Order your Minitaur now!

[MC]

And I'm not sure about the comments on 2 oscs going in and out of phase. [...] Is there anything else going on to avoid complete out of phase?

I always thought this was a feature of the Taurus I/Taurus 3 circuit design - no phasing of the oscillators because they work linear V/Hz.

The reason they don't phase out is uneven oscillator levels. A study of the "Taurus" preset on the T1 schematics will confirm this. I can get the non-phase-cancel trick on minimoog, source, or any other V/oct synth.

Linear V/hz has nothing to do with phasing or that big sound. I used to own a PAiA 4700 modular with V/hz oscillators, and they were far from the oomph of the Taurus. In fact the Taurus VCO is just a minimoog style charged cap core without the exponential voltage to current converter (V/hz is linear, V/oct is exponential).

[Mr Arkadin]

The reason they don't phase out is uneven oscillator levels. A study of the "Taurus" preset on the T1 schematics will confirm this. I can get the non-phase trick on minimoog, source, or any other V/oct synth.

So is the reason for this mythology of the 'tight Taurus phase' actually just that the Taurus I preset had a bit more Osc A than B?

[MC]

The reason they don't phase out is uneven oscillator levels. A study of the "Taurus" preset on the T1 schematics will confirm this. I can get the non-phase trick on minimoog, source, or any other V/oct synth.

So is the reason for this mythology of the 'tight Taurus phase' actually just that the Taurus I preset had a bit more Osc A than B?

Bingo.

[EMwhite]

I've got the T3, but I'm pretty psyched about this - hope to get one at some point. I'm guessing you could play it with the Roland PK-5 foot pedals, which I already own - bought them to control my Little Phatty before the Taurus came out.

It's funny how different the reaction is here compared to other synth sites - a lot of people out there just don't get it. Not to mention some of the reactions on the Moog facebook page to the Geddy Lee video - combine Taurus haters with Rush haters and you get some pretty miserable people...

Miserable lot, indeed. And the inverse affect for me (and you); Smiles ear to ear. I think when I was 16, I 'hated' Def Leopard, simply because they were everywhere at the time (including on the boom box at the back of the bus EVERY day). I got over it.

As for Minitaur; I bought one today; the relief of not being interested and therefore being happy to save the $$ (I'm looking to pickup a MAQ 16/3) was short lived.

[Mr Arkadin]

a lot of people out there just don't get it.

Ain't that the truth. I've been on Gearslutz trying to explain that it's not a cut-down Slim Phatty or Rogue/Taurus II. I guess not many 'got' the Taurus 3 either (I remember equal hating of that when it was announced). It's as if because an instrument doesn't appeal to them or have the features they want then they feel no-one else could possibly be interested in it, and also that for some reason Moog owes them. I love all the comments: "No-one will buy this", "Moog will go out of business", "What are Moog thinking, they've lost the plot, this will be the nail in the coffin" etc. They said that when the Moog Guitar, Taurus 3, Moog Slide Guitar etc. were released too.

I mean I have a Taurus 3 and should really think of getting something in a different sound area than something close to what I already have, but I may still buy one. Would be handy for gigs where I can't be bothered to hump my T3 to.

[stiiiiiiive]

As for Minitaur; I bought one today; the relief of not being interested and therefore being happy to save the $$ was short lived.

Congrats!!!

[metron]

a lot of people out there just don't get it.

Ain't that the truth. I've been on Gearslutz trying to explain that it's not a cut-down Slim Phatty or Rogue/Taurus II. I guess not many 'got' the Taurus 3 either (I remember equal hating of that when it was announced). It's as if because an instrument doesn't appeal to them or have the features they want then they feel no-one else could possibly be interested in it, and also that for some reason Moog owes them. I love all the comments: "No-one will buy this", "Moog will go out of business", "What are Moog thinking, they've lost the plot, this will be the nail in the coffin" etc. They said that when the Moog Guitar, Taurus 3, Moog Slide Guitar etc. were released too.

I mean I have a Taurus 3 and should really think of getting something in a different sound area than something close to what I already have, but I may still buy one. Would be handy for gigs where I can't be bothered to hump my T3 to.

I saw that thread. Seems like at least once per page someone says that the Taurus 1/3 and Rogue/MG-1 are the same.

[EricK]

I theorize (but haven't inquired) that the nova price will probably be somewhere in the $500 range positioning the Minitaur as the most affordable Moog synth.


Think back to when Filtratron and Animoog came out and all of the people were hating on Moog for going "soft." All of those people were marketed to who are iphone/ipad crazy got to taste some of that Moog lust and when word gets around at how cheap this is, they are going to sell like hotcakes.

500-600 dollars is in an affordable range. The minitaur could very well be the next "prodigy."

[slabwax]

I ordered one today. I think it will be perfect for my needs. I've always loved the sound of the Taurus pedals, but they just are not practical for me to schlep around. This will be amazing and if I ever need foot pedals I can buy those for a few hundred dollars. WIN, WIN for me.

Dean

[museslave]

Sigh, no presets/ memories Come on Moog, this is 2011, not 1973. Without memories etc, this baby is totally impractical for live and band work, which surely is one of your main markets, right? Looks like I'll have to stick with my Creamware Minimax ....

It is a VERY simple synthesizer. If you can't remember how to get your sounds with these relatively basic controls, you're not trying!
Some of us perform with a Minimoog and remember patches on the fly. That's the cool thing about analog synthesizers... if you work with them enough, you know what sounds are generated by settings!
Presets are a crutch. Synthesizers were invented so you could make your OWN sounds, and so you would find your own voice with the instrument.
Find your own voice!



P.S. I've performed with a PS-3100 live a number of times. Know your keyboard, and programming on the fly in a live setting ain't no thang.

[museslave]

I have played a lot of analog synths. I've played a lot of Moogs. I have been around the block.
I'm going to tell you right now that this thing is well worth the money. It took me about 15 seconds of hearing it before I realized that it was going to be the first modern Moog hardware I have purchased. (okay, the MF-101 I bought about 8 years ago doesn't count!)
The low end is staggering. It's really easy to use. It sounds great. I can't wait to have one.

[unfiltered37]

Seems anyone with the know how to save MIDI cc values can have patch memory, right? Any good controller like the novations have cc memory presets built in. At my own risk, I would ask what the benefit of the minitaur is other than frequencies below 40 Hz, which are not really clearly audible. There is that rumbling feeling that can be cool with a subwoofer, is that the appeal? From the sweetwater video the filter sounds a little different than the mf/phatty/voyager. I'd like to hear more in the higher ranges to get an idea of the differentiation.

[EMwhite]

I can't address you 2nd point (what use is it; very subjective debate) but from a purely technical perspective, a standard Midi controller is not going to give you 'preset' functionality.

I have an SL MKII from Novation and it's a hell of a controller (in addition to be a really quality keybed 'Fatar') but it's and setups (including AutoMap) are merely Templates, albeit fancy ones with descriptive text on backlit LCD. In fact, I purchased my SL (25) to control my Taurus III.

Any of the POTs may have a CC#, starting value, ending value and display/type of either 0..127, -64/+63 [ala Oberheim], Relative 1/2, 0-16K, or an APOT type. But there is nothing to say "send these 22 CC values when I press this button".

What you can do, as Demo-in Dan suggested is to record a sequence of CC's or edit manually in a hex editor then apply it to a track in your DAW. It's all a bit cumbersome.

I'm lobbying for a simple SysEx feature that will provide basic capabilities of accepting a SysEx push from the host (PC/Mac) and alternatively allow for a dump from Minitaur back to your PC/Mac based on current settings across USB. The DIN is only 'in'.

Since the Multipedal and Midi MuRF timeframe, Moog has become very savvy from a Midi perspective so hopefully they already have this in the works. I have no inside information, just a hope. For me (I'm a bit like Marc), the unit alone is grand, same vibe as my Old School Voyager; but if Moog could produce a list of all T3 Presets in slightly reformatted SysEx format, they will attract a great many more adopters.

[muksys]

I'm lobbying for a simple SysEx feature that will provide basic capabilities of accepting a SysEx push from the host (PC/Mac) and alternatively allow for a dump from Minitaur back to your PC/Mac based on current settings across USB. The DIN is only 'in'.

In the specs:

MIDI:

•MIDI (DIN) – Standard DIN MIDI input for MIDI Control of the MINITAUR

•MIDI (USB) – Type B USB connector for connecting MINITAUR to host for USB MIDI.

I'm thinking that the USB will only give the option of MIDI IN as well, which, correct me if I'm wrong, will not allow for a SysEx Dump from the Minitaur to a computer. I, for one, like this idea. It will kinda force people to stop relying on software and editors and menu's to make music and get back to what a synthesizer really is...a tangible instrument!

[EMwhite]

It doesn't specify (Midi in only or in and out) across USB; Certainly the conduit (wire) and the protocol (low level communication for establishing connection, negotiating, etc. DOES bi-directional so if Moog chooses to, it's a mere software detail.

But I see your point of view. The one thing that somewhat forced me into learning about analog synthesis (from a practical perspective... books and theory will only get you so far) is the fact that I bought an Old School and not the RME that I was once considering.