I posted a pretty similar topic in the Taurus sub forum but I notice there is more going on here in the General sub forum than there is on the Taurus sub forum.
I own a Tom Oberheim SEM Patch Panel and you are able to play it just by turning it on, switching on the oscillators and tweaking parameters and it makes some absolutely beautiful and amazing sounds.
I really like using desktop modules as stand-alone units. For example Dave Smith desktop modules are playable without using an external midi keyboard/controller and I believe if I’m not mistaken even the Slim Phatty is useable in this approach, too.
I was assuming that the Minitaur was going to be a similar concept.
But will the MInitaur only be playable connected to and using a midi keyboard/controller?
For sure you can play it with other gear that sends MIDI, like drum machines or other types of gear like that. You can also use it with 1V/oct gear via gate and pitch inputs.
One of the big differences between Moog and DSI is DSI offer 4 16-step sequencers built into them. So, they can be played without any other form of control, be it hardware or software. The SP & MT both require either hardware (MIDI Keyboard or CV) or software to be played. Neither units have built in sequencers. The SP does have an ARP as well as an “audition” mode, but it would be difficult to compose a song using this method. The only way to get an MT to be a true stand-alone (without modification) is to insert a dummy jack into the CV GATE to open the Oscillators. Pitch can then be adjusted at the Fine Tune & OSC 2 freq.
actually, what I was asking is if it can be played by itself. Can you turn the Minitaur on and will it “drone” on its own? Like I said before, the way the Tom Oberheim SEM module is playable on its own.
That is all I’m asking.
I’m not sure but take a look at this video, its seems like he’s using the SP on its own in the beginning. Simply turned on as a stand-alone module.
That makes some sense to me now. Thanks so much. Yes you definitely did help in explaining and helping me understand the details and differences. Thanks again.
In this video, the guy is hammering the oscillators foot settings, and the octaves button, which is the synthesizer equivalent of hammering a screw into a wood board. The screw was not designed to be used this way, but of you hit it hard enough with a hammer, it will go in.
I can see this guy call tech support call a month later complaining his SP is broken… what a piece of screw!!!
I am not sure you can say Moog synths were not designed to be used in any way possible. I “play” the octave/footage switches on my model D, which is pretty ancient, and it is fine. So pressing buttons repeatedly on a slim phatty should be no problem. Although from my video game testing experience, I bet I could break the software pretty easily.
Probably hooked up to a “Mac” via usb and sending MIDI notes with “Live”.
Oh, and I actually really liked how the octave foot buttons are so close together on an SP for that exact purpose. It’s a bit of a bass guitar finger stretch to do the same on an LP.
Same with cars.. or just about anything… I can put the pedal to the metal, and release the clutch, burn some rubber in a nice cloud of white smoke, do donuts. If I am a Nascar driver, I don’t care that my tires last only 25 laps or my motor 2 races. I am not picking up the tab. But as a hard working laborer, I kind of get annoyed if my tires don’t last the 50k miles they are rated for or if my clutch gives out all of a sudden. Still the choice is mine.
How is pressing a button on a synth any different than pressing a key or a pad on a modern midi controller? Sure you shouldn’t use sandpaper on it, but pressing buttons is not going to wear it down or break it easily, unless it’s just crap. Those types of things are tested pretty well. When I worked for Activision, we continually button-mashed as part of our tests, and I don’t remember once when a button failed due to hardware issues. This shouldn’t be an issue. If it was, i think it would have been reported at least once.
But if you don’t want to use a keyboard, or have discrete western pitches, the dark energy, SEM, or SP would be a better choice than the minitaur. But it might be cool with a CV theremin or my moog drum.
Buttons, switches and pots all have duty cycles. On a good year I buy my son at least two joysticks for his computer games. Anyway, i suggested it in the other thread, the wear-less solution for making random noises, that is also a lot of fun, is this :
I use it with a flashlight that has built-in sequencer-like patterns (8 in total) and that cost 1 buck at the dollar store. I should say “used it”, in the beginning to explore CV’s. Nowadays, I play music for the most part, with only an occasional wild ride.
BTW : drum pads on a midi controller are made for abuse. The SP’s panel ? Less so I would think.
While there isn’t a dedicated button/switch on the Minitaur (or Little/Slim Phatty) to enable it to drone on by itself, you can plug a ‘bare’ cable into the Gate CV jack and it will produce sound continuously. You won’t be able to change the fundamental pitch though; only OSC2’s frequency, but you can make it drone on and play with the filter and LFO and stuff.
Since the Minitaur lacks Octave ‘foot’ settings (not to mention the Mod destinations) that the other Moogs have, its use as a drone machine would be pretty limited in my opinion.
I’m not so sure that a simple plug will work as a Gate enable and also not sure about a footswitch. Based on my understanding, Minitaur has a passive KB Gate jack which means that it doesn’t send 5V (which on keyboards like the Little Phatty can simply be connected to ground to affect gate). Rather, it expects a Gate/trigger signal which has voltage. (I’ll check this tomorrow and either confirm or correct myself)
True about Modulation destinations, however technically speaking, you can do the two ‘destinations’ that do exist at the same time (Pitch and Filter); can’t do that on Little Phatty or many other keyboards without first tying up both modulation busses (like on an Old School Voyager) or unless you go ‘external’ via VX-351 taking LFO out to a mult and back into Filter CV and PItch CV. Doable but messy.
One thing that is always up for grabs is externally modulating (at slow rate) BEAT via midi CC or Resonance for that matter. Of course this requires some external gear, not quite the spirit of this thread but my point is that there is alot more under the covers than you can tell by a view of the panel.
Also if you REALLY want to tweak OSC 1 Pitch, there is a Fine tune pot that you can tune to a fundamental;
That’s a critical point indeed. Scrutinizing the Minitaur literature, there is no mention whatsoever of being able to use a dummy plug, a foot switch or an expression pedal in the gate jack. Literature says : either a note on message or +5v at the gate.
Is this simply an oversight? I find it hard to believe that the gate would not behave (and have the same functionality ) as all the other Moog products.
Until confirmation either way, jury still out on this one.
Just hooked a dummy jack to the GATE jack…nothing. Pressed a key just to make sure and got sound. It appears suspicions are correct. The CV Gate is passive. Oh well. Not crucial for what I need, but I can see this being a slight issue for others.
So, to answer Panorama’s question: No, the MT cannot be used as a “stand-alone” synth.
There are other ways to generate voltage, especially if you have an SEM.
I think the LFO output is a triangle wave which likely won’t due, if you overdrove the signal then attenuated the resulting output to a safe voltage, you could possibly square off the waveform for a sync’ed gate (that would be handy). But in either case, ENV OUT from either envelope on the SEM will surely work.
I’ve gotten a drone out of Minitaur by holding the manual step button on the q119 so I would guess that it’s not terribly picky about how square the leading edge of the voltage is.
As disclaimer, always check voltages for safe levels and be sure any DIY cables are wired correctly!
