ansel

Ansel, JL Cooper Synapse, and Zara

Our friend Ansel poses next to a JL Cooper Synapse MIDI processor. We see one of his fellow cats hiding just below – we’re pretty sure this beautiful black cat is Zara.

From Charles Whiley via Facebook.

The JL Cooper Synapse is a MIDI router and processor which can route and merge various MIDI inputs and outputs. It’s very similar to the Digital Music Corp MX-8 that we have at HQ, but bigger. I recall seeing the JL Cooper one in brochures earlier on but it was out of my league at the time. Ansel is lucky to have found one, though.

Ansel and Yamaha QX3

Ansel the cat sits to the right of a Yamaha QX3 sequencer on its side.

The handsome Ansel poses next to a Yamaha QX3 sequencer in mid-repair. From our friend Charles Whiley.

The QX3 features the distinctive Yamaha industrial design that they used for most if not all of their instruments in the mid-1980s. This look holds a special place for me as it was the time when I started exploring synthesizers and electronic music. The QX3 also has those vintage computer-style keys, which is a very nice touch. As a sequencer, it is less convenient than many hardware sequencers, but still quite powerful, especially in an era where analog sequencers with short step counts have enjoyed a renaissance.