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T3 Users Manual - The Basics
Foreword
Every instrument has a story-
The Taurus 3 stor y star ts for me at the 2006 NAMM show just months after Bob Moogs passing, when we were secretly showing Little
Phatty prototypes to a select few. This was my first NAMM show and I was a newcomer to the world of electronic musical instruments.
The first day, I stood leaning against the wall across from our booth, watching a blank poster with a picture of Bob quickly fill up with
adoring messages and tributes to someone who had touched so many lives. It was an incredibly moving experience and quite a surreal
way to take in the responsibility that had been passed on to us. Many, after writing a goodbye note to Bob on the poster, told me about
the time I met Bob or how Bobs instruments had changed their lives.
Invariably, the question followed, When are you guys going to make another Taurus?
At the time I didnt have an answer but this became a much-debated question among folks at Moog Music as the requests continued.
Should we release the Taurus again? What exactly would it be? Would people really want to buy it? And most impor tantly: What
made the Taurus 1 such a coveted instrument?
Over the last few years we have repeatedly asked these questions until Mike Adams proposed last year that we put this to our
customers. It was a simple proposal and one that I think truly reflects on the vital relationship between you, our customers, and us here
at Moog Music. The proposal was that if enough of you committed in advance to purchase a new Moog Taurus, we would begin the
task of designing such an instrument.
Personally, I was skeptical about how many people really wanted a Taurus but Im used to being wrong about these things! The response
was overwhelming and the excitement the announcement generated was incredible. Thus, the genesis of the Taurus 3 began...
Last week, I sat in the control room of the beautiful Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville with my par tners Steve Dunnington
and Amos Gaynes and Taurus aficionado Michael Caloroso. We listened critically to Michaels Taurus 1 and our Taurus 3, making sure the
T3 shared ever y detail and nuance of the original.
The results are stunning. The Taurus 3 not only captures the original sounds of the Taurus 1 in full, but instantly expands upon its
capabilities and offers many new dimensions to its sonic palette including LFOs, external CVs, and transposable arpeggiators. We are
extremely proud and excited for you to begin making music with this instrument!
As we prepare to ship the first Taurus 3 pedals, this is really only the ver y beginning of the stor y. We are waiting for you to continue it-
Thank you to all the early adopters who made the commitment to us at Moog to go forward with this project. Your faith in us allowed
us to create this instrument, and your enthusiasm, comments, suggestions and discussions were all essential to its successful development.
We consider ourselves to be the luckiest company in the world to be blessed with you all.
Thank you to our industrial design par tners Axel Har tmann and Klaus Weber, who kindly discarded my hand-drawn sketches and crafted
the beautiful and functional design that we have built. The hard work and hear t they put into the Taurus 3 design are deeply appreciated
and immediately recognizable.
Thank you to our terrific engineering team, Steve Dunnington, Amos Gaynes, Rick Shaich, Eric Church and David Rankin, a suppor tive
and inspired group of colleagues whose contributions are immeasurable. Thanks to all of you for getting us through the struggles of
bir thing this instrument.
Thanks to Greg Kist for his dedication and attention to detail in creating this fine manual you are about to read.
Thanks to Michael Caloroso who drove to Asheville from upstate New York in winter weather to listen with a critical ear to our
prototypes and confirm that we got it right.
Finally, a hear tfelt thank you to our fearless leader Mike Adams who continually rides the helm of our little factor y here in Asheville with
integrity, hear t, and dedication to Bob Moogs values and legacy.
Our job is to provide you with tools that you fall in love with, tools that have an inexhaustible vocabular y and work to expand our sonic
universe.
The Taurus 3 fits the bill. We hope you enjoy it immensely and look forward to hearing from you.
Cyril Lance
Chief Technical Alchemist
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T3 Users Manual - The Basics
The Setup and Connections section below explains how to unpack, setup and connect the Taurus 3, and pro -
vides a quick star t to get you up and running with your new instrument. Please read this section first!
The Components section offers detailed explanations of the components that create and modify sound.
For those interested in MIDI interface specifics, see the section titled How the Taurus 3 handles MIDI (page
50), as well as the MIDI Implementation Chart , which appears in Appendix B.
Throughout the manual you will see icons that point out additional information:
This icon indicates an impor tant note concerning the operation of the Taurus 3.
This icon indicates a useful performance or programming tip.
This icon indicates technical information for the advanced user or the technically curious.
The following should get you set up and running quickly. When exploring the Taurus 3 for the first time, you
may want to place the instrument on a table or other study surface so that you can easily reach and activate
the front panel controls in order to become familiar with the basic operation.
Check the contents in the shipping carton
The Taurus 3 is shipped with the following items:
1. Taurus 3 Bass Synthesizer
2. Power cord
3. Taurus 3 Users Manual
4. Warranty registration card
What you will need
In addition to the Taurus 3 and provided accessories, you will need:
1. A stand or table sufficient to suppor t the Taurus 3 (45 lbs).
2. A 1-4 instrument cable
3. An amplifier or mixer (the Taurus 3 does not provide a headphone output)
How to Use this Manual
Setup and Connections
NOTE: We encourage you to read the entire manual at some point to learn more about the
instrument and gain a better understanding of what you can do with the Taurus 3.