Synthesizers

CatSynth pic: Soft Lightning interview with I♥SYNTHS

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Interview with Soft Lightning by I♥SYNTHS.

♥SYNTHS: You love your cats. Are they a big inspiration to your music? What are their names and what synths do they like the most?

Soft Lighting: I actually only have one cat and his name is Ziggy. My wife and I foster litters of kittens for our local shelter so we always have a bunch of new kittens around. They like ALL the synths and ALL the gear – especially hiding in the back of amplifiers.

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There are quite a few more cat-and-synth photos in this post, I suspect a few more of them may show up here as well 🙂

Via matrixsynth, where you can read all the interviews with well-known synth artists and see quite a bit of classic and modern gear.

CatSynth pic: Korg Mono/Poly and Charlotte the Cat

Some sad news via matrixsynth. One of our frequently featured synth cats, Charlotte, recently passed away.

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Charlotte appeared in many photos featured on this site, often showing disdain for the synths. You can see a few examples here and here. She lived a good long life of 18 years, but it is still sad to lose a beloved pet, and our thoughts go out to her family.

The post on matrixsynth also featured some cool filtered images of the Korg Mono/Poly.

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NAMM 2014: New WMD / Steady State Fate modules

Analog-module makers WMD had a strong presence at this year’s NAMM show. In addition to their existing offerings, which include both utility and more esoteric modules, they presented a set of devices that were jointly made with Steady State Fate (SSF). You can see a demo in this video.

It was fun how they made Zip, our trusty stuffed kitty, rock out to the modular 🙂

Battle of the iPad Docks NAMM 2014: Miselu C.24 vs Focusrite iTrack

Once again, iPad docs were a popular offering at NAMM. Perhaps the most unusual and interesting was from Miselu, a small San Francisco-based company. The C.24 acts as a hard-shell case for a standard-size iPad, but opens up into a dock with a two-octave keyboard and other controls.

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The keys, which feel quite different from standard keyboard/synth keys, are magnetic rather than mechanical, and include aftertouch. The connection to the iPad is via bluetooth, bypassing the issue of Apple’s changing the port shapes. And it includes a space for expansion controllers above the keyboard. This is an intriguing device, though it is not yet available.

The iTrack from Focusright is perhaps more conventional in the world of iPad docks. But what makes it different is that can support both iPad Minis and full-sized iPads.

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It also includes audio support based on Focusrite audio technology and with mic and line level I/O. MIDI is supported via USB.

Both of these are interesting devices, it depends on ones need for portability and MIDI keyboard versus audio support.

NAMM 2014: Waldorf 2-pole

Waldorf introduced a new analog filter, the 2-pole at this year’s NAMM show.

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Those of us who spend time with analog synthesis are quite used to all sorts of complex filter topologies, most of which have at least four poles. So a two-pole filter seems a bit simple by comparison. But Waldorf is known for taking simple concepts and turning them into complete instruments. The 2-pole includes low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass elements, and also includes drive and rectify settings. It also includes its own envelope and LFO, as well as live triggering capabilities.

You can see a full demo of the Waldorf 2-pole in this video:

NAMM 2014: Moog Theremini

The most notable new offering this year from Moog Music, Inc. was the Theremini, a very accessible incarnation of the classic theremin.

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The design of the instrument evokes classic science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s (in which the theremin was a mainstay), and it features modern enhancements including a variety of tones and effects, support to stabilize pitch, and CV and MIDI for external control. And it’s MSRP is $299.

I decided to try my hand at this fun and photogenic instrument.

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You can see a bit of my attempt to perform one-handed in this video.

I can see this being a great tool for live performance, both standalone and as a controller for analog synths. I look forward to learning more about it.

NAMM 2014: Teenage Engineering OP-1 and OpLab

Our friends at Teenage Engineering were back at NAMM, with the latest iterations of the OP-1 and OpLab.

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The little screen on the OP-1 continues to delight, with one of the most unique interfaces from a non touch screen.  They added a new module that allows one to use the device as an Etch-A-Sketch and draw out pitch contours.  It even includes the shake-to-erase gesture.  The little cranks that go on top of the knobs are also new.

The OpLab, including some branded sensors, seems to finally be ready for prime time.

 

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The OpLab does allow one to use alternative sensors, and outputs control voltage suitable for analog modular synths in addition to controlling the OP-1.