Voyager Obsession

Tips and techniques for Minimoog Analog Synthesizers
Subtronik
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Voyager Obsession

Post by Subtronik » Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:34 am

Ok, I know it's strange, but sometimes I'm mesmerized by my Voyager, especially when the studio is dark and it's back light is full bright. It's such a beautiful work of art, it stops me dead when it happens... I just sit back and stare.

I'm not complaining, I just think it's interesting how a human can connect to a machine on deeper level like that. I can really appreciate car collectors obsessions now.

Anyone else ever experience this? Is this the honeymoon phase and will eventually fade? I've owned expensive gear before but nothing has been as complete to me as the Voyager.

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latigid on
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Post by latigid on » Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:58 am

Sub,

The backlight will eventually fade, faster if you leave it on full power ;)

IIRC, you also had those awesome wall-sized back drops which added to the awesomeness of your Voyager pics.

I know what you mean though. It certainly is a thing of beauty.

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Voltor07
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Post by Voltor07 » Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:56 am

I felt like that when I got my LP, Subtronik. No...the feeling doesn't fade. Especially if you're like me and keep finding things to modify to make it look like a new machine. :lol:
Minitaur, CP-251, EHX #1 Echo, EHX Space Drums/Crash Pads, QSC GX-3, Pyramid stereo power amp, Miracle Pianos, Walking Stick ribbon controller, Synthutron.com, 1983 Hammond organ, dot com modular.

EricK
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Post by EricK » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:13 am

Ill tell you what doesn't fade, is the desire to get more gear to go with it.

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Voltor07
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Post by Voltor07 » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:20 am

EricK wrote:Ill tell you what doesn't fade, is the desire to get more gear to go with it.

EricK
That is an ongoing problem for me as well. :?
Minitaur, CP-251, EHX #1 Echo, EHX Space Drums/Crash Pads, QSC GX-3, Pyramid stereo power amp, Miracle Pianos, Walking Stick ribbon controller, Synthutron.com, 1983 Hammond organ, dot com modular.

moremagic
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Post by moremagic » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:32 am

Honestly after seeing the Old School the regular voyager looks like somebody hacksawed a Game Boy into it! :p

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Voltor07
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Post by Voltor07 » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:55 am

moremagic wrote:Honestly after seeing the Old School the regular voyager looks like somebody hacksawed a Game Boy into it! :p
I love the Old School even more than the Select, if you want the truth...100% analog, no digital touchscreen, no MIDI, no digital interface for the potentiometers...just pure 100% voltage controlled goodness. :twisted:
Minitaur, CP-251, EHX #1 Echo, EHX Space Drums/Crash Pads, QSC GX-3, Pyramid stereo power amp, Miracle Pianos, Walking Stick ribbon controller, Synthutron.com, 1983 Hammond organ, dot com modular.

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Post by spittingoutteeth » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:01 am

I think the Voyager is a much more attractive instrument than the OS. The display and touch screen give it more symmetry.
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CZ Rider
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Re: Voyager Obsession

Post by CZ Rider » Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:18 pm

Subtronik wrote: Anyone else ever experience this?
All the time with Moog equipment, and it hasn't faded in all these years. Been a Moog owner since 1974. Lucky for, us they sound just as good as they look. Must be the lights?
Image
A "real" old school behind the Voyager!

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Post by EricK » Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:46 pm

Your Voyager blends in very well with the P in the background.

I admit that Im intrigued by the Old School myself, but its really a debate about whether or not I want to go back to patch sheets.

But the other night I switched some switches on my Voyager when it was off so I woudl get a program back to where I had it before I forgot (cause Im out of memory to save) and when I turned it back on the Oscillators were still at their original octave.

I like the approach about a panel actually always reflecting the programming.


But, the abillity to change the filter poles alone makes the Standard Voyager so sweet.

I hope the Taurus comes with this feature.


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Subtronik
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Re: Voyager Obsession

Post by Subtronik » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:55 pm

CZ Rider wrote:Image
:shock:

What's your electric bill like?

nick braithwaite
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Post by nick braithwaite » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:26 pm

My God, CZ - porn or what?! :wink: Beautiful... I guess you are a professional? As for the lights, I decided I'd rather spend the extra money on more gear....but it doesn't stop does it? There's always something; as for me, learning how to get the best out of what I have already should be enough, but somehow I don't think it will be long before I give way to further temptation. I'm new to all this, but already I'm enjoying it so much, there seem to be fewer reasons to leave the house.

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Post by rodion » Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:44 pm

I played many times with the 'standard' Voyager and then I decided to buy and OS. after getting used to the OS, going back to the Voyager made me feel a bit uncomfortable to tell you the truth. really, it's just like someone having hacked a gameboy into the OS! :) seriously speaking I can feel the difference in programming the two: when on the touchpadded voyager the focus of your attention is the display rather than the knobs and I found it to be less inspiring when programming patches. with the old school you're forced to focus on the whole front panel and I think this helps you shaping the sound in a more solid way. then the OS changed my approach to the other synthesizers I have: before I was used to scrolling presets and finding an acceptable one to tweak. now I find myself not using presets anymore and willing to start every sound from scratch, being it on my ms20, waldorf Q or Juno106. that forces my ears and mind to open a bit more and to investigate parts of my synths that I wasn't feeling comfortable with. so yesterday I was discovering the amazing capabilities of the synthesis engine of my oberheim matrix1000...

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Post by nick braithwaite » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:26 am

rodion wrote:I played many times with the 'standard' Voyager and then I decided to buy and OS. after getting used to the OS, going back to the Voyager made me feel a bit uncomfortable to tell you the truth. really, it's just like someone having hacked a gameboy into the OS! :) seriously speaking I can feel the difference in programming the two: when on the touchpadded voyager the focus of your attention is the display rather than the knobs and I found it to be less inspiring when programming patches. with the old school you're forced to focus on the whole front panel and I think this helps you shaping the sound in a more solid way. then the OS changed my approach to the other synthesizers I have: before I was used to scrolling presets and finding an acceptable one to tweak. now I find myself not using presets anymore and willing to start every sound from scratch, being it on my ms20, waldorf Q or Juno106. that forces my ears and mind to open a bit more and to investigate parts of my synths that I wasn't feeling comfortable with. so yesterday I was discovering the amazing capabilities of the synthesis engine of my oberheim matrix1000...
I know what you mean about the presets on the Voyager - I would have been very happy to have had all the spaces & no presets; mostly, I'm trying to work from scratch. On the other hand, I have found them useful as a learning aid; as soon as you change something, the panel gives you both the new & original settings which can be helpful. One of my ideas had been to collect those few I like & group them onto one bank, though I'm not sure that's possible. As this is my first synth, it is all a learning curve! I've only ever used borrowed gear before, so it's great to have something I don't have to give back! And being a Moog, it is much more capable & flexible, but it also takes longer to learn how to get the best out of it. Ultimately, I hope to use it to make my own sounds for electronic drums - I got a rack sampler and a midi trigger from a friend at a knock-down price! :D :D Whether I'll be able to learn about Midi without my brain bleeding is another matter!

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Post by 52weeks » Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:25 pm

Just wanted to throw in a note of encouragement about midi: the learning process can be a lot of fun once you get going. My advice is to do lots of 'hands-on' playing with it; while it's good to have a basis in theory, I've found most midi faq's online to be unnecessarily confusing; really, the most important thing to learn about it is how to set one device as your master (controller), and another as your slave (controllee); these are in the instructions for the devices themselves. Ymmv, of course :)

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