Seen on matrixsynth today 😺, featuring modules from our friends at Qu-Bit Electronix.
Just a random synth cat pic via @quebitelectronix.
“Chord kitten from @catsonsynthesizersinspace 💙🐱”
Makes you wonder what it was hearing. Or maybe it was reading MATRIXSYNTH.
Cats find the strangest places to sit. Here, we see WunWun the cat sitting atop a two-row modular synthesizer setup. From flohrdumal on Instagram.
flohrdumal All modules used in a smoke free pet free studio
#studiokatze #noboundaries #crazykitty#synthcat #catsynth #modular#eurorack #cat #katze #gato #chatphoto by @sirbananamonkeymowgli
flohrdumal At least now I know that WunWun is 3u x 104hp
From this auction, via matrixsynth.
“Hello! Synth works well, and I am a registered builder on the MFOS site as Allen Cox. Case is made out of hardwood that has been stained, painted, and finished. Comes with 12v power supply, wal wart, and two pamona banana patch cables.”
Presumably, cat and lava lamp not included 😸
Fast, reflect, and question. These are our personal mandates on Yom Kippur this 5778 (2017). Fasting is pretty self-explanatory – I don’t do it every year, but this year it feels important to do so. Sam Sam does not have to fast. The questioning centers around “what does it mean to be Jewish in this time and place”, an especially complicated and treacherous question for those of us who are secular Jews. Yom Kippur is described in Leviticus, the one book of the Torah that I have not been able to get through in its entirety (mostly because it’s extremely dense and about as riveting as the phone book). But I still celebrate independent of that, based on heritage and family tradition. You are a Jew if your mother is a Jew, end of story. I extend this rule to my cats.
[Sam Sam is exempt from fasting]
For an excellent read on the topic of secular Jews on Yom Kippur, especially secular Jews committed to activism and social justice, please read this article by Dania Rajendra [Full disclosure: Dania is my sister-in-law.]. For me, part of my plan for this holiday was to compose a track based on sounds from a short-wave-radio synth module an, idea I formulated during a reflective moment last night.
[Cover image taken during Yom Kippur 2016, see this article.]
The track was recorded as a meditation of sorts, getting into a heightened, focused state while turning the knobs of the Eowave short-wave module, tuning into stations that aren’t there. The other “master” of the track was the Wiard/Richter Noisering, which I let control the Rossum Electro-Music Morpheus module. Both focus on chance and working with elements very much outside my control. I also did not want to spend much time outside the meditation-recording process itself. There is no editing save for some tapering at the beginning and end of the track and the obligatory EQ and compression.
I am both doing too much, and too little at the same time. I can’t save all the shelter cats; I can help everyone suffering through one disaster after another in North America and Carribean. But I can try to make a little bit of a difference in each. When I focus on all things “CatSynth”, sometimes my music suffers – I’m overdue booking new gigs for my band CDP and I do feel a need to atone for that. In short, the challenge in 5778 and beyond is to find a way of doing all the things that matter most while minimizing time and resources on the things that don’t. No easy task for someone who tends to say “yes” to everything, hates to disappoint others, and has a difficult time letting go of things. But that last one is another aspect of this holiday, and so it is as good a time to begin as any…
By Simon The Magpie on YouTube, and seen on matrixsynth.
This is brilliant! Sam Sam loves wet cat food, so maybe we will try it ourselves one day…
Siamese Cat (aka “meezer”) with a modular synth. From alissaderubeis on Instagram.
I had a lot of fun in California. Special thanks to kitty for making it so I can finally do this cat synth thing. ❤️#catsynth#catsonsynths#catsingeneral#eurorack
We, of course, think California is a fine place for cats and synths.
From Monotrail on YouTube, via matrixsynth.
“And we go on!!! I bought two guitar pedals, mainly for live use. They are sturdy, look good, and are cheap. I thought I would do a Live Jam with some knob tweaking before I place them out sight.
PS: Sorry for the wobly[sic] camera, I don’t have a tripod, but use a bongo instead…If you are still interested in obtaining one of the 50 tape’s, or a digital version of the 100th Live
Jam release, please visit my bandcamp: https://monotrail.bandcamp.com”
Nice integration of Korg Volca Sample and TC Electronics with the Eurorack modular. And we like the trick of running the Volca Sample through the Doepfer A-119. Spot the kitty 😺
Loki floats in space with two Moog Mother-32 synthesizers. Would that be a Mother-64? 😸
Submitted by Juli Amore, aka The Synth Witch. Please check her music.
The 2017 Outsound New Music Summit kicked off this Sunday with the annual Touch the Gear event. As always, there were several musicians and instrument-makers were on hand to demonstrate their setups or inventions.
Above we see Alphastare demonstrating his setup for processing of synthesized and recorded sounds that he uses in his live shows. Below, CDP bandmate Tom Djll shows his analog modular synthesizer setup with sundry external boxes for expressive control of sound.
I opted to show my modular synth as well this year, along with the Moog Theremini.
The theremin is always a popular item at this event.
Kim Nucci demonstrated some custom modules alongside a Korg MS-20 mini and a DIY metal instrument with sensors.
I have always found metal plus electronics a musically interesting combination.
Among the more unusual and surprising instruments this year was Dania Luck’s musical chessboard. It contained sensors for the magnetic chess pieces, with each square of the board triggering a different synthesizer in a SuperCollider patch.
This wasn’t the only SuperCollider program being shown, as our friend Tim Walters demonstrated his patch and controller setup. It is the setup he will use as part of Usufruct in the opening concert for the Summit.
Tim Thompson was on hand with the latest incarnation of his electronic-music instrument, the Space Palette Pro.
[Tim Thompson demonstrates the Space Palette Pro to Outsound director Rent Romus.]
It uses the same software as previous versions of the Space Palette, but with a new more compact interface based on new touch-sensitive pads from Sensel Morph. These pads are quite impressive in both response and feel, and we at CatSynth will definitely be looking into them.
Not all the demos included electronics. There were several acoustic instruments demonstrated by the Pet the Tiger collective (David Samas, Ian Saxton, Tom Nunn, Derek Drudge), including this beautiful kalimba tuned to 31edo.
I would love to write a piece for it one of these days. There was also a large metalophone with a deep resonant tone, interesting tuning, and some satellite “bass” notes.
Back inside the hall, Motoko Honda demonstrated a network of electronic devices processing voice, along with a fun circuit-bent instrument.
Matt Davignon brought his setup for expressive manipulation and processing of samples and other pre-recorded sound materials.
We would also like to thank Matt for his efforts organizing this event every year! We would also like to thank the folks at VAMP for co-presenting and bringing a pop-up shop of records and sundry vintage and musical items.
It was a fun afternoon as always, and it was great to see families in attendance. And there were multiple things to inspire me musically and technologically. We will see where that goes. Next up, the concerts…
