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Voyager User’s Manual - Appendices
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Voyager User’s Manual - Appendices
Appendix H - VX-351 & VX-352 CV Expanders
Flash back to the late 60’s: Back in the day, a synthesizer was a behemoth of panels and patch cords. They
were known as modular synthesizers, because each function of the synthesizer was contained in a single
module. A synthesizer was a collection of modules, and the instrument produced no sound until the proper
connections were made between modules using patch cables. This approach afforded the synthesist serious
creative flexibility, and the results of creative “what if ?” thinking often yielded amazing results. The approach
was not without its drawbacks, however, which include:
Space – a modular synth can take up a lot of space.
Time – creating sounds from scratch takes a lot of practice, patience, and time.
Repeatability – documenting a sound is a tedious, labor-intensive process, and not
always accurate
Cost - a good modular synth takes serious money to assemble.
Enter the Minimoog™ – a portable synthesizer where the most musically useful connections are already
in place and permanently wired. Sounds are created quickly and efficiently using the various knobs and
switches of the well laid out front panel (no patch cords needed!). Also, sounds are easy to document using
patch templates, and, due to its smaller size and weight, the synth can actually be carried to gigs without
having to rely on a road crew. Finally, a serious synthesizer made for the working musician.
Flash forward to today: The Minimoog Voyager is based on the concept of the Minimoog. It is a portable
analog synthesizer with all the basic connections for making great electronic sounds. From its front panel,
the Voyager offers even more functions than the original Minimoog, and provides expansion capabilities
through back panel connections that work just like the connections found on a modular synth. In fact, the
Voyager can become the foundation of modular system. However, in order to take full advantage of this
capability, you need a way to access all of the Voyager’s control voltage signals, both incoming and outgoing.
Enter the VX-351 and VX-352...
The VX-351 and VX-352 Voyager CV Expanders are add-on products
that expand your Voyager into a semi-modular synth. The VX-351
contains all of the Voyagers CV and Gate
outputs
on 1⁄4” jacks (19 CV
outputs and 2 Gate outputs). In addition, there are two attenuators
for reducing the strength of a CV signal, and two 4-way multiples
(‘Mults’) for sending a single CV signal to multiple control destinations.
The VX-352 (exclusively for the RME) contains all of the Voyager
inputs
on 1⁄4” jacks (13 CV inputs and 5 Gate inputs), along with two active
attenuators with offset and one 4-way multiple. Both the VX-351 and
VX-352 connect to the Voyager’s accessory ports with a supplied DB-
25 style cable.
