Why choosing a Virus TI polar vs a Moog voyager electric blue? please help!

[s0undc10ud]

Hello guys.

i was saving money for a couple of months to buy a good synth for my studio.
its gonna be my first and i have no special knowledge about them and the actual differencies.

Please help: why getting a virus TI polar over a Moog voyager? they both cost too much and i dont want to regret it. Please let me know about their basic differencies..

An other plan crossing my mind is that for the same money i could get both a virus TI snow and a Moog little phatty, so i am in both worlds.. (is this wrong?)

And... does virus TI polar worth the extra money over the cheaper virus TI snow? (i know that a big difference is that SNOW is keyboardless but that wouldnt be a problem since i have a 49 keys midi keyboard)

Please help a guy make the wise choice... :)

Thanx in advance

[Prime NL]

Err...sorry...

But if you don't know even the basic differences between a TI Polar or a Voyager...then why you buy a synth...:confused:

Basic difference : Polar is Poly, Voyager is Mono

For the rest they are two different worlds.

[teethofgold]

Hello guys.

i was saving money for a couple of months to buy a good synth for my studio.
its gonna be my first and i have no special knowledge about them and the actual differencies.

Please help: why getting a virus TI polar over a Moog voyager? they both cost too much and i dont want to regret it. Please let me know about their basic differencies..

An other plan crossing my mind is that for the same money i could get both a virus TI snow and a Moog little phatty, so i am in both worlds.. (is this wrong?)

And... does virus TI polar worth the extra money over the cheaper virus TI snow? (i know that a big difference is that SNOW is keyboardless but that wouldnt be a problem since i have a 49 keys midi keyboard)

Please help a guy make the wise choice... :)

Thanx in advance

I think that the question you need to ask yourself is... what kind of sounds do you want to make?

[annikk.exe]

The Moog Voyager is a monophonic synthesiser. That means it can only play one note at a time.
The Voyager is also a true analog synthesiser. Many musicians feel that true analog sounds better.


The Virus TI Polar, on the other hand, is a polyphonic synthesiser. That means it can play lots of notes at the same time, so you can do chords and things like that.
The Polar is also multitimbral, which means it can play many different sounds (also known as "patches") at the same time. The voyager cannot do this.
The TI Polar is a virtual analog synthesiser. That means that it's digital, so uses microprocessors, solid state memory, etc, but it mimics the layout and functionality of a true analog synthesiser.


If you have never bought a synthesiser before, I have a few recommendations for you:


1. Get some sequencer software such as Cubase, Logic, Ableton, etc. Then download some VST synthesiser and try using those. A VST is a computer program that you run from within your sequencer (eg cubase) which mimics a real piece of audio gear. So for example, download some VST synthesisers, also known as Software Synthesisers or Softsynths, and try playing around with that. Learn to use the functions of the softsynth, figure out what things you like and what things you can probably do without. Then when it comes time to buy a real, hardware synthesiser, you have a better idea of whether FM modulation and independent effects per timbre is something you really want or not.

2. Go to your newsagent and buy a copy of a pro audio magazine called Sound on Sound. Read it. This will vastly improve your knowledge of synthesisers. If you see a word in the magazine and you don't know what it means, ask someone here, or better yet google it :>

3. Seeing as you've never owned a synthesizer before, maybe you should consider buying something cheap to learn on before you splash out on a Beast™. :> Consider Doepfer's Dark Energy, for about £400, or Waldorf's Blofeld, for around £300. You can always sell these on later if you decide you don't like them.




For me, I went for the Virus because I wanted a main, "workhorse" synthesiser that could do lots of things well, and more importantly lots of things at the same time. I would love to own a Voyager but it's a huge amount of money to pay for something that can only make one sound at a time.

Hope this helps.. :>


-Annikk

[annikk.exe]

By the way, I know you said you were considering the Polar.... why the Polar, out of interest? Why not the full TI Keyboard? That would be closer to the price of a Voyager anyway, and if you can afford it I'd recommend it for the extra processing power and general increase in awesomeness, and also because of this:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6317/deskcornerthumb.jpg

In a darkened room it's like Tokyo at night.
Sometimes I look at my Virus and just look, and stare, and sigh happily. It is a beautiful piece of kit, moreso than any other synthesiser I've ever seen in the flesh.


-Annikk

[ctrlshft]

I have a Moog LP Stage II and a Snow, it's heaven! Price was right too, I don't think you can get that kind of sound variety and value elsewhere for their combined price.

@annikk: gorgeous pic of the virus! :)

[Prime NL]

Sorry Annikk....but a TI can never beat a Voyager at night... ;)
(btw..i own a Voyager SE & a TI Desktop)


http://www.jefflaity.com/misc_pix/voyager_side.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FMBJEkaC8Lw/Ry_qupmbQ5I/AAAAAAAAKjA/I0wE9fDsFBs/s400/a7eb_3.JPG

[annikk.exe]

Ah, trufax.. Voyagers are dead sexy too. But I've never seen one in the flesh, so my point stands! =P


-Annikk

[s0undc10ud]

I didnt say i dont have music production knowledge. i have ableton live with thousands of vsts and pluggos... :)

i just never had a "real" synth... something to touch and feel.
my studio is flooded with midi controllers, mixing desks and effect processors.

true... nothing can beat a voyager at night... but i dont need a synth for decoration... hehehe... kidding.

i think i am going for the virus TI polar at my local studio equipment store. i love how the TI desktop looks... but i the specs of the virus keyboard are great. built quality ech.

i will also try to save some more money to buy a Moog little phatty in a couple of months... I just noticed LP has a KILLER bass sound. now i get why they use to say analog is better sounding...

My conclusion is... Virus TI series are maybe the most spacey sounding machines on earth.. with limitless possibilities.

Correct me if i am wrong..

ps: THANK you all for helping me guys. equipment of this prise, need really good thinking...

[Prime NL]

I didnt say i dont have music production knowledge. i have ableton live with thousands of vsts and pluggos... :)

That's how i worked before...thousands of VSTs and plugins...but do you really use them to the fullest..??

I noticed that having lots of plugs didn't help my production at all....my best songs are done with just a sampler, bass synth (Studio Electronics ATC) and a MPC2000XL.

Thats why i quitted using the computer for producing and just use it for recording with the basic plugs....i think i lost the overview when you download any plug you can find and try to use it in your song.

Anyways....i think the Virus Polar will be a great choice...and no plugin can beat that... :-D

[feedingear]

Has the Polar get less processing power then the TI keyboard? I thought it was the same?

I sort of wish I had the TI keyboard just because I wouldnt spend so much time hitting transpose/be able to play better chord shapes on it when writing. But the Polar is dead sexy, definitely one of the coolest synths I've seen... just wish I knew how the hell to use it. :p

[suzzymackenzie]

But the Polar is dead sexy, definitely one of the coolest synths I've seen...

For now, yes, but in a couple of years you'll be wishing you had those timeless mahogany end bits (TI1, the classic) instead, plus of course the ability to fit both hands on your keyboard so you can play some proper chords :p

[s0undc10ud]

That's how i worked before...thousands of VSTs and plugins...but do you really use them to the fullest..??

I noticed that having lots of plugs didn't help my production at all....my best songs are done with just a sampler, bass synth (Studio Electronics ATC) and a MPC2000XL.

Thats why i quitted using the computer for producing and just use it for recording with the basic plugs....i think i lost the overview when you download any plug you can find and try to use it in your song.

Anyways....i think the Virus Polar will be a great choice...and no plugin can beat that... :-D
You are right on this... The "i need to have it all issue" is always taking time from creativity and giving it to the experimentalism. There are always these wasted hours of tweaking and trying and learning a new vst.... What i also recently noticed is that from the loads of the vst i have, i find my self using only a couple of vsts for synths & basses (like Omnisphere and Zebra2)... and 2 vsts for the drums (Ni Battery 3 & Drum Guru). vsts is like being in a clothes store.... You wanna try em all out... but u only finally buy a few...
I think that TI Polar will save me time and make me more focused on music...

[s0undc10ud]

For now, yes, but in a couple of years you'll be wishing you had those timeless mahogany end bits (TI1, the classic) instead, plus of course the ability to fit both hands on your keyboard so you can play some proper chords :p

isnt Polar made with portability in mind? Access made it with portability in mind and they also tried to make it weightless... The TI keyboard is almost impossible to carry with you (no space for it in my little trunk) and weights too much. Ti keyboard is a "just put it and glue it on your studio desk machine" and Polar is "take it with you package".... None is worse than the other, but its a matter of choice anyway. For me Polar is a smarter choice because i can save more space in my studio, take it with me wherever i go, and in near future, if i want to play on full chords, i can always buy a cheap 88keys midi keyboard and hook it up on Polar.... (Just giving a solution for Polar owners).

One way or another, an Access is always an access... :)

[suzzymackenzie]

isnt Polar made with portability in mind? Access made it with portability in mind and they also tried to make it weightless... The TI keyboard is almost impossible to carry with you (no space for it in my little trunk) and weights too much. Ti keyboard is a "just put it and glue it on your studio desk machine" and Polar is "take it with you package".... None is worse than the other, but its a matter of choice anyway. For me Polar is a smarter choice because i can save more space in my studio, take it with me wherever i go, and in near future, if i want to play on full chords, i can always buy a cheap 88keys midi keyboard and hook it up on Polar.... (Just giving a solution for Polar owners).

One way or another, an Access is always an access... :)

You're right of course, just kidding. But my TI kb is portable enough. I have a decent hard case for it with fitted foam. A firm lift by those perfectly shaped mahogany grab handles and it's tucked in the case and slid into my Golf. I know this is kind of insane and asking for trouble, but I got the kb to be played to the full and therefore portable it shall be.

Power to the Virus, in whatever incarnation it appears :-)