Synth newbie, can you help with nomenclature and function?

[brother firefingers]

Hi, I formerly owned a set of Taurus pedals and regret having sold them... they were very straight-forward, and intuitive in design. Recently, I have gotten back into synthesizer sounds for fills in recording and live work, and picked up an ARP Axxe. Following, I found an essentiall NOS Taurus II controller which I bought, and finally a Moog Rogue. I understand the Rogue is the same mechanically as the Taurus II.

With that as a preface, I have been told that I can use the Taurus II controller to trigger the Rogue, thereby essentially giving me the Taurus II synth with the added bonus of a keyboard. I was told that the controller uses "CV", a term which I am ashamed to say I can't even define, let alone apply. The ARP Axxe also has CV ins and outs so I suppose if the info I got was correct, the Taurus II controller will also trigger the ARP.

Ok, so here is where I need help: can someone define and describe "CV" for me, and further, tell me exactly what I need (cable/connector-wise) and how to connect the Rogue (and/or the ARP) to the Taurus II controller so that I can get going? FYI the ARP has a much smaller jack; it appears to be 1/8" while the Moog's looks more like a standard 1/4". I assume these are TRS sockets, but don't know what goes where, whether I can buy a cable off-the-shelf, or whether I need to make, or have one made. Also, there are "S-trigger" sockets on the synths and controller too; what is this and how does one use it?

Sorry for the kindergarten questions but I would rather get the info up front than get frustrated, or possibly damage my equipment with experimentation.

~Brother Firefingers

[HowIMadeMyMillions]

CV stands for controlled voltage. The notion to use varying voltages to represent varying musical notes is essentially what started the synthesizer revolution. When you press a key on your rogue, a voltage is assigned to that key. Go one note up (or down), the voltage changes a degree accordingly to yield a different tone. So now you can look at a C note as a C volt! (sorry trying to keep it simple here). When you use the glide function on your moog, you are actually blurring or blending the voltage steps. When the glide is on full, all the notes are blended into one sloping voltage change. When off, it's back to nice individual steps/voltages for each key. The keyboard on a moog is simply a controller, a way to provide voltage signals to the rest of the synth. This said, you can use other devices to supply voltages. For instance if you plug in a moog 1130 drum controller to your minimoog, the drum becomes the keyboard. Except in this occassion it is how hard you hit the drum which yields different voltages instead of what key you hit. Another example is a pitch ribbon controller. The postion on the ribbon is the same as the position of a depressed key on a keyboard. There are many different ways of getting volatges to your moog brains. Your Taurus ( which I'm not familiar with ) would essentially take the place of your rogue keyboard as the voltage controller! The s-trigger and 1/4 inch plugs you need to do this all provide the synth with the proper "info" from the controller....when the key is depressed, how long it's held and what note it is. Check out some other moog sites or synth sites for more info onthe actual hardware as I'm unfamiliar with both your moog and arp set-up. But the principles are the same. Hope this helps! HIMMM

[brother firefingers]

Thank you for the clear and concise explanation! I was able to create a mental image from your description, and it makes perfect sense (with regards to the Controlled Voltage).

I am still not clear on what the "S-trigger" is, and if it operates in conjunction with CV or independant of it. Got another minute or two?

Thanks again.

[brother firefingers]

I wanted to add that I was able to spend about an hour tonight with The Rogue, and to my surprise and delight I "got the hang' of a couple of key features, including tuning the two oscillators to themselves, fourths/fifths, and octaves, as well as detuning. I was able to get some huge low end that destroys anything my little ARP Axxe puts out... last night I held the opposite opinion, but tuning the oscillators, setting a rate that I like, and using the mod wheel to stop and start oscillation combined to make me turn 180 degrees.

Huge sounds! The emphasis and cutoff also have a huge bearing on the "size" of the sound... a little goes a long way. I used the attack and decay to dial in a sound that I had in my head from some early Rush songs... very fun and satisfying.

I look forward to your suggestions and input. ~Tim