Olive sits confidently in the command chair in front of an impressive array of tabletop modules. Next to her is a rugged JL Cooper fader fox (I had one of these on loan in the 1990s and wish I still had it). We also see a Studio Electronics BoomStar, and a Yamaha 1980s item below it; a JoMox Alpha Base, a Sequential Prophet ’08, sundry rhythm machines from Boss, and much more.
Submitted by Olive’s human Charles Whiley.
Jet sits somewhat stealthily inside a Ross Lamond VCS3 cabinet. In front, we see a 9090 Analog Drum Synthesizer. From Keith Winstanley via Facebook.
The 9090 is a DIY kit based on the legendary Roland TR-909 drum machine. The original site is here, and there is still an active Facebook group about them. You can find fully build versions there as well as on Reverb, etc.
You can see Jet’s previous appearances on CatSynth here.
Fang hold court in the middle of a studio featuring vintage Roland Juno 106 and JX-3P synthesizers, as well as a more recent Roland Aira system on top. From @moonrunner83 on Twitter.
Fang wishes everyone Merry Synthmas! Musical keyboard
(He’s obsessed with this drum throne)
Synthmas may be over for the here, but synths and cats live on all year long!
Our friend Gracie, the quality manager at Synthetic Dreamscapes, gives her seal of approval for this beautifully restored Jupiter 4.
“This one’s passed test – ship it!” 🐈
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXrXQkpPvNK/
Gracie of Synthetic Dreamscapes stands atop a refurbished Roland Jupiter 6. As the quality inspector, Gracie stands on everything they do.
Cat with a Roland JD-Xi synthesizer. From fangu_electronoisemusic via Instagram.
The JD-Xi is a great little instrument with analog moding and a built-in vocoder. I wonder how well that works for cats?
Sascha is back in the studio and ready for some attention. Behind him are the offerings from Roland and the Squarp Pyramid MK2 (to the left of Sasha’s rear).
From Neil Parker of Space Kitty, via Facebook.
I really need to get stuff done, pay some bills and this guy wants pets and head boops.
You can see more photos of Sascha and the late great Blixa via their tags.
Cleo naps next to a Korg Rhythm 55 vintage drum machine, while keeping a wary eye open. Behind her are a Roland SH-101 and an Arturia keyboard. Submitted by hotham sound via Twitter.
We at CatSynth are quite happy to feature Cleo today. I have also had the opportunity to play a Korg Rhymth 55 in the past, at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum. A bit in the instrument from Vintage Synth Explorer:
he KR55 was, for its time (1979), an advanced preset rhythm drum machine with up to 96 preset rhythm patterns! These patterns cover the whole gamut of presets (Waltz, Samba, Rhumba, Bossa Nova, Tango, Slow Rock, Swing, Rock, etc.). The KR55 also featured a “swing beat” control to add a variation to the groove. Each drum sound’s level can be individually adjusted for each pattern. It can also be externally controlled via footswitch jack for the Start/Stop and Intro/Fill switches. The KR55B was a black-chassis version released a few years later in 1982 with twice as many rhythm patterns. It has been used by Jean-Michel Jarre, Trio and Depeche Mode.
https://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/kr55.php
That is one patient cat! Just chilling in the corner for the entire concert.
I also quite like the combination of instruments: vintage Juno-60 and Oberheim Xpander synthesizers along with the newer Arturia MicroFreq, Sequential Rev2, Moog Sub37, and more.
By Martin Stürtzer on YouTube, via matrixsynth.
“It is time for another Ambient / Berlin School session! I prepared three long tracks with pads and sequences from the Oberheim Xpander, Waldorf Iridium, Roland Juno-60, Sequential Rev2, Moog Sub37, Arturia Microfreak and my modular system. All sounds are midi sequenced from Ableton. FX are coming from U-He Colour Copy, NI Raum. The Rev2 is connected to Strymon Timeline and Eventide H9. My Juno-60 is clocked from Ableton ‘CV Tools’ through an audio output of the RME 802. I am playing the Arpeggiator and hope to have a proper midi interface for it next time.”
The lovely Willow joins us again, this time showing of a Roland V Synth. From puxflux via Instagram.
You can see Willow’s previous appearance here.
The Roland V Synth was, and is, a powerful instrument that combined many of Roland’s synthesizer technologies in a programmable and playable package. Most intriguing were the formant synthesis and processing capabilities (at least from my perspective).