix 12
Oberheim Matrix 1000 x3
SCi Prophet 5 rev 3.3
miniKORG 700
OSC OSCar x2
Elka Synthex
Roland Jupiter 8a MIDI
Yamaha CS50
Yamaha CS60
PPG Wave 2,3 and Waveterm B (ex Kajagoogoo)
Rhodes Chroma x2

Plus a variety of modern gear... 2 Alesis IONS, a microKorg, a few Novation boards, 20 "U's" of rack effects and large digital mixer etc.

I kept the following...

Voyager SE
The Source
Opus3
Memorymoog
Korg Polysix
Rhodes Chroma
Roland FP5 piano
Elka x705 combi Organ
Jen Srynx 508 x 2
and a lock-up full of wierd and wonderful casio's!

Enough to be making music and not spending all day switching on!

M
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The Unknown
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Post by The Unknown » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:36 pm

mee3d wrote:
On a more serious note, how many synths have you got these days? I know you had to sell a few, when you left London.
Yes...sad days indeed.

I sold pretty much my entire collection...

Prodigy
multimoog
model D minimoog
MIDImoog
Oberheim OB8
Oberheim Matrix 12
Oberheim Matrix 1000 x3
SCi Prophet 5 rev 3.3
miniKORG 700
OSC OSCar x2
Elka Synthex
Roland Jupiter 8a MIDI
Yamaha CS50
Yamaha CS60
PPG Wave 2,3 and Waveterm B (ex Kajagoogoo)
Rhodes Chroma x2
Oh, Mal, this must have been heartbreaking. There are some real classics here. The Elka Synthex, PPG Wave and Model D (obviously) to name but three. I didn't realise you had a Matrix 12 - I have heard they sound amazing. Interestingly enough, Arturia have actually produced a software version of this, but can't release it, due to licensing problems (I was given this information a couple of years ago at the Sounds Expo, by someone from Arturia). I really hope they can resolve this, as the Matrix 12 is a synth I always fancied owning, but could never afford.
It is better to be loved or hated than to be regarded with indifference.
I might look a fool, I might act the fool, but take me for a fool and I'll make a fool of you.
If the past is ill, make the future better.

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