User Guide

Appendix D:
VX-351 User’s Guide
Introduction
Flash back to the late 60’s….
Back in the day, a synthesizer was a behemoth of panels and patch cords. They
were known as modular synthesizers, because each function of the synthesizer was
contained in a single module. A synthesizer was a collection of modules, and the
instrument produced no sound until the proper connections were made by patch
cables, from module to module. This approach afforded the synthesist serious
creative flexibility – and the results of creative “what if I tried this?...” type of thinking
yielded amazing results. The downside of this approach to synthesis is:
- Space – a good modular synth takes a lot of space.
- Time – coming up with a sound from the ground up takes a lot of practice,
patience, and time.
- Repeatability – documenting a creative sound is laborious and not always
accurate
- Mucho dinero $$$$$$ - a good modular synth takes serious dough to build.
Enter the minimoog – a portable synthesizer where the most musically useful
connections in a synthesizer are made and permanently wired. Sounds can be
made quickly with the knobs and switches of the well laid out front panel. They are
easier to document with patch templates, and the synth can actually be CARRIED
to gigs. Imagine that! Finally – a serious synthesizer made for the working musician.
Flash forward to today… The minimoog Voyager…
The Voyager is based on the concept of the minimoog. It is a portable analog
synthesizer with all the basic connections for making great electronic sounds. In
fact, from its front panel, it has even more functions than the original minimoog!
People rave about the sounds they can get out of the Voyager – from classic synth
tones to unheard of effects… But just when you thought you had heard it all from
the Voyager, Moog Music introduces to you … the VX-351 CV Expander!
Take a quick peak at the back of your Voyager and you will notice a plethora of
jacks color coded with red and blue nuts – you may also notice a 25-pin “D”
connector, labeled “accessory port”…. What does it all mean? The jacks that have
the color-coded nuts are all INPUTS, the red ones are for control voltages, and the
blue ones are for gates. The pins of the accessory port are all OUTPUTS – control
voltages and gates.
Hmmm… control voltage and gate outputs and inputs…. it sounds like a modular
synth! But how do you get the outputs back to the inputs?
…Enter the VX-351!
The VX-351 Voyager CV expander is an add-on product to your Voyager that
contains all the CV and gate outputs on ¼” jacks. There are a total of 19 CV outputs
and 2 gate outputs. In addition there are two attenuators, for reducing the strength
of a CV signal, and two 4-way mults for sending a single CV signal to multiple
control destinations. The supplied cable connects the VX-351 to the Voyager’s
accessory port.
With the VX-351, be prepared to have a lot of fun making new
sounds with your Voyager!
The following instructions cover…