Mark Pulver is one of those iconic names you come across in the world of synthesizers. He's just a person like you and me, but he has a pretty extensive and respected background when it comes to synths, and he's someone that helped me re-discover the bigger world of synths nearly ten years ago on Sonic State's the-gas-station (it used to be THE synth forum back then), later Analog Heaven, and a private email now and then. He is a "deputy" on Analog Heaven (one of the people that helps administer and keep it under control) and he was good friends with Bob Moog himself. Check out his tribute to Bob. So let's just say I have a huge amount of respect for Mark.
So, I've heard that a Voyager can nail the Minimoog sound as indeed it is a Minimoog plus more, and on the flip side, I've heard that it doesn't quite sound the same. So I thought I'd ask Mark. The following is what he had to say. It's interesting in that after reading it seems so obvious. You'll notice that in a sense it's inconclusive - that is what's obvious about it. Time and design both impact a synth. And no two minis are exactly the same. Title link takes you to Mark's Voyager page for more of his thoughts and notes.
"I think that the Voyager is a great instrument, and it's capable of a lot
more sounds and textures than the original Mini - including some of the
sounds that have made the Mini famous, and some sounds that will make
itself famous in its own right.
I think that a lot of the love of the Mini is how it plays, and that comes
from the 30yo keyboard, caps, trannys, etc. Audio circuits that actually
have bleed through, power supply rails with dirt on them, etc. There are
ways that the Mini handles when you tune the OSCs to a harmonic that
overdrives the filter "just" that way - VERY hard to define, or to catch on
a scope, or to make happen on a modern machine. I really think that stuff
like this comes from design flaws turned into features. Not a bad thing,
just something that can't really be replicated.
There are a lot of things like that in the Mini.. Lay the filter on the
edge of howling - notice how it loves to distort the VCA. _AND_ that
character will change based on the pitch you're playing. _AND_ that
character will change based on if you're gliding between notes. _AND_ _AND_
_AND_...
It's like, the Voyager is a pure design - lotso the same schematic work
from decades ago, but then with grit _designed_ into it. No happy accidents
waiting around the corner like the first time that Bob pressed a key on the
Model A.
It's not a bad thing to design in "flaws that have become features", it's
just different. Ya' know?
I guess the bottom line is that I don't have a concrete answer - to me,
something like this really needs ethereal babble.
And... feel free to post it in your blog if you think it makes sense. : )"
Mark
It does. Thanks Mark!
