my azn friend wants a synth

[Alexi]

While I was at Guitar Center checking out the ts-9, my friend came along to play around with the Roland SH201. He saw the videos here and he really liked it. We messed around with it and it was pretty sweet, very cool arpeggiator, nice sound, had everything he wanted. So he was about to buy it until lo and behold we found a little phatty sitting in the corner. It was ridiculous how much better it sounded...it had a really phat sound that we couldnt really describe, so we kept saying how delicious it was...but yea its pretty darn expensive($1400), and so he ended up not getting either.

That was about a week ago. Yesterday he called me and told me he's gonna save some money and buy the little phatty, but I told him if he's gonna save up that much money, then he might as well save up more and get a minimoog voyager. Unfortunately, there wasnt a minimoog at GC(in fact, when we asked one of the guys if they had one, they said if they did it would probly be in a glass case and we couldnt touch it...that guy was a jerk). Anyways, he wants to know if the minimoog sounds that much better than a little phatty, and if its worth it to save up and buy a voyager...weve seen the videos of you guys playing them so hopefully you guys can help.

ps. : he's never owned a synth before and we're both pretty dumb and dont know much about synths, so we probly wont understand if you tell us that the "lfo has a decaying attack modulation input envelope that filters a bandpass blah blah blah"

[GearJunkie]

the voyager might be too much for you then. i'd recommend checking out a Korg MS2000B, a Korg Microkorg or even look online or ebay or something for a Roland JP-8000. Any of these will give you the understanding of what the hell an LFO into a lowpass filter with dual oscillation means, plus they're not as wicked-expensive as a Moog.

Or, shell out some cash, deal with a learning curve, and get a Moog.

A good friend of mine who's a synth geek had a t-shirt once that said "with a loud enough sine wave, you can level a city".

I loved that shirt.

[dagosto]

If it's between the Phatty and the Voyager, I would easily choose the phatty. I just prefer the simplicity of it.

[Nubus]

Originally Posted by dagosto

If it's between the Phatty and the Voyager, I would easily choose the phatty. I just prefer the simplicity of it.

I'm with you there. When I tried both out, the thing that struck me about the phatty was "Hmm, I could see my drummer (who knows absolutely nothing about synths) rocking out on this and coming up with awesome stuff. If he had the Voyager in front of him, he'd end up at a null unable to make any sound come out at all, and get discouraged.

[craig]

Since it is your first synth, I guess you need to figure out what you want to learn (if anything).

The phatty is awesome, and is very easy to make usable sounds with. On the other hand, if you want to explore the world of synthesis, you can get a decent virtual analog with tons more options for less money.

You also need to figure out how you want to use it.. The phatty is great at basses and leads, but pads are pretty much a no-go.

-craig

[memoid]

...All of its knobs are on the front panel, and it feels amazing. I have a feeling the architecture of the Little Phatty's more or less the same - just fewer oscillators? It's just that some controls are slightly hidden by the multi-function knobs.

Don't be afraid of learning about synths - there are books and tutorials out there to help, and the signal flow in the Voyager is based on the Minimoog D, an iconic classic machine and one which helped set the standard for how analog synths function.

I had a similar experience to you in Turnkey in London, A-B'ing a Virus against a Voyager. The Moog does sound delicious, and the fantastic thing about the Voyager is that you can just reach for a knob and know what it'll do: each knob has one function. The cutoff... is there. The resonance... is there.

The Voyager's also the last synth that Bob Moog designed and saw go into production. So you're connected with history a little bit better, too.

Sentimental I know, but... well, get a soft synth, learn a little about oscillators and LFOs (they're pretty simple when you get going), then decide on how important the simplicity is.