Author: catsynth

Cleo with Korg Rhythm 55, Roland SH-101, Arturia

Cleo the cat naps next to a Korg Rhythm 55 drum machine. Above is a Roland SH-101 synthesizer and arturia keyboard.

Cleo naps next to a Korg Rhythm 55 vintage drum machine, while keeping a wary eye open. Behind her are a Roland SH-101 and an Arturia keyboard. Submitted by hotham sound via Twitter.

Cleo, the one and only.

We at CatSynth are quite happy to feature Cleo today. I have also had the opportunity to play a Korg Rhymth 55 in the past, at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum. A bit in the instrument from Vintage Synth Explorer:

he KR55 was, for its time (1979), an advanced preset rhythm drum machine with up to 96 preset rhythm patterns! These patterns cover the whole gamut of presets (Waltz, Samba, Rhumba, Bossa Nova, Tango, Slow Rock, Swing, Rock, etc.). The KR55 also featured a “swing beat” control to add a variation to the groove. Each drum sound’s level can be individually adjusted for each pattern. It can also be externally controlled via footswitch jack for the Start/Stop and Intro/Fill switches. The KR55B was a black-chassis version released a few years later in 1982 with twice as many rhythm patterns. It has been used by Jean-Michel Jarre, Trio and Depeche Mode.

https://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/kr55.php

USSR Analog Synthesizer Noisebox

Cute cat with a “Rare USSR Analog Noisebox” as described in this auction and seen on matrixsynth.

“Two LFO waveforms
Two LFO frequency bands
Filter, echo block with LFO delay time modulation
Audio input, CV in

An interesting device using the sound from a gloomy drone to the sounds of dolphins. The device is filled with various sound effects and sounds.
Toggle switches of the Soviet military acceptance, will last a long time!
Also USSR transistors and microcircuits are a powerful base for a unique sound.

Another photo of this instrument.

Strangely, the auction appears to have been canceled. But I am intrigued by the idea of new instruments based on Soviet components, so we will see if it ever returns.

Wordless Wednesday: Velvet Icosaspirale

Returning to a favorite subject of mine, the sculpture Icosaspirale by Charles Perry at Maritime Plaza in San Francisco. The “velvet” and bokeh effects were done with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens.

Finnegan with Bitwig Studio and Korg microKEY

Finnegan as a kitten learning to record tracks in Bitwig Studio via the Korg microKEY. From emptyvessel on Twitter.

Flashback 4 years, it was unusual at the time for him to be confident enough to come near me, let alone “help” with advice in my @Bitwig sessions. He was only about 6 months old at this point. He looks like he only has one paw because the other one was swatting the mouse pointer

Princess Leia and Empress Effects Zoia

Princess Leia (cat) with Empress Effects Zoia modular effects pedal

A rather royal picture today as Princess Leia (the cat) lounges with a Zoia pedal from Empress Effects. From occurian on Instagram.

We at CatSynth were not familiar with the Zoia, but it looks intriguing. From the official website:

The ZOIA is basically a modular synthesizer in pedal form. Instead of being a delay effect or tremolo, the ZOIA provides the modules necessary to build a delay or tremolo from the ground up. But since you’re the one building it, you can make it do whatever you want. With the ZOIA you can build your own custom effects, synthesizers, midi controllers, and virtual pedal boards. And to make life a little easier, we’ve created modules for all your standard guitar effects. So for instance, if you want a phaser, you can just plop down a phaser. You don’t have to break out the textbooks to learn that they’re built out of all-pass filters. (Of course, if you’re a nerd like us, you can use the ZOIA to build them out of all-pass filters).

https://empresseffects.com/products/zoia

We at CatSynth are nerds, too, and this build phasers from all pass filters.