Neumann USM69i
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Neumann U87AiMoog: Moog Minimoog Voyager XL
MusicRadar: Moog Minimoog Voyager XL Review
Preview:
"Here's a playground moment we remember from childhood - see if this rings a bell with you too.
There are three kids, and one of them says 'I'm Spiderman and I can shoot webs, so I'm the coolest'. The next one says 'yeah, but I'm Batman which means I'm super-strong and every bad guy on earth is terrified of me, so I'm the coolest'. At the end, a third kid says 'well I'm Superman so I can fly, fire lasers out of my eyes AND turn back time by making the earth spin backwards.'
There's a brief moment of silence and the first two shuffle off defeated. This is what sprung to mind when we first laid eyes on the XL.
There are now several 'modern' analogue synths you can buy to enhance your studio with a 21st Century take on the sound of yesteryear and you can imagine them all like kids in the playground, arguing over who's got the most power.
But the Moog Voyager XL kind of settles the debate once and for all. It's effortlessly the coolest synthesizer we've ever seen, had the honour of switching on and writing words about.
There are several reasons why it ticks so many boxes at once - the first is that this is a Minimoog to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original, still-loved classic, borrowing the brains and heart of that synth yet dragging it into the here and now.
Secondly, it adds features from the current Moog Voyager series instruments, including digital control and sound storage, a large touch surface, plus additional performance and MIDI controls.
The 'XL' bit, though, takes the biscuit, as this instrument also adds a full patch panel in the top-left-hand corner to take sound design to a new level, sticks an extended 61-note keyboard along the bottom and even adds an extra performance tool in the form of a long ribbon controller.
It's an instrument that simultaneously honours Bob Moog's legacy, offers a tool set relevant to modern studio techniques and provides a sound to die for. Oh and it costs a little over £4,000. Ahem, moving on?"
To read the full review click here.
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