Moog Minitaur Goes Up to C5, Not C4

If you recall from my Moog Minitaur review (now updated), I stated that the Minitaur could play up to middle C, or note 72 / C4. This is also noted in the Minitaur manual.  Well, it turns out MIDI note 72 is actually C5, an octave higher than middle C4 which is note 60.

John Bowen of John Bowen Synth Design and the Solaris caught this.

"I was reading your review of the Minitaur, and wanted to comment about the statement that Middle C (C4) is note #72. I've always used 60 as the value for C4.

If you check the info here: http://home.roadrunner.com/~jgglatt/tech/midispec.htm

There are 128 possible notes on a MIDI device, numbered 0 to 127 (where Middle C is note number 60)."

He did find the following in the Logic Pro 9 user manual site regarding differences between Yamaha and Roland:

"Display Middle C As pop-up menu: This pop-up menu affects the description of notes in the editors. The bottom C on a five-octave keyboard (note # 36) is labeled C1, and middle C (note # 60) is labeled C3. According to this standard, the lowest MIDI note (note # 0) is called C–2. This is the official standard used by most manufacturers. Use of the C3 (Yamaha) setting will set Logic Pro to this standard mode. If you select the C4 (Roland) setting, the bottom C on a five-octave keyboard is labeled C2, and middle C is labeled as C4. In this standard, the lowest MIDI note is C–1."

So in this case Yamaha sees middle C as C3 and Roland sees middle C as C4, but both see C4 as MIDI note 60.  If the Minitaur goes up to MIDI note 72, then that would be C5 and not C4.

John checked with Amos Gaynes of Moog Music and he verified it was his understanding that Middle C is note 60 and is C4, making MIDI Note 72  C5.

So there you have it. The Minitaur actually goes up to C5, one octave past middle C.