Taurus III MIDI problems

[calaverasgrande]

Got a Moog Taurus III. First owner, I've been using it since new, but only gigged with it twice.
In the last month or so I've gotten heavily into sequencing on my hardware.
Noticed my Taurus is not there for all the notes.
Started out trying a couple things;
I went into the sequencer and made sure the note length was short enough that it was over before the next note happens.
Also goosed up the velocity.
Went into the Taurus and shortened the decay and lowered the sustain so it's just AR, and fairly short.
Swapped the MIDI cable over to the Grandmother to confirm all the notes are getting to the end of the cable.
Finally I power cycled the Taurus.
So the result is that I have much more distinct notes, and the Taurus is only playing all the notes I send it for a couple minutes after I power cycle. Then it starts holding on to notes.
So instead of playing an 8 note melody over 2 measures, it plays the same 8 notes over 8 repetitions of those 2 measures.
NGL it doesn't sound bad musically. But it wasn't what I was trying to make come out of my sequencer!

Been tolerating this for a couple of weeks. Going to open it up to see if anything is loose.

[calaverasgrande]

I got it open just to check that no ribbon cables were loose.
Everything looked normal.

Pressed down on all the ribbon headers just to be safe.
Burnished all the CV inputs with a plug soaked in Deoxit.
Switched jacks can be a problem if they arent used often.
Thats been a failure point on a few effects, synths and amps I own.
But now that I'm listening close its like the VCA isnt always working.
There will be a few notes that play normally then it just drones, however about 10dB quieter than the notes.
Gonna flash the firmware tomorrow.

My theory is that the MCU Chip is having a problem.
The envelopes are almost certainly done by the microprocessor.
Along with LFO and other control voltages.

If it comes to doing component level repair this is a little out of my league. All of it is surface mount.
I've built a couple eurorack modules that are surface mount, but this is different.
I'd need to get a hot air rework setup if any chips are bad. AFAIK there is no graceful way to desolder SMT chips with a plain old Weller iron or Hakko desolderer.

[calaverasgrande]

Okay so I did the firmware update and also restored factory settings.
Something was fixed by one of those.
After a power cycle now I'm getting response to midi notes from my MIDI sequencer.
In fact I just played for about 30 minutes and it never stopped.
So I guess it's fixed?
A little worried that I changed some setting under the hood a long time ago, and the factory reset fixed that.
But I still don't know what setting messes up the notes like that.

[stiiiiiiive]

Well, at least, you got it back to normal and you know what to do if it stutters again -ters agin -ters again -ters again

I confirm that switching jacks can get problematic after some (long) time not used.

Anyway, congrats for soling that, mate This T3 has been winking to my direction for a long time... Do you play it with your feet?

[calaverasgrande]

I mostly play it with my feet.
But even after several years I'm not that great!
You really need a stool to play it properly,
I don't know how all those prog bands pulled it off standing up.
It's only recently that I've gotten into sequencing stuff with an Elektron beat box. The T3 just has a tone that no other synth has. Especially on low notes. But even higher notes have that unique 'beating' tone.
Now I'm thinking of getting a Minitaur to make this more portable.
Hauling around a T3 that I'm not even playing with my feet is silly!

[stiiiiiiive]

Hehe, I get you
The Minitaur is something I will most probably buy at some point: this "no other synth has such lows" stuff is precisely what makes me curious, besides the T3 foot play style. I have a Little Phatty and I feel its lows are more than correct, or rather more than sexy. Have to compare.

Do you play another instrument with your hands while playing the T3?

[calaverasgrande]

Hmm well it's been mostly behaving.
But turns out at least once a day I still have to power cycle it to get it talking to MIDI again.
After I get a few more DIY projects and repairs off my bench I'm going to have to open it up and see if there is a chip or voltage regulator that would benefit from a heatsink.
I don't have a Flir though so I will just have to carefully touch the insides while it's powered up.
Not for the meek. This is an awkward beast to wrangle on a good day!
Might enlist a coffee table for the job.

[BhambriRohunu]

I understand your frustration with your Moog Taurus III not playing all notes correctly, especially after years of reliable performance. While opening it up to check for loose connections is a good first step, there are some other things you can try before getting your hands dirty:

Further Troubleshooting:

MIDI Settings: Double-check your MIDI settings on both the sequencer and the Taurus. Look for options like "Receive All Notes," "Voice Priority," and "Polyphony Mode." Ensure they are set appropriately for your desired behavior.
MIDI Filter: Some sequencers might have built-in MIDI filters. Make sure they are not filtering out specific notes or channels.
Firmware Update: Check if there is a firmware update available for your Taurus III. Updating the firmware might resolve known bugs or glitches.
Factory Reset: Consider performing a factory reset on the Taurus, following the official manual instructions. This might clear any internal settings causing issues.

[AStoker]

I may have a similar issue, but mine is more constant.

When I first received my T3, I used a Roland JV-1080 as a slave and it worked great. I've migrated to a more 'studio-like' setup over the years and I tend to use it more as a slave to other devices. I have a large setup with multiple synths, and a Mio10 MIDI router. When I turn on my setup, I have multiple power supplies, but all my synths are on the FOH power and all come on at once. My T3 never responds to any MIDI request. To make it work I must turn it back off then on, and then it will work fine (all day long if needed). I think it might be receiving something from another device that screws it up during startup, but I don't really know how to fully diagnose the problem, so I thought I would share this and see if anyone else has a similar experience. After reading this thread, I also wonder if a similar issue could be knocking yours out, just at a later time?