IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS WARNING – When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following: 1) Read all the instructions before using the product. 2) Do not use this product near water – for example, near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, or near a swimming pool or the like. 3) This product should be used only with a cart or stand that is recommended by the manufacturer.
Here it is – the minimoog Voyager. Moog Music has put more than 30 years of experience with analog synthesizer technology into the design of this instrument to bring you the fattest lead synthesizer since the minimoog was introduced in 1970. We’ve done away with the things that made 30-year-old analog synthesizers difficult – the tuning instability, the lack of patch memory, and the lack of compatibility with MIDI gear.
I. Getting Started For those of you who can’t wait to read the manual (perfectly understandable when you have a brand new synthesizer…), the following are the important steps to get you going with your new Voyager. Once the adrenaline subsides a bit, you will find this manual to be an excellent guide to exploring the outer reaches of your minimoog Voyager.
-Power up Turn the power on. You will see the screen light up and display: “minimoog Voyager by moog music”. After about 5 seconds the greeting screen disappears and you will see the MASTER mode options. The LED labeled “MASTER” will be lit. The buttons labeled “PANEL”, “EDIT”, and “MASTER” access the 3 operating modes of the Voyager. -Connect to Amplifier Connect your Voyager to headphones or an amplifier (figure1). For a mono connection, use the jack labeled “left/mono”.
press ENTER. The sound produced by the Voyager is now determined by the settings of the front panel independently of preset memory. When working with the Voyager, keep in mind that many of the controls are interactive, so there is frequently more than one way to control a single parameter. For instance, if the sustain level of the Volume Envelope is all the way down, and the attack and decay times are at zero, there will be no output.
II. THE BASICS OF ANALOG SYNTHESIS For those getting started in the world of electronic music, let’s take a few moments to go through the basics of sound and synthesis. This will help you understand what the front panel controls do. In order to understand synthesis, one must have a basic working knowledge of the characteristics of sound. There are a few key terms that cover the basics: Sound – audible vibrations of air pressure. Electronic sounds are delivered to the air through loudspeakers.
Amplitude – The strength of a sound’s vibration measured in Decibels (dB). This corresponds to the musical term Loudness (figure 4). Harmonic Content – A sound is made up of simple vibrations at many different frequencies (called harmonics) which give a sound its particular character. This corresponds to the musical term timbre or tone color. A harmonic sound, such as a vibrating string, is one in which the harmonics are mathematically related by what is called the harmonic series.
In general, “synthesis” refers to the generation of sound through a group of amplified circuits over which the programmer/performer has power to change volume, pitch, timbre and articulation. The Minimoog Voyager is based on what is called “subtractive synthesis”. This method of synthesis employs a harmonically rich (think bright-sounding) source material, and then removes frequency components to create the desired sound.
Filter: A circuit that removes some frequencies and allows other frequencies to pass through the circuit. A filter has a cutoff frequency that determines the point at which frequencies begin to be removed. A lowpass filter is one in which frequencies above the cutoff frequency are removed and all frequencies below the cutoff are passed through. A highpass filter is one in which frequencies below the cutoff frequency are removed and frequencies above the cutoff are passed through.
Control Voltage - Control voltages (also called CVs) are used in analog synthesizers to affect changes in the sound. In the case of pitch, pressing a key on the keyboard sends a control voltage that determines the pitch of the oscillators. The pitch can also be changed by a voltage provided from a panel control, such as an oscillator tuning control. Every panel control on the Voyager produces a control voltage that is routed to the circuit that the knob or slider is designed to change.
Modulation - Modulation is the use of a CV to affect a voltage-controlled circuit. Modulation has a source, destination, and amount. This could be as simple as the filter cutoff of a VCF (a modulation destination) being changed by the front panel cutoff control (the source), or as complex as mixing multiple CVs together to modulate filter cutoff. Modulation is used in synthesis to create complex sounds and add variation.
Low Frequency Oscillator - Also called an LFO, this is a special type of voltage controlled oscillator that oscillates primarily below the range of human hearing. LFOs are typically used as a source of modulation. For instance - an LFO with a triangle waveform at about 6 Hz modulating the pitch of a VCO sounds like vibrato. The same LFO with a square wave will sound like a trill. An LFO modulating a voltage controlled amplifier will sound like a tremolo (figure 10).
III. The Voyager’s Features The minimoog Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer that is a descendant of the classic minimoog. Its sound sources are an external audio input, a noise source, and three analog, variable waveform oscillators. The Voyager has front panel controls for real time control of its parameters (figure 12).
The back panel offers the many connections available, including the power, MIDI, CV, and audio connections (figure 13). For the Control Inputs, a blue nut indicates a gate/footswitch input and a red nut indicates a CV/ expression pedal input. - The Oscillator section includes controls for choosing the octave, the tuning of the second and third oscillators, the oscillators’ waveforms, and switches for oscillator sync, linear FM, and oscillator 3’s frequency range and keyboard control.
- When a key is pressed, A Gate and Pitch CV are produced by the keyboard. The Gate signal is used to trigger both the Filter and Volume Envelopes. The Pitch CV is used to determine the pitch of the Oscillators and can be applied to a varying degree to the Filters through the Keyboard Control Amount knob. - Modulation is performed through the Modulation Busses. There are two separate Mod busses. One is controlled by the Mod Wheel, while the other is controlled by the MOD1 CV input.
- The LFO is assigned through the MOD Busses. It features a triangle and square wave. It is also used to trigger the Sample and Hold. - The touch surface controller can control three parameters (X,Y,A) simultaneously. The position of a finger on the touch pad generates a control voltage for horizontal (X) position and a control voltage for vertical (Y) position. Pressing on the touch surface causes a CV based on the area (A) of the fingertip.
IV. The Voyager’s Components A. MIXER The Mixer combines the main sound sources of the Voyager. It’s the place to start when creating a new sound from scratch, or figuring out how a sound is put together. All the sound sources can be turned on or off, and their levels can be adjusted. The sound sources available are: - External Audio Input - Oscillator 1 - Oscillator 2 - Oscillator 3 - Noise Source Each sound source has both an on/off switch and a level control.
amount of soft clipping is occurring. When the LED is bright, the signal is really strongly overdriven. Judicious use of overdrive can really fatten up a sound. The external audio input can accept a signal from instrument level to line level. MIX-OUT LOOP: The jack on the back labeled “mix out/filter in” is an insert point between the Mixer output and the filter input.
B. OSCILLATORS The Oscillators are the main sound source of the Voyager. The oscillators in the Voyager are all analog Voltage Controlled Oscillators, or VCOs. They feature a temperature regulation circuit that provides them with excellent tuning stability. The VCOs can produce a total musical range of 8 ½ octaves! In addition, the frequency of oscillator 3 can be set to sub-audio (<20Hz) vibrations for use as a second LFO.
relative to Osc. 1. This allows more than one frequency to be played when a key is pressed, or to get a very swirly sound when the oscillators are slightly out of tune. Oscillator 1 does not have a frequency control because it is designed to serve as a reference oscillator for the other 2 oscillators. FINE TUNE: Fine tune control can be used to tune the Voyager’s oscillators + or – 2 semitones for matching an external reference pitch.
3 Æ 1 FM: Direct Linear Frequency Modulation of Osc. 1 by Osc. 3 When an Oscillator is used as a CV source for another VCO, it is called Frequency modulation. Frequency Modulation effects can vary from vibrato or trill effects to clangorous inharmonic sounds to rich timbres that evoke acoustic sounds. Linear FM is the kind of Frequency Modulation used in classic FM synths. GLIDE: Glide enables a glissando effect between notes. There is a switch on the left hand controller panel that enables this effect.
C. FILTERS Ahh… the Moog filter – the sound that started it all… Filters are used for transforming the character of an audio signal. Filters are used to modify a sound by stopping some frequencies and allowing others to pass through. An important term regarding filters to understand is “Cutoff Frequency”. This is a frequency at which frequencies begin to be rejected. There are different types of filters. Some of the most common and most musically useful are lowpass, highpass, and bandpass.
When the resonant peaks of the lowpass filters pass through the overtones of the sound being filtered, those overtones are reinforced. This gives the filter a nice character that sounds vocal, quacky, or zappy, depending on how it’s used. When the resonance is turned up past 8, the filters begin to self-oscillate at the cutoff frequency, producing a sine wave tone. The Keyboard Control Amount control sets how much the filters’ cutoff frequencies track the keyboard note that is played.
HIGHPASS LOWPASS MODE: In Highpass/Lowpass mode, the Voyagers filters are configured as a lowpass and highpass filter in series, summed to both outputs. As with the dual lowpass mode, the Cutoff control changes the cutoff frequency of both filters, and the spacing sets the frequency difference between the highpass filter and lowpass filter. The spacing between the two filters creates a bandpass filter (figure 21).
SPACING: The Spacing control is used to determine the difference between the cutoff frequencies of the two filters in both dual lowpass mode and highpass/ lowpass mode. In Dual Lowpass mode, the numbers on the legend around the knob refer to octaves. When the Spacing control is centered, the cutoff frequencies of the two filters are identical and the filter sounds like a classic Moog Filter.
D. ENVELOPES When we think of a musical sound, say a plucked string, we think of it as having a start and an end. In the case of a plucked string, it begins with a burst of energy and then slowly fades out until it is silent. In synthesis terms, this is called an envelope – a shape that defines the changes that occur in a sound over time. An envelope can define any aspect of a change in sound – volume, timbre, or pitch for example. The Voyager has two envelope generators.
RELEASE: This is the time for the envelope to return to zero, from 1 msec to 10 seconds. AMOUNT TO FILTER: For the filter envelope, there is a control that adjusts the amount that the filter envelope signal modulates the filter. It has both positive and negative values. If it is set to a positive value, say +2, The envelope will add to the Cutoff control. If it is a negative value, say –2, the envelope will subtract from the Cutoff control. KEYBOARD/ ON/EXTERNAL: The Envelopes are started by a gate signal.
ENVELOPE GATE INPUT: This input accepts a footswitch or gate signal. Pressing the footswitch or applying a gate signal (+5V) triggers both envelopes when On/External is selected by the ENV. GATE switch. RELEASE INPUT: This input accepts a footswitch or gate signal. Pressing the footswitch or applying a gate signal (+5V) enables the Release of the Envelopes regardless of the position of the Release switch on the Left Hand Controller panel.
E. MAIN OUTPUT The Voyager has two audio outputs. There is a VCA for each output, which allows for stereo effects such as Panning or the Dual lowpass filtering. The main control for the Volume is the Master Volume Control. The Volume Envelope modulates the output VCAs. When only one output is desired, the two output VCAs are mixed to the left output. LEFT/MONO and RIGHT OUTPUTS: These are the audio outputs that are on the back panel. They are both ¼” unbalanced outputs.
F. MODULATION BUSSES Modulation is the heart of making interesting sounds with analog subtractive synthesis. The Voyager’s two Modulation busses open up a world of modulation possibilities that were not available on the original Minimoog. The Mod Busses allow the user to select a variety of modulation sources, their destinations, addition shaping of the amount of modulation, and a maximum level. The Mod busses are labeled Mod Wheel and Pedal/On.
There are three modifiers to the Amount of modulation: the Amount control, the Shaping CV, and the Mod Wheel or MOD1 input level. The Amount level is the final level control which sets how much both the Mod Wheel/ MOD1 Input and the shaping CV allow the mod source through to the mod destination. To try out a simple modulation, set the LFO to about 6 Hz, the Source to triangle wave, the destination to Pitch, the shaping to on, and the amount to 5.
-OSC.3: The Pitch of Oscillator 3 -FILTER: The Filters’ Cutoff frequency -WAVE: All 3 Oscillators waveform -LFO/PGM: This is a programmable destination for the mod bus with LFO Rate as the default. The programmable Mod destination is set in the EDIT mode menu items MOD WHEEL PGM DEST or PEDAL PGM DEST. AMOUNT: The Amount control is used to set the maximum amount of modulation sent to the Modulation Destination.
G. LFO/ SAMPLE AND HOLD The Voyager has a dedicated LFO and SAMPLE and HOLD. The LFO produces triangle and square waves that oscillate from .2 to 50 Hz. There are triangle and square wave outputs that can be selected as Modulation sources in the Mod Busses. The Square wave is routed to the Sample and Hold trigger input, and the noise source is routed to the sample and hold input. For each cycle of the LFO, the voltage at the input of the sample and hold circuit is held until the next trigger event.
LFO RATE: The LFO Rate control sets the Rate of the dedicated LFO. The range of oscillation is .2 Hz to 50 Hz. LFO SYNC: The LFO Sync switch sets the trigger method for starting the LFO waveform. OFF/SYNC: This setting allows the LFO to be free running, unless there is an input to the SYNC jack on the back panel. The SYNC jack accepts a +5 V Clock Signal that retriggers the LFO. MIDI: Allows a MIDI clock signal to retrigger the LFO. MIDI Clock triggering the LFO is not implemented in Version 1.
H. KEYBOARD AND LEFT HAND CONTROL PANEL The Voyager has a 44 note keyboard (3 ½ octaves F to C), like the original minimoog. Unlike the original minimoog, the keyboard can produce velocity CVs, a pressure CV, and transmit MIDI note on messages. To the left of the keyboard is the Left Hand Controller Panel. It features the Pitch Bend and Mod Wheel controls and the glide and release switches. PITCH BEND WHEEL: This control affects the pitch of all three oscillators.
I. TOUCH SURFACE CONTROLLER The touch surface controller is a real-time three-dimensional control surface. The destinations selected in software are as follows: X (left and right): Filter Cutoff Y (up and down): Filter Spacing A (area): Filter Resonance Moving right on the X-axis of the touch surface causes the Cutoff frequency to go higher.
J. THE BACK PANEL The Back Panel is loaded with Jacks. In addition to the Audio Outputs, there are a multitude of CV and gate inputs, the MIDI connectors, a BNC outlet for a gooseneck lamp, the accessory port, and the power connector. POWER CONNECTOR: This is a standard AC power inlet, Use only a power cord designed to mate with this receptacle. The Voyager power supply is designed to work with power inputs of 100-240 VAC. DANGER – Do not alter this connector in any way.
K. THE USER INTERFACE/ VOYAGER SOFTWARE 1. The Interface The interface for the minimoog Voyager’s software functions is in the center of the instrument (figure1). (figure 1) The display is a LCD screen in the center. When the unit is first powered on, the screen will read the message: minimoog Voyager by moog music The message will stay on the screen for approximately 5 seconds, then the screen will display the Master Menu. Note that the LED above the button labeled “MASTER” is lit.
2. MASTER Mode MASTER mode accesses the global settings for the Voyager and the routines for sending and receiving data. To enter MASTER mode, press the MASTER button. The following options will appear: LCD CONTRAST MIDI IN CHANNEL MIDI OUT CHANNEL SEND PRESETS RECEIVE PRESETS SEND SYSTEM ROM SEND BOOT SYSTEM RECEIVE UPDATE The +1/ -1 buttons scroll through the list. The list will wrap around when you scroll past the end. When a line is highlighted, it can be selected by pressing the ENTER button.
SEND SYSTEM ROM This utility allows you to back up your operating system via Sysex data. This screen displays the prompt: “Press Enter to send Prog Data”. The boot software version will be displayed on the bottom line. Before you press enter, be sure the remote device is enabled to receive the data. Pressing ENTER will start the export. We recommend backing up the operating system before upgrading to a new version of software.
3. EDIT Mode EDIT Mode is used to determine parameters of a preset not accessible through the front panel and to name and save presets. EDIT mode is entered by pressing the EDIT button. When this is done, a list appears that displays the different options. Using the +1 or –1 buttons moves the list items to highlight a new line.
+/- Fifth +/- 1 Octave +/- 1 Octave & 5th +/- 2 Octaves +/- 2 Octaves & 5th PGM M-WHL SOURCE PROGRAMMABLE MOD WHEEL SOURCE is a function that allows the user to program 1 of 8 additional modulation sources to be used when the SOURCE switch for the Mod Wheel Mod Bus is set to NOISE/PGM. Enter EDIT mode, and use the +1 button to highlight PGM M-WHL SOURCE.
PROGRAMMABLE PEDAL/ON DESTINATION is a function that allows the user to program 1 of 8 additional modulation destinations to be used when the DESTINATION switch for the Pedal/On Mod Bus is set to LFO RATE/PGM. Enter EDIT mode, and use the +1 button to highlight PGM PEDAL DEST. Press ENTER and the following Mod Destinations appear: LFO Rate (default) Filter Resonance Filter Spacing Panorama Osc. 1 Level Osc. 2 Level Osc.
PRESET NAME PRESET NAME is a function that allows the user to assign a name to a preset containing up to 24 characters on two twelve character lines. Characters are selected by moving the cursor to the desired character location and scrolling through the character list. The cursor can be moved with the CURSOR button, or by tapping the bottom half of the touchpad (referred to as T-S).
4. PANEL Mode PANEL Mode is used to access presets and other performance functions. Pressing the PANEL button accesses PANEL mode. This lights the LED above the PANEL button, and the preset number is displayed. Note that the previous sound is stored until the ENTER button or the +1/-1 buttons are pressed. Once a preset is called up, parameters can be changed. If the original sound is desired, simply press ENTER and the original preset will be reloaded.
5. MIDI The current (as of 01/20/03) MIDI implementation of Version 1.0 of the software allows for the transmission of Note On messages with Velocity, Program Change messages, and System Exclusive Data (software and preset banks). The Voyager will transmit MIDI Note On messages polyphonically. The Voyager responds to Note On messages, Program Change messages, All Notes Off, Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel (CC1), and Volume Controller (CC7) messages. It is a monophonic instrument.
Appendix A: Caring for your Voyager Clean the Voyager with a soft, moist cloth only – do not use solvents or abrasive detergents. The finish of the wood cabinet can be cleaned with a guitar polish, or a fine furniture polish. Heed the safety warnings at the beginning of the manual. Don’t drop the unit. If shipping your Voyager, we recommend the original shipping carton, or an ATA approved Road Case. Shipping the Voyager in a non-ATA or packaging other than the original carton will void the warranty.
Appendix C: List of Presets There are a total of 128 presets in a Voyager bank. There are 128 presets in the factory bank of sounds shipped with the Performer Edition. These were written by the sound designer and composer Zon Vern Pyles, ranging from classic Moog sounds to the outer reaches of the Voyager’s synthesis capabilities. Thanks for the sounds, Zon!!! The following is a list of the preset names.
033 - Panning Throbber 034 - Zappy Bass 035 - Classic Sweeper 036 - Touchpad sync 037 - First Love 038 - Clearly fuzzy 039 - Fond Memories 040 - Flyin' fingers 041 - Worms of funk 042 - Tremowah Bass 043 - Welcoming machine 044 - Touchpad horn 045 - Still fun (wheel up) 046 - Subfood Bass 047 - Firm bottom 048 - Lunar News (wheel up) 049 - Seafoam (wheel up) 050 - Wheel talker 051 - Living Bass 052 - Pucker up 053 - Lil' delay 054 - Utopian Lead 055 - Bouncer (wheel up) 056 - Stereo Zaps 057 - In the pocket
082 - Synthworld 083 - Aleatoric 084 - Wheel chorus Lead 085 - Glass Temple 086 - Repeater Bass 087 - Electro Kid 088 - Fuzzy Lead 089 - Catherine of Aragon 090 - Catherine Howard 091 - Anne Boleyn Bass 092 - Anne Boleyn Lead 093 - Raw & melodic 094 - Sweepy Bass 095 - Green Fog 096 - Wrong Crypt 097 - Just the harmonics 098 - Thematic 099 - Plucky Bass 100 - Bright Bass 101 - Tubby Bass 102 - Alien Metal 103 - NOT Unplugged 104 - Bass Phenomena 105 - Reedy Bass (use wheel) 106 - Dramatic Entrance 107 - Fly
Appendix D: MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART Moog Music Inc.
