Andromeda or Minimoog Voyager (Real Analog Synth)

[passionmax]

Hi
I am looking for a good real analog synth. I am looking at the Alesis andromeda or Minimoog Voyage. I produce electronica (ex,chemical B. crystal method ) and I do transe and dance pop.
The andromeda seems like the best pick becuase it is not monophonic. This is what equipment I have already

Walrdof Q
Waldorf XT
Suprenova
Virus C
Korg Z1
Tons of VST Synth (Moog V,PPG, Pro53,Reason etc)

Some people have said that the Andromeda is similar to the Virus C. If this is the case than I probablyl should get the Moog Voyager. Let me know your thoughts
thanks

[BrianT]

I think the Andromeda kicks much booty. I wish I had one. I expect it will become a classic at some point in the future, just like the Super Jupiter that still sits in my rack.


Brian T

[alphajerk]

the mooog is fat as hell, but monophonic. i want one. i had to cancel my order for one and pick up a 12 stage phase and lp filter instead... but damn, it still i sin my dreams.

[RKrizman]

Originally posted by passionmax
[B]Hi
I am looking for a good real analog synth. I am looking at the Alesis andromeda or Minimoog Voyage.

Since you already have Moog V, I wouldn't get the Voyager. I have an original Minimoog, and I think the Moog V tops it. I don't know how they did it, but they've got the sound.

-R

[jazzius]

Both, 4 god's sake.........are you a gearslut or what?

[Mario-C.]

get both

[passionmax]

Someone mentioned the Studio Electronics Omega or there other analog synths. Does anyone have experience with these. I am mainly concerned with the sounds having the best low end. (Tight and warm and full). I dont care about all the extras like effects and stuff. I will print them dry and add effects later. The Omega looks cool. Is this better than the Minimoog voyager or Andromeda. I saw fatboy slim uses one.

[DanV]

I love my omega 2, i can only imagine how good the omega 8 must be.

in contrast w/ the voyager:
you get 2 voices
multimode/alternating/or stacked
stereo panning capabilities
4 pole oberheim filter, and minimoog filter
ability to upgrade voices to have arp, and 303 filters( sorry, no parallel or chains)
3 oscillators and 1 sub
3 envelopes per voice,, 2 hard wired to amplitude and filter
2 lfo's
an arp
a pretty extensive modulation matrix
nice rackmount
less pots
no snazy vectorpad
no breakout box
decent but not excellent external midi control
a synth that makes dancefloor bassbins across the globe shake like no other. the mid's and highs are good too... e.

it can be hard to mix since it will put a lot of other sounds to shame,,, gotta learn how to get it to sit i guess,, and this is where fx really come in handy.

If I had the dough for an omega 8,,, i would choose that over the andromeda any day.

[MMazurek]

I say just pick one, and get the other one later.

I've got a WONDERFUL signature edition Voyager now, and I'll have an andromeda eventually too.

They're both analog, and then they start their differences.

[Mario-C.]

I've just bought mine, I'll recieve it in a about a week

[Krubbadoo]

Why don't you buy a studio electronics SE-1 and something like a used jupiter 8 for about the same dough as a Voyager...
I agree that the Andromeda sounds pretty cool despite some so so Alesis FX and questionnable long term build quality. You can also listen to Omega 8 from SE on their website.

[invisibl]

Get the Andomeda.

Ity is sooooo cool.

Analog osc. and after a 24 hour session writing shit & you think hmm did those oscillators drift out of tune?

BAM recalibrate recalibrate ( 80's style robo voice efx)


Hey its all in tune again

But seriously from gut liquidation to window shattering tones

in one (seriously heavy) box

oh.so.buy.it.

[tluke]

I realize this digresses slightly because you specified analog, but i demo'd the andromeda at a store alongside the (i believe) newest Nord lead synth, and very much preferred the Nord.

It sounded wonderful to me. Quirky, fat, interesting. The Andromeda gave more real time controls on the panel, but i didn't think it sounded as nice.

Anyone else like the Nord Lead (3?)? thanks,


tristan

[littledoodler]

The Andromeda pales in comparison to the Omega 2 and the O8. I own the Omega 8 and the Andromeda doesn't even seem analog. Not much character involved with the Alesis. SE has been Analogians for quite some time, they are masters of the thick, warm and buttery Moogness and Oberheim sound. The SE-1 is already a classic synth, and the Omega is headed down that same road. Again no synth can compare to what the Omega can do in a dense mix. It is always capable of standing out as there are so many damn possibilites from the Multimode and stacking voices and combining them.

[entropy]

Andromedia!!!!!!!!!!

The Nord3 as tluke mentioned is fantastic as well but comes up short against the Andromedia. And no, it's not like the Virus C, in fact nothing like it.

[Zep Dude]

I played with the Andromeda in a store with headphones for a while and didn't find it to sound like a traditional analog synth. I couldn't get the growl out of the oscillators the way I can get on my Memorymoog, Prophet 5, Studio Electronics Midimini or even Oberheim Matrix 1000.

I walked over to a Voyager in the same store and instantly got that sound I have come to expect from analog.

Maybe it's a good thing the Andromeda has it's own sound, but I just don't know if I would end up liking it or not after a while of use.

I'm sorry to break the news, but there is currently no modeling synth, including the Nord which comes even close to a good analog device. Listen to them side by side in a studio and you'll know this. While some of the digital synths definitely have their own space, none of them can do true analog.

[Paul Turpin]

Another vote for both.

Left hand -> Andromeda
Right Hand -> Voyager

Then -> Switch !

[tluke]

Originally posted by littledoodler
The Andromeda pales in comparison to the Omega 2 and the O8. I own the Omega 8 and the Andromeda doesn't even seem analog. Not much character involved with the Alesis. SE has been Analogians for quite some time, they are masters of the thick, warm and buttery Moogness and Oberheim sound. The SE-1 is already a classic synth, and the Omega is headed down that same road. Again no synth can compare to what the Omega can do in a dense mix. It is always capable of standing out as there are so many damn possibilites from the Multimode and stacking voices and combining them.

Thanks for the pointer on this Omega 8. My eyes hurt from reading on my monitor but this thing looks f'in wonderful. So this would be the one to buy...if you were getting a hardware based analog synth/emulator? It looks wonderful. I'm seriously interested.
So i also wanted to take this opp to ask you guys what you think of the soft synth by Arturia, the Moog Modular. Have you tried it? How do you like it? Feel it would be useful to use as a module with your sequencer like Logic or whatever? I haven't heard leads yet that i'm like, totally in love with...but i need to learn a lot more about how to tweak it. so, let me know what you think. thanks,

t luke

[DanV]

In response to tluke:

I have beta-tested the moog modular and also used the final version on a friend's mac. My pc and my friend's mac were both basically top of the line a few month ago and it seemed to munch cpu like no other when in polyphonic mode.

If you have a capable computer and currently aren't using it for any native processing at all, I'd suggest you look into it. But if you already typically load your cpu to %70 on most songs, and also would like to run multiple instances of MM in polyphonic mode, I'd say look elsewhere.

I have an Omega 2 and the Omega still reigns supreme- especially for the low-end. The MM provides a lot more modulation capabilities and has a different sound, it is however much closer to sounding like real gear than most of the other emulations about. I could still tell the difference when I would load up a moogey patch in my Omega and A/B it to a similar one in the Moog. But if you are willing to process the MM through a real nice pre and compressor combo - then you can get a lot closer I think.

The filters are of course different, The moog filter on the Omega is better than the soft version on the MM. The MM does sound very impressive for soft though. The MM last I knew also restarts it's oscillators to the same start phase each time a note is triggered, this is one thing that the real moog modulars never did, the oscillators were always churning and you simply let them be heard with the stroke of a key. This is the one shortcoming of the emulation, it gives it a much more sample-based sound since the osc's will basically restart in the same fashion each time.

If you have the money to burn I'd get an Omega.
If you have the cpu to burn and less money then get the MM.
If you think you'll have the money for the Omega soon, just save and wait.
My take on it.....

Cheers,

[tluke]

Originally posted by danv1983
In response to tluke:

I have beta-tested the moog modular and also used the final version on a friend's mac. My pc and my friend's mac were both basically top of the line a few month ago and it seemed to munch cpu like no other when in polyphonic mode.

If you have a capable computer and currently aren't using it for any native processing at all, I'd suggest you look into it. But if you already typically load your cpu to %70 on most songs, and also would like to run multiple instances of MM in polyphonic mode, I'd say look elsewhere.

I have an Omega 2 and the Omega still reigns supreme- especially for the low-end. The MM provides a lot more modulation capabilities and has a different sound, it is however much closer to sounding like real gear than most of the other emulations about. I could still tell the difference when I would load up a moogey patch in my Omega and A/B it to a similar one in the Moog. But if you are willing to process the MM through a real nice pre and compressor combo - then you can get a lot closer I think.

The filters are of course different, The moog filter on the Omega is better than the soft version on the MM. The MM does sound very impressive for soft though. The MM last I knew also restarts it's oscillators to the same start phase each time a note is triggered, this is one thing that the real moog modulars never did, the oscillators were always churning and you simply let them be heard with the stroke of a key. This is the one shortcoming of the emulation, it gives it a much more sample-based sound since the osc's will basically restart in the same fashion each time.

If you have the money to burn I'd get an Omega.
If you have the cpu to burn and less money then get the MM.
If you think you'll have the money for the Omega soon, just save and wait.
My take on it.....

Cheers,

danv, your response rocks. Thank you! I actually got lucky on the Moog Modular as i have a friend who works on my DAW occassionally and so installed his Moog Modular on my G4. So, i can use it if it's at all useful...and not worry about whether it was worth it for me. And you're right; i think i prefer to spend actual dollars on hardware anyway.

My G4 is a dual 1.25. I've been just pulling up the Moog Modular as an instrument in Logic, which i'm still pretty helpless in and so haven't yet any projects really, which would eat enough bandwidth for me to be concerned about processing power but thanks for the tip.

So tell me a few things, if you're still of a mind:

-you know the mini moog sound in George Benson's Six to Four? I love that sound! It's so peculiar, and expressive. Could the moog modular get something akin to that? Could the Omega 8?

- the bass lines and some of the leads i love so much of Stevie's, such as the bass sound in Livin for the City, or Maybe Your Baby (not the clav, though they blend down there , which is obviously analog synth and which sounds wonderful and nasty...are they mostly from an Arp? Can you get wonderful timbres like that from an Omega even if it is an Arp?

I think i need to save for an Omega. I'm addicted to this stuff.

and that is all of my obsessive queries for now...; ). thank you for helping me!

tristan luke

[littledoodler]

You can find all of that creamy moog of Stevie and much more. The Omega is designed as a Swiss knife of analog, provides me with 256 user programmable and 128 Multi patches (which blows my mind of the possibilites capable there) The Multi is ridiculous! You have 8 voices in each Multi patch, and can assign a different patch of the 256 stock (or already programmed) to each of the 8. There are various ways to do this in the Multi program and each way offers so many new possibilties.

[DanV]

tluke, i'm very glad i could be of help to you.

what littledoodler said. it's that good.
as long as you learn how to program it, you can do wonderful things. the omega is really the best source for all your analog needs, it covers more ground than any other synth around.

if you really want the arp sound you can also get arp filters for the omega voices. haven't heard the expansion filters but have heard good things about them.

there is a yahoogroups dedicated to SE, you might want to go read up there if you have any other questions.

cheers,

[six_wax]

I loooove my A6. It is dark, gooey, and very very analog.

Whoever said it sounded digital was probably just flipping through the (very suspect) factory presets, which overuse the (very suspect) built in digital fx. I agree, the factory presets are not where it's at.

The Andy is a serious instrument. I've never for a moment doubted it's build quality. It's solid. Additionally, from what I know of the SE synths (which are awesome and a modern classic in their own right), the Andy is substantially more programmable. If you're a synthesist, you will probably come to appreciate the degree of flexiblity the Andy offers. If you're not, you will probably quickly decide you hate the occasionally baffling squid of a mod matrix, and run screaming towards something with big simple knobs.

The tonal color is decidedly dark and warm. The filters aren't as bright and facial as some classic synths, it has been said, but they lack nothing in tone to my ears.

Where I come from, guys get the SE-1 if they really just want a Moog on steroids to do their hip hop & house basses. The synth geeks who really want to dig in and architect their sounds get the A6.

---------------
sweet. I love it when I can add some value in this forum.

[littledoodler]

I suggest ordering the Omega from 8thstreet.com (it is the cheapest i have found) then if you don't like it you can return it within 30 days.

[tluke]

Originally posted by littledoodler
I suggest ordering the Omega from 8thstreet.com (it is the cheapest i have found) then if you don't like it you can return it within 30 days.

The more i read the more i like the Omega. A quick question for you guys.

If you could have all these synths at your fingertips...the ones emulated that is...would you still want to have your Omega? Do you like what it does for you that much? thanks again,


t luke

[jazzius II]

Just ordered an Andromeda.....can't wait for that puppy to arrive....

girlfriend is none the wiser......sometimes you gotta be sly about these things LOL!

[six_wax]

Originally posted by jazzius II
Just ordered an Andromeda..... girlfriend is none the wiser......

Mine was kind enough to intermittently leave a sandwich by the door to the studio in the weeks following the arrival of my Andy, just so I'd eat.

You will be wowed, I think.

eh... and thinking about it, if the A6 sounds like a Virus to someone, they are likely in the wrong line of work. Ain't no mistaking 'em. Fahgitaboddit.

[littledoodler]

For the price of an Omega 8 (I paid 5,000 in '99) i could probably have bought an oberheim 8 voice, an Arp odyssey, and possibly a minimoog . This is the real stuff. But i don't have room for all of that and they are apt to breaking down. The sounds are amazing from these 3, but i am convinced by the Omega that it sounds just as good, if not thicker than the Moog in some cases. As for the Arp, and Oberheim, they are covered extremely well by SE.

[BrianT]

You know, boyz, it ain't really all about the way a synth sounds in phones or at the store.

It's about the way a synth sounds, in the track, on a record. Really, the kind of records you make.

That is where I think the Andromeda will sneak up and make a believer out of you.


Regards,
Brian T

[Syki]

A6 hmmmmmm, I agree the factory presets are not it. I'd like to here it more. I have an Se1 and a Oberheim Matrix12. My matrix rocks in a real anolog kind of way ( AIN"T KNOWDOUTTABOUTHAT). I'm also curious about the omega 8. I guess the rest of the Slutz are right. Buy both ( I know I sure as hell can't)...lol I'm not sure how buzzy those A6 filters are.

McBeth M3x is pretty good I here also.