Big Merp loves attention and always wants to be where the action is. So it’s fairly common to find him on this spot between the MacBook Pro and the Modular system. And in this instance, he struck a particularly handsome pose 😻. You can see quite a few of our Eurorack modules, including our prized Metasonix yellow and silver tube modules in the upper left corner of the case, as well as many others that have appeared in our recordings and videos over the years. A full list of brands is in the tags.
This is also where we shoot a lot of our hardware demo videos, so it often ends up cluttered. But we always make sure there is space because you never know when Merp is going to jump up and say hi.
Today we feature our very own Big Merp in the studio. He was assisting with our recent video on the Yamaha RX5 – specifically the “RX5USB” cartridge. We also one portion of our modular collection, including Metasonix modules, Rossum Morpheus, E350 Morphing Terrarium, Benjolin, Expert Sleepers, Sputnik Modular, Mordax, 4MS, Make Noise, Pittsburgh Modular, Koma Elektronik, 2hp, Folktek, and more.
This is the video we were working on at the time.
We also have a detailed tutorial for the RX5 itself
Today we have CatSynth pics with our very own Big Merp, who loves to jump up on the desk. Here we see him with our Yamaha RX5 drum machine and our massive modular system. The Metasonix modules are easy to spot, as are the Make Noise modules. We also have MOTM, Rossum Electro-music, Sputnik modular, 4MS, Malekko, Folktek, Mordax, and more as we get into the second grouping in the distance. We also see a bit of the Arturia MiniBrute 2 and Moog Mother-32. A fuller accounting can be found in the tags.
Bucky poses handsomely next to an impressive modular system. We see many familiar modules, including Mr. Grassi, the Rossum Panharmonium, Erica Synths, Mordax DATA, and more. Bucky is certainly going to have some fun exploring these modules.
A beautiful white friend returns, longing behind a Nerdseq tracker-sequencer and in front of the same massive modular system from this post. We also see modules on the vertical section from Rossum Electro-music, Make Noise, Mutable Instruments, Intellijel, TipTop Audio, SSF, Random Source “EuroSerge”, as well as Catalyst Audio, Ciat Lombarde, and Mystic Circuits.
The Nerdseq is an intriguing instrument, essentially an old 90s-style “tracker” sequencer in Eurorack form. The boxes on the screen would be familiar to anyone who worked with trackers and MOD files, but the flexibility and possibilities of CV input and output.
A beautiful white cat poses in front of a massive modular system. We familiar offerings from Rossum Electro-music, Make Noise, Mutable Instruments, Intellijel, TipTop Audio, and SSF. We also see Random Source “EuroSerge” modules; and some less common models from Catalyst Audio, Ciat Lombarde, and Mystic Circuits. And there is more that we weren’t able to identify right away. This cat has a truly impressive setup.
Of course, every day is National Cat Day (or International Cat Day) here at CatSynth. But we are marking the occasion by letting Sam Sam and Big Merp share their own pics. Above, we see Sam Sam in one of her favorite spots in the studio, in front of the Yamaha TX802 and cassette deck. Sam Sam would also like to share her recent studio video.
And lest Big Merp is left out of the fun, here is a pic of him hanging out behind the main modular synth.
Big Merp enjoys hanging on the synth side of the studio among the cat tchotchkes. He blends in quite well behind the main modular system, next to a Moog Mother-32 and our Roland VP-03 vocoder.
As promised in yesterday’s Weekend Cat Blogging post, here is Big Merp with our main modular system.
He always wants to be wherever the action is, and at that moment the action was in the studio, where I was editing our latest episode of CatSynth TV, which itself has a feline theme.
Passover is, perhaps, the most “visible” Jewish holiday for me. After all, we have featured the Matzoh Man in many photos and short video clips here on CatSynth, and now twice in a row for CatSynth TV.
For this year’s episode, we took audio output from our mechanical friend via a contact mic and sent it into the KOMA Field Kit. We then split the signal into audio, which was run through our modular synthesizer – specifically, the Rossum Electro-music Morpheus – and the Field Kit’s own envelope follow and actuator section, ultimately driving the solenoid. It was a fun little demo both to make and to watch.
Matzoh Man joins the synthesizers in a ritual of devotion and irreverence.
I also included a little demo of the ritual diet, with matzoh, prepared horseradish, and Kedem grape juice. But beyond that, anything is fair game for me during Passover as long as there are no piggies or shellfish, or leavened bread. No beer allowed, but non-kosher wine and spirits are fine. It becomes a bit of a game to see if for eight days I can follow these simple rules. To someone more Orthodox, or even the least bit devout, this simple approach could be transgressive, or even blasphemous. But from my point of view, not only is it plenty but I also sometimes wonder why I both at all. It’s not like I believe in the literal truth of the Biblical story, or have any fear of or respect for any religious authorities.
Somehow, though, I still feel compelled to participate. And not just participate, flaunt it, reminding friends that I can’t share pastries or bread products over the week because I’m Jewish. That feels important to remind people of. And it sometimes makes its way into my music, through titles like Kislev and Donershtik (Yiddish for Thursday) or organizing structures in stories. It’s fun. It’s “cool”. But also it feels more urgent, as the world around us seems more anti-Semitic now than it did during my youth. I’m deeply bothered by the attacks that seem to be increasing against Jews, both verbal and violent. But I’m also concerned with an increasing religiosity and sense of obedience among many who identify as Jewish. If being Jewish is just about being religious, or being obedient to a text or patriarchal authorities, then it does truly become time to ask “why bother?”. But for now, we do our best to both persevere and enjoy.
