Haiku doesn’t seem too impressed by this XAOC modular system, which is being rearranged in a Doepfer A-100 case. However, we at CatSynth are quite impressed with it.
Submitted by our friend Erik Ribeiro via our Facebook page.
CoCo proudly shows off her new modular synthesizer studio, with towering cases of Eurorack modules. I have to admit, we at CatSynth are a little envious of CoCo 😺
Submitted by Daniel Warner via our Facebook page.
Milo enjoys some relaxation and pets. In the background, we see a couple of Buchla modules; these are clone modules by Roman Flippov, a 291 dual filter, and a 230 triple envelope follower.
From our friend Keith Winstanley via Facebook.
Coco poses with the “IME Feedback console”, a small modular system featuring an Eventide EuroDLL; Evin 209 and Black Locust modules from Industrial Music Electronics (IME); and sundry 1U modules.
Submitted by Daniel Warner via our Facebook page.
Sylvester inspects his large modular installation. It’s actually three different modular systems. To the left is Serge format, to the right is Eurorack and in the middle is 5U.
From our friend Elise of Slope 114. You can hear what they’re up to musically via their Bandcamp page.
Sidney Crosby sings along with a modular setup, Dave Smith Mopho, Arturia Mini Brute, and a Moog Mother 32.
Submitted by @bittersweetdb via Mastodon.
More of a video if that’s alright. His name is Casper, lives in Amsterdam and he is sitting on my Buchla 200 system.
— Sendepause (@sendepause.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM
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Casper stands proudly atop his Buchla 200 modular system and plays us a minimalist tune. He looks so contented.
Submitted by Sendepause via BlueSky. (I think this is our first video submission from BlueSky!)
2024 has come to a close, so it is time for our traditional end-of-year collage and post. You might notice another kitty in the corner this year – that’s Golda, one of the wonderful cats I stayed with in Berlin. She is representing our European adventure this summer, along with Plac Grunwaldzki in Wroclaw, Poland.
It was a banner year musically. I am especially proud of the album, the best musical work I have done to date! If you haven’t heard it yet, you should. Opening the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival was a special experience. And we had numerous other musical adventures both live and recorded, and an ever growing community of musicians scattered across the country and beyond that are not just colleagues, but friends.
It was a banner year for CatSynth TV, our best to date in terms of viewership, subscriptions, and audience interaction. 50% year-over-year growth ain’t bad. January of 2024, with NAMM, was our best month on record. We even saw an uptick in blog readership, including a new cohort of loyal followers for our cat+synth posts and Wordless Wednesday.
Indeed, with CatSynth TV, I look not only at what we accomplished this year, but what was left undone. So many videos partially complete or in the ideation phase, waiting to be finished in 2025. We are particularly looking to jumpstart our interview series that was big in 2023 but took a bit of a back seat this year because of various circumstances.
The dissonance between things at a personal and CatSynth level, and at a national and world level, is deafening. The election here in the U.S. this year was tragic and heartbreaking, and this coming year is going to be difficult. This time, it wasn’t a fluke, it was a choice, and we chose…unwisely. In my usual cynical way, the best I hope for is sheer incompetence by the new regime, but even so, a lot of people will be hurt, including people who are a lot like me.
So we go into 2025 in a very strange place. The personal successes and hopes for the New Year, set against the fear and coming disasters in the world. All we have is forward motion, each other, and defiance.
