Moog Music Forum

Hi,

I have a Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue (SR. EB1158)

I was re-doing my studio and noticed some noise-like sound coming from the Moog at really low volume.

I turned the gain knob on my mixer really high and realized that the oscillators were playing at a really really low volume and were even being changed in frequency by pressing different keys.

It's like the keyboard was operating in the ON/EXTERNAL mode without it actually being in that mode. Now this is at a really low volume, so low that if the volume is kept at a regular playing level you won't even notice it.

This doesn't suggest my sound or playing or anything really but I'm just curious if this happens with other users and if I'll need to get a service done on the Moog sometime soon/later.

Cheers!

Adi.J wrote:I was re-doing my studio and noticed some noise-like sound coming from the Moog at really low volume.

I turned the gain knob on my mixer really high and realized that the oscillators were playing at a really really low volume and were even being changed in frequency by pressing different keys.

Hi Adi.J,

One of the many things that makes an analog synthesizer's melody line or bass line sound so holistically connected is that the oscillators never turn off. When you can't hear the oscillators (at normal listening levels) it's because the Amplifier Envelope Generator has the Amp level at minimum. When you play a key, the Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope open up the Filter and Amp, allowing you to hear the Oscillators that are always on.

This is very different from a sample-based synthesizer which starts playback of the oscillator samples on demand by the keys. In those cases, the source is actually silent until another sample is started.

Think of an analog synth as an analog modular synth with many of the modules permanently connected. In the case of a modular synth, it wouldn't surprise you that each of the independent oscillator are always running. It's the same with the Minimoog.

Now, if the VCA isn't getting quiet enough at minimum, it's possible that it could benefit from calibration, but it doesn't sound like that's the case for you.

Hope that helps!