Although "Moog bass" redirects here, the term does not always refer to the Moog Taurus, and can refer to any Moog instrument that is programmed to play bass tones.
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music. It was originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981, followed by a less popular redesign, Taurus II, followed from 1981 to 1983. Instead of a conventional keyboard, the Taurus uses an organ-style pedal board similar to the pedal keyboard of a spinet organ. This control method was chosen because the Taurus was intended to be played by foot while the player's hands played one or more keyboards, although it was often used by guitarists. While the original Taurus featured its own synthesis engine, the Taurus II was essentially the same as the Moog Rogue. In 2010, Moog issued the Moog Taurus III which closely emulates the analog circuitry of the Taurus I, in addition to adding some modern features.
The Taurus was originally intended to be part of a larger Moog Musicsynthesizer ensemble called the Constellation. In addition to the monophonic Taurus, the Constellation would have included two keyboards: the monophonic Lyra and polyphonic Apollo. The intention was that the Apollo and Lyra be played with both hands, while bass notes could be played by foot on the Taurus. The sound shaping controls are protected by a removable plastic window in order to avoid accidental adjustments while playing.[1] The Constellation configuration was used prominently on the 1973 Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Brain Salad Surgery. The band also used the Constellation on their subsequent tour, albeit without the Taurus pedal. However, the Constellation was never formally released. Instead, the Apollo synthesizer, designed by Moog's Director of Engineering, David Luce, was redesigned and greatly upgraded to the Moog Polymoog, which was produced from 1975 to 1980; the Taurus I pedal, also designed by Luce, was released as a separate unit from 1975 to 1981. The Lyra synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog, was never commercially released.[2] William Alexander, an engineer for ELP, described the Lyra as "a Minimoog on steroids".[3]
Taurus II
The Taurus II (above) raised the control panel, whereas the Taurus III (below) more closely emulates the original design of the Taurus I.
The original Taurus I was succeeded by the Taurus II, which was produced from 1981 to 1983. The Taurus II uses the same synthesis engine as a contemporary lead synthesizer, the Moog Rogue. The Taurus II was controlled through 18 foot pedals, modulation and pitch bend wheels, and a CV interface. The synthesizer also increased the amount of timbres and effects available. However, the Taurus II had no patch memory or foot controls apart from the pedals.[4] Instead, the control panel was raised so that the player could manipulate it manually during performance.[5]
The value of the Taurus II did not appreciate as significantly as that of the Taurus I; in 2000, Mark Vail noted that the Taurus II was worth only about half as much as its predecessor.[6] In general, the Taurus II is considered to be inferior to the original model because of its different synthesis engine.[5]
Taurus III
In 2010, Moog released a redesigned version of the Taurus called the Taurus III in a limited run of 1,000 units. According to Moog's creative head Cyril Lance, a reissue of the Taurus had been in high demand since his first convention with Moog, the 2006 NAMM Show, shortly after Robert Moog's death.[7] In 2007, Moog CEO Mike Adams proposed that if customers could generate pre-order sales of 250 units, the Taurus would go into production. Work on designing the Taurus III, led by Lance, began that year after 250 units were pre-ordered. Production ceased in June 2012.[8]
The Taurus III overlooks many of the changes made for the Taurus II, instead more closely emulating the original model. For instance, there is only one waveform available for the unit's two oscillators. Some features are added, such as USB and MIDI support, a larger memory capacity, and velocity sensitivity. The Taurus III also adds an arpeggiator and an LFO.[5]
Synthesis model
The Taurus is monophonic, with its single voice generated by two oscillators running through one three-stage voltage-controlled amplifier. For the Taurus I and Taurus III, only one waveform was available: a distorted sawtooth wave.[5] The Taurus II introduced a second waveform, the pulse wave.[4] All models of the Taurus use a 24db/octave resonant low pass filter with key tracking. Although the early models did not include an LFO, the Taurus III has an LFO that can be routed to either oscillator pitch or filter frequency.[5]
Notable users
The Taurus is well known for its use by progressive rock bands, such as Pink Floyd, Triumvirat, Rush, Yes and Genesis.[1][5]Harmonium's bass guitarist, Louis Valois, used the Moog Taurus I during the band's L'heptade tour in 1976-1977, which can be heard in the live recording of one of these shows, Harmonium en tournée. Other bands such as U2 and The Police have also used the synthesizer.[1]John Hackett was known for playing the foot pedals of a Taurus with one hand, while using the other hand to change the octave range.[5]Starcastle bassist Gary Strater was known for using two sets on stage. Phil Collins introduced the distinctive Taurus sound to top 40 radio with his hit "I Don't Care Anymore".
Mike Oldfield named a track after the Taurus I in his 1980 album QE2 and a track after Taurus II in his 1982 album Five Miles Out.
Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which overtones of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound.
An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a British musical equipment manufacturer, founded in 1992 by Ian Jannaway and Mark Thompson as Novation Electronic Music Systems. Today the company specializes in MIDI controllers with and without keyboards, both analog and virtual analog performance synthesizers, grid-based performance controllers, and audio interfaces. At present, Novation products are primarily manufactured in China.
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
Moog Music Inc. is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesizer, followed by the Minimoog in 1970, both of which were highly influential electronic instruments.
The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music in 1981 and sold by Radio Shack from 1982 to 1983 under their "Realistic" brand name. It was produced without some standard Moog features, such as pitch and modulation wheels, as a cost-cutting measure aimed at achieving a lower price for the consumer market. The synthesizer also featured a pair of pass-through RCA jacks, which allowed users to mix radio or records into the final live synthesized sound output.
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer and established the analog synthesizer concept.
The Yamaha GX-1, first released as Electone GX-707, is an analog polyphonic synthesizer organ developed by Yamaha as a test bed for later consumer synths and Electone series organs for stage and home use. The GX-1 has four synthesizer "ranks" or three manuals, called Solo, Upper, and Lower, plus Pedal, and an analog rhythm machine. The GX-707 first appeared in 1973 as a "theatre model" for use on concert stages, before the GX-1 was publicly released in 1975.
The Memorymoog is a polyphonic electronic music synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1982 to 1985, the last polyphonic synthesizer to be released by Moog Music before the company declared bankruptcy in 1987. While comparable to other polyphonic synthesizers of the time period, such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Oberheim OB-Xa, the Memorymoog distinguished itself with an additional, 3rd audio oscillator per voice and greater preset storage capacity.
The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time.
The Moog model 2090 Micromoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1975 to 1979.
The Moog Source is a monophonic Z80 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first Moog synthesizer to feature a flat-panel membrane keyboard to replace the standard buttons, knobs and sliders, along with multihued panel graphics that were very different from anything Moog offered at the time. Sound wise it is considered to sound more like the original Moog Minimoog than any other synthesizer made by Moog and was introduced as its replacement.
The Moog Sonic Six is a duophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1972 to 1979. Because of its portable design and built-in speaker, the Sonic Six was widely used for lectures and educational purposes, often by Bob Moog himself.
The ARP Quadra was a 61-key analog synthesizer produced by ARP Instruments, Inc. from 1978 to 1981. The machine combined pre-existing products: the Omni, Odyssey, a Solina-esque string synthesizer unit, a phaser and a divide-down organ with ADSR envelope, and a 4075 24 db low pass filter into one box. It has four sections. Bass is on the bottom two octaves, has two unison bass circuits, with AR and a single pole low pass filter and a related AD envelope for cutoff. A string section is similar to the ARP Omni. Poly Synth, and a two voice Lead Synth similar to the Odyssey and a five way mixer with four unit outputs, a stereo pair, a line mono and an XLR out.
The ARP Omni was a polyphonic analog synthesizer manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc.
The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and controlled by an external source. These later versions began at serial number 4610. The official model number of the instrument is 336. 336A would indicate a domestic (US) model, while a 336BX would indicate an export unit.
A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.
The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1977. It was released alongside the PS-3100, a more compact variant featuring a complete synthesizer voice board for each of its 48 keyboard notes. The PS-3300 essentially combines three PS-3100 units, triggering all voices simultaneously with each key press and mirroring the PS-3100's overall design, featuring a total of 144 synth voices. The PS-3300 uses the PS-3010, a detachable keyboard equipped with an assignable joystick called the X-Y Manipulator.
The Korg Z1 is a digital synthesizer released by Korg in 1997. The Z1 built upon the foundation set by the monophonic Prophecy released two years prior by offering 12-note polyphony and featuring expanded oscillator options, a polyphonic arpeggiator and an XY touchpad for enhanced performance interaction. It was the world's first multitimbral physical modelling synthesizer.
The Arturia MiniBrute is a synthesizer manufactured by Arturia. Although the MiniBrute was the first piece of analog hardware created by Arturia—which had previously exclusively marketed software synthesizers—it generated strong sales.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
