So - I m now seriously considering the minitaur for the low end goods-

I'm looking to get a really rich 1979-1983's boogie bass sound
- much like zapp, lakeside, etc

I cannot spring for a vintage minimoog model d , nor is a new voyager an option..

so 2 questions- in a blind "taste test"

(if anyone has done a really good comparable a-b )

does the minitaur come with the goods for this?
tone, warmth, versatility of bass?


I really dont mind spending 600$ for something that does just a solid bass sound if it sounds vintage and great..

I'm planning to go rent one a weekend soon for myself-
but any one who really has done a side by side ( or other thoughts here) please weigh in.

also, *** please feel free to share some tips or trademark processing techniques to achieve this sound.

thanks!



D

check this thread. Lots of usefull informations

https://gearspace.com/board/electron...ass-lines.html

thanks

why did moog stop making the voyager old school?

im thinking to give my paypal a kick in the gut and find a nice Old school instead if i can score one for around 2200$
.. ahh mannn..

Definitely check the Minituar, maybe suit you

I found only one Old school version on ebay for 2,799$

Moog Minimoog Voyager Old School Analog Synth /MINI MOOG 44keys/BRAND NEW | eBay

Agree +1 on minitaur.

Having previewed a Prodigy, Rogue, and Source before getting the minitaur, I found it has the Moog sound in spades. The oscs are wonderful and the Filter is optimized for bass. It rattles the walls and ceiling, and still sounds clear as a bell.

Plus with all the midi and cv options, it is really versatile and automate-able.

+1 on the Minitaur, and at $600 it's hard to beat for value.

Love the Minitaur, and the V2 update was a pleasant unexpected surprise, giving you 100 very useable presets. Build quality is superb too. Nice !

My Minitaur makes those Model D basses better than my Voyager (had a Model D before and recognize the bass sound in the Minitaur)

The Moog Taurus bass pedals are legendary, and were used on a lot of classic tracks that get mistaken for minimoog or whatever. The Minitaur is great reinvention of these for the modern USB midi world. I love mine, although I tend to like using the new square waves for a more modern sound.

A large part of vintage sounds is how the raw synth was processed - and I like to treat my Minitaur like a raw bass guitar and then process it from there ... it really responds to compression and distortion and FX ...

It's not really a lazy persons all in one bass solution, in my opinion. Soft synths are an easier solution if you are working ITB - and they can be routed through some analog stuff to warm them up. I'm no vintage purist, but i'm very inspired by vintage sounds. But unless you go the whole hog and track to analog tape etc, etc, I don't see a huge need to try to recreate the hardware used - just let the sound be an inspiration and create the tones you imagine using the gear you have. Very few people could identify a good software bass from an analog bass in a mix, and the convenience and workflow might suit you better.

FWIW.

Can you get extra polyphony with the minitaur if you already have the bass pedals...? A little overkill I know, but just curious.

No, unfortunate not. It would've great to get rid of the high note limit and add possibility to multi chain for polyphony

Ha ha ha, sorry to come off flippant but the Minitaur is a no-brainer.
Download the manual here.

The minitaur sounds great, but I think a slim phatty or little phatty might be better for that kind of early 80s funk bass you want. The minitaur kind of has a darker/aggressive tone to me, whereas you generally want something a little more syrupy/sweet sounding for that kind of funk you're talking about. Which is more of the LP/SP sound, imo.

I do think the minitaur has the more vintage sound, but more like early 70s vintage than early 80s, to me at least.

yeah, I saw this one too..

damn shipping and customs makes it way more than i already shouldn't justify spending

i saw one used local for 2000$ but the post was old, i think i would have jumped on it..!

this is kind of what i was looking to hear

this suprises me a bit , but perhaps we aren't understanding- 80's bass kind of changes a lot with time- like 80-82 style stuff..
and late 70's for sure.. not the more sharp / colder electronic sounding stuff of the mid 80's..

i did try out the slim phatty , and really wasnt impressed.

i went though every pre set only found a few i liked, then some time tweaking too - and got a few nice sounds but not enough to justify it.

no doubt it has versatility, and i only messed with it for a couple hours- but sounding like it'd be much more at home in a dubstep/electro based producers lab.. not as much warm, deep house & funk.

also - probably the right post processing/ fx on the minitaur will brighten it to achieve "that zapp sound"

I have a D as well and the Minitaur holds it own.
For that price it´s a no brainer.

It blows a Phatty out of the water regarding tone.

Since the Minitaur doesn´t have a noise source like the D, you can patch in noise from another mono via the input. Needed for some classic Minimoog basses.

I can vouch for this also. There was a time when I was humming and harring about buying a Little Phatty, and went in to demo it extensively 2/3 times before deciding It wasn't quite what I'd hoped it would be. (even though it was a great synth).

Having just got a Minitaur, I can confirm above. This is a Moog alright, with the classic growling Moog sound. Alot more limited obviousley, but the sheer weight and quality in sound is quite phenomenal tbh.

It exceeded my expectations and was alot better in person, than all the demo's I'd listened to.`

Just go and get one! You won't be dissapointed.

Question to the Minitaur owners. Is there a way to control the minitaur with a vintage synth with CV in/out? I'm not a fan of midi keyboard controllers. Thinking about getting a minitaur though and would need a keyboard to play it. Since I'm also planning on getting a vintage synth with CV, just wondering if I could use that as my controller for the Minitaur?

yeah good idea, I could run the cv out from my odyssey into it ..

just ordered one! got my friend at the shop to hook me up with a staff discount - 499$

sweeet!

I can also vouch for this. I used to own an LP, sold it and don't miss it. I picked up the Minitaur on a whim and its been used in every track since. Outstanding value for the money and sounds like it should cost a lot more. I think if you look around you'll be hard pressed to find too many people who don't like it.

Damn. I think I need a Minitaur!

looking for moog bounce, funk etc.. from expensive to less expensive id choose mini>source>multimoog

[discaimer] havent tried minitaur in the flesh yet (one is coming to me on tryout next month from a nearby store), but must say i dig its general tone from them crapload of demos, much moreso than i ever liked vygr/lp when i had them on tryout.

comparing to old machines, i seem to repeatedly notice its filter/resonance are quite pure. tho i think this could be brought more into vintage ballpark, if one so desires, by touch of saturation driving hot a transformer based pre. my only gripe except the pitch range limitation, it it misses the pulse wave - many trademark moog basses use second oscillator set to narrow pulse wave an octave higher from fundamental square/saw on VCO1. i find it indispensable on minimoog.

never the less, now with preset memory too, Minitaur is really a total non-brainer at $600 for moog bass. and so small and practical. if you need leads, get something else next to it.. de, de2 etc. you can almost squeeze two nice monos for a grand - now these are definitely wonderful times to be into analog ..

Hey, you have a Minimoog, you don't need a Minitaur.

I have the main 3 in my studio, Minimoog, Minitaur and Voyager. The crap people espouse about the best bass sound not available on whatever is ignorance.

If people ain't got no Moog in the studio get a Minitaur. You don't have to be wise guy to work that out. That's the no-brainer Moog for bass only work. The other synths, granted, do so much more.

All Moog models have a type of bass sound that is integral to the model. The classic sound is Minimoog.

No Moog = no Moog bass.

the question is..

can you make some famous bass with all those moogs you own, famousbass ?



seriously tho, yeah wasnt talking bout my intent to buy it, but to OP in search of affordable moog bass. tho i might be interested in it if i start gigging again - id rather take minitaur than minimoog with me... for many reasons incl. memory and obviously size/weight.

People stop your making want to go out and buy a minitaur



.

+1 for minitaur

Amazing bass and I find I use it for leads alot as well I love the midrange tone of this synth, could not be happier,

It's my new sketch pad synth as well I'm more into making tracks if I start with a basic synth like the minitaur, love the limitations and no menus

If the OP is absolutely set on having a real Moog...the Minitaur seems to be the Best Booming Bass Bang for the Buck right now. (say that five time fast lol)

However, given the type of sound you say you are after, I would encourage you to also look at the Studio Electronics SE-1 or SE-1X. You could pick one up used in the same ballpark as a new Minitaur.

I was looking at the Voyager, LP, Minitaur models but picked up an SE-1X for my bass duties and couldn't be happier (I seem to have become quite the SE advocate on this board recently )

It has a couple of things I like about it that are missing from the Minitaur: primarily...the 3rd Oscillator. A majority of the bass sounds I program utilize this third OSC (to get that octave sound)...so I don't know if I would want to go back to a 2 OSC for bass. So for me that means Minimoog or Voyager (read: $$$)

On the SE you also get a Triangle waveshape for all three oscillators. Combine-able waveforms. 4 Envelopes. Pulse width available on all three oscs. 3 LFOs. 12db and 24db filters. Noise. An extensive modulation matrix.
...oh and no limitation to the pitch range of the oscillators.

What you don't get is USB / USB Midi, CV, that cool oscillator start sync thingy, or regular active updates / features from Moog.

( I may be missing some things...others can add... )

Also there is a common complaint the envelopes on the SE are not fast enough. I don't find this to be a limitation per se, but it is something to note.

For that funky, resonant, Zapp and Roger type bass sound (I call it Skate Rink Bass lol), the SE-1(x) will do it no problem. I think it's overall tone can come off as a bit more aggressive / dirty than the Voyager, but that can help cut through a mix.

Here is an example of the SE-1X with a resonant Moogy-type bass sound in action. This is a rough noodle / mix and the synth is being played in real time so the timing is off in a few places but you get the idea.

Zero processing done on the SE-1X this is raw into the Daw.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

nice tune

yea man, you make a good point about a 3rd osc , especially for it +1 oct

and indeed it's great value still - one on ebay now for 699$ for the OG SE-1 .is strong.
but with shipping and customs it would be over 900$ .
the new x-1 is too expensive for the budget.
and for me, it comes down to personal situation/ studio gear -
having just bought an odyssey two months ago, and also the fact that my synths are all vintage, i think it will be nice to benefit from the usb midi, fresh updates/ new patches etc of the minitaur.

using my arp via CV should work nicely to dirt it up a lil too..

I also like your track , cool stuff