Minimoog Voyager
ManufacturerMoog Music
Dates1997(Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue edition),[1] 2002[1] – 2015[2]
PriceUS$2995 – US$4995
Technical specifications
PolyphonyMonophonic
TimbralityMonotimbral
Oscillator3 VCOs
LFOindependent LFO
Synthesis typeAnalog Subtractive
Filterdual lowpass or highpass/lowpass
with cutoff, resonance, spacing
ADSR envelope generator,
keyboard tracking
AttenuatorADSR envelope generator
Aftertouch expressionyes
Velocity expressionyes
Storage memory128 presets
expandable to 896
Effects2 modulation busses
Input/output
Keyboard44-note with velocity
and aftertouch sensitivity
Left-hand controlpitch bend and mod wheels
External controlMIDI, 14 CV/Gate inputs

The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002[1] by Moog Music. Five years earlier in 1997, the Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue was first produced by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a successor to that instrument.[3]

History

In November 1996, Moog Music (then Big Briar) announced that they planned to release an updated version of the Minimoog. The new synthesizer promised to have modern features, yet continue to be authentic to the original sound quality. The company offered a new synthesizer to the customer who could come up with a name for the project. In 1997, they announced that the synthesizer would be named the "Minimoog Voyager". and In 1997, five years before the release of Minimoog Voyager in 2002, the "Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue" was manufactured first and released in limited quantities.[4] Five years later, in 2002, "Minimoog Voyager" was officially released.

VX-351 CV Expander and CP-251 Control Processor

Late in the summer of 2002, Moog Music began shipping the new Voyagers. Occasionally a new system software release is made available, which can be downloaded from Moog Music's website and sent to the Voyager via MIDI. Recent software versions allow complex internal patching of control voltages, a very powerful and convenient feature for the user. Also available is the VX-351 Voyager Expander, an external box that is wired to the Voyager featuring 25 control-voltage outputs for physical CV patching.[3]

Recent versions of the Voyager software expand the original 128-patch memory to 896 patches by implementing seven selectable banks, A to G, with 128 patches each. The current model (2007) has most of the patches pre-programmed in groups corresponding to earlier software releases.

In September 2015, Moog Music announced that after 13 years of production and over 14,000 units sold, sales of the Voyager would be discontinued.[2]

Models

The first 600 units could be preordered at the price of US$3495 and featured Bob Moog's autograph. The standard edition continued to sell for US$2995. Apart from the signature and price, the models were identical. Wood finish on the models was offered in walnut, cherry or maple.

For 2004, Moog Music released a limited 50th Anniversary Edition Voyager. The wood cabinet was painted black and the control panel was backlit using electroluminescent technology. 2005 marked the end of production of these units, while Moog Music continued to sell a backlit model called the Electric Blue that featured an iridescent blue cabinet finish. Both of these models had the same features as the non-backlit models but sold for US$3295. From 2006[5] they offered a customizable version of the Electric Blue named the Select Series, in which the customer could choose between mahogany, electric blue, traditional ash, white wash, maple, black, cherry, and walnut cabinets with red, blue, white, orange, green, or purple backlighting. Their retail price was the same as that of the Electric Blue model.[6]

In 2005, Moog Music released the Voyager Rack Mount Edition (RME), a synthesizer based on the Voyager. The RME was designed to occupy 5 spaces in a 19-inch rack. The model had all of the features of other Voyagers except the touch panel control and keyboard. The RME was designed to be controlled via MIDI. Up to 16 RME Voyagers could be combined to achieve polyphony.

In 2008, Moog Music released the Minimoog Voyager Old School.[7] (Voyager OS). The Voyager OS had enhanced modulation busses with more sources on the panel to compensate for the lack of software and an operating system. The Voyager OS also did not have a touch pad or MIDI inputs and outputs. Unlike other Voyagers, it featured a keyboard pitch CV out and keyboard gate CV out, without the aid of the VX-351. The Voyager OS's pitch bender was set to +/- 7 semitones, and could be modified by an internal jumper. The OS was sold with one wood panelling option, "traditional ash". However, a few limited edition models were housed in white wash cabinets. The Voyager Old School was discontinued in 2009.

In 2010, for the 40th anniversary of the Minimoog Model D, Moog Music released the Minimoog Voyager XL model. It was an expanded Voyager that included, in addition to the original Voyager features, a five octave 61-note keyboard, a ribbon controller,[1] an additional Six Waveform LFO with positive and negative outputs, a Lag Processor, two Attenuators with Offset Control, a four by one Mixer also with Offset Control, and most notably, a patch bay on the far left of the instrument—providing a similar modular functionality to the VX-series products.[8]

In 2012 to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Voyager, Moog made a limited run of 31 units that were dipped in 24 karat Gold, finished in Black Piano Lacquered Wood with Japanese Awabi Pearl inlayed sides and Translucent Rotary Knobs.[9] One was given away and the others were distributed for sale worldwide. The 10th Anniversary Gold Minimoog Voyager is one of the rarest synthesizers. Its Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price was $15,000.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Moog Minimoog Voyager XL". Sound On Sound. June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "END OF A VOYAGE - FINAL PRODUCTION OF ICONIC SYNTHESIZER". Moog Music. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Voyager by Bob Moog – Analogue Performance Monosynth". Sound on Sound (June 2003).
  4. ↑ March 2020, Dan 'JD73' Goldman 24 (24 March 2020). "Moog Matriarch review". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2021-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Voyager Timeline". Moog Music. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Voyager by Bob Moog – Version 2 OS Updates • Anniversary Edition • VX351 • CP251". Sound on Sound (November 2004).
  7. ↑ "Moog Voyager Old School". Sound On Sound. December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Minimoog Voyager XL announced – Moog give you a semi". Sound On Sound. 2010-09-28.
  9. 1 2 November 2012, Ben Rogerson 07 (7 November 2012). "Gold 10th Anniversary Moog Minimoog Voyager announced". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2020-07-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading

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