Moog Voyager or Upgrade SE-1 to SE-1X?

Tips and techniques for Minimoog Analog Synthesizers
Igor
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Re: Thread topic

Post by Igor » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:37 pm

rajprods wrote: In your opinion, would the upgrade to the SE-1x be somewhat close in terms of the sound to a Voyager?
I tried SE-1X for 2 hours and found it is very close to the sound you can get from Voyager, with some minor limitations (and some features).

But you're right about the feelings which, no doubt, are very important. Voyager (with keyboard) is really better THING here. Take Voyager, you'll win.
Voyager EB, VX-351, CP-251, Moogerfoogers, Theremin standard, Theremin Plus
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rajprods
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Re: Thread topic

Post by rajprods » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:43 pm

Igor wrote:
rajprods wrote: In your opinion, would the upgrade to the SE-1x be somewhat close in terms of the sound to a Voyager?
I tried SE-1X for 2 hours and found it is very close to the sound you can get from Voyager, with some minor limitations (and some features).

But you're right about the feelings which, no doubt, are very important. Voyager (with keyboard) is really better THING here. Take Voyager, you'll win.
Thanks for the info!

rajprods
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Re: Thread topic

Post by rajprods » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:48 pm

Igor wrote:
rajprods wrote: In your opinion, would the upgrade to the SE-1x be somewhat close in terms of the sound to a Voyager?
I tried SE-1X for 2 hours and found it is very close to the sound you can get from Voyager, with some minor limitations (and some features).

But you're right about the feelings which, no doubt, are very important. Voyager (with keyboard) is really better THING here. Take Voyager, you'll win.
But don't forget about the price!!!!

Igor
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Re: Thread topic

Post by Igor » Fri Jan 09, 2009 5:48 pm

rajprods wrote:But don't forget about the price!!!!
Units we're talking about are comparable in sound, but not comparable as a units. One (SE-1xxx) is just a 3U box (or it was 4U?) with nice uncomfortable interface and no soul (for me) and sound made as a [good] REPLICA to Voyager. Another (Voyager with keyboard) is an instrument. Musical instrument. With its own voice.

Money is nothing about here I suppose.

P.S. Dreaming about PolyVoyager... Going to try SE CODE 8 voice. I like chords...
P.P.S. Prophet '08 is not a choice for one who want big sound and musical interface, unfortunately.
Voyager EB, VX-351, CP-251, Moogerfoogers, Theremin standard, Theremin Plus
DSI Prophet '08, Korg KARMA w/MOSS, Arturia Origin
Mackie Onyx 1620 w/FW, Lexicon MX400, Apogee Duet
OSX/Logic Studio (G4/G5/Intel)

rajprods
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Re: Thread topic

Post by rajprods » Fri Jan 09, 2009 7:30 pm

Igor wrote:
rajprods wrote:But don't forget about the price!!!!
Units we're talking about are comparable in sound, but not comparable as a units. One (SE-1xxx) is just a 3U box (or it was 4U?) with nice uncomfortable interface and no soul (for me) and sound made as a [good] REPLICA to Voyager. Another (Voyager with keyboard) is an instrument. Musical instrument. With its own voice.

Money is nothing about here I suppose.

P.S. Dreaming about PolyVoyager... Going to try SE CODE 8 voice. I like chords...
P.P.S. Prophet '08 is not a choice for one who want big sound and musical interface, unfortunately.
Nobody wants to spend money that they don't have to, but I understand what you are saying.

I actually thought that the Prophet 8 would be a good match along with the SE-1 or Voyager.

cl516
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Post by cl516 » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:00 pm

after selling my SE-1X after I got the Voyager, I've recently rebought the SE-1X and will be keeping both permanently. The SE-1X gets funky very quickly, while the Voyager (plus all the expanders) gets awesomely experimental very quickly. I love them both.

Carey M
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Post by Carey M » Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:57 pm

rajprods wrote:Has anyone had any experiences with the SE-1x
I had one on loan for a few weeks. Great sounding monosynth. To my ears, it sounds more "exciting" and "juicy" than the Voyager, a bit more "alive". Voyager is more "precise" and "dry". The user interface is alright, but has a few snags... I especially hated that the oscillator mixer was hidden in the menus :roll: Voyager interface is naturally better, and a self-contained keyboard instrument is always that, an instrument. Though I've gotten used to rack synths myself and have everything arranged so that I can play and tweak easily at the same time.

I can totally understand people owning both a Voyager and a SE-1X, especially with the SE's multi-mode Oberheim-filter for additional timbral flavours.

In many ways they're the same... yet, a little different :D

- CM
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Post by rajprods » Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:42 pm

cl516 wrote:after selling my SE-1X after I got the Voyager, I've recently rebought the SE-1X and will be keeping both permanently. The SE-1X gets funky very quickly, while the Voyager (plus all the expanders) gets awesomely experimental very quickly. I love them both.
I did a comparison this morning at the music store, and I wasn't really impressed with the Voyager. It sounded different than I thought it would. Some of the sounds were even a little "cheezy". I didn't play with it for a long time, but I did go through a few patches changing some parameters. I've owned a Minimoog previously, and the Voyager didn't really sound like a "Moog" to me.

The music store also had a SE-1x, which was the first time I've had an opportunity to test it out. Surprisingly, to me it sounded better than my SE-1 (which hasn't been upgraded sinced purchased). The patches had more bite to them, and overall I thought it sounded more like "Moog" than the Voyager. I'm not trying to say that you Voyager sounded bad, but it just didn't sound like I thought it would.

I've decided that the best route to go is to upgrade my SE-1 to SE-1x.
Last edited by rajprods on Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

MarkM
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Post by MarkM » Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:44 am

Cheezy. . .

Are you talking about the presets that were installed on the synth or the overall sound of the Voyager?
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Post by rajprods » Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:17 am

MarkM wrote:Cheezy. . .

Are you talking about the presets that were installed on the synth or the overall sound of the Voyager?
Yeah, I know that's probably not a good word to use, but some of the presets I heard seemed to lack the depth and fatness that I like which are used mainly in R&B type of music. Again, I'm not trying to say anything bad about it. It's just that in the presets I checked out, I didn't find anything really interesting in terms of the bottom end that made me say "wow". I didn't have an opportunity to program anything from scratch or do any altering of the presets.

On another subject, the Prophet 8 was right beside it, and when I played around with a few presets, the low end was vibrating the floor! I got the same effect when trying out the SE-1x! The low end was a monster!

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Post by Voltor07 » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:00 am

That's weird...I never heard floor-shaking bass when I played with the 08 at Sam Ash. :? I heard it(and felt it) with the Little Phatty, though, and I am surprised at your findings with the Voyager. Not arguing with you, just comparing my findings. The Prophet sounds very weak to me, even with all 8 voices being utilized. Having never played with a Voyager, I can't say anything about it, except that I want one! :mrgreen:
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Post by MarkM » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:58 am

I've played an 08. It's a very nice synth but thin sounding compared to similar settings on a Voyager but can do some things the Voyager can't. I think each synth is geared toward different players and objectives. Also a lot depends on what the instruments are playing through.
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Post by rajprods » Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:24 pm

MarkM wrote:I've played an 08. It's a very nice synth but thin sounding compared to similar settings on a Voyager but can do some things the Voyager can't. I think each synth is geared toward different players and objectives. Also a lot depends on what the instruments are playing through.
The Prophet 08 definitely has a different sound than the Voyager. I didn't have a lot of time to experiment with the Voyager. So, my comments were based on the few sounds that I previewed. The strongest sound out of the Prophet 08 was a patch with all the voices being used.

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Post by EricK » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:06 pm

Look

I got my Voyager Ash Lunar from novamusik.com for 2999 and that included the Vx351 and the shipping was free.

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Post by EricK » Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:20 pm

I tell you what.

There are 896 presets on the voyager, some like Speaker Danger Bass says it all. All you need to do is dial in a triangle wave @ 32 feet on Osc 1 with a sawtooth wave at 32 feet on osc 2 and another triangle wave at 32 feet on osc 3, open the filter all the way and check the richter scale.

If thats not fat enough for you then you are just a fat connisseur with inexplicable tastes. :)




A lot of people don't like the presets and some I could do without. SOme people refuse to use any presets or patch memory at all. Don't judge the Voyager by the presets, those are just guides. THe best journeys on the voyager are off the beaten paths.

Respectfully,
Eric
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