roland

CatSynth Pic: Roland, Moog, Waldorf, Korg, Arturia, and More

This cat sits proudly atop a four-level stand of keyboard synths. On Row 3 (below the cat), we see a Waldorf Blofeld and Moog Little Phatty Stage Edition. Below that a RolandJX-8P and Korg MS-20. On the bottom row is another Roland keyboard. And on top, the cat’s paws are sitting on an Arturia Spark. The instruments behind the cat are left as an exercise to the reader.

From Dimitri Chatzigiannakis via Facebook.

CatSynth Pic: Roland D-50

Beautiful calico cat atop a Roland D-50 synthesizer. From Yuri de Haer via Facebook.

The D-50 was Roland’s flagship and most popular synthesizer in 1980s. It employed so-called “linear arithmetic synthesis”, which combined sampled (PCM) transients with a variation on subtractive synthesis, including resonant low-pass filters. It also had a joystick. It remains a popular instrument for its pads and other characteristic sounds. Roland released a re-creation of it for their “Boutique” line, the D-05.

CatSynth Pic: Roland SH-1000

Cat posing proudly on a Roland SH-1000 synthesizer. From Ian Alexander Ratzer.

Bass lines with a phatness. SH-1000 with the filter up. No effects necessary.

There is also a video with the cat and the bass line

The Roland SH1000 was one of the first of the “SH” line of instruments, as exemplified by the organ-like elements. From Vintage Synth Explorer:

The SH-1000 is a monophonic analog synth with a single oscillator feeding a lowpass filter, an ADSR envelope, and two LFOs. It features 10 Preset sounds, but they are pretty weak. Fortunately you can create your own sounds for some really great mono-synth bass, lead, percussion and FX sounds. Basic square, ramp and pulse-width waveforms are available from the oscillator and the LFOs have sine, square and sample+hold. It has a terrific ‘Growl’ and ‘Wow’ effect for a pretty scary analog sound. It also features white noise, pink noise, portamento, octave transposition and a Random Note Generator. Although there is no user memory, unique sounds can still be quickly recreated or discovered thanks to its simple interface.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sh1000.php

CatSynth Pic: Behringer Poly D

This cat has found a nice napping spot on top of a Behringer Poly D. We also see an Arturia keyboard and a Rolland VP9000 voice processor. From Steve Jones via Facebook.

The Behringer Poly D takes their Model D and expands it to four voices along with a wood-paneled keyboard reminiscent of the original Minimoog. The Roland VP9000 was released in 2000 as one of the first samplers to allow vocal manipulation of speed, pitch, and formant independently in real time.

Cats with Yamaha SK30 and Korg Polysix

An adorable photo of a mother and kitten on a Yamaha SK30. Above them is a Korg Polysix, and off to the right is a Roland Juno. From Frank Jacobs via Facebook.

My cuties love analog, too.

The SK30 was a combination organ, string, and subtractive synthesizer, released in 1980. All of the SK series had the organ and string sections, but different models had different synthesizer sections. The SK30 had two synthesizer sections, a dual-oscillator polyphonic section that was good at classic pads, and a solo monosynth section with multiple waveforms, envelope and filter. As a bonus, one could play the solo synth and one of the other modes (organ, string, polysynth) at the same time.

One Random Note: Roland SH1000

Josie performs a one-note jam on a Roland SH1000 courtesy of our friend Merce the cat. Here are some more detailed photos.

The SH1000 was perhaps Roland’s first keyboard synthesizer. It had a single oscillator and filter, along with an ADSR, two LFOs, and separate noise sources. It’s look is more like an electric organ and demonstrates the conceptual bridge between these instruments, even if their architecture and playing techniques are quite different. As our feline friend demonstrates, it is particularly good for drones or unique bass tones.

[The SH-1000] features 10 Preset sounds, but they are pretty weak. Fortunately you can create your own sounds for some really great mono-synth bass, lead, percussion and FX sounds. Basic square, ramp and pulse-width waveforms are available from the oscillator and the LFOs have sine, square and sample+hold. It has a terrific ‘Growl’ and ‘Wow’ effect for a pretty scary analog sound. It also features white noise, pink noise, portamento, octave transposition and a Random Note Generator. Although there is no user memory, unique sounds can still be quickly recreated or discovered thanks to its simple interface.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sh1000.php

It also paved the way for later classics like the SH1 and SH101.