Moog Minitaur et al., opinions?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Hi!

I’m in the market for a small synth module to pair with my Analog Four.

I’d like to get something straightforward – the Elektrons have much depth and I like the workflow, so I’m not looking for anything to make things more complex - I’d like a fairly simple sound source.

I have my eye on the Moog Minitaur. I’m aware it doesn’t have full range, but I think the Analog four can handle higher leads and effect sounds.

It’d be great to hear from people owning the synth – how do you like it? Can it do smooth, dubby bass in addition to the growling stuff? Any other thoughts?

Any options in mind? I’ve kind of ruled out the Microbrute (slightly too big, not crazy on the sound)…

#2

I don’t own one, but a close collaborator does. So I’ve used it a lot.
It’s one of my favourite synths (and I have owned loads over the years)
massively wide sweet spot, one knob per function. Sounds fucking amazing
two oscillators. If you like dub, you’ll love the low end on it, really smooth filter and great oscillators.
a perfect companion, not a purchase you’ll regret in my opinion.
Only real criticism is that it’s such a dedicated bass machine. That’s what it does really well, and that’s pretty much all I’ve ever used it for, but I end up using it on virtually every track if it’s on the studio.

#3

I think the minitaur is the best “bang for buck” (small footprint) synth there is.

I have a sub37 and still use my minitaur pretty much all the time. I love sequencing it via modular (cv).

1 Like
#4

Moog lovers might kill me, but i love my minitaur more than my little phatty.
I guess its the size and convenience of the knobs all in one place. No two page garbage.
Also, the minitaur editor works a treat.
Have minibrute and microbrute but use them for basic analog sounds.
I reckon minitaur and sub 37 would be knobby heaven together.
My minitaur is run by A4 cv. Calibration is better now with the A4 os update. Still took me a while, but i had consumed a few too many beers beforehand.

It seems to be a piece of “must have kit”.
Sure the A4 does bass, but why not use the cv track instead of one of the others?
Couple it with a cp-251 and you can get some funky shit going on.
I just love american made, moog kit.

Up to you…

Ps i believe the brutes are chinese.
Dont get me wrong, i really like them.

1 Like
#5

Whoa - this is very encouraging.

I’d have thought the limitations make this somehow less cool than the competition, but that does not seem to be the case… Interrresting.

#6

http://www.dreadbox-fx.com/erebus-synthesizer.html

http://www.dreadbox-fx.com/erebus-synthesizer.html

1 Like
#7

Minitaur is really great. Super MIDI implementation with all sorts of tricks. When you want to, you can use it with a DAW and save your patches with your project which is a godsend.

Sound wise, I don’t think many are disappointed if it’s bass they want.

1 Like
#8

Good shout! Really nice stuff going on with this one.

#9

Good shout! Really nice stuff going on with this one.[/quote]
Wow, didn’t know this one. I have the same doubt in my head…
Looking for a simple (bold) module to be sequenced by the MNM. Top on my list is Mr Minitaur still…

#10

The Minitaur is great. Definitely limited – make sure you want “that sound” before you get it. I had it for a while, thinking it would be the bass in all my productions, and eventually got tired of the sound.

It’s also so bassy that I sometimes wished for a highpass or EQ to help it fit in the mix. Obviously that’s easy ITB, but not necessarily live

2 Likes
#11

i always prefer limited synths to synths that do everything but nothing proper (like the A4 in a way). the miniatur is killer. there’s some bold and juicy basses in there. excellent choice of parameter ranges. great supplement for the A4.

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#12

@josker

Just get it, you won’t regret it. Although I find the software implementation buggy (the pc editor).

Also, it does bug me that there are not enough knobs and you must use the pc editor to access these. On the plus side is the sound; it just sounds amazing. The bass is out there, not heard anything come close to it.

#13

Things to consider with the Erabus:

Awesome patch panel(it’s a mini modular)
Sweet built in analog delay
Pre-fed filter
2 envelopes
Paraphonic
Built like a tank
Cheaper than the moog
Isn’t a moog

I have both - if you want versatile get the Erabus

#14

I don’t know why people criticize the Minitaur for doing exactly what it’s supposed to do - be a bass synth. It is awesome and has been the most enjoyable experience I’ve had with a synth (very different from my experience with the Slim Phatty).

I would love an Erebus though.

#15

I was considering trading the Minitaur away for a Sub Phatty, but I can’t. If anything I’ll end up with both. The Minitaur is perfect for a HUGE, smooth low end. If I need more “character” in the bass sound I can always combine it with another synth playing the same part.

#16

that new dreadbox looks nice

for what it’s worth, moog has excellent support and they hold their value

if you don’t have any other moog, it’s worth grabbing…even with my sub37 I refuse to get rid of the minitaur because I use it so much

#17

if you get bored of the fat bass sound of the minitaur you always have the filter. Try sending a kick drum into it and you basically have a dedicated unit to process mono sources with.

I actually like the chirpy sounds of the minitaur that are on the edge of its octave range.

but yea you have to be tasteful with it. Nothing like starting a song with a moog filter sweep hahaha

10611282_1527151704167467_975995219_n.jpg640×640 96.3 KB

it’s out of the rack for now this is an old picture, needed space to mount another 3u of eurorack :smiley:

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#18

Got an A4 and a Minitaur and love the combo. Sold my Voyager rme to get the A4 when the RYTM and the elektron workflow got me hooked. No regrets there

Microbrute is nice and has very flexible sound options, but it’s more for live tweaking IMO, not so much a slave unit, I mostly use the brute for noodling around and to feed it into my modulars. the mini can be almost left alone after you send it some pitch, gate and filter cv’s.

#19

Heh… Here’s my way of saying thanks:

I don’t know why, but I’ve been just plonking notes into the Minitaur and tweaking. This isn’t usually what happens, but I guess something about the immediacy in comparison to many other machines…

Now I need to find out some stuff:

  1. Some settings don’t seem to actually change when changing presets from the Editor – The Velocity to Filter feature from Under The Hood, for instance.

  2. I’ve never used CV and to me it’s something that will probably fry your expensive synths. But there’s bound to be some advantages to using CV, since all the cool kids are doing it.

But again, thanks a lot for all the sage advice – wish I could buy a round for you. A person with a new synth can never be trusted to be objective about anything, but I really think I made a good choice – the A4 provides all the depth I need, the Minitaur is the synth equivalent of, uh, the bass guitar. :slight_smile: Duh.

4 Likes
#20

tighter and more reliable, kinda negligible tho when there’s midi to cv conversion anywhere in between.