Synthesizers

New CatSynth TV: Hidden Sub Phatty

We have a brand-new CatSynth TV!  This one demonstrates a couple of the hidden features of the Moog Sub Phatty synthesizer.

In particular, we look at filter-topology selection and Oscillator 2 beat frequencies.  The filter selection makes the instrument much more powerful, moving between the extra crunchy 1 and 2-pole filters to the smooth 4-pole that is “quintessentially Moog”.  The beat frequency is a bit more esoteric – it maintains beating frequencies across different pitches, leading to some odd detunings in different registers.  But it can add a new timbral-metric component to compositions – something to explore in more depth.

We also look at the Editor/Librarian software from Moog, which is really handy for accessing these features as well as saving patches.

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CatSynth Pic: Black Cat and Modular Synth

This morning we bring you a beautiful black cat with green eyes (like our beloved late Luna), courtesy of our friends at polynominal.com.

We’re pretty sure this is Marcel, who has appeared on CatSynth before,  You can see his previous appearances here.  As he is the focus of this image optically and conceptually, we are unable to identify the modular synth in the back.

Passover Synth Jam with the Matzoh Man

The Matzoh Man returns for Passover on CatSynth TV, this time accompanied by a Minimoog, Roland VP-03 vocoder and our trusty Nord Stage EX.

The Dayenu song is a tradition on Passover.  The word dayenu approximately translates to “it would have been sufficient” and is used as a phrase of gratitude for each of the miracles recounted in the Passover Hagaddah.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

Cat and Roland JP-8000

Cat with Roland JP-8000 synthesizer. Submitted by Pedro Vieira‎ via our Facebook page.

The JP-8000 was released in 1997 as virtual analog modeling synths came into vogue.  In addition to modeling the sound, it sported full front panel of sliders and knobs reminiscent of Roland’s classic analog synths.  I was more enamored with the follow-up module, the JP-8080, which I got to try out at AES in 1998, the same year I delivered a paper on an analog modeling technique.  One can draw a line from these instruments to the Roland JP-08 Boutique Synth, which we often play at CatSynth HQ.

CatSynth Pic: Cat Playing the Organ

Cat playing organ

Cat playing the organ [Walters, W. 438, 15th c.].  Posted by Damien Kempf on Twitter and spotted by astute reader @endlessscribe.

The image comes from a 15th century prayer book in the collection of the Walters Museum based in Baltimore.  From the museum’s digital library:

This late fifteenth-century Prayer Book was made for the Use of Rome and illuminated by followers of Willem Vrelant of Bruges. The manuscript was probably created for the couple depicted in two full-page miniatures (fols. 13v and 103r). The representation of the bride in the full-page miniatures, as well as references to her in suppliant prayers, indicates that the manuscript was commissioned primarily for the bride’s use. Further evidence of this is the prominence of women throughout the illuminations and drolleries, from one who was caught in adultery being brought before Christ, to Veronica extending her veil to Christ as he carries the cross. The decorative aspects of the manuscript stray from the typical border designs of this time period, focusing more on illusionistic Ghent-Bruges’ illumination (post-1475) and less on the Vrelant acanthus-floral borders. Among the number of full-page miniatures, fol. 229v stands out as an exceptional example of an imitation of a late fifteenth-century panel painting.

Interestingly, I did not see the cat among the includes samples.