Synthesizers

Milo and Custom DIY VCS3

Tuxedo cat sitting next to an analog synthesizer, a modern version of the Synthi VCS3 built from a kit and custom parts.

Milo proudly sits next to a freshly built version of the classic (EMS Synthi) VCS3. Submitted by Keith Winstanley via our Facebook page.

As mentioned, this is not an original VCS3, but a modern custom build that Winstanley recently completed.

It’s one I’ve been building on and off for about 10 years, just bought and installed the Ghielmetti patchbay, pin park and Predtopatch socket 🙂 It has a lot of features the original hadn’t but using original components and circuitry 🙂

We hope that Keith and Milo have a lot of fun playing their new instrument!

Rubia, Sequential Six-Trak, Korg MS-10, Casio VZ-1

Rubia sits atop a vintage Sequential Six-Trak synthesizer and looks ready to pounce on the Casio VZ-1 (to the left). Above her, we see a Korg MS-10 analog synthesizer and in the lower right corner a vintage Rhodes.

From AxWax via Mastodon. AxWax and Rubia also have a new sample pack out featuring samples from a 40-year old Casiotone MT-70 keyboard. We at CatSynth look forward to checking that out.

Indy and Micromoog

Orange and white cat sitting on top of a micromoog synthesizer. We see the back of the synthesizer, with it's various audio and CV jacks.

Indy proudly sits atop a vintage Micromoog synthesizer. Submitted by CRaig Flory via our Facebook page.

Most readers are quite familiar with the Minimoog, but what about the Micromoog? It’s a somewhat smaller, single-oscillator synthesizer with a filter that is nearly identical to the Minimoog. It accepts external audio into the filter, so it makes a great processor as well. Finally, it has a pitch bend ribbon (like the CS-80), something its larger sibling did not have.

Bread, Teenage Engineering OP-1, Polyend Tracker

Our friend Bread has his paws on a Teenage Engineering OP-1, which is safely beneath an acrylic cover. Both Bread and the OP-1 sit atop a Polyend Tracker.

Submitted by Anton Gabriel Largoza-Maza via our Facebook page. Regular readers might know him better as thedigitalpurrgatory on Instagram.

Gracie and Ensoniq SQ-80

Gray and white cat looking at a keyboard synthesizer "SQ80" on a gray carpet.

The indomitable Gracie is back, this time with an Ensoniq SQ-80 waveform hybrid synthesizer. She is clearly taking her quality-control inspection duties seriously! From our friends at Synthetic Dreamscapes.

The SQ-80 allowed one to mix up to three waveforms at once (e.g., a transient and a long time), along with an analog four-pole VCF and a VCA. It was a successor to the popular ESQ-1, and paved the way for modern wavetable synths.

Arturia created the SQ-80 V virtual version of this classic, which we reviewed here at CatSynth.

Hologram Microcosm and Strymon Deco

A popular meme video is remixed with a Hologram Microcosm granular looper pedal, and what I’m pretty sure is a Strymon Deco tape pedal (saturation, double tracking). This was quite fun to listen to.

From seisuke on Twitter/X.

Oto, Dreadbox Nymphes, Oxi, Chase Bliss, Death By Audio, Endorphin.es

Oto seems to be quite enjoying this little jam featuring the Dreadbox Nymphes, controlled by the Oxi sequencer and processed via the Endorphin.es Gost, Chase Bliss Mood, and Death by Audio Rooms.

From ooramusic via Instagram.