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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