I just recieved my REV 2 Minitaur and first of all, what HUGE sound!!! This is my first Moog, and only my second analog synth, and I am BLOWN AWAY by how much fuller the sound is out of this thing than I expected. The only thing taking away from a perfect experience is that after loading the newest firmware and the Editor, the Editor and Minitaur keep losing contact with each other. Cannot currently get them to connect at all! It was working for a day upon first install, but now is not. Thankfully I have MIDI mappability of functionality, but there are other features I would like to access. I imagine this will be an easily resolveable issue, however, and still absolutely love this synth!

This little box is easily the best bang for your buck of modern-day Moogs. The oscillators are fat AND rocksteady (one often excludes the other), and the filters are sublime with the sweetest self-oscillation if you push them, no harsh or squelchy distortion.

For all the bread-and-butter sounds you won't get better sound quality and presence than this for your money, and it's not just for bass... leads, beats and sound effects too, if you play it from a CV/Gate keyboard you can go as high as you like.

Personally I prefer the Minitaur oscillators and filters over those in the Minimoog Voyager and the Little Phatty, both which sound a tad harsher than the Minitaur, they're on par with a vintage Minimoog and is of course a recreation of the Taurus 1 circuitry, which was a bit more growly than the Mini.

Of course you don't get all the exotic modulation routings, but again, control it with a CV/Gate keyboard like the Arturia Mini/Micro-Brute and you'll have one of the best and most flexible combinations around, I'd take that over a Little Phatty any day.

I've marked it down on features giving it only 4/5, since it doesn't have noise and the LFO is rather basic, but as said above, pair it up with the Arturia Minibrute which has noise and an extensive LFO all with CV/Gate outs, and as the Minitaur has ins for CV/Gate (pitch and filter) and audio input, there's your noise and LFO sources. In addition you can do cool stuff like FM sounds by using the Brute's audio oscillators as a CV modulation source, sky's the limit.

I have two Minimoogs, one vintage and one modern, and still I turn to the Minitaur for those bread-and-butter sounds, they honestly rival the vintage Minimoog and it's all in a tiny box that fits on your desk.

This machine indeed offers the best MOOG bass "bang for your buck"! Like others I was instantly impressed by the chunkiness and the beef that the Minitaur delivers and how easy it is to dial in a good bass sound on this unit. The standalone editor works fine for me, I do have a problem though with the LFO Rate knob that gives me uneven behaviour. I have emailed Moog about it and I hope this wil soon be fixed in some way.

I have A/B tested the Minitaur with my mate's Minimoog Model D and it definately comes very close to the sound that the Model D delivers. In fact the Minitaur sounds even chunkier than the Model D! So if you need a cheap machine to deliver that famous Moog bass look no further and get yourself a Minitaur, you won't be disappointed!

Of course if you need more modulation options or want to play high pitched leads it would be better to get a Sub Phatty or Little/Slim Phatty or a Sub 37, but if it is just Moog bass that you need then there is no better or cheaper option in my opinion.

This is my first post on GS after being a long-time forum follower. I'm very much in debt to fellow GS members for third-party advice, so thanks!

This thing is incredible. It's my first hardware (and analog, duh) synth, after using NI Massive for most of my bassy lines in the past. After about 30 minutes messing around with it, I've been able to dial in some amazing (and versatile) sounds... everything from CLEAN sub-bass to dubby wobble to saturated sawtooth, etc. Having the tactile interface to modulate and 'print' to my DAW is so great... adds a ton of dimension without going in an adding a bunch of envelopes, velocity controls, etc. to your MIDI lines.

I highly recommend it, really for any producer/musician who has a need for full bass synth noises. Previously, I had started to get away from VST's for bass tones, as I felt they didn't carry the dynamics, weight, and pleasing harmonics of a simple bass guitar (DI thru something like Ampeg's SVX plug-in, which is awesome too, btw). This thing will be highlighted on many many track to come for me.

Cheers,
Eddie

This is a special module for creating synthesizer bass. He only plays MIDI notes up to 72), so if the goal is oboe or violin emulate that, forget it. All it is optimized for generation of bass. It features two oscillators (where the latter can vary +/- 12 semitones relative to the first). You can choose between two types of waves (saw and square) freely for each oscillator. The manual mentions a time thermal stabilization of the oscillator in 10 minutes.The filter is of the low-pass, 24dB. The tracking is extremely accurate, the more accurate true in some digital synthesizers.

There are two envelopes, one for the filter, and one for VCA (voltage controlled amplifier). It has two operating modes. A traditional, ADSR (where you have to press the release button and move the release control) and another mode wherein Decay / release are controlled simultaneously.
This second way seems strange but very interesting.

There is a LFO (low frequency oscillator) so triangular wave, ranging from very slow (some oscillations per minute) to the spectrum low frequency audio. Can be directed for the filter or the two oscillators. Modulations in Minitaur are limited, compared with the most of the other synthesizers. You can, however,
increase the capacity modulation using the CV inputs (Volume, Pitch and Filter), which can be redirected by the user to any parameter.

An editor is available for editing and access the parameters that are not on the panel. Many complain that the editor is unstable, but had no problems in this regard.


Two special resources should be highlighted:

Note sync:

This feature makes the two oscillators, each received note-on, start in the same phase, guaranteeing the largest possible signal at the beginning of each delivery note. It is an unusual feature, but once used, is indispensable for precise and deep bass.

Glide Exponential:

Glide (also known as portamento, which is the transition from one note to another, gradually) may be three types: time constant, constant or exponential rate. The exponential is the most musical, starts fast and
slows down when it gets close to the destination. It is a heritage of Taurus synthesizers, very welcome.

The construction and finish are good, but the Moog simpler finish of every line. It is full metal. The buttons are traditional (and not encoders) with well sized courses.

On the back, MIDI IN (no MIDI OUT or THRU), USB, audio IN and OUT, an extra output for headphones, three inputs CV and Gate. It is possible to send data
CV / Gate to MIDI (via USB).


Subjective sound analysis


I will try to describe the sound without being too cliché.

Oscillators are very nice. The two forms wave, for creating low, are more than enough. It is a pleasure to play using only a square wave, slowly modulating the filter with fingers in real time.
Even this is the strongest point of the synthesizer, the real-time control. The pots are very good, are nicer than encoders. The encoder generally has no beginning or end, in pot you know exactly where the control starts and ends.

The filter is the center of what is known as "the timbre Moog ", easily recognizable. The resonance is the differential of this filter, I think. compared with other analog filters that I know, is the softest and accepts most types of input musical form. Some filters DSI is the most aggressive that does not match
some sounds, for example, a full chord organ. In a way, I think the filter deserves the reputation it has. I put some other things in the audio input (drum machine, a digital synthesizer and other analog, all synchronized via MIDI) and everything was very stocky.

Below, three sound samples. I did nothing isolated, because
is kind of boring to listen, put the bass in a more context
music:

https://soundcloud.com/casperjam/moog-minitaur-test-1

https://soundcloud.com/casperjam/teste-moog-minitaur-2

https://soundcloud.com/casperjam/teste-moog-minitaur-3

In the latter has some leads, coming on the notes more acute the Minitaur reaches.

That's it.

I really like how it sounds. You can do a lot with this little synth, since it has CV and audio inputs, so you can modulate it externally and use other shapes (if you have other synths)...
I like it so much

Driver under windows sucks ass...I found work around - using generic MIDI device drivers, but librarian should be turn on before ableton and Midi should be routed externally (via cable)
But under Mac there is no such issues (as far as I know)

This synthesizer is among the best purchases I've ever done.
I have used it extensively in my latest productions, and it always manages to get its way into the tracks because of the definition and power of its low-end.
The synth also does its job for mid-range leads. However given that it is monophonic and has a physical limit in the maximum note it can generate you have to know what you are purchasing it for: beefy basses and subs.

The editor (v.3) currently has a few glitches in saving the patches (from time to time it does not retain the velocity > VCA and velocity > VCF values, at least in my setup), however for the rest it's all as simple as it gets.
Over time Moog has also added very welcome features such as an on-board patch memory and a release control. It's one of those cases in which you buy the product and get very nice goodies later on with continued customer support.

The MT is a great entry level analog synth. The sound is fantastic and many varieties of sound can be coaxed out of it. The feature set is a bit limited (fixed LFO shape, minimal modulation options, only two osc waveshapes), but for a new synthesist limited features is better so one is not overwhelmed by bells and whistles. Plus it's emulating the Taurus pedals...not a Voyager.

Pros:
Sounds great
Real Moog filter
Very usable resonance
Capable of a wide variety of sounds
Preset storage
Editor is easy to use
More vintage sounding than Sub series.

Cons:
Preset scrolling is easy to get lost
Hidden features need editor
No power switch
No midi out
Notes capped at C5