Very nice this new product. Congratulations to the whole crew.
…but what about the Taurus reissue?
I NEED one! NOW!
I need one now also! 
This is what I’m waiting for.
If it had memory capabilities like the voyager, then I’ll take two. 
Yes, I am mostly waiting with bated breath for an aftertouch-sensitive 2-octave analog taurus monster 
Although later this year, Steetly Electronics are putting the mellotron back into production, so I may be a little short of cash if I buy both
I am mostly waiting with bated breath for an aftertouch-sensitive 2-octave analog taurus monster
I never thought about a two octave Taurus pedal. That would kind of rock, but it might make it really expensive and hard to lug around. Still, good idea.
I never had the chance to mess around with a Taurus pedal. I only know them from Rush and Genesis recordings. Could you set them to any octave you want? If not, that would be a cool feature on the reissue. Set it to any octave, maybe even lower than the original Taurus.
Oh and have the guts of the Taurus I, not the Taurus II. I hear from everyone that the first one sounds way better. Which one do you guys like better?
Could you set them to any octave you want? If not, that would be a cool feature on the reissue. Set it to any octave, maybe even lower than the original Taurus.
The regular presets have a choice of two octaves. I haven’t broken out my Old Bull for a while, but I recall that the Variable setting had three octaves.
Definitely skip the Taurus II. I’m sure it was a fine synth, but when you’re trying to play live, you NEED presets.
I kick myself for getting rid of my taurus I every time I think about it. The variable on mine allowed 5 octaves.
Yeah, but a proper organ pedal board lets you have 2 octaves -
that way, if you’re sitting down,
you can really play riffs with your feet -
with only 1 octave, you’re a bit limited, cos you can’t do octave jumps
and there’s only one of each note, so usually you can’t maintain the shape of riffs… (ie, you can’t go up to a D from an A, only down to D…etc etc)
Aftertouch would be brill, cos you could squelch the filter by pressing harder with your foot - i dunno about you lot, but I usually hold pedal notes for at least a bar - think of the filter squelch you could sweep …
How about a two octave pedal board that you can attack to to Voyager? Would that make sense? It could just be a controller without any guts. Let the Voyager be the brain.
Since the Voyager isn’t polyphonic; if you COULD attach it as another controller you would only be able to play one note at a time.
If you were to connect it as an Ext Audio signal you miss all the really cool signal processing before the mixer and the filter & your bass and lead be output to the same amps.
I think it shoud be done as a separate instrument with MIDI and an auxilliary keypad controller/display that you could attach to the side of the Voyager cabinet.
Other thoughts???
Yeah, Rohtus is right about the Voyager being monophonic. That would also mean that you’d only be able to use it for that one application, without multitimbrality. Unless, you had enough money to buy a Voyager dedicated to the bass parts.
Not to mention, there are a few pedalboard controllers modeled after the Hammond pedals that have toe-piston-style preset switches on them.
BTW, I should ask something: how much are the original Taurus pedals going for? Perhaps, you could buy a couple of units to use onstage. I know Sting had two in the pictures from the Police’ double live album.
Eric.
I figured I post this picture so everyone can drool. Please Mr. Moog, this is what we are all waiting for. Updated of course.
For all you people that can’t wait for for the potential of new Taurus MK3 pedals to be made. Try ebay right now beacuse there is currently quite a bit of activity on Taurus 1 Pedals coming up for sale (although if your a Brit forget ebay.co.uk, sadly nothing much comes up for sale in the UK).
I have just purchased a set of Taurus 1 Pedals on Ebay c/w Anvil flight case and they are in fabulous condition.
If you want quality condition expect to pay between $1600 and $2100 for a really good set ($2100 should include some sort of case)
Happy hunting …
Ged
The going rate for model D Minimoogs is $2000. The Taurus I is a crippled Minimoog with no modulation and very little flexibility in sound palette. And they can’t be easily MIDIfied, they’re v/hz not v/oct like the Minimoog and they have no I/O jacks.
$1600 to $2100 is WAY too much for ancient non-MIDIed Taurus pedals. Get real people.
Sorry but I really do think your’re missing the point !
If you’ve ever used a set of these live then you will begin to appreciate the wonderful colours this old beast offers (remember feet are being used here, not hands, which makes it all the more interesting!).
Playing a set of these live is all about enjoying them for what they are. Bothered about midi for this particular instrument ? I don’t think so. Ask all the owners of all the taurus 1 pedals who won’t part with them the same question.
When did you last midi up an acoustic drum kit on stage ?
They’re worth every penny someone is prepared to pay for them..
Yeah right, show me someone who argues they’re worth $2000 and I’ll show you someone who has a set they are trying to sell on ebay or in a classified.
I HAVE used these live. They sound great but they are not worth $2000. Wonderful colours? Sorry. I love the Taurus pedals but they are a one-trick pony (and some trick). Only one waveform (ramp), the filter while beefy is not very interesting for resonant qualities, zero modulation options, and simple ADS EGs with shared D/R control. You do not get “wonderful colours” from a Taurus pedal, and after twenty years of experience programming analog synths I should know. They’ll get great bass sounds - that’s it.
I did MIDI up an acoustic drum kit on stage in the past. Worked great. Funny you should mention that.
If so many people won’t part with them, then why are there at least three for sale at any given time on ebay?
I’ve used a bunch of pedals - Taurus I, Taurus II, Crumar CPB-2, Multivox Basky, some sort of “St. Louis Music” thing, Roland PK5, and MIDIStep.
The only two I still own and use are the Taurus I and MIDIStep, although the Taurus is now more of a museum piece and I am hesitant to take it anywhere. One octave is about all I can reach when I stand up against a mic stand with a bass strapped around my neck. I’d think the 1.5 octave range of a Taurus II would be about the absolute limit of my reach.
Taurus I’s have a good bass sound, but they really don’t do high string sounds well at all. Listen to Rush’s Hemispheres album, and compare it to the high sustaining sounds they used later on Moving Pictures. That’s the difference between Taurus and an Oberheim poly. I can still remember that feeling of “Oh, @#$%” when I plugged in my Taurus the first time, thinking I’d be getting lush backgrounds like you hear on Exit Stage Left … wrong!
Velocity and pressure sensitvity would be useless to me - I’m just not that good and I have enough other stuff to worry about. I crave simplicity in the pedals - step and go.
What I would like to see: either four oscillators or 2-voice polyphony with an ability to have at least 2 osc reach the 4’ and 2’ octaves, at least a simple sine/tri LFO for slow filter sweeps, a regular AC power supply, and definitely foot-tap switches to change maybe up to 8 different presets. And of course, the price has to compete with the alternative of buying some MIDI pedals and a Novation A-Station.
I agree - the old Taurus 1 (I had both) sounded good, but was too limited. The power of a MIDI bass pedal is too great (play various octaves, polyphonic stuff, samples, analog and digi synths, etc) and it doesn’t cost much.
It would be interesting, would you pay over $1500 for a modern Taurus pedal, and how many do you think they would sell worldwide? I would guess maybe 15-250 total. That’s not a lot, for having to make a new design.
I bet a nice cheap, simpler (no memory) analog synth would sell far more, and maybe make a pedal attachament for THAT as an option? Like a 2-osc Voyager with no memory/MIDI, some fun knobs…
I bet a nice cheap, simpler (no memory) analog synth would sell far more, and maybe make a pedal attachament for THAT as an option? Like a 2-osc Voyager with no memory/MIDI, some fun knobs…This is very true. Not that I would give up my Voyager for it, but there is a market for that sort of thing. Especially if it could give a true analog choice to people who want to buy the Micro korg and the new mini aleasis Ion Jr.
I’d like to see a Moog reissue of the Taurus I pedals, at the same old price- Around $700, or maybe a little less! It’d be awesome… We should start a petition! Seriously… We should try to convince Bob Moog that we need the Taurus back!!!