Our friend Runkl returns with another portrait in front of the modular synth. Submitted by Jeph Nor via Facebook.
Tag: analog
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CatSynth pic: Merce and Roland SH-1000
Our friend Merce the cat with a Roland SH-1000 synthesizer. Submitted via Twitter.
@matrixsynth @catsynth So interesting. I did not know about the lineage of Roland 1000 and the microKorg pic.twitter.com/Zcw4HxZVI4
— Merce (@Merce_the_cat) April 5, 2017
It was in response to a via matrixsynth, originally from Electronic Musician. It described the many years of synth innovations from Ikutaro Kakehashi, one of the visionary elders of the synthesizer world and founder of Roland. He passed away earlier this week.
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CatSynth Pic: Cats and Moogerfoogers
A couple of cats exploring Moogerfooger pedals. From our friends at Moog Music, Inc.
Really feline the effects this Caturday.
📷: tareh78 on IG
Oy vey 😸
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CatSynth pic: Moog, Sequential, and Sunshine
From electricityforprogress on Instagram.
My second #catsynth post. Buffy in the window on a sunny 70° February day. I know, the realistic Moog isn’t plugged in…Yet. Also remember, #televisionisdrugs (thanks mom!)
We love sunshine and 70-degree February days. And the synths, too.
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CatSynth pic: Rupert and Arturia MiniBrute
By Lee Tizzard via Facebook:
A down to Earth photo of my cat Rupert, relaxing with Conway Pacheco’s Arturia MiniBrute analogue synthesizer…
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CatSynth Pic: Parmesan, Yamaha DX7, Korg Minilogue, and Scritches
This is Paremsan the cat. He comes to us courtesy of Anton Gabriel Largoza-Maza via our CatSynth page.
Parmesan paid a visit, looking at the strange new synth just beside the DX7.
What could this strange new synth be…
A Korg Minilogue! An excellent choice for humans and felines alike. But we think Parmesan particularly enjoys his scritches.
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CatSynth pic: Cat and Korg PolySix
Cat atop a keyboard in front of a Korg PolySix synthesizer. From Björn Lif on that same post on the group Synthesizer Freaks. Life is good.
Identification of the lower keyboard is left as an exercise to the reader.
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NAMM 2017 Apocrypha and Final Thoughts
In this article, we go over a few remaining items from NAMM, and share some final thoughts as well.
The DATA module from Mordax takes the trend of built-in displays to another level. The large color screen displays a variety of functions, including oscilloscope, tuner , waveform generator and clock. It also has quite a few utility signal functions. It seems like quite the useful item for a medium or large modular system. Plus it looks great!
It’s a common problem with modular synthesizer systems to end up with 2hp empty and nothing to fill it with, except maybe a branded plate. 2hp quite literally fills this niche with a large selection of functional modules exactly 2hp wide.
We could all use extra multiples, or another envelope generator, or VCA. But their 2hp offerings include oscillators and filters. We could see these in various cases to get some handy functionality when needed.
Delptronics has made quite a few modules for percussion synthesis as well as for complex triggering of other modules. Their product line has grown; and we were particularly curious about the new spring module an its electro-acoustic possibilities.
We are always curious to see what 4ms has to offer, as the Spectral Multiband Filter has become one of our favorite modules for a variety of musical purposes. Their new offerings this year included a sampler module and tappable delay, which are shown in the upper right of the following photo.
There was of course more at the modular super booth and in the neighboring booths beyond what we have been able to cover this year. It will be inevitable that some products and manufactures don’t get mentioned in the blog, though we do have more on our Instagram feed during the show. We will have to figure out if there are any logistical changes we might want to try next year in order to see more while still remaining authentic and having the fun time at NAMM that we always do.
The trip home, despite the pouring rain and flooding in the LA Basin, ultimately turned out to be a pleasant one. I suppose I had a bit of a glow from the show, and full of ideas on how to move forward musically and personally in the challenging times ahead.
Even with the literal rainstorms outside and the dark pall cast by the political situation, inside the convention center we were all able to be ourselves and follow our passions for music and music technology. That doesn’t mean that outside reality didn’t intrude. It was impossible not to despair a bit on inauguration day; and by contrast Saturday with the Women’s Marches gave a bit of optimism. Mostly, I just kept doing what I came to NAMM to do. We hope you have enjoyed following our coverage, and we’ll be back doing it again next year barring some world-changing catastrophe (which unfortunately could happen).
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NAMM 2017: Behringer DeepMind 12
Our somewhat drawn-out coverage of NAMM 2017 comes down to two final articles. We would be remiss if one of them did not include the Behringer DeepMind 12.
Perhaps no product was more anticipated and controversial among synthesizer players and enthusiasts this year than the DeepMind 12. A lot of this has to do with Behringer’s history and reputation in some parts of the industry, as well as the intense hype and frequent teasers last year. But as an instrument, the DM12 stands on its own. It has rather impressive specs including two DCOs, VCA, VCF and multiple LFOs and envelopes for each of its 12 voices. It connects to a PC or tablet to control all onboard parameters – something we at CatSynth think is a nice touch. And it has a professional-looking industrial design, with an attractive front panel and wooden-looking sides.
In terms of sound and playing, it felt like an “ordinary” analog poly synth and reminded me a bit of a Juno or the popular Korg Minilogue. It doesn’t have the distinctive or super-intense sound of a Moog synth or a classic Prophet or Oberheim, which seem to pack more punch sonically into fewer oscillators. The DM12 seems to sound it’s best doing stacked voices rather than at 12-voice polyphony, but this might be my bias for intense timbral-rich sounds. So if one already has an analog synth from one of those legendary makers, the DM12 probably won’t hold as much personal appeal. But it does seem like a convincing choice as a “first” analog polyphonic synth and something to bring to gigs, especially if one needs a variety of classic synth pads and 80s-esque sounds in one’s music. It also is a little less intimidating to program than some other poly synths. And of course the $999 USD price tag is much less than a high-end mono synth or most analog poly synths. Those who were excited about the Minilogue and similar instruments will probably want to check this out as well.
