MOOG MUSIC Minimoog Voyager

Oct 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Geary Yelton

In the beginning, Moog Music made modular synthesizers, and they were very good. But it wasn't until 1971, after Bob Moog and company designed and built the portable Minimoog Model D, that synths were sold in music stores. Between 1971 and 1984, the Minimoog sold approximately 13,000 units and permanently altered the modern soundscape, etching its influence on late-20th-century music.

Fast-forward to the year 2001: Bob Moog's North Carolina — based company Big Briar, maker of theremins and sophisticated effects pedals called Moogerfoogers, announced a Minimoog for the 21st century by staging a contest to name the new instrument. After several prototypes and dozens of design changes, the Minimoog Voyager began shipping in August 2002. By then, Big Briar had successfully regained the rights to use the name Moog Music.

The monophonic Voyager is everything the Minimoog was and more. In addition to voltage-controlled oscillators, filters, amplifier, and envelope generators (EGs), the Voyager offers two distinct advantages of digital technology: Preset memory and MIDI communication. Other technical refinements, along with true analog sound, have made the Voyager a serious contender for pride of place onstage and in studios everywhere.

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

FIG 1: Consumer demand fueled the creation of the Minimoog Voyager. Like the original Minimoog, it was a classic from the moment it hit the streets.

Like the original Minimoog, the Voyager is housed in a beautiful wood case with a 44-note keyboard and a control panel that tilts upward at an adjustable angle (see Fig. 1). The entirely hand-built 40-pound instrument's construction is as solid as ever. Although the front-panel layout has been changed a bit, the new Minimoog bears a remarkable resemblance to its namesake except for the center section, which provides access to the analog synth's digital features. Even the knobs and rocker switches are the same types as on the original, giving the Voyager quite a retro look and feel. Immediately above the wheels are Glide and Release switches, just as on the original. My review unit had transparent pitch-bend and mod wheels that glow a backlit blue, a $119 option that looks really cool onstage.

Considering Moog's experience with synthesizer ergonomics, it is no surprise that the Voyager's arrangement of front-panel controls has an intuitive flow that makes it easy to navigate. In the upper left is the LFO section, with Fine Tune and Glide Rate knobs just below. The Modulation Bus section is to its right, and next to that is the Oscillator section, which contains all the controls for the Voyager's three audio oscillators. The main display above and the touch pad below dominate the center section, with a row of seven buttons between them. Next come the Mixer, Filters, and Envelopes sections, and finally the Output section, containing only the Master Volume, Headphone Volume, and a ¼-inch stereo headphone jack.

The Voyager's controls are plentiful and most are conveniently placed, but they aren't perfect. Even though placing the Volume control on the far right is pretty standard, I'd prefer a knob that's easier to reach with my left hand when my right hand is on the keyboard. I like to be able to shape loudness manually, like an electric guitarist can. Luckily, a control input for volume lets you dedicate a control-voltage (CV) pedal to that function. The Voyager's 1.25-by-2.25-inch backlit LCD is just a bit small by today's standards, especially considering the quantity of information that's crammed into such a tiny space. On the other hand, I do appreciate just how much data is available at a glance, even if I have to squint to see what looks like 12-point type. Happily, Preset names are twice as big. But the best thing about the LCD is that it simultaneously displays original and edited parameter values whenever you turn a knob.

FIG. 2: The Voyager's patch panel provides unprecedented voltage control capabilities, analog audio I/O, and MIDI too.

Other than headphones, most of the Voyager's connections to the outside world are atop its tilt-up panel (see Fig. 2). Of special note is the multipin accessory port that connects the Voyager to the optional VX-351 CV Expander. Except for three MIDI ports, a BNC connection for the optional 12V gooseneck lamp ($38.50), and an IEC power socket, all the remaining connectors are ¼-inch jacks. Those include two audio outputs, an external audio input, a mixer-out/filter-in jack, ten red control inputs, and four blue gate inputs. Those color-coded control and gate inputs open up a world of external modulation capabilities, which I'll later discuss in more detail.

FIG. 3: Scientist at work: Bob Moog personally inspected each Voyager Signature model before he signed his name to it.

The Voyager is available in Performer and Signature models. At $2,995, the Performer model costs twice as much as the Minimoog did when it was introduced; when you take inflation into account, though, it's certainly less expensive. The Signature model is a limited edition; all 600 have left the factory and are available from authorized dealers. For $500 more than the Performer model, the Signature model offers such niceties as a choice of solid cherry, maple, or walnut for the cabinet; the aforementioned illuminated wheels; a four-year warranty with two free tunings; and Bob Moog's signature certifying that he personally inspected it prior to shipping (see Fig. 3). For this review, I had the Performer model.

SURFACE WITH A SMILE

At first glance, the touch pad, which Moog calls a Touch Surface Controller, might appear to be a 5.00-by-3.25-inch video monitor that's switched off. When you touch it, however, you'll discover a subtly ribbed surface that Moog calls a three-dimensional XYA controller. It responds to movements of your finger from side to side (the x-axis) and up and down (the y-axis), and to changes in the amount of area covered by your fingers (the A-axis).

By default, the touch pad controls three filter parameters: cutoff, spacing, and resonance. You can reassign it to control other modulation destinations in the Edit menu, with different assignments for each Preset. Possible destinations include LFO rate, glide rate, waveform, noise level, envelope values, and modulation bus depth. If you enable latching, then the touch pad holds its value at the last location of your fingers on the x- and y-axes. You can set the touch pad to generate either positive or negative control signals, and you can set its modulation depth to off, halfway, or full.

I found it rather odd that the touch pad is in the center rather than on the left side, as it is on instruments such as the Roland V-Synth and Korg Triton. I suppose that arrangement is meant to accommodate either right- or left-handed playing, but it's just a bit awkward when you're forced to cross hands for the sake of musical expression. In practice, though, the Voyager's touch pad is a very effective real-time controller; in particular, controlling modulation by applying additional fingers feels quite natural as a means of musical expression.

ANGELS IN THE ARCHITECTURE

The Minimoog Model D helped establish the synthesizer voice's most typical configuration, but the exact selection of components has always varied somewhat from one synth to another. The Voyager begins with its forebear's basic structure and adds features such as multimode filters instead of merely lowpass, four rather than three controllable envelope stages, and considerably more modulation possibilities. You won't find an onboard effects processor, though, so you'll probably want to process the Voyager's sounds with reverb at the very least.

In an initial moment of confusion, I searched in vain for an autotune function; I quickly discovered that you must tune the Voyager by hand. The Fine Tune knob allows you to change the overall tuning by a minor third up or down. In the Mixer section, you can switch on and control the level of each oscillator, as well as white noise and the external audio input, independently. In my test unit, tuning stability was excellent and required only minimal warm-up time.

The Voyager's three audio oscillators add a terrific twist: continuously variable knobs let you select triangle, sawtooth, square, narrow pulse, or any waveshape in between. As you turn the Wave knob clockwise from triangle to sawtooth, harmonic complexity increases. Turn it a bit further, and the even-numbered harmonics drop out. Continue to turn, and the pulse width varies from square to narrow. That capability gives you as many different waveforms as you can get from a traditional voltage-controlled oscillator. Waveshape is a voltage-controllable parameter, which means that you can create a lot of interesting sonic motion by modulating it with an envelope, LFO, mod wheel, or CV pedal.

Although each oscillator has a six-position Octave knob, it's assumed that it will produce the fundamental frequency, so oscillator 1 has no Frequency control. Instead, you change its tuning with the master Fine Tune knob, and you can't deviate more than a minor third from concert pitch. Dedicated Frequency knobs let you tune the other two oscillators up or down a perfect fifth relative to the first. Two red rocker switches hard-sync oscillators 1 and 2 and enable frequency modulation of oscillator 1 with oscillator 3. Oscillator sync wasn't available on the Model D, but now it's considered a modern necessity for analog synthesis. Two other switches toggle the third oscillator from audio range to low-frequency and from keyboard control to a fixed frequency, allowing it to serve as a second LFO when you need one or to drone independently of what you play on the keys.

The old Minimoog is still famous for the sound of its 4-pole filter, and rightfully so. The Voyager offers a pair of filters with the very same 24 dB-per-octave response, but you also have a menu choice of selecting one, two, or three poles for more flexible filtering.

In Dual Lowpass mode, the two filters operate in parallel so that one is applied to the right stereo output and the other to the left. A single knob controls the cutoff frequency of both sides, and a Spacing control shifts the cutoff frequency of the right filter. The result is a much more dramatic stereo separation, especially when you apply a modulation source to the cutoff frequency. Using the touch pad to continuously change the resonance of two different cutoffs at the same time is a really cool effect that you have to experience for yourself.

In addition to Dual Lowpass, there's a Highpass/Lowpass mode that splits the two filters in series for bandpass response. The Spacing knob shifts the Highpass filter's cutoff frequency, and therefore the width of the passband. In Highpass/Lowpass mode, only the lowpass filter is resonant, and identical signals are routed to both stereo outputs.

The Minimoog Model D had EGs that applied the Decay setting to the release stage as well. You could defeat the prescribed final decay by flipping the Release switch, which was conveniently located above the left-hand wheels. The Voyager has the same switch, and although its EGs are true ADSR generators, the Release switch is an excellent performance feature. One EG is devoted to the filter and the other to amplitude, and a Rate input lets you skew the envelope times with an external CV source.

MOD OR ROCKER?

The Modulation Busses section provides a lot of functionality that synthesists have come to expect but that wasn't available on the Model D. The Voyager provides two programmable modulation routings: one controlled by the mod wheel and the other controlled by either an external CV source (most likely a footpedal) or a fixed maximum value. Compared to a synth with matrix modulation, two programmable routings aren't especially generous, but that's two more than the first Minimoog offered. Although the mod buses account for vibrato and most other typical mod functions, a few expected routings — such as LFO to amplifier for tremolo — are missing.

Your selection of modulation sources includes three LFO waveforms (triangle, square, and sample and hold), oscillator 3, the noise generator, an external CV input, and a fixed voltage. Mod destinations include the pitch of all three oscillators, oscillator 2 or 3 only, filter cutoff, and waveshape. In a software menu, you can also select from a list of eight additional modulation sources and eight additional destinations; such sources include filter envelope and the touch pad's x- and y-axes, and destinations include LFO rate and filter spacing. A dedicated Amount knob provides control over mod depth for each of the two buses. It would have been useful to be able to invert the modulation signals — most mod sources apply only positive modulation — but you can reverse the touch pad's polarity when you need negative modulation.

In addition to specifying the source and destination, you can moderate the modulation signal by means of the Shape control, which varies the source's depth using the filter envelope, Velocity, Aftertouch, or a programmable source. Those choices open up lots of classic modulation tricks, such as modulating a synced oscillator with an EG. The ability to select a Shape source in software hasn't been implemented in the most recent software revision, but it's expected.

MOOG Á LA MODE

FIG. 4: You access the Voyager's software-based functions using seven buttons and the LCD, which here displays the modulation source menu for the mod wheel.

The Voyager's software-based functions are tucked away in what Moog Music calls its user interface. Physically, the interface consists of the main display and the seven square buttons located below (see Fig. 4). The Voyager has three main modes, each with a dedicated button: Panel, Edit, and Master. Three other buttons scroll the display's contents up and down and move the cursor laterally, and the Enter button confirms your selections.

The Voyager powers up in Panel mode, and that's where you'll keep it most of the time. Panel mode simply displays the name of the current Preset. Edit mode is where you make any edits to the current Preset that can't be done using the front-panel controls, such as making modulation assignments, changing the keyboard triggering mode, and saving Presets. Master mode is where you assign MIDI channels, enable data dumps, and perform various other global tasks.

PRODUCT SUMMARY Moog Music Minimoog Voyager analog synthesizer Performer model $2,995 Signature model $3,495
FEATURES	4.0
EASE OF USE	3.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS	4.5
VALUE	4.0
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5
PROS: Sounds great. Hands-on control with plenty of performance expression. Programmable modulation routings. Lots of CV inputs. Upgradeable functionality through system updates. Solid construction. Looks cool.
CONS: Small LCD. No effects processor. Only two programmable modulation routings. No CV outputs without optional VX-351.
Manufacturer Moog Music tel. (800) 948-1990 or (828) 251-0090 e-mail info@moogmusic.com Web www.moogmusic.com

When you press the up and down buttons, a cursor vertically scrolls in the display. Only four items appear at a time, so every fifth press completely changes the LCD's contents, and that's just a little disorienting. I'd rather see items scroll one at a time, so that the previous item always appears either just above or below the current choice. For navigation, I usually prefer turning a knob to pressing up and down buttons, but at least the buttons don't operate in reverse as they did with the previous operating system. The current software really threw me for a loop after I performed an update and the cursor moved in the opposite direction from what I'd grown accustomed to in the prior version. One quibble I hope to see addressed in a future revision is that when you exit a menu, the display always goes back to the first item in the previous menu rather than to your last selected item, and that slows down programming needlessly.

After I downloaded the operating system update, the Voyager's faculties were greatly enhanced and much of the disappointment I felt with the original was ameliorated. The Voyager's software is written by Rudi Linhard (www.lintronics.biz), a German programmer who's obviously a longtime Moog synth aficionado. Installing it was a simple as opening two SysEx sequences on my computer and enabling reception on the Voyager. Because the Voyager's MIDI functions depend on its current software revision, its capabilities will continue to grow.

GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY

One aspect of the Voyager that sets it apart from almost any other synth is its external interfacing. Its ten continuous controller inputs (color-coded with red nuts) accept signals from a variety of sources, including CV pedals, envelope followers, and analog sequencers. Three of the four gate inputs (color-coded with blue nuts) accept standard footswitches. (The gate input for sample and hold requires a fixed +5V gate signal.) All have sturdy jacks that accept regular instrument cables — a vast improvement over modular designs that provide ⅛-inch minijacks. The control and gate inputs extend the instrument's real-time modulation options immensely.

The Voyager uses external control signals to modulate volume, panning, pitch, waveform, and the like. Except for the Mod1 and Mod2 inputs, however, the inputs don't provide any attenuation. Gate inputs are provided for sample and hold, LFO sync, EG release stage, and EG gate, which initiates the envelope's attack and release.

Most of the external inputs are for control signals only. On a true modular synth, you can reroute audio signals, too. The Voyager supplies two audio inputs: one that sends audio through the synthesizer's signal path and another that serves as an insertion point for external effects. Because there's no provision for triggering the envelopes by exceeding an audio threshold, though, you'll need to either flip the Env. Gate switch to its On position (disabling keyboard control) or manually press a key to trigger each envelope for processing external sounds.

You can also address dozens of parameters with MIDI. Each front-panel knob and switch responds to a fixed MIDI Control Change (CC) number. The controls don't send MIDI data, but CC transmission is planned for a future software update.

As useful as all the external inputs are, I certainly wish Moog had included a few control outputs, too, particularly LFO and EG. The ability to reroute control signals would have extended the Voyager's modulation capabilities to overcome a few minor shortcomings in that department.

If you add the optional VX-351 CV Expander ($265), however, your Voyager will gain many of a modular synth's control-routing capabilities. Using the VX requires that you open up your Voyager and install an output adapter mounted on a small circuit board. The VX-351 houses 2 attenuator knobs, 21 ¼-inch jacks, and a 25-pin D connector on its 5-by-9-inch surface. It supplies control outputs for the touch pad, keyboard, wheels, noise, pedals, EGs, LFO, and sample and hold. Adding the VX to your Voyager setup gives you a wealth of new choices for modulation routings. If you want to program your own signature sounds, I definitely recommend springing for the VX-351.

SOUND AND FURY

The Voyager has enough memory to store 128 user-programmable Presets — that's not a lot, especially when you consider the thousands of user patches that might appear online as a result of the instrument's easy programmability. The shortage of memory reserved for storing Presets is perplexing, particularly because there's no need for multitimbral programs in a monotimbral instrument such as the Voyager.

But what wonderful sounds they are! What the Voyager lacks in quantity, it certainly makes up for in quality. Punchy basses, searing leads, striking effects — the Voyager puts them all at your disposal. It can perfectly reproduce all the timbres that made the Minimoog famous, and it extends its ancestor's patch programming possibilities tremendously, so you can craft sounds the original couldn't touch. Virtually every Preset exhibits a luxurious warmth that you just can't achieve without analog electronics. In exploring the factory Presets, though, I was surprised at how few took advantage of the keyboard's velocity- and pressure-sensitivity. You can also enable Real Panel Control, which ignores what's in memory and plays the settings on the front panel, just like a synthesizer that doesn't have Presets.

I spent some time exploring the Performer model's standard Presets. Not surprisingly, the emphasis is decidedly on the sounds of yesteryear. Of all the bass Presets, In the Pocket and Bass for E. Vonallen are my favorites; both are definite blasts from the past, and certainly the most authentic Moog basses I've ever heard (because that's exactly what they are!). If you want to sound just like Rick Wakeman or Tony Banks in the mid-'70s, Chiffy Lead is an excellent solo Preset. Familiar Growl is straight from Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII. He Was Lucky, of course, is the perfect ELP simulation.

Going Baroque falls far short of Wendy Carlos's complex timbres, but it's vaguely similar. Funny Vox resembles one of Isao Tomita's classic timbres. Cool vocal-like sounds such as Robovox and Wheel Talker were impossible on the Model D. Most of the sound effects, such as Crop Circle Delivery and Sasquatch Speaks Up, are gimmicky at best and irritating at worst, though you still might find them useful. Most of the factory Presets only hint at the Voyager's timbral possibilities. Fortunately, you can download several other Preset banks from Moog Music's Web site, including a bank of sounds that come standard with the Signature model.

THE FINAL FRONTIER

The Minimoog Voyager begins with everything that the Minimoog had to offer in the '70s and adds MIDI, 128 memory Presets, a touch-sensitive keyboard, continuously variable waveforms, a stereo multimode filter, and expressive real-time modulation capabilities. With the addition of some affordable hardware to harness its potential for external voltage control, the Voyager can perform many tricks that used to require a modular synth. If you've ever wanted a real Minimoog, there's no contest: buying a Voyager beats owning an original hands down. If an analog monosynth fills your needs, look no further.

Granted, for the same money, you could buy a used polyphonic analog synthesizer or a less expensive monosynth. But then you'd probably be giving up the cachet of owning a real Moog, the retro styling, and the decades of experience that went into its design. Most of all, you'd sacrifice something that's hard to attain without a Moog: the Moog sound. You'd also miss out on the expressive nuance that the Voyager can achieve by means of its continuous controllers. If you want to plug in eight CV pedals and three footswitches for real-time performance gestures, you can.

Sure, the Minimoog Voyager is a little expensive; the finer things in life often are. It's your money, but if you're at all tempted to buy one, I say try it, and then buy it. Bon voyage!

Minimoog Voyager Specifications
Sound Engine	analog subtractive synthesis
Keyboard	44-note, Velocity and Channel Aftertouch
Controls	(40) knobs, (13) switches, (7) buttons, mod wheel, pitch-bend wheel, Touch Surface Controller
Polyphony	monophonic
RAM Programs	128
Audio I/O	(1) unbalanced ¼" TS input; (1) unbalanced ¼" TRS insert; (2) unbalanced ¼" TS outputs; (1) ¼" stereo headphones
Control I/O	(10) CV inputs; (4) gate inputs; (1) accessory port (for optional VX-351 CV Expander)
MIDI I/O	In, Out, Thru
Oscillators	(3) audio VCOs with continuously variable waveshape (1 with LF range); (1) LFO
Filters	(2) VCFs, switchable from dual resonant lowpass to lowpass/highpass; selectable 1, 2, 3, or 4 poles
Amplifier	stereo
Envelope Generators	(1) filter ADSR; (1) amplitude ADSR
Display	1.25" × 2.25" backlit LCD
Power Supply	internal 100-250 VAC; IEC connector
Dimensions	30.5" (W) × 3.0" (H) × 18.0" (D); 12.0" (H) when fully upright
Weight	40 lb.

 

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EM associate editor Geary Yelton has been messing around with electronic music since 1971 and writing about it since 1976. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.