Cats

CatSynth 11th Blog Anniversary

Luna on iPad at 11:11

It’s been 11 years since we started CatSynth on a bit of a lark, and since then it has grown into something that we treasure, and quite seriously. But not too seriously. As always, we mark the annual milestone with a few stats.

3210 Posts
14358 Comments
4.47 Comments Per Post
1202 Cat-and-synth pics
474 Reviews and related posts

Comments and interaction on the blog has continued to decline (from an average of 4.7 to 4.47 comments per post). This is not surprising as interaction has largely moved to social media platforms.

Our most visited post this last year was our Sad Farewell to Luna, both on the blog itself and on social media. This, too, is not surprising, and we continue to be very grateful for the outpouring of emotional support we have received.

Other individual posts that were widely read and shared including our explainer on Lake Oroville, our review of James Chance and the Contortions in San Francisco, and of course our annual NAMM coverage.

Every year we share the photo that started it all on July 19, 2006. It featured Luna in the beanbag chair along with a Novation keyboard. We feel its still appropriate for this day.

Luna with Novation Keyboard

We continue to grieve for Luna, but we also welcome Sam Sam who we hope with be with us and featured on these pages for years to come.

Emphatic Sam Sam

Yamaha DX7 (w/ 5 ROM Cartridges!) Digital FM Synthesizer 1983 + Sustain Pedal

Cat and DX7

Cat posing with a classic Yamaha DX7 FM synthesizer. Via this auction, via matrixsynth.

Comes with cartridge 3, which allows you to factory reset the DX7. Also I will send you my sysex library which includes patches I’ve found and made. You can easily send sysex patches to the DX7 via MIDI and a sysex librarian program.

Cartridges Included

• Yamaha 3, 64 Patches

• Yamaha 4, 64 Patches

• Yamaha DX7 Data Cartridge, 32 Patches

• Bo Tomlyn’s Best of the USA, 64 Patches

• Bo Tomlyn’s Top Forty, 64 Patches

This was the coveted instrument in the mid 1980s that I didn’t have, though I did get a TX81Z module which I have to this day. These days, we at CatSynth also have a Yamaha TX802 module (essentially a multitimbral timbral module that shares the DX7’s 6-operator FM architecture), so not much need for another. But if you are looking for this (in)famous instrument, this auction might be worth a look.

CatSynth Pic: Bok Choy and Casio SK-1

Please welcome Bok Choy, making her long awaited debut on CatSynth.

Bok Choy and Casio SK-1

Here we see her checking out, and showing a bit of disdain for, a Casio SK-1.

Bok Choy and Casio SK-1

The Casio SK-1 is actually an awesome little instrument we have used many times.

Bok Choy is the cat that lives with Maw Shein Win, our longtime collaborator in Pitta of the Mind. And on that note, Pitta of the Mind will be performing next Friday at Nomadic Press in Oakland (23rd and Telegraph).

Join us for an excellent Uptown Fridays featuring readings by Norma Smith and Sofia Lopez, with musical guest Pitta of the Mind featuring Maw Shein Win and Amanda Chaudhary. Emceed and curated by Reńe Vaz .

Suggested donations of $5-25 collected at the door, but no one turned away for lack of funds.

Red wine and Red Bay coffee will be available.

CatSynth Video: 3 Time & Timbre TimeStings controlling 3 TAL-Basslines

From DaanSynthesizers on YouTube, via matrixsynth.

There are no midi tracks playing in this video. Everything is done live with the Time&Timbre pack. Every Timesting and Bassline-101 is controlled by three knobs and two sliders:

First knob: Density of the Timesting sequencer
Second knob: Offset of a LFO that controls the Filter Frequency
Third knob: Amount of reverb from a Convolution Reverb
First slider: Release
Second slider: Wetness of the Time Delay

A fun video to close out the week. And we love the little cat figurines 😺.