Summer Namm-minimoog Voyager report

[ksoper]

I just got home from the Summer Namm show in Nashville where I got to listen to, and in some cases play, some of the instruments on my wish list. Sadly, the Minimoog Voyager couldn't be demo'd. They had three of them in each of the cabinet choices, walnut, cherry, and maple, but they were not working models. It was great to see them, though.

It's flatter than the original mini, deeper, and a little wider, I think. They chose a Fatar keyboard for the action. I asked Dr. Moog why they used Fatar as opposed to something else. His answer was pragmatic: Fatar's the only game in town with worldwide distribution. Moog said that Fatar offers 9 actions and they chose the top-of-the-line. Frankly, I liked the Pratt-Reed action of the mini and said so. The Mini/Fatar, while decently weighted, felt a little shallow to me. Moog got a funny look on his face when I said that. Disappointment? Maybe. I back-pedaled--"Well, it's just my opinion." David Van Koevering, head of marketing, said he was planning to have musicians over to his house to "test drive" the first working Voyager when it comes in and we'll get to critique it. (Imagine!) He said that they haven't had any player feedback to speak of but will welcome all opinions. (Van Koevering also told me that he has a museum of sorts in his house, about 300 instruments from the glory days of synthesis.)

The control wheels are fatter than the original mini's, translucent, and will be lighted. Since it was only a mock-up, neither the lighted wheels nor touch-pad and lcd screen were operational. Bummer.

$2995 for the Moog signature model available in the fall, $2495 for the standard model available, they say, in February, '02. The signature model will be signed, obviously, but include an extended warranty, a gig bag, and the personal blessing of Moog himself (whatever that means). It's on my Christmas list. I wish I had more to say about it. We'll all have to wait, I guess.

Other stuff--

The Alesis Andromeda is everything they say. Fat, warm, nasty, expressive. I love the ribbon controller and the assignable wheels. Great factory presets. I'm given the assurance that Alesis is a viable entity, though I was told to give it a while before calling up for replacement parts for my ailing QS8.

Roland's RD-700 is a knockout piano/controller, particularly when paired with the Concert Piano and Symphonic String expansion cards. Scott Tibbs from Roland did the demo for me and was apparently the guy who contracted the Warsaw Symphony and conducted the sampling session. Beautiful work.

And even though I'm not a big fan of the Korg Triton series, I had to give the Orchestral Expansion card for the Triton Pro high marks. For the film soring musician it's a must-have. Wonderful sampled phrases, fresh and recognizable without being cliche. And not bathed in the traditional reverb that has steered me away from Korg in the past. Great splits and layers, and the added arppegiator parameters give it an extra kick.

Thanks for reading,

Ken

[Guest]

Originally posted by ksoper:

It's flatter than the original mini, deeper, and a little wider, I think. They chose a Fatar keyboard for the action. I asked Dr. Moog why they used Fatar as opposed to something else. His answer was pragmatic: Fatar's the only game in town with worldwide distribution. Moog said that Fatar offers 9 actions and they chose the top-of-the-line. Frankly, I liked the Pratt-Reed action of the mini and said so. The Mini/Fatar, while decently weighted, felt a little shallow to me. Moog got a funny look on his face when I said that. Disappointment? Maybe. I back-pedaled--"Well, it's just my opinion." David Van Koevering, head of marketing, said he was planning to have musicians over to his house to "test drive" the first working Voyager when it comes in and we'll get to critique it. (Imagine!) He said that they haven't had any player feedback to speak of but will welcome all opinions. (Van Koevering also told me that he has a museum of sorts in his house, about 300 instruments from the glory days of synthesis.)

The control wheels are fatter than the original mini's, translucent, and will be lighted. Since it was only a mock-up, neither the lighted wheels nor touch-pad and lcd screen were operational. Bummer.

 

I agree that the relationship of the keyboard to the sound was one of the great things about the original Mini. I think though, I can accept a slightly different action as long as it's smooth and responsive.

 

A lot of people don't realize that the first of the minimoogs had clear wheels. I bought my first mini in early 1972 and it had the clear wheels. To me, the white wheels looked cheesy in comparison. I was thrilled to learn that the Voyager had not only clear, but lighted wheels.

 

So far I'm very impressed with what Bob has done with the Voyager. Nothing is out of character, but there are enhancements galore. I also had a micromoog and loved the continuous waveform and pos/neg filter controls. Thankfully Bob left out the "phat distortion" circuitry, the 17 sawtooth switch, and the instant groove button. No catering to the latest trend. Refreshing, in this day and age.

 

Busch

[Felix_dup1]

Disappointing, to say the least, that it's still not operational. When do they anticipate it will ship?

[alphajerk]

big briar says fall for the signature edition.

 

i want one not for a synth per say but to control and automate all my moogerfooger pedals with the CV outputs. and everything on the voyager [except level and headphone knobs] transmit and receive midi. the 3D touch pad seems really interesting. of course im going to go with the mahagony wood to match the pedals... hopefully get one in my studio as soon as they connect the digital control to the analog section.