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Building the Moog Voyager Synthesizer The sounds may seem like they're from outer space, but Moog synthesizers are grounded in handcrafted assembly. From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-313

(Continued from page 1)

At Moog Music, the production of the Voyager is broken down into five stations. The first station lays the foundation for construction just as founder Bob Moog originally designed his revolutionary instrument.

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	Bob Moog
	Some of Moog's earlier synthesizeres were anything but "mini."

Building The Voyager

Materials:

sheet-metal chassis
wood cabinet
circuit boards
screwdriver
soldering iron
electronic tuner

At station one, Moog technician Betty Arrowood takes the Voyager on its first steps, starting with a painted sheet metal chassis. She adds the first of many circuit boards to the chassis after a thorough inspection of parts.

The first two circuit boards installed are the display board and the touch board. The display board is the visual interface that allows musicians to manipulate the instrument's software. The touch board is a panel that allows musicians to manipulate the instrument's sound. Betty solders circuits to the back of the board to get it ready for installation.

	Figure A
	Figure B

The final steps station one are the installation the control boards that give a user access to the Voyager's electronic features. These hold an array of potentiometers and switches. Betty uses a jig to hold both of them in place, making it easier when she lays the chassis across the jig to begin fastening the boards and chassis together.

Demand flow technology is the production system employed at Moog Music. In this case it means that Betty sticks to these tasks and becomes the expert at this stage of production. Her roll is not to connect the boards, for instance. Rather she’s basically setting the table for the next step in the demand flow process. That step begins once the boards are securely attached.

Quality control is built into each station. Each one begins with an inspection of the work just completed.

Station two adds analog and digital circuit boards to the Voyager (figures A and B ). This step also includes connection of electronic cable assemblies to their respective controls.

Figure C

At station three, the left hand controllers are added (figure C) by technician Ralph Hagewood. These controllers are the "pitch" and "mod" wheels, and they include their own circuit boards to add note-shaping for Moog enthusiasts.

	Figure D
	Figure E

At station four the keyboard, along with one more circuit board, gets tested (figure D) and added by technician Robert Robinson.

Moog uses outside vendors to provide some of their components. The keyboards they use are the finest of their kind in the world.

Next, the chassis is placed into a wood cabinet (figure E). Beautiful wood cabinetry and appointments contribute to the voyager’s organic feel. After Robert applies the wooden side panels, he attaches the pre-assembled wood cabinet to the Voyager chassis using durable metal hardware.

Finally Robert installs the keyboard and the left-hand controllers to finish out this phase of production.

The Voyager comes to life in the fifth and final station as technician Lynnette Antle takes over. Here is where the instrument gets calibrated and tuned, then taken for a "test drive" before going out the door on the way to a customer.

For tuning, an oscilloscope and a frequency counter aid the tedious process of measuring and calibrating resistors, circuits and oscillators (figures F and G).

Figure F

Figure G

Figure H

This stage is also where software files of "presets" are loaded into the Voyager to give users instant satisfaction as soon as the instrument is fired up.

When the tuning and pre-loading is done, the Voyager is hooked to an amplifier and played for a sampling of what it will sound like in the real world (figure H).

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RESOURCES :

Moog Music
Asheville, NC
www.moogmusic.com

GUESTS :

Mike Adams, president
Moog Music
Asheville, NC
www.moogmusic.com

Lee Gentry, plant manager
Moog Music
Asheville, NC
www.moogmusic.com