Voyager praises here! Motivational thread.

[MBlom]

I've started saving for what I hope to be a Voyager. And to keep me motivated and skip this and that and instead putting an extra coin or bill in the bottle, I would love to hear what you enjoy about your Voyagers and why I should get one instead of all those other analog monosynths that keep popping up.

[till]

The Voyager got plenty more modulation possibilities then most other analog monosynths with attached keyboard available new on the market.
And the look and feel of the hard ware is great. It feels like a real classic instrument. Not like some plastic toys.
And the sound is nothing to argue about.
For me, the Voyager is worth every cent.

[thealien666]

The Voyager is a fantastic instrument. Both as a hands-on experience and sonic experience. The buttery smooth feel of its knobs, the buttery sounds of its oscillators, the many complex ways of its modulation sources, the versatility of its X-Y touch pad, the power of its subsonic bass, the sizzle of its unmatched filters, all contribute to an instant and perpetual gratification.

This has nothing to do with any other analog synths from any other manufacturer. It is the crowning achievement of Bob Moog, a worthy evolution of the original Minimoog D.

You will not, you cannot, be disappointed by everything it will bring you. Every single time you will power it up, and play a few notes on it, you'll be pleasantly amazed.

So, keep the faith, and keep saving money towards your goal of getting one. Then, you'll see what all the fuss is all about.

[MBlom]

Good to hear. On the music (eg synthesizer) forum I often visit to read and ask questions, all discussions about the Voyager tend to drift to be about how it's inferior to the Model D and not worth its price. People seem overly critical of the Voyager which to me gets tiring to the point of me not listening and by default adopting the opposite opinion. Haven't gotten more than half an hour of action with a Voyager but I istantly fell in love with it. Something I can't say about the Mopho key which just annoyed me. To me the one-knob-per-function makes it just as much an instrument as my Rickenbacker bass instead of a music machine as the MachineDrum and MonoMachine, I do love those but they're not instruments to me.

[thealien666]

In reading my signature, you'll have no doubt noticed that I don't have a Voyager. I had an Old School at one point. But had to sell it in order to get my hands on a Mini D that was in need of some serious TLC (the expensive kind).

If I could afford to, I'd buy a Voyager (EB) back in a heartbeat. What the Mini D lacks in modulation possibilities, the Voyager more than makes-up for.
Sound wise, in my very humble opinion, only if a Minimoog D in good shape (electronically) is sitting next to a Voyager, can one tell which one sounds best. And only with decent monitors or headphones. I know, I experimented it with my friend's Old School.
It's very subtle, but it's definitely there.

Moreover, getting a Minimoog D in excellent condition is still a more expensive proposition than a Voyager. And, more often than not, it won't have the advantages of MIDI. You can find reasonable deals on Minis in need of refurbishing, but that entails serious efforts and money too !

The moral is, the Mini might sound slightly better than a Voyager to purists (like me), but the Voyager can do many things the Mini can only dream of... I love them both equally. Only my wallet doesn't.

[c7sus]

Definitely go for it! If you live in a major metro area you may be able to find a VGC used Voyager. The slow economy has caused a lot of folks to dump mint and near-mint condition gear of any and all types. I see stuff on CL just about every day that I wish I had the coin for.

As far as the Voyager itself goes, for my money it combines the best of analog and digital tech into a single super-versatile package. Combined with a VX-351 and the Foogers you already have you would have a really powerful setup.

I see in your sig you are also thinking about a 108M and I don't want to distract you from the Voyager quest but the ClusterFlux is a great piece too.

If I had the bread my next big purchase would be a Son-of-Four-Voice, mainly because the original was the first analog synth I ever got to play around with and it has the "first love" appeal going for it.

If I won the lottery I would get a few RME's to go with my EB and put together a Moog poly!

Damn I gotta get a real job!

[sunny pedaal]

let's not get into the old mini versus voyager discussion.
let's see:
the voyager is the synth that always stands straight in front of me , and which i play most.
that's enough i guess ?

[c7sus]

In fairness the OP said "hope(s) to be a Voyager." It seems pretty widely accepted that the V and Mini are two different beasts. I wouldn't pass on a mint Mini if one came my way and I had the bread.

[MBlom]

Well I wouldn't turn down a Mini either. But I'm more interested in what the Voyager brings and to be honest, I doubt I'd hear the difference in "punch", "brightness" or whatever between the two. Especially if I don't have the beside each other. So please, leave the Minimoog Model D discussions out of this thread. I want to know what you Voyager owners love about your pieces, not what they lack.

[c7sus]

You might look into renting one for a week or two to check it out for yourself. If you live in an area that has backline services you may be able to find one for hire out.

What I like is the ability to save and recall presets; the semi-modular aspects when combined with a VX-351 and other Moogers/CV-generative/manipuable (is manipuable a word?) devices; and the versatility and the overall "thick" sound the Voyager is capable of producing with or without post processing. The Foogers juice the Voyager to an entire other level of bossness.

I also think in order to really access everything the Voyager has to offer you need to factor a VX-351 into the cost basis. Forget using the piggyback method of powering off the CP-251 because it is just too noisey done that way.

Understanding what is lacking in the Voyager is important too, IMHO. The drawbacks of the Voyager are the lack of individual OSC outputs (which would be very cool); lack of arp (which can be solved via either MIDI or CV sequencer or use of Phatty or T3); cost (unless you can find a used one that is 100%); and the lack of available regional service in the US (but that goes for all Moog products).

[unfiltered37]

The voyager is a spectacular instrument, especially the old school in my opinion. Taking the voyager at face value, it really is amazing. It can do so much and is super deep. And the look of it is amazing, a blend of sleek modern design and classic wood ensures it will never look dated. It has .been around a decade and still looks retro futuristic and always will. All of these workstation synths look fresh for about a year until the next one comes
out. I am surprised there is still a market for these overpriced computers with keyboards.

I think the voyager only needs a few years after.production stops until it will be .considered a classic up there with the old classics. It far surpasses pretty much anything of its kind still in production after its release. The only thing that comes close is the new oberheims, but those are simply reboots, with no evolution of design in audio path. The voyager has always been irrationally compared to the model d, which has a huge advantage in being around for so long on so many good songs. If both had been released at the same time, whether in the 70's or early 2000's, I have no doubt the voyager would be greatly favored. But they weren't and that has a lot to do with how they are perceived.

The voyager may be just a little ahead of its time. And it is so versatile, it leaves a lot to the imagination, and you can really create otherworldly sounds that can be articulated to the extremes of the brain. I think a lot of the criticism is due to preconceived notions of how it should sound, and the only mistake Bob made is calling it a minimoog. With things as vast and flexible like the voyager, the limits of the instrument are simply the limits of the player, and many who don't like it simply don't like the presets and are too lazy to get into it, like I was. You just have to give it time and patience, and you can really do magical things with it.

I recommend an old school, just so there are upper limits on what you can do, which can be inspiring. Or if you get one with memory, delete the presets and make your own.

[grapeflavor]

I don't own a Voyager, but I can share some insight with you:

People (on the internet) love to criticize others. When i was in your position (but for a Little Phatty), I kept looking at reviews and opinions and most of them were just people complaining that it didn't sound like a voyager (or a Model D for that matter ). Regardless of all the negative reviews, i took the leap of faith and i have been enjoying it very much since then.

It was then that i realised that i didn't need to have a synth that "Voyager" sound (would be nice though ) because the Little Phatty has an excellent sound completely of its own. Do what you feel is right, some of us don't really need that old school sound, and are perfectly content with our "modern" sounding Moogs.

[BHC303]

Thick, round, fat, smooth and warm and no I am not talking about booty

And all of the above mentioned, the oscillators are a little darker than its predecessors, but I dig that creamy sound, It can sound bright and buzzy too if you want it to

[MBlom]

You're boosting my savings, people. Nice job!

Just learned about Panel Mode which is a feature I was wondering about. I would have hated having to turn all knobs just to know what value it really is set on.

By the way, yesterday I accepted an offer from my employer of taking some extra responsibility at certain meetings. The extra money that will generate each month will go straight into my Voyager savings account, which means I could have the money for a used one in spring or a new one after the summer. Is there a fast forward button in life?

[stiiiiiiive]

Congrats for your decision, MBlom

I would second a former post saying that the best thing to do is to try out one yourself...