Moog Taurus I vs. Taurus III shootout comparison

My comparison of the (1978) Moog Taurus I vs. Moog Taurus III.

Recorded live with no effects.

NOTE:
The clickling sound you hear when playing the T1 is due to the fact that I built a wooden riser to go under the pedals. The purpose was to keep them from touching the ground and to provide a cutaway to be used with an Apex keyboard stand. The clicking sound comes from the pedals hitting the wood slightly when depressed. For the video I put a leather guitar strap underneath to reduce the clicking. Also, the white markers on the pedal caps are removable stickers. I found that it really helps on a dark stage esp if used with a black light.

My conclusion?

TAURUS I
Pros: The Taurus 1 still wins in overall 'Mojo' bass sound. But not by much. There is just something elusive & magic about the growl/swirl/swoosh that the original makes to my ears vs. the newer model. Everytime a T1 owner hits a low 'C', somewhere Bob Moog is smiling.
Cons: Approaching 40 years old! My T1 is temperamental, and takes at least 30 minutes to warm up so that no notes will stick / drop out. The tuning does not drift but it can be difficult to calibrate the beat frequency for different settings / ranges. Switch contacts & panel buttons are getting old.

TAURUS III
Pros: As close as you can get to the original model as anything else currently in production, including plug-ins. Added functionality, MIDI & CV ins takes it far beyond the original in terms of sonic possibilities. Bonus Arpeggiator is a nice addition. Limited run. Real wood sides. Enclosed bottom plate to keep out dust & debris.
Cons: #1. The weight!! Did they have to recreate everything from the original? I was expecting a smaller, lighter footprint than the original but the T3 is as big & heavy if not more than the original.
#2. Believe it or not, but despite the fact that it has USB, Moog does NOT offer an editor program for the T3. All editing is done from the floor (unless of course you put it on a tabletop, but that defeats the purpose, no?) ...Hope you have a good strong back!!
Other gripes:
I prefer the rear-mounted jacks of the T1. Also the 'rollers' are less ergonomic to me than the flat sliders of the T1.The MIDI implementation is still buggy but hopefully a firmware update will resolve this in the future. Some of the front panel graphics are redundant.

Close your eyes and see if you can tell the difference!!!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• moog
• taurus
• taurus3
• III
• taurus1
• analog
• bass
• pedal
• pedals
• synth
• synthesizer
• minimoog
• synthesizers
• retro
• demo
• arp
• vintage
• jarre
• genesis
• rush
• the
• police
• asia
• U2
• retrosound
• marko
• ettlich
• elektronisch
• electronic
• music

[777jordan]

hmmm i like the new one better.

[felipeoriani]

Which one is best for playing rush's songs?

[SystemOneBand]

I can name that Jacob's Ladder in 3 notes. ;~)

[frk75]

one question: how can your (preset) sounds be so bright with the filter slider at the bottom like this?

[LaughingPeanutStudio]

how much would a taurus lll cost?

[AlainHubert]

Nice. But it would have been better with the sound direct from those instruments instead of the sound from the camera. Thanks anyway.