Image 1 of 4 Desktop design and Moog good-looks! Moog Minitaur angle Image 2 of 4 Moog Minitaur detail Image 3 of 4 Moog Minitaur front Image 4 of 4 Moog Minitaur rear

NAMM 2012: The new Minitaur is a brand new addition to the Moog Taurus family. It's a monophonic tabletop bass synthesizer with MIDI and CV control, laid out with the familiar and friendly one knob per-function design.

Compact, beautifully designed and much more affordable than the full Taurus 3, the Minitaur looks like it's going to be a very popular little unit. The US retail price look set to be $679, so all you bass-heads get ready for the full unveiling at NAMM 2012 and be sure to stay tuned to MusicRadar for video and audio of the device at the show.

Moog Minitaur press release

Moog Music has announced the release of Minitaur™, the newest addition to Moog's Taurus Bass Synthesizer family. Minitaur is a compact and powerful analog bass synthesizer that features a classic one knob per function layout. Most notably, it is the first instrument in the Taurus family that does not have foot pedals. At only 8.5" x 5.25" and less than 3 lbs, the Minitaur puts powerful analog Moog bass into a package designed to fit seamlessly into today's performance and production environments.

The release of Minitaur marks the next chapter in the Taurus family history, by introducing a new form factor, control interface and increased level of accessibility. "The Minitaur has all the growl, snarl and body associated with the Taurus family of Bass synthesizers. We're really excited to be able to offer this in such a compact package that is both immediately playable as an extremely versatile analog synth and also integrates seamlessly into the world of MIDI and USB control environments," says Cyril Lance, Chief Engineer of Moog Music.

The Taurus Bass Pedals enjoy a nearly 40-year history and have made a seismic impact in the music world since their introduction in the mid-Seventies. "The Taurus opened up so many possibilities for me...it also opened up a whole way of looking at what I do," says Geddy Lee, of the multi-platinum band Rush.

In 2009, Moog Music released the Taurus 3 Bass Pedals, a modern reinterpretation of the classic Taurus Bass Pedals. The Taurus 3 is currently used by artists such as The Black Keys, Animal Collective, Jean Michel Jarre, Yes, Weezer, and The Dave Matthews Band.

Since the inception of Moog Music, Bob Moog tested his ideas, instruments and sounds with musicians and colleagues. In keeping with this tradition, Minitaur has been presented to a broad array of producers, artists, and songwriters including Geddy Lee, techno legend Derrick May, Holy F*ck and renowned record producer Nick Raskulinecz as a part of the final product development process. The enthusiastic response from these individuals marks the beginning of the next generation in the Taurus Bass Synthesizer line.

Minitaur Features Include:

Compact rugged steel chassis

One knob per function interface

Two ultra stable oscillators with Sawtooth and Square waveshapes

Classic Moog ladder filter

Two Minimoog-style ADSR Envelope generators with Release On/Off switch

1 MIDI-syncable triangle wave LFO for modulating VCF/VCOs

DIN MIDI In and MIDI over USB

CV inputs for pitch, filter, volume and gate

External Audio input

Headphone output

Shipping in Spring 2012

Price: $679