Moog Taurus 3 bass pedals

[police squad]

So I need a set of these for my Police tribute.
Can anyone shed any light on them for me.

any one got any for sale?

thanks

[Green Alsatian]

You might have trouble getting hold of one as they were a limited run (of 1000, if I recall), unfortunately.

A very viable alternative would be to control a Moog Minitaur (which is based on the Taurus 3 ciruitry) with something like the Roland PK-6. It's not as neat a setup as the standalone Taurus 3, of course and both would set you back a hair over a grand (although a lot less than the T3, which was $1999 through Moog).

[url="http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Moog_Minitaur_Analog_Bass_Synthesizer/MOOG-MINITAUR"]http://www.soundsliv...r/MOOG-MINITAUR[/url]
[url="http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Roland_PK-6_Dynamic_MIDI_Pedal_Controller_/ROL-PK6"]http://www.soundsliv...roller_/ROL-PK6[/url]

Edited September 8, 2013 by Green Alsatian

[toneknob]

They occasionally crop up on eBay for somewhere around £1.2k to £1.7k. Moog have stopped production so they're getting a bit rarer.

Alternatives are: Moog Taurus 1 (which Sting used, you can see them on clips of the reunion tour), Moog Taurus 2, which were never as popular. Or get a set of midi pedals (eg Roland PK-5) and a bass synth like a Novation BassStation or the new Moog Minitaur, which is a Taurus in a box.

[police squad]

Thanks for the info chaps.
I know the Taurus 3 was limited run, I'd like to go Taurus 3 for ease of set up. I'm no tech head so need it simple.
I'll check out the pk-5 route too

[police squad]

does the minitaur have preset sounds? or do you have to make everything

[toneknob]

I think you have to dial in everything, but here's a list of presets from Moog

[url="http://www.moogmusic.com/sites/default/files/MinitaurHardwarePresets_0.pdf"]http://www.moogmusic.com/sites/default/files/MinitaurHardwarePresets_0.pdf[/url]

There's no difference in setup times between T1 and T3, by the way.

Before I got my T1, I used the Novation/midi pedals option. Analog synthesis is a bit of a dark art but you get the hang of it after a bit of twiddling, and I got a fairly good approximation of the classic Taurus sound (which is what you hear on Don't Stand So Close To Me, for example)

[toneknob]

Also - the T3s are HEAVY. Really.

[police squad]

it all sounds very exciting. The rest of the band will be blown away if I can do it

[toneknob]

Yeah! They'll really make a difference. If I was in your position, assuming you'd be regularly rehearsing and gigging, I'd go for the Minitaur plus sturdy midi pedals option.

[police squad]

that looks the cheapest way really

[toneknob]

Moog Taurus 1 on eBay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231050460166"]http://cgi.ebay.co.u...em=231050460166[/url]

Not a bad price - looks in very good nick from the admittedly shaky pics.

Edited September 9, 2013 by toneknob

[KevB]

Seen PK5 pedals go for under £200 on eBay in the past, depends how quickly you need to be up and running. Not familiar with the minitaur. There are some decent moog type patches on the Roland 'vintage synth' card which can be used on some of their sound modules such as the jv series. If it has to be an exact replica of the tone it sounds like the minitaur would be the way to go though it would probably require some tweaking to get the patches spot on.

[police squad]

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1378734668' post='2203866']
Moog Taurus 1 on eBay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231050460166"]http://cgi.ebay.co.u...em=231050460166[/url]

Not a bad price - looks in very good nick from the admittedly shaky pics.
[/quote]

I saw that come up. I'm worried that an old one might be unreliable but as you say, it's looks in good shape.
I've ordered the 'Certifiable' Police dvd to listen to Sting's on it.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1378735367' post='2203891']
Seen PK5 pedals go for under £200 on eBay in the past, depends how quickly you need to be up and running. Not familiar with the minitaur. There are some decent moog type patches on the Roland 'vintage synth' card which can be used on some of their sound modules such as the jv series. If it has to be an exact replica of the tone it sounds like the minitaur would be the way to go though it would probably require some tweaking to get the patches spot on.
[/quote]

You can download loads of patches from the Moog site (so I've been told by the guy selling a minitaur on ebay)

I'm in no particular rush as my first Police gig (with my new Police band, I'm in 2 now) isn't till the end of November but I would like to get some practice in with it.

I'll keep my eye on the Taurus on ebay though as I'm a bit of an anorak when it comes to getting the Police gear right. I've got most of the basses sting used in the Police, (well the most well known ones, Ibanez Musician Fretless, Steinberger, Fretless P bass (maple on maple), '57 replica) still looking for a spector to spray white though.

KevB do you have a PK5?

[toneknob]

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1378735928' post='2203904']
I saw that come up. I'm worried that an old one might be unreliable but as you say, it's looks in good shape.
I've ordered the 'Certifiable' Police dvd to listen to Sting's on it.
[/quote]

Certifiable is a great watch (it's my go-to disc to show off how good Blu-Ray image quality should be), but I guess you've already seen this... 25m40s in for DSSCTM intro. (and about 29m in for more)

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUW5ZacJD0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUW5ZacJD0[/url]

I sold my T1 earlier this year - drop me a PM if you want pointers to look out for when buying.

[police squad]

I haven't seen it yet but that's a mark1 set he's got there. I imagine he uses them on invisible sun too (intro)
I've been doing a Police tribute for about 6 years but we use a couple of recorded intro's where there's a bass pedal but it's time to start doing it properly

Sting's bass sounds nice on there too

[KevB]

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1378735928' post='2203904']
KevB do you have a PK5?
[/quote]

Yes I have secondhand PK5 pedals (eBay about 7 years ago, £100 iirc). Always been reliable though the springs are starting to squeak a bit! Not using them with current covers band as band leader not convinced they add enough to overall sound (OK by me, less gear to haul around and I get paid the same ). You can call up patches from whatever sound source you are midi linked to via the pedals themselves and also switch octaves fairly quickly too. Takes a bit of getting used to but if you are only doing occasional low end 'washes' without too many note changes then it should be relatively easy to pick up. It's like playing a keyboard with one finger but using your foot instead.
Found an old pic from about 2006 of my rig at the time;

[URL=http://s30.photobucket.com/user/KevB64/media/cropIMG_0285.jpg.html][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c307/KevB64/cropIMG_0285.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Edited September 9, 2013 by KevB

[police squad]

that's a lot of gear but I reckon it'll be great, thanks for posting that

[sblueplanet]

The Police tribute thing has been helped by the recent reunion tour in terms of what look to go for and you dont have to be under 35 anymore.
My favourite era is 1980-82 when he played his P bass, resprayed red, then switched back to his trusted J for a while before getting the Steinberger.
The Synchronicity era was too glam for my liking. All big hair and big outfits.

[police squad]

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1378741665' post='2204027']
The Police tribute thing has been helped by the recent reunion tour in terms of what look to go for and you dont have to be under 35 anymore.
My favourite era is 1980-82 when he played his P bass, resprayed red, then switched back to his trusted J for a while before getting the Steinberger.
The Synchronicity era was too glam for my liking. All big hair and big outfits.
[/quote]

I normally just do the flying suit and the natural fretless or Ibanez but I also do the modern thing.
I need to sort out the gateshead gear so I can use the Steinberger more

[KevB]

I tried playing and singing demolition man once for a laugh at home. I found it just as impossible as I expected it to be, timing all over the shop. Full respect for anyone that pulls it off live.

Edited September 9, 2013 by KevB

[sblueplanet]

Sting did favour that yellow jacket and white trouser look for a long time but if you check out the gig in Chile from that time he plays completely in black with the Steiny. Looks far cooler.

Demolition Man is one of the songs I actually like to play and sing when jamming around. Good tune for guitarists to solo on.

[gelfin]

I have had T1 and now have T3. Wouldn't consider T2.

The T1's could be pretty unreliable. I had an after market set of triggers fitted which got rid of the no contact no note syndrome. However they were still susceptible to tuning drift etc. They are awesome sounding though.

The T3's have been 100% reliable. Not only do they have the original Taurus presets but a total of 56 presets all adjustable and saveable except the four original. Too many more features to list.

They are still available in the UK.

[url="http://www.gear4music.com/Keyboards-and-Pianos/Moog-Taurus-3-Bass-Pedal-Synthesizer/CK0"]http://www.gear4music.com/Keyboards-and-Pianos/Moog-Taurus-3-Bass-Pedal-Synthesizer/CK0[/url]

They were originally meant to be a production run of 500 but this was increased to 1000. And now it seems they are still in available .

Yes they are heavy but easier to use and set up than the Minitaur or any other midi controller synth package.

Also bear in mind that to hear them at their best you will need a lot of power and large speaker system.

I use them with both hi and lo z outputs into a Crown 1200 power amp. One side to an 18"bin the other to a 2X15 plus horn.

[URL=http://s970.photobucket.com/user/gelfin5959/media/Taurus13.jpg.html][IMG]http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae181/gelfin5959/Taurus13.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[toneknob]

[quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1378761867' post='2204498']
The T1's could be pretty unreliable. I had an after market set of triggers fitted which got rid of the no contact no note syndrome. However they were still susceptible to tuning drift etc. They are awesome sounding though.
[/quote]

I never had any tuning trouble with mine. A vintage synth engineer who gave them a service one day told me that getting sticky fingers (sweat, grease, etc) on the circuitry can contribute to tuning instability, so worth bearing in mind when fiddling around inside.

I also had the microswitch job done on mine before selling. Pretty much essential on this piece of kit at its current age.

£1800 sounds like the top end of the market for a T3, I've seen them on eBay for £1.2k to £1.3k.

[Green Alsatian]

There's a T1 on eBay at the moment:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOOG-TAURUS-1-BASS-PEDALS-/231050460166?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Pro_Audio_Synthesisers_CV&hash=item35cbae3c06"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOOG-TAURUS-1-BASS-PEDALS-/231050460166?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Pro_Audio_Synthesisers_CV&hash=item35cbae3c06[/url]

With regards to the Taurus 2 - I believe that one was based on the Rogue, which isn't a bad mono in its own right (a friend had one) but it could not deliver the sheer BWUUUUUUUHHHHH of the T1. There was a company in Caerphilly in the late 90s who bought the lapsed Moog name and reissued the Minimoog (this was before Bob Moog returned to synth production and released the Voyager) with MIDI and switchable PWM. I ordered one in 1998 and it almost became vaporware, until it turned up six months later, after a string of difficulties in production. Anyway, for their next product, they planned to reissue the Taurus 1, which, based on the job they did with the Mini, would have been excellent. I had a preorder with them until they went bust a couple of months later in 1999. A great pity.

[police squad]

that link shows they are not available