Moog VOYAGERRACK User Manual

USER’s MANUAL for the

Rack Mount Edition

By R.Stephen Dunnington

Here it is – the Minimoog Voyager Rack Mount Edition®. 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-yearold analog synthesizers difficult – the tuning instability, the lack of patch memory, and the lack of compatibility with MIDI gear. We’ve kept the good parts – the rugged construction, the fun of changing a sound with knobs in real time, and the amazing, warm, fat, pleasing analog sound. The Voyager is our invitation to you to explore analog synthesis and express yourself. It doesn’t matter what style of music you play – the Voyager is here to help you tear it up in the studio, on stage, or in the privacy of your own home. Have fun!

Acknowledgements – Thanks to Bob Moog for designing yet another fantastic music making machine! Thanks are also due to the Moog Music Team, Rudi Linhard of Lintronics for his amazing software, Brian Kehew, Nigel Hopkins, and all the great folks who contributed design ideas, and of course, you – the Moog Music customer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I. Getting Started……………………………………………………... 2 II. The Basics of Analog Synthesis…………………………………… 5

III. Basic MIDI................................................................................ 12

IV. The Voyager’s Features…………………………………………… 13 V. The Voyager’s Components A. Mixer……………………………………………………………... 17 B. Oscillators……………………………………………………….. 19 C. Filters…………………………………………………………….. 22 D. Envelope Generators………………………………………….. 26 E. Audio Outputs…………………………………………………… 28 F. Mod Busses……………………………………………………... 29 G. LFO/ Sample and Hold………………………………………… 32 H. The Rear Panel …………………………………………………. 33 I. The User Interface/Voyager Software version 2.6…………… 34

1. The Interface…………………………………………… 34

2. Master Mode…………………………………………... 34

3. Edit Mode………………………………………………. 39

4. Panel Mode……………………………………………. 51

5. MIDI………………………………………………………. 53 Appendix A: Caring for your Voyager………………………………. 55 Appendix B: Service and Technical Support Information…………. 55 Appendix C: List of Presets…………………………………………… 56 Appendix D: MIDI Implementation Chart…………………………… 58

Note: Specifications subject to change without notice.

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.

- Check the contents in the shipping carton The Voyager’s carton contains the following: The minimoog Voyager Rack Mount unit itself, four 10-32 rack mount screws with washers, packing materials, a power cord, this manual and a warranty registration card. Save the carton and

packing materials in case you need to ship the Voyager Rack Mount.

- What you will need In addition to the Voyager and its provided accessories, you will need:

- A stand or table that will hold the Voyager, or a 19” rack with 5 spaces free to mount the Voyager,

- For unbalanced connections, (1) ” instrument cable for connecting in mono, or (2) ” instrument cables for connecting in stereo. For balanced connections, (1) ” TRS to ” TRS or ” TRS to XLR balanced cable for connecting in mono, or (2) ” TRS to ” TRS, or ” TRS to XLR balanced cables for connecting in stereo.

- an amplifier, or headphones,

- a properly wired AC outlet.

- a MIDI controller of your choice, or a computer with a MIDI interface and MIDI sequencing software.

- a MIDI cable for connecting to the MIDI out of the MIDI device that will control the Voyager Rack Mount.

- Warranty registration Before you get started with your Voyager, please fill out your warranty registration card and send it to Moog Music Inc. This will activate your warranty and is a vital piece of information for us to provide you with the best service.

- Remove the Voyager from the carton Before you remove the Voyager from the carton, make sure you have a space in mind to set it up. The back of the Voyager Rack Mount is angled so it can be used as a rackmount, or tabletop unit. If you want to try it out right away, it will be faster to set it up on a table. You can mount it in your rack later. Make sure to save the packaging in case you need to ship the Voyager for any reason.

- Connect to source of AC (for making basic connections, see figure1) Connect the Voyager’s power receptacle to a wall outlet with the supplied AC cordset (see figure 1). The Voyager will operate with a power source from 100 to 240 Volts AC, 50-60Hz.

- Make your MIDI connections

Connect the MIDI Out of the the MIDI device that will control the Voyager Rack Mount to the MIDI In of the Voyager Rack Mount. Note that the Voyager MIDI channel default is Channel 1. This must match the MIDI channel of the MIDI device controlling the Voyager Rack Mount.

- Configure Output Mode Switch

If you are connecting the Voyager to an unbalanced input using 1/4” TS instrument cables, such as an amplifier combo, or a mixer’s unbalanced inputs, make sure the switch on the back of the Voyager’s panel is set to “UNBAL.” When connecting the Voyager Rack Mount to a balanced input using 3-conductor cables (TRS to TRS or TRS to XLR), such as the balanced inputs on a mixer or powered monitors, set the switch on the back of the Voyager Rack Mount to “600 Ω BAL.”

- Connect to Amplifcation

Make your connections to your Amplifier, Mixer, or Powered Monitors, or simply connect Headphones. Turn the volume control of your amplification all the way down.

- Power up

Turn the power on. You will see the screen light up and display: “Voyager by moog music”. After about five seconds the greeting screen disappears and you will see the current active preset. The LED labeled “PANEL” will be lit. The buttons labeled “PANEL”, “EDIT”, and “MASTER” access the three operating modes of the Voyager. PANEL Mode is used to access the presets, EDIT Mode is for Editing functions not performed on the front panel with the knobs and switches, and MASTER mode includes global settings such as MIDI In Channel.

- Test for Sound and Set Levels

Play a few notes on your MIDI controller while turning up the volume of your amplification. Set the volume control of the amplification to a comfortable level.

-Start Playing!

The quickest way to hear what the Voyager has to offer is to listen to the presets. In Panel Mode, Pressing the +1 or –1 buttons will access a new preset. If the sound does not change, then “Quick Mode” is not active – simply press ENTER to load the new sound. Presets 001 – 128 are loaded with sounds from the factory. There are a total of 128 locations in memory for presets – all are user programmable. Note that once a preset is called up, you can tweak the parameters to your liking. If you make changes to a preset and want to return to the original sound, simply press ENTER. If you want to save your changes – refer to the section on Saving Presets on p. 48. Any changes made to a preset will be gone if they are not saved once a new preset is loaded.

-Check out the Blue Backlit Panel The Panel Brightness control is the intensity control for the Blue Backlit Panel. When it is all the way counter-clockwise, the panel light is OFF. When the intensity control is all the way clockwise the panel light is all the way ON. Moog Music recommends running this at 33% intensity when in

use, and turning the lamp OFF when not in use. A small amount of high-pitched acoustic noise is transmitted from both the power supply and the lamp themselves when the lamp is driven hard. This sound doesn’t appear at the Voyager ’s outputs. Reducing the brightness of the lamp reduces the transmission of the sound from the power supply and lamp. See Appendix A for more information about the Voyager Rack Mount’s lamp.

-Making Your Own Sounds To create your own sound from scratch - it’s good to start from the Voyager’s default parameters. This can be done by “Initializing Parameters”. Press the EDIT button, and press the +1 button until INIT PARAMETERS is highlighted, then press ENTER. Use the Cursor button to select “Yes” and press ENTER. This loads the default parameters temporarily into the current preset location. The default sound is a basic one-oscillator square wave sound. Think of it as a blank canvas for your sonic creations. Try the controls right of the Mixer, one at a time, starting with Filter Cutoff, and notice how they affect the sound. Then try combining different tones with the Mixer and Oscillators 2 and 3. Finally experiment with the Mod Busses to see how different types of Modulation affect the sound.

To operate exclusively from the Front Panel and not from the Presets, the “Real Panel Parameters” must be loaded. First Initialize the Parameters as described above. Then while in EDIT mode use the -1 button to highlight “REAL PANEL PARAM.” Press ENTER, and you will see the prompt: ” Load actual panel parameter? Yes/No”. Use CURSOR to select Yes and 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. This may be a source of confusion. 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. In another example, if you have a sound where the Amount to Filter Control for the Filter Envelope is at zero, then changing the Filter Attack control will likely result in no audible change. To use your Voyager to its fullest potential, it is very important to understand the workings of all the controls and how they interact in order to understand how a sound (or lack thereof) is produced. Don’t get frustrated, simply work systematically until you know what each control does and how it works with the rest of the Voyager. For a thorough understanding of the Voyager and it’s workings, continue on with this manual…

-Installing the Voyager Rack Mount in a Standard 19” Equipment rack The Voyager Rack Mount comes with four 10-32 X 1/2” oval head screws plus four finish washers. These are for installing the Voyager Rack Mount in an equipment rack. The Voyager takes up 5 standard spaces (1 space = 1 3/4”). The angles of the rear panel allow for standard 1/4” plugs to be used for audio connections when rack mounted. A right angled power connector is on the AC cordset provided with the Voyager Rack Mount for installing it underneath a deep piece of rack-mounted equipment. If the piece of gear that is to be above the Voyager Rack Mount is very deep, you will find that it will be easier to make the connections to the Voyager ’s rear panel before installing it in the rack. When installing rack-mounted gear, it is always best to install all four screws loosely before tightening any of the screws fully.

-Using the Voyager Rack Mount as a Table-top Unit The Voyager Rack Mount is designed so it can be used as a table-top unit with the front panel tilted at an angle that is very convenient for tweaking. If your primary use of the Voyager Rack Mount is as a table-top unit, we highly recommend the purchase of the optional wood handles (Moog P/N VY-WOD-

01). They look really sharp (for the vintage Moog vibe), and are available from moogmusic.com, or authorized Moog Voyager dealers.

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. (figure 2)

Frequency– The rate of vibration in sound measured in Hertz (Hz or cycles/second) (figure 3). Our ears can hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Frequency corresponds to the musical term, pitch. A low frequency corresponds to a low-pitched sound such as a bass; a high frequency sound corresponds to a high pitched sound such as a piccolo. In music, a change in pitch of one octave higher equals a doubling of the frequency.

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. These sounds are typically pleasing to the ear and generally the consecutive vibrations have the same characteristic shape or waveform. An inharmonic sound, such as a crash cymbal, is one in which the harmonics are not mathematically related. Their waveforms look chaotic. White noise is an inharmonic sound that contains equal amounts of all frequencies. A frequency spectrum is a graph of harmonics vs. their amplitude; a waveform is a graph of the amplitude of a sound vs. time (figure 5).

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. The basic components of subtractive synthesis and their definitions follow:

Oscillator: A circuit that electronically “vibrates”. When used as a sound source, an oscillator is the electronic equivalent of a vibrating reed, or string. When amplified, an oscillator produces a pitched sound whose frequency is determined by one or more control voltages (see below for more info). Changes to these voltages correspond to changes in pitch. An oscillator’s vibration can have different shapes or waveforms, which are described below. The Voyager has three oscillators.

Waveform: The shape of an oscillator’s vibration. This determines its timbre. Commonly used waveforms in subtractive synthesis are sawtooth, triangle, square, or rectangular. Different waveforms have different timbres. A sawtooth has the greatest number of harmonics, and sounds bright and buzzy. A square wave has only odd harmonics, and sounds bright, but hollow, like a clarinet. A rectangular wave can vary in shape, but typically has a bright but thin sound, and a triangle wave’s harmonics are so low in amplitude that it sounds muted and flutelike (figure 6).

Mixer: A circuit for combining multiple sound sources or signals. The Voyager’s Mixer allows you to select and set the level for up to 5 different sound sources.

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. There are different types of filters that perform different functions.

- 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.

- A bandpass filter has two cutoff frequencies that define a frequency band, outside of which the frequencies are removed (figure 7).

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 makes 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. An oscillator with pitch varied by the voltage from the keyboard or tuning control is a Voltage Controlled Oscillator, or VCO. A filter whose cutoff frequency is determined by a voltage provided from the cutoff control is a Voltage Controlled Filter, or VCF. An amplifier whose amplification is determined by a CV is a Voltage Controlled Amplifier, or VCA. To illustrate the idea of control voltages, let’s look at a theoretical voltage controlled synth with a VCO, VCF (lowpass) and VCA. Let’s suppose that the VCO frequency and VCF cutoff frequency change one octave for every volt applied to their control inputs. Let’s also suppose that the VCA output level is at 100% when +5 Volts is supplied to the control input, and is at 0% when 0 Volts is applied. In figure 8a, The VCO oscillates at 500 Hz with a +1 V CV, the VCF has a cutoff frequency of 16 kHz with a +5 V CV, and the VCA produces 100% output with a +5 V CV. In figure 8b, we reduce the VCO CV to 0 V, a change of 1 Volt. Notice that the frequency is halved – a change of

one octave. The VCF CV is dropped 6 volts to –1 V. Notice that the cutoff frequency then drops 6 octaves, and at 250 Hz, only allows the fundamental tone through. Finally, the VCA CV is reduced by 3 Volts. Notice the amplification is reduced to 40% of the maximum level.

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.

Envelope Generator - An envelope describes the contours that affect the characteristics of a sound as it evolves in time from its start to its finish. Take a plucked string for example: when a string is plucked, its amplitude is suddenly very loud, then dies out gradually. The initial part of the sound is very bright but then the brightness fades away. The frequency of the sound goes slightly higher and then drops slightly as the note fades. These kinds of changes in a sound over time can be applied to oscillators, filters or the amplitude of an electronically generated sound by an envelope generator. The envelope generator creates a CV that describes the contours of a sound.

Attack, measured in time, specifies the onset or transient of a sound. With Volume for instance, the sound might start suddenly as does a plucked string sound, or fade in slowly like a bowed string crescendo. Decay is also measured in time and specifies how quickly the onset of a sound fades into the sustained portion. Sustain is the level at which a sound sustains after the initial transient. Release is measured in time and determines how long a sound takes to fade away after a note is released. These four components make up an ADSR envelope generator. An envelope control signal has to be started and stopped. The start and stop is triggered by what is called a gate signal. A gate signal is either on or off. When it goes on, the Envelope generator is started, when the gate goes off, the release segment of the envelope begins. (figure 9)

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 (figure 10). An LFO modulating a voltage controlled amplifier will sound like a tremolo.

Sample and Hold - This is a circuit with an input for a control voltage and an input for a trigger. Each time the trigger is fired, the circuit takes the voltage that appears at the input and holds it at the output until the next time the circuit is triggered. An LFO is a common way to trigger a sample and hold (or S&H) circuit. When an LFO is applied to the trigger input, and a random signal such as white noise is applied to the CV input, a random stepped voltage will appear at the output in time with the each cycle of the LFO. (figure 11)

Glide - Also called portamento, is the slowing down of pitch changes as you play different notes on the keyboard. In synthesizers, a rate is specified that determines how fast the glide between notes is.

These terms are basic to understanding analog subtractive synthesis. Should you choose to pursue a more in depth study of the subject, recommended is the book Analog Synthesis by Reinhard Smitz, available from Wizoo Publications (www.wizoo.com).

III. MIDI Basics

MIDI stands for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface” and was established over 20 years ago to give musicians a standard interface for interconnection and control of synthesis gear. Prior to MIDI, most synthesizer control interconnections were analog CV/gate based, and their standards often varied from manufacturer to manufacturer. A MIDI connection has standard hardware, as well as defines a variety of standard digital messages that are sent through a MIDI connection. These messages are used to define musical events, like notes played, note durations and loudness, or it can be used to exchange data, such as presets, or even firmware upgrades. A typical MIDI message consists of a status byte followed by data bytes. A status byte tells the receiving device what to do with the data bytes that follow the status byte. For instance, a MIDI Note On message will be followed by a byte that states the Note value to be played, then comes a byte that tells the receiving device what the Velocity of the Note On is (on keyboards, this is how fast a note is played, you may associate this with how hard a note is played). Data bytes have 7bit values (0-127), though two can be sent together, and by defining one as the Most Significant Byte, and the other as the Least Significant Byte, 14-bit resolution can be acheived (0-16383). The MIDI standard categorizes different types of messages into channel messages and system messages. Channel Messages are for things like Note Ons, and other performance information. A single MIDI cable can be used to address up to 16 MIDI Channels. MIDI Channels are helpful when multiple MIDI devices are used, or if a device is Multi-timbral. The Voyager is both monophonic and mono-timbral, so it operates on a single channel for the purpose of sending or receiving MIDI data. Here are some important terms for understanding MIDI:

Note On: This tells a synthesizer to start a note event. A Note On message tells the Note Number, and Velocity information for that note.

Note Off: Follows a Note On message and signals the end of that note. It specifies the Note Number, and Velocity of Release (on a keyboard, how fast the key is let up). A Note On with a Velocity of zero is another way to end a note.

Pitch Bend: Tied most often to the Pitch Bend Wheel of a MIDI keyboard, it tells how much that wheel is pushed up or down. It is up to the synthesizer to turn that into a change in pitch, or other parameter.

Channel Aftertouch: Some keyboards have sensors underneath the keys to sense how much you press on the key after you have pushed it down. Channel Aftertouch messages are sent on these keyboards, and the value depends on how much pressure is applied.

Continuous Controller: The Voyager is a knob-laden synth. Many of its controls provide smooth, continuous change over their parameters. Continuous Controller messages, often shortened to “CCs” are used to effect changes in a MIDI synth much as the knobs on an analog synth. A Continuous Controller message has a CC number, which is assigned to a synthesis parameter inside the receiving device, and a value from 0-127. The Voyager’s front panel controls transmit MIDI CCs, and the same parameters can be controlled by MIDI CCs. The Voyager uses a nonstandard implementation of the MIDI CCs, so you should refer to the table on page 53 for a list of CCs used for the Voyager’s parameters.

System Exclusive: System Exclusive messages are used for sending messages to particular machines in a MIDI setup, and sharing data that would be irrelevant to other MIDI devices. The Voyager uses this for sending or receiving its presets, or for updating its operating system.

MIDI Clock: A message used to define a tempo in a MIDI system and syncronize events with that tempo.

IV. The Voyager’s Features

The Voyager’s Front and Rear Panel

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, audio, and CV expansion connections (figure 13).

The Voyager’s Analog Synthesis Engine

- 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.

- The sound sources are selected and their levels are set in the Mixer section. The output of the Mixer section goes to the Filter section. An effect can be inserted between the Mixer and Filters by means of the Mix Out/ Filter In jack on the rear panel.

- The Filter section contains two filters that work together in two different modes. Dual Lowpass mode features two lowpass filters in parallel and Highpass-Lowpass mode features a lowpass and highpass filter in series. The Cutoff control affects both filters’ cutoff frequencies, and the Spacing control sets a difference between the two filters’ cutoff frequencies. The outputs of the Filters are passed on to the Output VCAs.

- The Envelopes section contains one ADSR envelope generator for the Filters, and one ADSR envelope generator for the Output VCAs. The audio path is illustrated in figure 14.

- When a MIDI Note On is received, a Gate and Pitch CV are produced. 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. This basic control path is illustrated in figure 15.

- 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. If the MOD1 CV is at its default value (+5 V) then the PEDAL/ON bus is on at the level determined by the Amount control. In each Mod Bus, a Modulation Source, Shaping signal and Destination are selected. An overall maximum modulation amount can be set with the Amount control. The Modulation CV paths are illustrated in figure 16.

The Voyager’s Digital Features

- The Voyager Rack has three operation modes: PANEL, EDIT, and MASTER. PANEL mode is used for accessing and performing with the Voyager’s 128 User-writable presets. PANEL mode has a menu that can be accessed for performance related functions such as “parameter display” which shows stored and edited values as you edit a preset. EDIT mode contains all Voyager functions that can be stored in a preset that are not set by the front panel controls, such as naming presets, and some advanced functions like Pot Mapping, or Filter Poles. MASTER mode is used for global settings, such as MIDI In channel.

- The Voyager has 128 presets that can be accessed in PANEL mode. Each preset is a “snapshot” of front panel settings combined with the parameters set in EDIT mode. The preset that is loaded is referred to as the “Current Panel Preset” and is stored in a memory buffer separate from the presets. This preset can be edited freely by the user. The parameters are set by the Voyager’s preset memory until a setting is changed, at which time the current position of that control takes over. The Voyager has both a Compare, and Recall last Edited sound function. Changes to a preset can be saved to any of the 128 preset locations using the EDIT mode function Save Preset. Voyager Rack Mount presets are fully compatible with regular Voyager presets made with version

2.1 OS or later.

- For storage and recall of more than 128 presets, Moog Music recommends purchasing the Voyager Editor/Librarian, a Mac/PC program designed for creating, organizing and archiving presets for the minimoog Voyager. It can be purchased from the Moog Music website, moogmusic.com. It is a great tool for learning how presets are programmed.

- The Voyager has a full MIDI implementation. Its front panel rotary controls and switches send MIDI CCs, and the Voyager’s synth engine receives the same. Presets can be sent as SysEx data to a computer for storage, and the Voyager can receive SysEx data either for single presets, preset banks, or for OS updates.

- Multiple Voyagers (up to 16) connected to a MIDI controller can function as a polyphonic system. The Master mode function MIDI Key Order assigns each Voyager to be a voice within this system.

IV. The Voyager’s Components

A. MIXER

The Mixer combines the main sound sources of the Voyager. It’s a good 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.

The audio output of the mixer goes to the filter. There is an insert jack on the back of the unit where an external effect can be inserted in between the mixer and the filter. This can also be used as direct output of the Mixer. Note that this output is before the Volume envelope. If an Oscillator is selected and its level is above zero – its sound will be there regardless of playing the keyboard.

OSCILLATORS 1 to 3: The controls for the Oscillators on the mixer are simple: on/off and level. When the levels of the Oscillators are set high, the output from the mixer gently overdrives the filter section. This was one of the important features in the original minimoog that gave it its characteristic “fat” sound.

NOISE: The Noise source is a white/pink hybrid, and can be used as a sound source or a modulation source. Noise is great for making ocean wave sounds, explosions, wind sounds or using as a subtle coloration to a sound.

EXTERNAL AUDIO IN: The External Audio in allows an external audio source to be routed into the mixer, where it can be mixed with the VCOs and Noise source, then passed to the filters and the out put. The LED above the External input begins to light up as the Input signal to overdrives the Mixer input. When the light is faint, a small amount of soft clipping is occurring. When the LED is

bright, the signal is 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. Using a standard insert cable an effect such as a moogerfooger® MF102 Ring Modulator can be inserted to add effects to the oscillator, noise source, and external audio in prior to the filter stage. The Mixer output signal send appears at the ring of the jack. The return signal is applied to the tip of the jack. A cable fully plugged into the jack breaks the connection between the mixer and the filter, and unless the Return signal is sent to the tip of the jack, no signal will pass through to the filter. You can plug an instrument cable halfway into the jack and connect the tip of the jack to the ring of the Mixer Out/Filter In jack. This allows the output of the Mixer without breaking the connection to the Filter Input. The level settings in the mixer affect the output level, so keep this in mind as you try different devices in this loop. This insert point is a great spot to insert a distortion or waveshaping device, a phaser, ring modulator, or delay effects (figure 17).

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