Moog Music Forum

Hi, Amos

Will you please give us an estimated date of delivery to get a new Minitaur editor?

My biggest problem with the editor as of today is the famous "off-by-one" error wherein preset names get corrupted after moving them to the synth and then back again. Even if the programming team can't ship a completely new Revision 3, how about releasing incremental editor updates to tide us all over like you have been doing with the firmware updates? (Great job on those, by the way. You are representing Moog very well with your forthrightness and professionalism. Much appreciated!)

Thanks

TZ

hi, progress is good on the Minitaur Editor -- something that might well be v1.0 is being built today.
I would expect a release some time this month, although the NAMM trade show is this month also and it's taking a lot of everyone's time to get ready for that. If you'd like to use the pre-release new editor (still lacking a manual and other documentation) feel free to send me an email.

Cheers,

Amos

Hey Amos...

Ok... the Minitaur has been out for almost 2 years now... released at Winter Namm 2012!

Another date to look at is: March 10, 2013.
This is when a new "Firmware Update Soon" was announced on this Forum...
which also then led to an announcement of a New MT Editor Version Soon!
So Ok... it's almost 1 year later... and still nothing has been finalized?!
Maybe after this Namm... or the Next... or?

Meanwhile... the latest OS has a million front panel button & knob combinations you have to try remember...
to edit & save Patches... or do anything!

This is because there is an original Design Flaw... of not incorporating a Small Display on the Minitaur...
so as to know what Patch you're on... or Editing... or to be able to see a Patch's "Under the Hood"
or any other Parameters etc!

It's not like there isn't any room for a Display!
My Nord Micro Modular Desktop Synth is even smaller than the Minitaur...
but still has a small 2 Character Display! And a Fantastic Editor... I might add!
http://www.vintagesynth.com/clavia/nordmicro.php

So I opened up both Synths... and measured the Nord's Display.
Then measured the open area on the circuit board & front panel of the Minitaur...
right underneath the "White Bull" on my Black Minitaur.... and found that there is more than enough room
for the SAME or similar Display that the Micro Modular has!

It would seem that the Minitaur was brought onto the Market... before really thinking through
the Real World implications of adding 99 Patches to it's OS... without a Display!

This is unfortunate... as there are now many many Owners of this Synth... who bought this Moog Product in good faith...
only to find... that while it has an Awesome Sound... access to anything more than that... is totally Complicated & Impaired!

Meanwhile... other Companies are developing similar synths... but have a Display... and have User Friendly Programming Access...
say... like the new Waldorf Pulse 2 Analogue Synth!

To sum it up... I bought this Minitaur about 1.5 years ago now... and it still hasn't been out the door to a Gig or Session...
while waiting for it's Final OS & New Editor... to make it Totally Stable & Trustworthy!

I really don't have time to Beta Test anything... just want it all to work as good as the other Synths out there... Now...
not later this year!! Please prioritize Finalizing the Minitaur... before All Else... as at this point... it's a 2 Year Old...
unfinished Moog Product!?

Many thanks!
Cheers,
Briman

I don't understand te problem here. At least my Minitaur was not announced, advertised or sold with an editor software in any way. So that editor stuff is just a free goodie in my eyes.

the minitaur was also announced having no presets at all. So an LCD would have been a "design flaw" upon release

The Pulse 2 was a very long time in development, also...

Amos wrote:the minitaur was also announced having no presets at all. So an LCD would have been a "design flaw" upon release

The Pulse 2 was a very long time in development, also...

If Moog are gonna bill themselves alongside Waldorf in terms of firmware/product release schedules we may as well all switch to VST's right now.

It's looking like we'll be close to 12 months elapsed for the new firmware... so maybe there is a frightening parallel?

mr-emulator wrote:I don't understand te problem here. At least my Minitaur was not announced, advertised or sold with an editor software in any way. So that editor stuff is just a free goodie in my eyes.

+1

Just came here to check in to see if there is a new editor. Potentially this month is good to hear, I am stoked!

My money's on a NAMM surprise.

Everything Amos and Moog have been doing for the Minitaur has been added bonus. Stop whining about functionality that was never promised. Of course I want the new editor, and would LOOVE it to work flawlessly, but seriously, it's like buying a car for what it is, being given a free gps and XM radio after the fact, and complaining that you can't use your satellite radio underground....

Amos has been nothing but upfront, (unlike any other companies i know that don't even use their real names etc), and is clearly working his ass off on this and a growing product line. Thank you Amos, and I am gracious for your continued efforts on this product, which still out of the box slays anything else with its low end at pretty much any price point.

And now that I have brown nosed enough...., I would love to brave the waters and try the new editor, please feel free to email it to me with the email attached to this account.

Alright, this needs to be cleared up for all the people who claim the editor is just an add on and stop whining BS.
It's great that you decided to buy this synth when it first came out without these options, we applaud your Moog love.
clap, clap, clap,

BUT!!!!!! The Minitaur was clearly re-branded with the new options of saving presets and "under the hood" control somewhere about a year after initial production. For myself, and slews of others, these features were the reason that this synth become viable for us. I have zero use for a synth that cannot save presets (most live musicians are exactly the same) as well as other things the Editor in question offered.

Since you like analogies, I will try one that might help you understand.
A brand new sports car come to market, super fast, super awesome, but hey, it's only an Automatic gear shift. I and just about every serious sports car enthusiast would probably pass on it, since a stick shift is a key ingredient to an enjoyable cruise in a fast sports car. Then, one year later, they offer the same car with the ability to be both an automatic and a stick shift (yeah, probably not realistic, but hey, it's all hypothetical right?). If I bought that car, got home and all of a sudden realized that say, gear 4 doesn't work, or you throw it into 2nd and it actually goes to 4th, that is a real problem. Sure the automatic shifting works great, but that's not why I spent my hard earned cash on it.

So....If people keep wanting to play the "it wasn't intended to do that" card, I am calling you out! You are Wrong!

The minitaur and the minitaur editor were sold to everyone as a pair after it was announced. The fact that is doesn't work makes it faulty and gives everyone who has issue with it 100% right to have said issues.

Patience is a virtue and most folks with a Minitaur can be viewed as nobles at this point when it comes to this issue. However, we are also aware of Amos' very hard work and attentiveness to this issue and we are all extremely grateful.

Hopefully this will end this issue once and for all......

I'll end with this, Viva minitaur update and VIVA SUB 37!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (can't wait to get one

Wow, it is truly hard to describe the feelings I have, now that I have been so eloquently shown the error of my ways.

To the think that for more than a year I have been toiling relentlessly and with futility, actually tweaking the knobs of my analog synth in order to change the sound, when all along I should have been waiting for a computer-based editor to handle the task, lest I strain myself whilst tweaking the knobs.

And to think that all this time I thought tweaking the sound by hand and CV was a big part of the reason so many of us go with analog to begin with...

And yes, agreed, kudos to Amos and the rest of the (very small) tech team at Moog for their continued efforts supporting the current line of hardware, and developing new gear to keep the analog synth masses happy!

I'm glad I could help you understand the benefits of modern technology Stucko. Hopefully you will discover more uses for that magical box known as a computer to us none-gray hairs who embrace change.

any news on the new editor?

Initial release version of the v3 editor is done. just waiting for documentation to be completed.
The Windows VST still is not working for many people; I am thinking we may need a custom driver before it will work reliably.
This is due to long-standing troubles with sysex and the default Windows USB MIDI driver.
I've had it work on my win7 64bit system, so results may vary.

Officially we're supporting the Mac release; we'll make the Windows version available for folks to use with the caution that the VST is known not to work on all systems. The Windows stand-alone editor is working fine.

I expect the manual to be finished next week... release to follow quickly thereafter.

cheers,

Amos