Olive, Korg DW8000, Yamaha MOTIF

Tab cat sitting and looking at the camera.  Behind her are two keyboards stacked - a Korg DW8000 and a Yamaha MOTIF

The lovely Olive returns, this time with a Korg DW8000 and Yamaha MOTIF. From Charles Whiley on Facebook.

I have been fascinated for a little while with DW8000. I encountered it back in the 1980s, but it was overshadowed for me by offerings from Yamaha, Roland, and Ensoniq. It came back to my attention a few years ago, and I started looking for an EX8000 (the rack version) – ultimately, I settled on its new successor, the Korg modwave.

You can see Olive’s previous appearances via her tag.

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.

Oberheim (the cat) and JL Cooper Synapse MIDI router

Oberheim the black cat next to a JL Cooper Synapse MIDI router

Oberheim the cat is back, this time with a JP Cooper Synapse MIDI router and processor. From Charles Whiley via Facebook.

The JL Cooper routers were among the earlier MIDI devices I read about as I was understanding what is needed to go from one synthesizer to a home studio. I never did get one (not practical for me at that time in the late 1980s), but I still have the Digital Music Corp MX-8 that got later on to serve a similar purpose.