lil phatty vs. voyager

[messiahwannabe]

so i'm thinking of (re)delving into the world of true analog, and moog seems like the way to go - everybody raves about them. but which moog? they both seem cool as hell, both get rave reviews, etc. what's the difference between the two? is the voyager really $1200 better than the LP? which one should i get?

for me personally, the things i would consider in making the choice:

1) sound quality - this is supposed to outdo my (excellent, i love em) software synths, so the sound quality must be absolutely stellar. is there much difference between the two? fwiw i mostly want this for basslines, but rippin, cool sounding leads are a close second. i'd be using this for both rap and house/techno/electro productions if that makes any difference.

2) cool presets are a must, i'm not a sound designer by nature - i tend to scroll through patches till i find one i like, then tweak it a bit to make it perfect.

3) EASE of programmability! i actually own a roland mks-80 with controller, which i never use cause it's a complete pain to get anything good sounding out of it (i know it must be possible, but the truth is i dont have the patience!)

4) price - if the phatty is, say, 97% as cool as the voyager for half the price, why not go ahead and save myself twelve hundred bucks? (i could buy a maxrix 1000 as well, and, oh, i dunno, a new wardrobe or whatever)

but other people will obviously have different priorities. and since i can't find a dedicated thread for this question (apologies if i'm stupidly missing it, i did search) i'm starting one. let's hear your opinions on this!

[Dirty Halo]

Originally Posted by messiahwannabe

so i'm thinking of (re)delving into the world of true analog, and moog seems like the way to go - everybody raves about them. but which moog? they both seem cool as hell, both get rave reviews, etc. what's the difference between the two? is the voyager really $1200 better than the LP? which one should i get?

for me personally, the things i would consider in making the choice:

1) sound quality - this is supposed to outdo my (excellent, i love em) software synths, so the sound quality must be absolutely stellar. is there much difference between the two? fwiw i mostly want this for basslines, but rippin, cool sounding leads are a close second. i'd be using this for both rap and house/techno/electro productions if that makes any difference.

2) cool presets are a must, i'm not a sound designer by nature - i tend to scroll through patches till i find one i like, then tweak it a bit to make it perfect.

3) EASE of programmability! i actually own a roland mks-80 with controller, which i never use cause it's a complete pain to get anything good sounding out of it (i know it must be possible, but the truth is i dont have the patience!)

4) price - if the phatty is, say, 97% as cool as the voyager for half the price, why not go ahead and save myself twelve hundred bucks? (i could buy a maxrix 1000 as well, and, oh, i dunno, a new wardrobe or whatever)

but other people will obviously have different priorities. and since i can't find a dedicated thread for this question (apologies if i'm stupidly missing it, i did search) i'm starting one. let's hear your opinions on this!

Not to be mean, but since you seem to find plugs perfectly fine sounding, I can't imagine you'll care that much about the sonic difference between the Phatty versus Voyager.

Save your money or use it to buy more true analogue. A Matrix 1000 is a good idea.

Heck for the money saved, you can find a Prophet 600 as well or a Juno 106.

My bet is, once you start to really hear these different real analogue synths in direct comparison, those plugs won't be as "excellant" as you think.

-andrews

[zebastian21]

if presets are a must then the Voyager with the new chip can have about 800 presets, but as of today there is no category browsing, you would have to organize it with the editor(not included for free).
The Voyager has many inputs and outs for modulations and stuff, but since you are not programmer then thats wasted on you.
Voyager has 3 osc and the phatty 2.
Besides the Obvious like knobs amount, looks , presets I would say the Little Phatty is awesome, esp considering its price, it has a more agressive tone than the Voyager... also the phatty has an Arpegiator.
I think its fair enough to say the Voyager is a bit more complex than the LP if you want to create weird sounds, but if you want beefy bass sounds or silky leads then either Moog will do it beautifully.
BTW...I sold my Voyager coz I was looking for a different sound, but for sure I will get Moog in the near futurethumbsup

[messiahwannabe]

Originally Posted by Dirty Halo

Not to be mean, but since you seem to find plugs perfectly fine sounding, I can't imagine you'll care that much about the sonic difference between the Phatty versus Voyager.

ha ha, dont be a jerk dude! why would i be posting this question if i "seem to find plugs perfectly fine sounding"? reread my post, i said i love my plugins, but i want something better. obviously i'm concerned about the sonic difference between the two, that's the damn question!

shit, now I'M being mean. sorry.

fwiw i use fairly high end studio gear (HD192, api3124+ for starters) and make a living off my music, which gets played though club systems to television sets etc. so yes, i care about the sonic qualities of these intsruments.

Originally Posted by Dirty Halo

Save your money or use it to buy more true analogue. A Matrix 1000 is a good idea.

Heck for the money saved, you can find a Prophet 600 as well or a Juno 106.

i live in southeast asia, in the tropics, and used analog gear is a)hard to find b)breaks down quickly and c)no one can fix it. i'm guessing a new, solidly built piece of gear like a new moog will at least last a few years before it starts breaking down. basically i'm thinking i'd like to avoid using vintage gear for various reasons. thus (ahem) the question....

Originally Posted by zebastian21

I think its fair enough to say the Voyager is a bit more complex than the LP if you want to create weird sounds

now that i think about it, some cool whooshy sounds are third on my list of uses - especially now that i'm getting some radio jingle work :/

<whooooooosh!><boom-tish-boom-tish>"oz raaaay-DI O!"


btw just to clarify, i can and do do a bit of synth programming, but it's much better if the controls are well laid out, make sense, all the controls do something useful, etc etc but i must admit i like the idea of the lil phatty having just a few controls, which link to different (useful) parameters depending on which patch is dialed up...

[rachel]

I have a Phatty and a MiniMoog. If you are a pro musician, as you say, get a Voyager
and add a CP-251 or VX-351 to it for the additional modularity and control you seek.

The Phatty is a great synth and I love it, but a Voyager has the power to do a lot more
in terms of patching and interfacing. Later, if you decide to go further down an
analogue track, you'll be able to use the Voyager as your core synth, as a controller
or whatever.

If you are not fully pro, like me, a Phatty is a better option. I use mine as a controller
as well as a synth in its own right, but I still go to the MiniMoog for the big sounds.


rachel

[zebastian21]

Originally Posted by rachel

I have a Phatty and a MiniMoog. If you are a pro musician, as you say, get a Voyager
and add a CP-251 or VX-351 to it for the additional modularity and control you seek.

The Phatty is a great synth and I love it, but a Voyager has the power to do a lot more
in terms of patching and interfacing. Later, if you decide to go further down an
analogue track, you'll be able to use the Voyager as your core synth, as a controller
or whatever.

If you are not fully pro, like me, a Phatty is a better option. I use mine as a controller
as well as a synth in its own right, but I still go to the MiniMoog for the big sounds.


rachel

I think that being a pro doesnt mean you have to get modular synth or go complex with making your own sounds from scratch, so LP doesnt mean amateur nor Voyager means pro. if you are into creating sounds and patching cables and all that then the Voyager will allow you to do that with the right expansions... if you not into that the LP will deliver that classic Moog sound with ease.
if money isnt an issue I wold go for the Voyager, great looks, knobs and the whole 9 yards....if you go for the sound first then LP will be a non brainer.

[messiahwannabe]

Originally Posted by zebastian21

I think that being a pro doesnt mean you have to get modular synth or go complex with making your own sounds from scratch

it's kinda on a case by case basis, but sometimes being pro means you've gotta make a track from scratch, to spec, and you've only got 4 hours to do it cause you've got a gig that night, and something else you've got to work on the next day! which is where good presets and easily tweaked controls come in handy.

[Jazzpunk]

Originally Posted by messiahwannabe

is the voyager really $1200 better than the LP? which one should i get?

With the Voyager you get;

1. A third oscillator (the value of this should NOT be underestimated!)

2. Two kick ass Moog filters.

3. The X/Y touchpad (looks gimmicky at first but it's a total blast and very inspiring!).

4. More modulation options

5. One knob per function design (addressing your 'ease of programming' concerns)

6. The option to expand your system into a semi modular set up with the addition of the Cp-251 and the 'foogers (you WILL want the foogers-trust me!).

7. Higher quality build and components making for a better long term gear investment.

As far as the Phatty being more aggressive, while the overload feature does add a bit of bite it's certainly nothing you cant achieve (and surpass!) by adding a nice fuzz pedal into the Voyager's signal flow. In addition, using the Voyager's expanded I/O options you can do this pre-filter which is something that cannot be done with the Phatty when more distortion is needed.

Definitely worth the extra money if you can swing it. I owned a Phatty and while I totally dug it, it ultimately served to fuel my desire for a Voyager.

Good luck!

[Eigenwert]

The money for the Select Voyager has been the biggest amount of cash I ever dropped into a single purchase. And (to me) it´s worth every dime.

But: I use the CV connectivity. Keytracking a phaser, inserting external modulators, modulating external modulators with the envelopes of the Voyager are only a few examples of the stuff I don´t wanna miss. But as you said this part is not yours...

[messiahwannabe]

thanks for the input guys!

by the way, feel free to turn this into a generic phatty vs. voyager thread! i started this thread cause i'm personaly trying to make a decision, based on my own particular interests, but i'm sure there must be other people with different needs/priorities facing the same purchasing dilemna...

anyone have both?

[Popbott]

I was faced with the same decision last year. Everyone has made great suggestions. I am totally happy with my decision to not settle for the LP and opped for a Voyager RME due to cost considerations and not needing another keyboard. Lack of knobs on the LP just bites and who wants to menu dive on a Moog? The Voyager is just awesome and my back lit pannel just kicks ass. Dirty Halo made some cool suggestions, I have a Matrix 1000, Juno 106 and a P600, but the Voyager sounds nothing like them and I have run into the voice problem on my Juno.

[Absent1]

Originally Posted by Popbott

I was faced with the same decision last year. Everyone has made great suggestions. I am totally happy with my decision to not settle for the LP and opped for a Voyager RME due to cost considerations and not needing another keyboard. Lack of knobs on the LP just bites and who wants to menu dive on a Moog? The Voyager is just awesome and my back lit pannel just kicks ass. Dirty Halo made some cool suggestions, I have a Matrix 1000, Juno 106 and a P600, but the Voyager sounds nothing like them and I have run into the voice problem on my Juno.

I agree with Popbot here. You can get a Voyager RME for a little more than the Phatty. I just recently got one for $1500.00 with a paypal coupon.
Ebay is running all kind of buyer incentives right now and people are unloading gear taking advantage of seller discounts too.

That back lit blue panel is just plain gorgeous to behold....

It does not have all the outputs and the prefilter input, but ease of programming like you asked is there for sure.

Cheers, Rob

[Tibbon]

I own a Voyager which I'll never sell.

At the same time, I should say that the LP is a really fun unit. If all you're looking for is lead and bass, then it's really pretty good. It sounds a bit different from the voyager, but not in a bad way at all. Every time I've played one I really have felt that it was "more aggressive" and sharper sounding than the Voyager.

One thing I LOVE about the voyager is that between the 3 oscillators and the LFO (plus CV control) is that you can make some really cool evolving and brooding ambient backgrounds and pads. Mix in the touch screen and the mod wheel and its really great. The Voyager is definitely better built too.

I'm thinking of getting an LP just for stage and such.

[Franz Schiller]

I too had this "decision". And this was one of the most awesome decisions I ever had to make.

I had just got a Prophet 08, and wanted a Moog to compliment it.

I wound up with the Phatty, and I'm quite happy. Essentially, I use about 10 sounds all the time, for basses and leads. And then I tweak like mad. The 800 presets of the Voyager would have been too many for me personally ("Where did I put that swell again?"). And the overload control is great being available right on the synth.

It's important to point out that I thought having four main knobs would be a hindrance, but this has turned out to NOT be a big deal. I very quickly learned the skill of hitting the buttons as I go in to tweak.

I think the Voyager is about 20 pounds heavier than the LP, and also, considering how much more expensive it is, I figured I could "knock around" the LP while travelling and not feel as bad about it.

Either way, though, I don't think there's a wrong choice.

[Mihaly]

Originally Posted by Franz Schiller

I too had this "decision". And this was one of the most awesome decisions I ever had to make.

I had just got a Prophet 08, and wanted a Moog to compliment it.

I had the Voyager / LP and the Prophet 08 / Poly evolver decisions to make. Have the Voyager (1 week) and spouse is severely unimpressed (and thinks it only cost half of what it did). Believe the Poly will complete the equation eventually. But need to play some more before finally deciding. Also had to decide whether to get the DSI first or the Moog.

I knew that if I had got the LP I would have always wanted a Voyager... and the Voyager came with the VX351 and CP251 control processors and analog delay. I only wish the Voyager was packaged like the LP - I'm not really fond of the wood look.

Of course could have got a P08 and LP for the price of the Voyager.

Peace. Mihaly.

[Bhang]

Well ... it never hurts to add yet the same two cents, but the right ideas are all here. I think that these two synths were designed to sound different so the first thing is that one does not replace the other. you will have to check them out personally. I think anyone willing to spend that sort of cash on gear needs to test before dropping cash. Of course you living where you do this may not be possible. I have the Voyager RME and I ( like many others here) refuse to part with it. I will soon get the expander units making it a great core for a modular system. Expandability and flexibility are going to be the other big differences. Either way you go you get that PHAT Moog Meat !!

[boose44]

Like a lot of guys have mentioned I also have an RME. Except for the keys and the touchpad, I must say, I do not miss having the full blown mini.

Seriously, for the price of a new Voyager, you can get an RME *AND* a Little Phatty. Esp. with the price reductions of used Stage I editions. The LP makes a great front end for the RME and most of the front panel is active right out of the box (well, except for that peskey third oscillator!).

So, unless there reasons why you just have to have a Voyager keyboard -- consider getting both. It's the best of both worlds!

-bruce

[d1rtynyc]

If you own the Roland mks-80 with controller and don't use it why don't you put that on ebay (they are getting lots of $$ right now) and use the extra cash to put toward the Voyager.
I think as many have already stated you will be much happier with the Voyager.

[revstate]

voyager

[Dubreak]

http://www.dubreak.net/music.htm

Main synth sounds in 'Reel 1' are the Voyager, except for the Roland Juno 'hoover' noises.

In tracks 'Reel 2' to 'Reel 7' the ONLY synth I used was the Moog Voyager (Electric Blue).
Check out 'Reel 4' and 'Reel 5' for the best sounding Moog bits.

Best synth ever. Bass that makes you shit yourself.

[shadowfac]

I like the old saying: "when there is doubt, there is no doubt".

In other words, if you know you want the Voyager, why bother with the Little Phatty? Unless it's a money issue, of course.

[Bhang]

Why get a little phatty when you can have a big one

[Dubreak]

Not helping am I..?

[Bhang]

Originally Posted by Dubreak

Not helping am I..?

How many of them do you have?

[Dubreak]

Just the one, Electric Blue Voyager. Moogs are very monogamous creatures, I'd be in a lot of trouble if I got another one. She even seems upset that I was looking at that 'Lunar' version above. Moogs eh..?

tutt

[Kindred]

I got my Little Phatty this week.

I am going to come out & admit that I was extremely sceptical about the whole analogue/VA/digital debate - however to my surprise there is *something* in the low end and a certain way that the filters behave which I have never heard before - very pleasing creamy sound which I cant put my finger on.

However, one thing I have noticed is that the minute I bounce it down in Cubase & it becomes digital information, its gone! (not completely but definitely changed)

Voyager here I come....

[analogbass]

The "problem" with good analogs new or vintage is that they almost invariably all sound damn good, thus it's not that easy to choose as they have their own characters that don't always overlap.

The most effective way to decide is to A-B them both when side-by-side at a store, a few times rather than once if possible. Better still, buy both then either sell one or keep both.

[darcproductions]

I use the MOOG Voyager RME for sound design and I can't imagine an other synth coming close to the versatility and sheer fun that is had while using this synth. I like the fact that for decades I will be discovering and creating new tones. To me this is worth the price tag.

If I only had to have one synth to use, no question the Voyager.

[The Beatsmith]

does the voyager sound a little more 'vintage' than the phatty? i think the noise would help.

i just got a phatty and i really like it, but to me it doesn't sound exactly quite as 'old school' as i'd have liked - but i'm still learning, haven't even made a track with it yet.

i know a second hand RME isn't much more, but i am not sure about the ergonomics of a rack mounted unit... i don't have the rack near the master keyboard.

[xanax]

i'm also considering letting go the phatty for a voyager rme... the phatty is great at what it does but i'm ready to take things to the next level, i am however curious does the voyager still not have a built-in arpeggio?