Voyager keyboard vs. RME experience

rnbeatz · Post by **rnbeatz** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:19 pm

How much of the fun in playing and programming a voyager is in having the keyboard and knobs on the same instrument? I'm considering an rme to save money but think I might mis out on half the fun of having a voyager. At this time I have a motif 8 which doesn't have synth action keys as my only controller.

Should I wait until I have enough money to buy the keyboard version?

Array · Post by **Array** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:12 pm

I would get the Voyager for all of the CV inputs alone. I know theres an expansion option for the RME, but by the time you get that and a decent controller, you are in Voyager Keyboard territory again.

rnbeatz · Post by **rnbeatz** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:16 pm

Yea, I was kind of leaning that way. Thing is I wont have the room for a keyboard version until the end of the year and I'd probably have to wait that long to come up with the difference in price. The RME is just a thought because I could have it now and I do have a controller.

soundsubs · Post by **soundsubs** » Fri May 11, 2007 11:51 pm

i just bought an RME (instead of the keyboard) because of the space saving convenience. one of the things i was disappointed to find out is that an RME with the CV boxes is NOT the same thing as the Voyager keyboard. specifically, there arent as many CV ins and outs on the RME.

if you dont care about this, then save $1000 and the space. i love my RME but i wish i would have known this before i bought it.

hope this helps.

--shane

rnbeatz · Post by **rnbeatz** » Sat May 12, 2007 2:11 am

Thanks soundsubs.

I would not have noticed this. In the beginning I wouldn't miss it. Once I get a good grip on programming the voyager as is, I probably will expand it a little. I'll research the CV boxes to see exactly what's missing.

cl516 · Post by **cl516** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:24 pm

I went with RME and the LP recently to control it.
For some reason, I'm just not down with the touchpad,
and i'm worried it's gonna break down the road.

My Stage LP and RME feel awesome together!

Hyphen nation · Post by **Hyphen nation** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:10 am

cl516 wrote:I went with RME and the LP recently to control it.
For some reason, I'm just not down with the touchpad,
and i'm worried it's gonna break down the road.

My Stage LP and RME feel awesome together!

Congrats!!!

I was blown away by this combo in the store a week or two ago, just a huge sound...I have been weighing the pro's and cons of this combo, as I always thought I just wanted the Voyager...

likewise, I question the longevity of the touchpad on the Voyager [Key]

What do you think of the greatly reduced CV abilities?

rnbeatz · Post by **rnbeatz** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:32 am

cl516 wrote:I went with RME and the LP recently to control it.
For some reason, I'm just not down with the touchpad,
and i'm worried it's gonna break down the road.

My Stage LP and RME feel awesome together!

This is a hot idea. Is there a lot of overlap in their sounds or are they two different flavors of moog?

jon_kull · Post by **jon_kull** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:31 pm

rnbeatz wrote:
cl516 wrote:I went with RME and the LP recently to control it.
For some reason, I'm just not down with the touchpad,
and i'm worried it's gonna break down the road.

My Stage LP and RME feel awesome together!
This is a hot idea. Is there a lot of overlap in their sounds or are they two different flavors of moog?

I have the same setup. It depends...some patches can sound identical. Others are very different. The Voyager is a bit on the polite side whereas the LP can be very harsh sounding (in a good way). The Voyager can also do wierd spacey sounds and 1 finger 'pads' better where the LP is more of a lead/bass machine...to me at least.

As far as the CV on the RME...I'm actually surprised that the RME has less CV ins/outs than the keyboard version. The RME is meant to be used as a slave to other gear (controller keyboard/sequencer/synth...whatever). In my opinion it should have MORE CV routing than the keyboard version which has it's own built in controllers. Doesn't make sense to me...

rnbeatz · Post by **rnbeatz** » Mon May 14, 2007 6:55 pm

I'm a little confused on the CV i/o. Doesn't the VX-352 expander add all the CV i/o that the voyager has and then some? What am I missing?

Now that I've given this some thought, I think having an expander box with an rme might be better than having the CV i/o on the back. It would be a mess repatching behind a racked rme all the time with foogers and what not. And a decent patchbay would have a cost associated with it too.

cl516 · Post by **cl516** » Mon May 14, 2007 10:23 pm

Hello, here's my opinion:

sonic overlap: i bought the LP, and I'm keeping both.
I love the aggressive nature of LP, while keeping Moog flavour,
I love Voyager RME sound for the softer touch.

i'm not a big CV guy myself, but sooner than later i will buy the vx352 and vx351 and the CP unit, and that will give me the CV in's and out's for the RME.
I really don't want the touchpad.

cl516 · Post by **cl516** » Mon May 14, 2007 10:27 pm

p.s. i have already have my share of dealing with vintage synths and repairs, so for these moogs, i chose to go the new analog route. i love them a lot!

Hyphen nation · Post by **Hyphen nation** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:21 am

cl516 wrote:Hello, here's my opinion:

sonic overlap: i bought the LP, and I'm keeping both.
I love the aggressive nature of LP, while keeping Moog flavour,
I love Voyager RME sound for the softer touch.

i'm not a big CV guy myself, but sooner than later i will buy the vx352 and vx351 and the CP unit, and that will give me the CV in's and out's for the RME.
I really don't want the touchpad.

pardon my ignorance, but can you have both the 351 and the 352 attached to the RME?

earsmack · Post by **earsmack** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:55 am

cl516 wrote:I really don't want the touchpad.

Unfortunately I think you're missing out. The touchpad is no more likely to break than any other part of the thousands of parts that make up any synthesizer you own and adds so much to the playability of the instrument. There are times when I'll drone a note and use the touchpad for an entire performance. Other times being able to use it to produce subtle and/or rythmic effects is awesome. You can map the surface to multiple parameters and have it control not only the Voyager but any CV device (via the VX-351, for example). Luckily, you can always buy yourself a KAOSS pad and mimic the concept when you realize the error of your way

but the bottom line is the touchpad is a really nice feature on the Voyager. I wouldn't be too concerned about it breaking.

cl516 · Post by **cl516** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:30 am

cool zbq, you could be right. by no means am i saying the touchpad is an evil concept at all, i'm just saying it's not for me. or at least it wasn't at first.
i didn't get these 2 Moogs all at once - i only had enough money for the RME which i had to find used off ebay. than eventually i got the LP. and considering i've picked up kaoss pads in the past and sold them due to lack of use, i think i'm safe for now without the touchpad. if down the road i do pick up the voyager keyboard, i'm sure i'll use it now and then.