Tech Features
KIT ME UP: MOOG MINITAUR
- Tech
- Tech Features
If you’re serious about bass you need a serious analogue synth to rock those low frequencies. They don’t come any more serious than Moog. The Rolls Royce of synth companies has been making creamy sounding analogue beasts for decades, and their latest mini synth may be their most affordable yet.
What can it do? Moog claims the Minitaur was inspired by the Taurus 1 synth range, but it feels a bit more like a classic Roland TB 303. Rack-mountable and angled at 45 degrees, the Minitaur’s standout features are the super-wide lo-pass ladder filter that Moogs are famous for, plus its two oscillators, each with a saw and a square wave that combine to create raw and fat-sounding bass frequencies.
Anything else to shout about? You can also run other music through the Minitaur – handy if you want to use the low pass filter on other sounds in your tracks. It links to your computer via USB or midi, and there’s portamento and glide, an LFO for wonking up bass riffs and detuning for thickening up your bass even more. Two filter envelopes add texture to your sounds, and a steel chassis makes it rugged.
Weaknesses? Its bigger brother the Voyager could launch a rocket into space compared to the Minitaur’s feature list. It’s also expensive given its limited capabilities and lack of keyboard.
£499, www.moogmusic.com
