Big Merp in the studio

Last week we featured a “CatSynth pic” with Sam Sam, so it’s only fair that this week we feature Big Merp. As we’ve seen before, he likes to get up on the equipment while I’m working in the studio.

Merp is sitting on our “trusty red keyboard”, the Nord Stage EX. To the right, we see a couple of our more colorful modules, the Strymon Starlab and Dreadbox Euphoria. Behind him are a couple of audio processing units, a tube compressor, and a mic preamp (from Golden Age Project); in the left corner are the same E-MU modules that we saw with Sam Sam last week.

You can see our reviews/tutorials for the Strymon Starlab and Dreadbox Euphoria, respectively, below.

Big Merp on the Modular Desk

Big Merp loves attention and always wants to be where the action is. So it’s fairly common to find him on this spot between the MacBook Pro and the Modular system. And in this instance, he struck a particularly handsome pose 😻. You can see quite a few of our Eurorack modules, including our prized Metasonix yellow and silver tube modules in the upper left corner of the case, as well as many others that have appeared in our recordings and videos over the years. A full list of brands is in the tags.

This is also where we shoot a lot of our hardware demo videos, so it often ends up cluttered. But we always make sure there is space because you never know when Merp is going to jump up and say hi.

Sam Sam and Big Merp on International Cat Day

We were reminded that today is International Cat Day! So here are Sam Sam and Big Merp together enjoying time on the patio.

Scenes of them together have become more and more common – I wouldn’t say they were best friends, but they have learned to live together and it makes all of us at CatSynth quite happy.

Big Merp, Yamaha RX5, and Modular

Today we feature our very own Big Merp in the studio. He was assisting with our recent video on the Yamaha RX5 – specifically the “RX5USB” cartridge. We also one portion of our modular collection, including Metasonix modules, Rossum Morpheus, E350 Morphing Terrarium, Benjolin, Expert Sleepers, Sputnik Modular, Mordax, 4MS, Make Noise, Pittsburgh Modular, Koma Elektronik, 2hp, Folktek, and more.

This is the video we were working on at the time.

We also have a detailed tutorial for the RX5 itself

Big Merp, Yamaha RX5, Modular

Today we have CatSynth pics with our very own Big Merp, who loves to jump up on the desk. Here we see him with our Yamaha RX5 drum machine and our massive modular system. The Metasonix modules are easy to spot, as are the Make Noise modules. We also have MOTM, Rossum Electro-music, Sputnik modular, 4MS, Malekko, Folktek, Mordax, and more as we get into the second grouping in the distance. We also see a bit of the Arturia MiniBrute 2 and Moog Mother-32. A fuller accounting can be found in the tags.

Farewell to 2021

Collage of images from 2021, including the new album, Sam Sam and Big Merp, San Francisco, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree

I have remarked on numerous occasions that this year seemed to go by exceptionally fast. There was hope, excitement, optimism giving way to a mixture of frustration, cynicism and resolve as the pandemic and political situations dragged on and darkened. I have seen the goodness in many people, while I have witnessed the worst in others. But our personal year at CatSynth was a rich one filled with many experiences.

Most notably, the new album Meow Meow Band is out. I am really proud of the music, the presentation, the collaboration with other musicians and everything out it. Please do take a listen if you haven’t already. It was also a chance to reconnect with the city, go out on the road and into the desert, and start experiencing live music again. Of course, most of the time this year was spent here at HQ with our music, Sam Sam, and Big Merp. I always value time alone with my cats, music, and ideas and this moment in time has provided ample opportunity for that.

It’s been another strong year of growth for CatSynth TV. The most popular videos continue to be our synth demos and tutorials, but I’m also proud of music videos, highway videos, and expanded review series. There were fewer videos total this year. We took more time to get them right, but also time off to focus on other things (like the album). Trying to find that balance between the drive to always do more and the limits of time and resources will always be a challenge. We close out the year of videos by spending some time with Sam Sam and Big Merp.

We at CatSynth are grateful to all of you who chose to join or continue this journey with us in 2021, whether here on the blog, on CatSynth TV, or on social media. It is a fool’s errand to guess what will happen in the coming year, but we do have many goals, aspirations, and hopes; we will take each day as it comes.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and health and joy in 2022.