Moog Music Voyager Old School User Manual
Table of Contents
THE BASICS
5
6
8
THE COMPONENTS
A. Mixer Section ........................................................
APPENDICES
A – Speci cations .................................................................
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And, if you are ever near Asheville, N.C. USA, please come by the Moog factory. We’d love to see you!
Warm Regards,
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
This User’s Manual is organized into convenient sections to assist you in setting up, playing and exploring
your new Voyager OS.
The
section explains how to unpack, setup and connect the Voyager OS, and provides
The
section offers detailed explanations of the Voyager OS components that create and modify
The
Appendix
provides additional information, such as technical speci cations, service and suppor t info, and
At the back of the manual, you’ll nd a
that de nes important synthesizer terminology, and several
pages for programming and documenting your favorite sounds.
Throughout the manual you will see icons that offer additional information. Here’s what they mean:
This icon indicates an important note concerning the operation of the Voyager.
This icon indicates a useful performance or programming tip.
This icon indicates technical information for the advanced user or the technically curious.
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
The Voyager is shipped with the following items:
What you will need
that will provide the proper support (the Voyager Old School weighs approximately 40 lbs.) and will not
The Voyager’s universal power supply will operate with
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
Turn the Voyager OS power ON. The LFO RATE LED will be begin to blink at the rate set by LFO RATE
volume to a comfortable listening level.
The sound produced by the Voyager OS is determined by the various knob and switch settings on the front
To create your own sounds from scratch, it’s best to start from a default patch con guration. This will give
you a familiar starting point and guaranty that sound will be produced. To set the Voyager OS to a default
you a basic one-oscillator square wave sound that will act as a blank canvas for your sonic creations.
After you adjust the Voyager panel controls to the default settings, try the controls to the right of the Mixer,
and
to see
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 at rst.
control of the
Volume Envelope
is all the way down, and the
ATTACK
and
knobs are set to zero, there will be no output. Similarly, if you have a sound where the
AMOUNT
knob for the
is set to zero, then changing the Filter Envelope
ATTACK
control
will likely result in no audible change. To use your Voyager to its fullest potential, it is very important to
Warranty registration
web site at www.moogmusic.com and click on the “Product Register” tab. If you complete all the requested
Voyager. The warm up period may be longer if the Voyager has been stored outside the recom-
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
The Voyager OS is a monophonic analog performance synthesizer that is a successor to the classic Model D
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
The Voyager’s back panel offers con-
There are 14 CV inputs and 2 CV out-
tion CV/Expression Pedal input, while
jacks identi ed with a blue nut indicate
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
To understand the signal ow of the Voyager OS, it’s helpful to consider the three types of signal rout-
Audio Path
The Voyager’s audio path includes all of the signal sources and signal modi ers that produce an audio
The Oscillator section includes controls for selecting the octave and waveforms, adjusting the tuning of
the second and third oscillators, for setting the oscillator sync and linear FM functions, and for setting the
frequency range and keyboard control for Oscillator 3.
The Mixer section is where the oscillators and other sound sources (noise and external input) are
The Filter section is responsible for altering the harmonic content of the combined sound sources. The
Voyager’s Filter section contains two lters that work together in two different modes.: Dual LP and
features a lowpass and highpass lter in series, creating a Bandpass lter response. In either mode, the
the difference between the cutoff frequencies. The outputs of the lters are routed to the Voltage
The VCAs shape the volume level of the audio signal using time-varying control signals called Envelopes.
The Envelopes section (part of the control voltage path) contains one Envelope Generator to control
the Filters, and one Envelope Generator to control the VCAs. The Voyager’s audio path is illustrated
The Voyager OS Audio Path
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
When a key is pressed, a Gate and Pitch Control Voltage (CV) are produced. The Gate signal is used to
trigger both the Filter and Volume Envelope Generators (EGs). The Pitch CV is used to determine the
Amount knob. The basic control voltage path is illustrated below.
The Voyager OS Control Voltage Path
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Basics
The Voyager OS Modulation Buss
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
with the Mixer section. Then we’ll cover the Oscillators, Filters, Envelopes, and Output Sections, the LFO and
A. The Mixer Section
The Mixer combines the main sound sources of the Voyager. It’s a good place to start when creating a new
The ve sound sources are:
The audio output of the Mixer is routed to the Filter through an insert jack on the
Voyager’s back panel. If an inser t cable is plugged into this jack, the Mixer output can
for more information).
The
controls in the Mixer allow each oscillator to be switched ON or OFF, and mixed
The
control is used to mix noise with the other sound sources. The Voyager’s Noise source is
wind noise component to traditional instrument emulations, or for adding subtle coloration to a sound.
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
The
The jack on the back labeled “Mix Out/Filter In” is an insert point between the Mixer output and the Filter
to the ring of the jack. A cable fully plugged into the jack breaks the connection between the Mixer and the
As always, experimentation is encouraged!
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
The Oscillators are the main sound source of the Voyager. The oscillators in the Voyager are all analog
Voltage Controlled Oscillators, or VCOs. They feature a temperature regulation circuit that provides them
with excellent tuning stability. The VCOs can produce a total musical range of 8 octaves! In addition, the
frequency of oscillator 3 can be set to the sub-audio range (<20Hz) for use as a second LFO.
there are switches for Oscillator 2 sync to Oscillator 1;
The frequencies of the Oscillators are controlled by a number
the Keyboard CV and the oscillators to slow the changes
Tune control, and the output of the Mod Busses when the
switch that selects the relative frequency range. To hear how it
works, turn off Oscillators 2 and 3 in the Mixer. Switch Oscillator 1 ON and set its level to 5. Play a note
You can use this control to change the frequency range that the keyboard controls. The panel markings
from 32’ up to 1’ are octave standards based on organ stops.
control. When the control is in the center position, the oscillators
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
Wave:
WAVE
(waveform) control. The legend on the front panel
WAVE
control is rotated.
the square and rectangular waveform, you can get pulse width
front panel individually for each oscillator, modulation through the
The
switch is one of four switches located at the bottom of the oscillator panel. In the ON
1-2 SYNC
switch synchronizes Oscillator 2 to Oscillator 1. Oscillator sync is an effect caused
frequency heard is that of the reset oscillator. As the frequency
when Oscillator 2 is set to a higher octave than Oscillator 1.
The
3 KB CONT
switch disables keyboard control of Oscillator 3 when in the OFF position. By disabling
the keyboard control, you can use Oscillator 3 as a drone or as a modulation source whose frequency
to OFF increases the amount by which the Oscillator
control changes the frequency of
The
switch selects the frequency range of Oscillator 3. When the switch is in the LO position,
When the switch is in the HI position, Oscillator 3 operates with the same available frequency range as
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
Two other panel controls interact with the Voyager Oscillators: Fine Tune and Glide
The
FINE TUNE
control is used to tune the Voyager’s oscillators +/ – 2 semitones
for matching an external reference pitch.
the rate of the glissando. The glide rate can vary from a very fast to a very slow
switch in the Voyager keyboard left-
Additional CV Connections (Input)
The
jack allows you to connect an external CV or expression pedal to control the Voyager’s pitch.
All three oscillators are effected by this connection. The effective input range is -5 to +5V, where a positive
voltage).
Wave:
The
WAVE
jack allows you to connect an external CV or expression pedal to control the oscillator wave-
forms. All three oscillators are effected by this connection. The effective input range is 0 to +5V, resulting in
WAVE
dial panel setting, making it
to force the width of the rectangular wave so skinny that it becomes silent.
Additional CV Connections (Output)
The
jack outputs the keyboard pitch control voltage, allowing you to control external CV gear. The
The
jack outputs a gate trigger signal every time a key is pressed. The Gate signal is a +5V trigger
that can be used to trigger external envelope generators, sequencers, or other sources.
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
frequencies while allowing others to pass through. To understand the operation of lters and how they
vibe of the original hardware.
The rst is ‘Cutoff Frequency’. The cutoff frequency is the point at which an audio
frequencies below the cutoff frequency and rejects frequencies above the cutoff. A
the lowpass section de nes the maximum frequency that will pass through, while the
Another key lter term is the ‘Cutoff Slope’. The cutoff slope determines the amount
The last lter term to consider is ‘Resonance’. Resonance refers to a peak that appears at the cutoff
frequency. In synthesizers, this resonant peak is usually an adjustable parameter (called ‘ Resonance’ ) that
the sound being ltered, those overtones are reinforced. This gives the
the lters’ cutoff frequencies track the keyboard note that is played. As
you play higher on the keyboard, the cutoff frequency goes higher, too.
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
The Voyager’s Dual Lowpass mode provides two
The
knob controls the frequency cutoff of
frequency, or adjusted to different cutoff frequencies
control. When the two lters are
RESONANCE
control affects
the Dual Lowpass mode, the
control changes
the cutoff frequency of both lters, and the
the two lters creates a variable passband. In this mode,
the
RESONANCE
control affects only the Lowpass
The Voyager has two voltage controlled lters (VCF’s) that can be con gured either as dual lowpass lters
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
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Voyager OS User’s Manual - The Components
The
knob is the main lter control. This sets the cutoff frequency of both lters in Dual Lowpass
through the lter. This is why as you turn the control clockwise the cutoff frequency becomes higher and
the sound becomes brighter. Of course, to hear the effect of a lowpass lter it helps to have a signal rich
control changes the center frequency of the passband.
The
control is used to determine the difference between the cutoff frequencies of the two lters
control knob is centered, the cutoff frequencies of the two
control to +1 in
control
control is swept, two resonant peaks are heard, giving the lter a unique quality.
control sets the difference between the cutoff frequencies by
control is fully clockwise, the
The
RESONANCE
control causes feedback in the lter circuit that adds harmonic emphasis at the cutoff
frequency. This control affects the Lowpass lter(s) in either lter mode, but not the Highpass lter. When
the
control is all the way down, the lowpass lters act as a tone control, rolling off the high
control is turned down. As the resonance increases, the lter begins to form
control is
turned up the peak increases in strength until the control is set to about 8 or higher, where it begins to self-
The
KEYBOARD CONTROL AMOUNT
knob allows the lter cutoff to follow the key played on the
Voyager keyboard. A higher key will cause a higher cutoff frequency. This allows a sound to retain its
The lter
switch selects either the Dual Lowpass con guration (DUAL LP) or the Highpass/Lowpass
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