Voyager purchase

[suthnear]

goldie is spot on. the voyager is a far deeper instrument than the mini and, IMO anyway, sounds better to boot. While terms to describe sound are utterly meaningless because of their subjectivity, cold is definitely one word that perfectly desribes what the voyager is not.

There are two features, particularly, about the voyager that I love:
- waveshaped oscillators: often the sound I want isn't quite a saw or isn't quite a square or isn't quite a triangle, but some combination. This is easy to achieve on the voyager and doesn't sound quite the same as simply mixing these shapes together (the transition is too smooth). When programming sounds I can spend ages getting the exact frequency content of the oscillators right and this is very easy to do on the voyager. Plus it makes for really interesting wave modulation.
- selectable filter slopes: with two filters in parallel and selectable poles you can really control which frequencies are being allowed out into the world.

I have a doepfer system and it takes quite a few modules to approximate these features and even then it doesn't sound as good as the voyager does. And once you've set up the patch, you're stuck with it until you record it off. Believe me, there have been times when it has really smarted pulling out those patch cables. In many respects patch storage is more important for analogues than for digitals - small tweaks of knobs can completely transform a sound. My voyager is mostly full of variations on the same bass and lead patches that I like.

If you are hell bent on the past, get a model d. If you'd like a synthesizer in the same mould that is made for the future, get a voyager.

p.s. as far as randomness goes, the synthesizers.com system doesn't offer anything different to what is built into the voyager: noise + S&H.

[modulagirl]

Hi Demokid, thanks for the info, I didnt see that module !
I was talking to one of the guys in my band, he is a bit of an analogue fan, and agreed with me about the sound of the Voyager, he also said "it was a computer with knobs on, any synth with preset's cant be called analogue" his words not mine, please dont hit me !!!!! The guy at Turnkey has offered me one on a weeks trial, so that may prove to be a bit more positive.
The demo stand at turnkey leaves a lot to be desired, they have a small pair of Genelec monitors, with no real bass to talk about, with the synth routed through all the Moogerfoogers, not ideal. If that was me Iwould have the Voyager connected up to some serious monitors, that way we might be able to judge it properly.

Take care,

Sonia.

[Qwave]

"it was a computer with knobs on, any synth with preset's cant be called analogue"

Your band member should open the Voyager:
its an full analog synths with a computer for MIDI, storage and extras.
The audio path is 100% analog and voltage (not digital!) controlled.
He might be confused with the VA synths. These are computers with knobs on.
But I like and own both worlds for different sounds.

[modulagirl]

Hi Qwave, he was having a laugh, I think ! he has virtual analogue stuff so! I have a Novation A Station, and I am always surprised at how you can get it to sound very analogue, it certainly has speaker blowing potential if you program it right. My friend has a K-Station, and that is such a fun thing to play around with, these things all have their uses I suppose. I can make my Novation sound like anything really, My Pro5 is getting less use, as I have manage to get some of the modulation sounds I normally use that for, also, it saves me having to move it around, the A-Station is considerably lighter and smaller ! in a mix, who can tell, I certainly can't, especially in one of our manic cluttered mixes ! but then again, maybe my standards are dropping !

Take care !

Sonia.

[goldphinga]

that so called analogue fan in your band has no idea. preset analogue synths have been around for years. prophet five,memorymoog,jupiter8, etc. i know you already own one so you know the voyager is no different. 100% analogue signal path with software for midi/presets. what exactly did your friend say about the voyager sound?i'd like to know because judging by his silly comments his opinion is a bit dodgy to say the least. another example of a great analogue synth is the moog source, fully analogue with digital preset storage. i know once you've trialled the voyager you will love it.

please remember this is a new synth in its own right and not merely a minimoog clone so judge it on its own merits not this whole "its not as warm as" or "not as fat sounding as the minimoog". it reminds me of those jazz critics in the 70's that instantly hated miles davis and herbie hancocks electrified fusion and wouldn't accept its validity as jazz. the voyager is a modern classic. enough said.

[northern hope]

Sonia,

Your opinion sure seems to jump around a lot. I don't know why anyone here is trying so hard to convince you to get a Voyager after all you've said, but it seems you like everyone continuing to sell you on it. You've gone from modular synths being your only option to saying a K Station is more than ample and "who can tell the difference within a mix anyway?", which was my original point.

I believe your Prophet 5 can complete any job where an analog synth is required.

[ClockWorkOrange]

If you need to be "persuaded" to get a Voyager..then your better off with something else. After spending 30 minutes with this synth I knew I had to have it..Anyone who says that real analogs don't have presets clearly doesn't have much of a background in synthesis and would not be a good source for advice regarding the purchase of any analog synth..

[peter ripa]

after 10 secs with the voyager i knew i would get one.
it took me about 20 secs with the andromeda to know i would never get one of those.

[Qwave]

it took me about 20 secs with the andromeda to know i would never get one of those.

... and I needed more then 8 month to realise that I better should have bought the Voyager and not the Andromeda. I was lucky enough to find someone that to trade the synths 1:1 with. I am not missing the Alesis.
The only thing that is missing on a straight out off the box Voyager is the modulation pedal to plug into the second modulation bus input. This is where the fun starts

[LWG]

Hello,

Modulagirl, although your posts do jump around a bit, they at times sprinkled with some very cogent points. Among them are:

>>Any instrument should be a means to express what it is you want to say in the most unobtrusive fashion, it should dissapear in a way, if it gets in the way then that instrument is not for you or your music.<<

While this is not as difficult to do with digital synths (they have a natural transparency in a mix), it is quite difficult with a synth like the Model D, that has a very dense, thick sound.
To be honest, I've only heard a handful of those who use it, are able to do
so in such a manner. As a youngster, I listened to Stevie Wonder's four
classic albums, and it wasn't until recent years that I realized that virtually
all the tracks on those four albums use the Model D for bass, yet the synth is programmed and the part is arranged so that one doesn't realize one
is not listening to a bass guitar player, yet its not imitative of a bass guitar. This was my first lesson in the transparent use of synths (or any instrument) and it sounds like what your comment in the earlier post referred to. How are you able to achieve this with the Mini D?



Regards,


LWG

[modulagirl]

Hi LWG, blimey, I didn't realise I was so controvercial ! look, I don't want a Voyager, end of story, if I was a millionare and money was no object I would get one just for the hell of it, but I'm not, so that's that.
The set up I have at the moment covers all bases, from my A-Station to my Pro5 to my DX7, I could live with those for the rest of my life.
If a Model D comes up I will get one, but I am not desperate at the moment, but I am still desperate for some sort of modular system, just because I have so many ideas I want to try out, so thats where my spare cash is going to go, but I still have not decided which one to buy, but no rush.
Regarding the thick sound of the Mini, well, it is !! I made some recordings in an all valve studio some years ago, multitracking my Mini, In true "Swithched On Bach" style, listening to them today they sound very dense compared to my recent recordings, it is just a different character, but I like it.
My musical ideas have changed since then and all I want to do now is sit in front of my keyboards and play straight to stereo, with the purity of the music and the messeage, with nothing in the way like multitracking or complicated production techniques which seem so tedious, and un-inspiring, working that way seems to kill my creativity these days. I did my last album straight to stereo with one synth and one effects unit, thats how I want to continue, keep it simple.
LWG, if you havn't done so, read "Analog Days" the history of Moog etc, it has a great section on Stevie Wonder, and the bass sound you talk about, really enlightening !

Take care everyone,

Sonia.

[LWG]

I didn't realise I was so controvercial ! look, I don't want a Voyager, end of story.

Modulagirl,

My post never mentioned the Voyager. The nature of my question was one of your technique with the Mini D. The question raised an interesting point
regarding synth technique; that is, the art of recording an instrument with an
easily identifiable sound and rendering it not-so-easily-identifiable on wax,
cd, tape, or whatever. The same goes for the Prophet 5 and the DX-7.
How would you program and record them in such a way that someone listening to your tracks wouldn't necessariy be able to tell that you used a DX-7 or Prophet?


Regards,



LWG

[hichakhok]

Sonia,

no steppy changes while turning a knob !!!

It uses 16 bit resolution, but will show you only 8 bit (256 values) in the display. The Moog Source had also a better resoluted Detune parameter then the display suggested.

The latest review in sound on sound mentions that zipping or stepping is audible on the vovager in some patches. This is a big negative for me.

Also turnkey is possibly the most nasty shop around. We used to have a great place to by synths inlondon, Music LAb. There you could have a room on your own for an hour or so, choice of monitors amps, outboard and coffee. Turnkey is just plain evil shopping experience.

Also I think monosynths should go through amps...

Modulargirl. If you are into Subotnik Stockhausen and on a budget etc go doepfer. They simply have the best price for what you can do at the moment. They are also putting out many great modules, clocks, sequencers, and buchla copies,and once you fork out for the case you can add modules very cheaply as you go. Ignore all the purists who moan abut it not being a serge etc

[peter ripa]

qwave: yes there are nice modulation routes available. i think the naming on the panel is a bit confusing though. it says "pedal/on" but i would understand better if it said "MOD1/on".

hichakhok: i also think ive heard stepping at some points. especially since os 2 and onwards. i posted about this to see if anyone else was noticing it but didnt get any response.

[modulagirl]

Hi LWG, sorry if my post was a bit confusing, I didn't mean to mention the Voyager in the context of your post, it was just a general coment that I just didn'y want to buy one, my writing is a bit scatty sometimes, as you may well have noticed ! As for recording synths, well, I dont think that your record buying customer is going to care much about what equipment we use, it is easy to assume that everyone is interested in those types of things, when in reality most people who listen to music don't give damn if its a PRO5 or a Bontempi, and probably dont know what they are anyway !
I could go on forever about how I record my keyboards, sometimes I cant tell myself what I was playing as the sound is completely treated and unrecognisable sometimes, but other times I like the cold clinicle sound of a raw waveform, I have played tracks to people that were done with my DX7 and they have thought they were done on an all analogue instrument, I must admit though, that the types of sounds I favour are the ones that sound organic, almost accoustic, but with no "real world" reference points, and I go to great lengths to make that happen most of the time. The Novation is a star in that department, it surprises me all the time with its organic mashed up sounds. if you want to hear some of my stripped to the bone tracks take a listen to my album, "Death After Life" at www.bitmapsounds.com that was done with just a DX7 and a Lexicon LXP1 apart from the first track which was the PRO 5 and a Bel BD80.

Take care !

Sonia.