Moog Taurus II (1981)

Moog took the Minimoog's voice, wired it to a pedalboard, and gave bass players something to do with their feet.

Overview

The Taurus II is a pedal-operated bass synthesizer that Moog released in 1981 as a lower-cost follow-up to the Taurus I. The Taurus I had established the idea of a foot-played Moog bass. The Taurus II delivers the same concept for fewer dollars in a redesigned package. It is monophonic, built around an 18-note pedalboard, and the documentation describes it as essentially the Minimoog engine in a foot-controlled form - the same basic architecture that made the Model D a studio staple.

That's not marketing talk. The VCOs and the 24 dB/octave transistor-ladder filter are derived from the Minimoog's circuitry, so the Taurus II sounds like a Moog and not a thin imitation. Inside the wooden case sit two VCOs, a single filter, a VCA, a noise source, and a ring modulator. The controls are mounted on top, so you don't have to bend down to see them. The signal path is all-analog discrete circuitry. The only digital logic on board handles pedal scanning and preset selection.

Period advertising described it plainly. A Moog ad in Mix-Magazine (February 1982, p.65) called the Taurus II a low-cost 1½-octave pedal synthesizer with detachable electronics and full modulation. The detachable electronics help anyone who has to move one. The synth section separates from the pedalboard, which makes transport and stage setup easier than a single monolithic unit would.

Key Features

18-Note Pedalboard, Monophonic

The playing surface is an 18-note pedal keyboard, and the instrument is monophonic - one note at a time, which is all a bass line needs. The design was aimed at live performance, so keyboardists and organists could cover bass parts with their feet while their hands stayed on another keyboard. The 18-note range gives enough span for walking lines and octave jumps without a full pedalboard's footprint.

Minimoog-Derived VCOs and 24 dB/octave Ladder Filter

Two VCOs feed a single voltage-controlled filter - the 24 dB/octave transistor-ladder design, derived from the Minimoog's circuitry. That filter is why the Taurus II sounds like a Moog and not a generic analog bass box. The VCOs carry range knobs, and the filter has cutoff and resonance controls, so the instrument can go from a round, closed fundamental to a resonant, aggressive sweep. Players often describe the Taurus II as more aggressive, with more bite, than its predecessor, and that comes straight out of this front end.

ADSR Envelope and Sample & Hold

Shaping is handled by an ADSR envelope, and a sample-and-hold circuit with its own rate knob adds movement when you want it. The control set is compact: two oscillators with range knobs, filter cutoff and resonance, the ADSR envelope, the sample-and-hold rate, a noise mixer level, volume, and tuning. Nothing is menu-driven, and nothing needs a manual after five minutes of familiarization. The whole panel is laid out for quick changes under stage lights.

Seven EPROM-Stored Preset Patches

Seven preset select buttons call up factory patches. The presets are stored in EPROM, so no battery is needed, and they survive as long as the chip does. Patch names in the service documentation include "Full Bass," "Trombone," and "Percussive Bass."

No MIDI on the Original

The original Taurus II has no MIDI. A 1993 service ad in Audio-Collection (August 1993, p.149) offered a MIDI retrofit for the Taurus II, adding polyphony, velocity, and CV out. It was a popular upgrade among owners, since the stock instrument has no digital control at all.

Historical Context

Moog released the Taurus II in 1981 as a lower-cost follow-up to the Taurus I. It shares components with the Minimoog but doesn't replace the Taurus I in sound. The two are related by circuit heritage, not by identical voicing. The instrument was built for live performance, letting keyboardists and organists play bass parts with their feet, and the period advertising leaned on that practical framing rather than selling it as a studio centerpiece. The production run is not well documented. The fact sheet confirms the 1981 release year but does not establish an exact end year, so any specific final-year claim should be treated as unverified.

Collectibility & Value

The Taurus II is rare on the used market, so there are fewer examples to choose from and fewer listings to establish a firm price. The original key contact strips wear out over time and are no longer manufactured. Cleaning them with contact cleaner is the common fix. This is the main maintenance concern for a buyer, because it is the one wear item with no factory replacement path.

Pricing is murky. A single recent marketplace listing showed a price of $995, but that is not a verified market value and should not be treated as a benchmark. Anyone shopping for a Taurus II should evaluate each example on its own condition, particularly the pedal contacts, rather than anchoring to a number one listing happened to show.

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