Moog Taurus 2 Controller pedal CV controller
Last Update 06-14-2014
Moog released the Taurus II in 1981 which comprised two separate
units consisting of bass pedal unit and monophonic synthesizer
module. The synth module was suspended above the pedal unit via a
microphone stand. The synth module circuitry was a duplicate of
the Moog Rogue and is not highly regarded for bass timbres compared to
its famous predecessor Taurus I
bass pedal synthesizer. The
lesser known and
rarely seen cousin is the Taurus II Controller. This was the base
pedal assembly without the synthesizer module, strictly
a CV controller with no synthesizer circuitry whatsoever producing
CV and trigger outputs only. The
trainspotting differences are the rear panel and the "CONTROLLER"
legend on the front panel under the "Taurus II" label. Some were
labeled in white, some in gold. Most of the units I have seen
with gold labels tended to fade or wear off.
For years I have coupled the Taurus II to my Moog Source via the
factory modification known as service bulletin 853B (scans of page 1, page 2, and page 3), which
modifies the
Taurus II controller to serve as a remote controller for the
Source. The reason I did this was when I routed the Taurus
II
control outputs to the CV/trigger inputs on the rear panel of the
Source, you cannot get multiple trigger and the CV input is not
processed by the glide processor. This modification corrects
that. I used the Taurus II/Source combination to great effect for
many years, and Mike Rutherford of Genesis adopted the Taurus II/Source
system in the last years of the band. You can catch glimpses of
the Taurus/Source in their 1992 Genesis Live video (not sure it ever
got released on DVD).
I really liked this combination as long as the Source was my bass
synthesizer. When I owned an Elka DMP-18 bass
pedal MIDI
controller and tried it with my MIDI devices, I really liked the
options offered by using my feet to play timbres other than just
bass. Alas the Elka was disappointing so I sold it,
and I began to look into retrofitting my Taurus with MIDI. My
Source already had a MIDI retrofit so it was ready. The
best retrofit I found was the Highly Liquid MIDI CPU which
unfortunately is no longer made. You have to rewire the key
contact system to use
the retrofit but it allows you to use the Taurus II as a polyphonic
controller for your MIDI devices so you can play two-note chords with
your feet. If you males want a three note chord you'll have to
use your third appendage - if you can (if you dare...).
Specifications
The Taurus II Controller is an 18 note control voltage (CV) controller
that contains no synthesizer circuitry. It generates CVs for keys
pressed and V-trig/S-trig signals for controlling old analog
synthesizers. It includes range and scale pots for transposing
the CV output so it will work with vintage analog synthesizers that
have CV/trigger inputs and with modular synthesizers. The Taurus
II is monophonic and single trigger only. It requires a hefty
24VDC "wall-wart" transformer that is hard to find so be sure it is
included when you buy one. The one stupid feature is the DC input
for the wallwart - it is a 1/8" jack. There is a danger of
shorting out your wallwart because the tip and sleeve will short
circuit briefly as you insert it, so be sure the wall wart has no power
when you insert or remove the plug. This is often why these
things turn up missing in auctions or classified ads.
The DIN jack pictured on my unit is
not factory - I added that jack to interface with the Moog Source using
factory bulletin 853B described above. I eliminated the wallwart
on my modification by routing power rails from the Source, which was
much safer and more goof-proof. That's why I used a 5-pin DIN
jack. I always like the 18 note
range better as the more common 13 note one octave range was never
enough. The keyset is comfortable to play, I always liked the
Lowrey organ keymolds that were used on vintage Taurus
synthesizers. Back in the 1970s/1980s, Moog Music was owned by
the huge music conglomerate Norlin Corporation which also owned Lowrey
organs, Gibson guitars, Pearl drums, Maestro pedal effects, Lab Series
amplifiers, and many other brands. It was not uncommon to use
components between brands as they were essentially the same ownership
(hence Taurus using keysets from Lowrey organs), and the Moog factory
did build non-moog products such as the Lab Series and Maestro
lines. One thing that annoyed me about the Elka pedal
controller is it was too easy to bump neighboring keys and it would
"shut off" the note you were playing. The Taurus II didn't have
that problem, which was why I kept it and sold the Elka.
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