Moog Music Forum

Well it's been a while since I posted here. In the meantime I've been practicing my theremin and looking for work so I can save up for that LP. Glad I finally got some more definitive answers about how the LP was upgraded to be more blind friendly. Apparently there's an option to set the menus up so they don't wrap. And for a blind person that's an invaluable feature.
So now I found yet another Moog synthesizer that I'm curious about. Actually somebody might even have mentioned it when I posted about the LP. But I was just browsing Musiciansfriend.com, which is where I bought my theremin, and I decided to pop on over to the synthesizer section. I found a Moog Minimoog Voyager in electric blue (not that the color really matters all that much to me for obvious reasons). But I'm curious if the Voyager would also be usable by a blind person. Granted I couldn't buy either one just now but I'm hoping to save up in a reasonable amount of time so I can get at least one. One of the down sides of living in a small town is that no music store carries full-fledged synthes and none of them I talked to seem inclined to order one for me to check out. But I'm curious what people think about the possible accessibility, for lack of a better term, of the Voyager. I found a video on Youtube and it's definitely got a cool sound. About the only down side to Moog synthes is that unless I'm much mistaken they're all monophonic, but I suppose I could get, say, a Yamaha model if I needed a polyphonic one. Yamaha's another brand I've heard a lot of blind people speak favorably of.

which yamaha models?
I use a DX7 II-FD, but i can't imagine how to play it blind.

Now if you want my opinion, If i were blind, I would go for the Old School, because there are NO menus to worry about, but me knowing what I know, being blind wouldn't mean that I would want to sacrifice the synthesizers capabillity.

On the performer edition, it would be hard to operate the menu but not impossible for a blind person. With specific buttons to click to get to specific locations or subsections, it would definately be a challenge. Plus you get the touchscreen, which I can imagine a blind person would appreciate hearing the unique interface between the fingers and its correlation to what you hear.

With the Old School, you would get that Voyager sound without ever worrying what you would have to see. A synthesizer like this will also force you to really learn what the instrument is capable of because it has no presets.


I hope this helps, but Ill bet that Moog can make an operating system that is friendly for those who cannot see, or at least write specific instructions for its operation without actually seeing it.

Respectfully,

EricK

EricK wrote:Now if you want my opinion, If i were blind, I would go for the Old School, because there are NO menus to worry about, but me knowing what I know, being blind wouldn't mean that I would want to sacrifice the synthesizers capabillity.

On the performer edition, it would be hard to operate the menu but not impossible for a blind person. With specific buttons to click to get to specific locations or subsections, it would definately be a challenge. Plus you get the touchscreen, which I can imagine a blind person would appreciate hearing the unique interface between the fingers and its correlation to what you hear.

With the Old School, you would get that Voyager sound without ever worrying what you would have to see. A synthesizer like this will also force you to really learn what the instrument is capable of because it has no presets.


I hope this helps, but Ill bet that Moog can make an operating system that is friendly for those who cannot see, or at least write specific instructions for its operation without actually seeing it.

Respectfully,

EricK

Can you even find the Old School anymore? I'm looking for a synthe that I can use most if not all its features. TO a prior poster, I've heard that the Yamaha MM series is pretty blind friendly, even if it's not necessarily designed for us. But I imagine Moog could modify their synthes' interfaces to include an option so that the menus didn't wrap, which is what they apparently did with the Little Phatty Stage II.

I think you can still find Old Schools. Try novamusik or try the product page on the Moog site. Im sure they are around. Nova has the whitewash cabinets which I believe are probably the most rare of the Old Schools.

I'll second the Old School. It's a very tactile synth with zero in the way of digital menus.

The only feature of the Voyager that I could imagine being of particular interest to someone who is blind may be the touch screen controller, but you could always just buy a Kaoss pad to use with the Old School if you wanted that functionality.

Good luck with your search!

Well you were right about them being available on Moog Music. Found the page for it just a little while ago. It's a bit more spendy than the LP but still possible for me to save up for in a reasonable time if I'm careful. In the meantime I've been reading the manual and trying to find videos so I can hear the Old School sound. Sounds a lot like the LP, but then I'm not very knowledgeable about synthesizers yet so probably couldn't identify a specific synthesizer just by hearing it. Though from what I've been able to discover the Moog brand does seem to have a distinctive sound to it.

check your private messages

Bryan1980 wrote:Can you even find the Old School anymore?

There are three Voyager Old Schools at Sweetwater as of Dec 8, 2009.

_DemonDan_

I think the old school would be a great synth for you. Probably the best Moog synth for what you need and want. Plenty of power, something to grow into. No menus at all. A large open uncluttered panel with single function knobs that you could memorize what does what and where it is. Then there's the vx-351 to expand the synth even more when you are ready for that.