Voyager vs 2 slim phattys

[n3wt15]

So I just sold my voyager keyboard to pick up an RME version, and it just so happens that they dropped the bomb on the slim phatty...

Anyways, Im debating on either buying a rme like planned, or picking up two slim phattys
part of me thinks the two phatties are a better deal, though not having all the knob control at my finger tips seems like it could get annoying, but a midi controller can comein handy for that.
Anyways, the main issue that I have, is that I have heard the phatty sounds different then the voyager, obviously missing an osc in there, but im wondering if anyone here can chime in and let me know their thoughts on this.

I mean, I could get 2 new SPs for less then a used voyager rack (which im sure will drop because im sure im not the only person having these thoughts as well)

[memory cords]

There's no question that the Voyager has better hands-on control. But if you don't do much real time tweaking then it doesn't matter.

In terms of sound quality I guess it's a matter of taste. I think they both sound good but the Voyager definitely sounded 'richer' to me. The lack of a third oscillator on the Slim Phatty isn't such a big drawback, you can still get thick and deep sounds out of it.

The only advantage of having two slim phatties is that you could play duophonically. Depending on the kind of music you make that could make a big difference or not. Personally I find that duophonic leads are really nice but apart from that two notes is not enough for the kinds of chords that I play.

If I was in your situation I would buy one slim phatty and one polyphonic synth (for example Oberheim Matrix 6 or SCI Prophet 600 or Korg Polysix etc). But maybe you already have some polyphonic synths?

Another good option would be to get one slim phatty and then buy the Moog CV in/out expander and a Doepfer Dark Energy (or new Oberheim SEM). You could interface them all to create a mini-modular system which would give you a far greater range of sounds than just the Moog alone.

Also, the Waldorf Blofeld would be a good combination with a Slim Phatty!

Two slim phatties seems kind of redundant to me.

[Stab Frenzy]

Do you want to play duophonically? If that's the case then 2 SPs will have a definite advantage. The voyager may sound 'richer' than one SP, but with two it might be a completely different story. You could get some massively wide sounding things going with them in unison and panned.

I owned two Evolvers for a little while (after I got the MEK and before I sold the desktop) and playing the same patch in unison was absolutely massive. I was almost tempted to keep the desktop and I still think about getting a PER to go with it. Unison on two synths is a lot different to hitting the unison button of a VA, or any synth that has all the voices coming out a single pair of outputs.

[n3wt15]

I have enough synths otherwise, so playing poly isnt much of an issue.
I just want something to replace the voyager keyboard I just sold, and the voyager rack was my first option.
The real time control isnt a huge problem, I dont do a TON of realtime tweaking, but it would be nice to have the cutoff and resonance on separate knobs.
I am more concerned with the tone, I really loved the voyagers sound. I understand having two slim phatties would be kind of silly, but I could also play them together with different settings, but I suppose I could record one with different settings different times....I like the SP, SEM idea though.


Not too sure what im going to do, maybe I should buy one slim phatty for now and see how much I like it compared to the voyager and go from there.

[mao]

I had the same problem: Voyager RME or LP ? I was lucky enough to have them both side by side in a shop so I tried them and compared. They sound different. Well I'm not saying day & night... but different. It seems to me that the LP is slightly more aggressive, while the voyager more creamy and full. My choice was the Voyager. Think that with the LP/SP you are not only losing real time control knobs... but the third OSC and the SECOND FILTER with separation !!! Only the voyager have double filter with LP/LP and LP/HP configuration...

The double filter lets you make a far wider sound palette... so my suggestion is: "forget the Slim phatty" and stay on the voyager. Last but not least the voyager is built like a tank... have that wonderful LEC panel illumination... knobs feels solid... while LP and SP are far more cheap builded. I'm not saying that LP/SP are not worth synth... I'm only comparing them with the big brother.

I prefer to use the voyager in MONO with itself in the "audio in" for feedback, and a BBE sonic stomp always connected to the FILTER IN (another good feature missing in the LP/SP) which makes the overall sound even more rich and punchy.

[Stab Frenzy]

Another option for around the same price would be a Macbeth Dual Osc and Backend Filter, like a two osc Moog modular, more Moogy than the Voyager even.

[Sir Nose]

If you're looking at the SP why not the LP? If it's space, that would make sense. Used LPs will be cheaper once the SP hit the market.

LP with CV out mod and the SEM-Pro (midi and patch panel), I think would be a great pair. You could interface the CVs from both. With midi control on notes with a seperate glide on both.

Also, if you want filter cutoff and res to be seperate active knobs for performance, you can pot map all four knobs to dedicated functions regardless of the section the knob is in. But then you are limited to only 4 parameters to tweak without taking it out of pot mapping mode.