I posted the following on the Voyager forum. For this crowd I wanted to know if the noise, lag, LFOs, etc. are comparable or better on the Pedal as on the Old School Voyager as output via vx-351; likewise when comparing Pedal output vs. the CP-251.
Thanks...
-- -- -- This msg also posted on Voyager forum -- -- --
I know many of you have these, so I have a few questions. I was going to buy a CP-251 but just can't resist the Multipedal at this price. So here goes.
The 351 and 251 have a few things in common, namely:
- 2 Attenuators
- 2 four-way multiples
And square, triangle, noise, and S&H generators. Granted, the 351 gets it from the Voyager so to a certain extent, you can't use these if you are using them for a patch (or can you? That's question #1).
The 251 has the LAG processor and a Mixer and the 351 doesn't.
So I'm getting the Pedal and I understand that it has LFOs and Midi so I'm going to be using it as my clock source for many things. I also have a Phatty with CV outs so have the Mod bus at my disposal.
Q#1: does the 351 only send square, triangle and S&H when the LFO Wave is set to that or are these signals generated all the time regardless of setting.
Q#2: is the rate always dictated by the LFO Rate
Q#3 (this is likely a question for foggers or controllers forum): is the noise that is generated by 351 (from Voyager) the same as the 251 and the same as the multi-pedal will put out. If I have noise osc off on the mixer section, will it still send noise out the 351?
In short, if I can get by with noise, S+H etc. from another fogger or the pedal, is having 351 out for pressure, velocity, wheels, rather than also requiring a CP-251?
As always, too many toys to buy, too little cash. If you can answer any part of my questions or provide other feedback, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
-Mike W. from NJ
Multi pedal vs Voyager vs CP-251
Q1: The LFO output on the VX-351 will only give you whichever waveform (square, triangle, s&h...) is selected on the Voyager; there's not a dedicated output for each waveform on the VX-351.
Q2: The Rate of the LFO is the rate of the LFO; it's controlled by the LFO Rate knob on the Voyager. Again this is an analog hardware LFO, so it can only exist at one rate at a time... you can't somehow have it at one rate on the Voyager and a different rate coming out of the VX-351... it's the same single LFO.
Q3: The Noise of the Voyager (VX-351) and the CP-251 are pretty much identical; nice analog noise. The MP-201 Multipedal generates digital noise, which is not quite so nice to listen to, although it still makes a great modulator. You can change the bit depth of the digital noise, though, which gives it a couple of different and interesting textures.
The VX-351 always puts out Noise regardless of whether it's turned on on the Voyager. It's an analog noise source so it's always there whether it's "patched in" or not.
Q4: I think the VX-351 is totally worthwhile in order to have access to CV out from the wheels, keys, pressure, and especially the two Mod Busses, which let you create some totally crazy and awesome modulation voltages to send to your other gear. I waited 2-3 years between getting my Voyager and getting a VX-351, and the day I got it and started patching, I was kicking myself for waiting so long...
Q2: The Rate of the LFO is the rate of the LFO; it's controlled by the LFO Rate knob on the Voyager. Again this is an analog hardware LFO, so it can only exist at one rate at a time... you can't somehow have it at one rate on the Voyager and a different rate coming out of the VX-351... it's the same single LFO.
Q3: The Noise of the Voyager (VX-351) and the CP-251 are pretty much identical; nice analog noise. The MP-201 Multipedal generates digital noise, which is not quite so nice to listen to, although it still makes a great modulator. You can change the bit depth of the digital noise, though, which gives it a couple of different and interesting textures.
The VX-351 always puts out Noise regardless of whether it's turned on on the Voyager. It's an analog noise source so it's always there whether it's "patched in" or not.
Q4: I think the VX-351 is totally worthwhile in order to have access to CV out from the wheels, keys, pressure, and especially the two Mod Busses, which let you create some totally crazy and awesome modulation voltages to send to your other gear. I waited 2-3 years between getting my Voyager and getting a VX-351, and the day I got it and started patching, I was kicking myself for waiting so long...
Thank for that, very helpful. One follow-up:Amos wrote:Q1: The LFO output on the VX-351 will only give you whichever waveform (square, triangle, s&h...) is selected on the Voyager; there's not a dedicated output for each waveform on the VX-351.
Q2: The Rate of the LFO is the rate of the LFO; it's controlled by the LFO Rate knob on the Voyager. Again this is an analog hardware LFO, so it can only exist at one rate at a time... you can't somehow have it at one rate on the Voyager and a different rate coming out of the VX-351... it's the same single LFO.
Q3: The Noise of the Voyager (VX-351) and the CP-251 are pretty much identical; nice analog noise. The MP-201 Multipedal generates digital noise, which is not quite so nice to listen to, although it still makes a great modulator. You can change the bit depth of the digital noise, though, which gives it a couple of different and interesting textures.
The VX-351 always puts out Noise regardless of whether it's turned on on the Voyager. It's an analog noise source so it's always there whether it's "patched in" or not.
Q4: I think the VX-351 is totally worthwhile in order to have access to CV out from the wheels, keys, pressure, and especially the two Mod Busses, which let you create some totally crazy and awesome modulation voltages to send to your other gear. I waited 2-3 years between getting my Voyager and getting a VX-351, and the day I got it and started patching, I was kicking myself for waiting so long...
So the MP-201's noise is rather similar to the Little Phatty w/1.4+ software then?
Thanks,
-Mike W. from NJ
I haven't done a side by side comparison, but they are pretty similar in texture. The noise on the MP201 has several parameters you can change, so it's a lot more flexible as a modulation source than the LP noise is. Makes sense since the MP201 is all about modulation... but yeah, fundamentally they LP and MP201 are doing the same thing to generate digital noise.
erm, what he said! 
Sorry for the silly mistake on my part; that was from my memory.
I have a VX-351 and I use it all the time... but oddly I never use those LFO outputs. I use the mod bus outputs most of the time, even for LFO sources (less re-patching). Hence my confusion... the mod bus outputs behave the way I described, when you select LFO waveforms as the source.
Standing corrected,
Amos
Sorry for the silly mistake on my part; that was from my memory.
I have a VX-351 and I use it all the time... but oddly I never use those LFO outputs. I use the mod bus outputs most of the time, even for LFO sources (less re-patching). Hence my confusion... the mod bus outputs behave the way I described, when you select LFO waveforms as the source.
Standing corrected,
Amos