Cheetah is ready to serenade us from atop his massive modular synth. We see modules from Cwejman, Make Noise, Grendel, AtoVproject, Fumana, 4ms, and more, all in a beautiful wooden case by Matthew Goike.
Submitted by @iamshadowdancer via Instagram.
Our first CatSynth pic of 2021 features an image from stretta on Twitter. A beautiful cat, with a Roland A-50 keyboard, a Cwejman S1 (semi-modular synthesizer) and several Make Noise modules (we have that Intellijel case here at CatSynth HQ).
A trip to NAMM always includes a visit to the booth of Big City Music. As always there was a mixture of old favorites (e.g.,an entire collection of Metasonix modules in a matching yellow case, the Mellotron, etc.), as well as new and unusual things. Upon arrival I was greeted by this rack containing Intellijel synth modules and a Mellotron rack-mount unit.
This the digital Mellotron M4000D in rack-mount unit. It sounds like the classic Mellotron in a unit that is more practical for live gigging or integration into a studio setup. Of course, there are no tapes in this one.
The polyphonic analog synthesizer from Schmidt was on display and I had a chance to play it.
This thing is a beast! Beyond the polyphony, it has four oscillators and seven filters per voice. Quite feature rich and very playable. But it’s price is this instrument’s most infamous feature. It comes in at about $20K USD, similar to the price one might pay for the car to schlep it around in.
This odd but intriguing electromagnetic contraption was from boutique manufacturer Analog Outfitters. We still have no idea what it does.
And of course there were lots of large modular installations, including this “Wall of Cwejman.”
It’s a dangerous booth to visit, as I start to get purchase ideas…
From Mr. Biggs on flickr, via matrixsynth:
Notice the framed “Yes we Cat” poster on the side? We posted it here last year after seeing it on Muff Wiggler last year.
From prophei on YouTube, featuring Mister Kitty and an extensive collection of synthesizers:
“annodalleb studio cuts #1”
We featured Mister Kitty in this previous post.
From Señor Pantalones on flickr:
“Cat perspective distortion! (she’s backup security in case the primary one fails)”
In addition to the cat Chloe, there is a Clavia Nord G2, a Moog Voyager, a Snyderphonics Manta (see this NAMM report on the Snyderphonics Manta), L.L. Electronics Rozzbox, several offerings from Roland (System 100m, TB-303, TR-606, MKS-50/Juno), an SH-101 Novamod, and a Cwejman S1 mkII among many others. I also like the modernist studio furniture from Heckler Designs.
You can see a full-size image as well as labels for all the gear on the original flickr page.