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Weekend Cat Blogging with Sam Sam

It’s been almost a month since our last check-in with Sam Sam on these pages, and that is too long.  And she is expressing her desire that we give her the attention she deserves.

If you have seen any of Sam Sam’s videos on Instagram or YouTube, you know she is quite the talker.  Usually, it’s her tiny raspy mew, though her voice occasionally blooms into full-blown arias.

Sam Sam’s morning routine 😻 #catsofinstagram

A post shared by CatSynth / Amanda C (@catsynth) on

By the window #catsofinstagram

A post shared by CatSynth / Amanda C (@catsynth) on

This is a good time to remind folks that you can follow her antics regularly on our Instagram @catsynth.  Please do follow us if you feel so inclined.

The main rug is definitely one of her favorite spots and shows evidence of her frequent scratch’n’rolls.  Honestly, we don’t mind as we delight in her antics.  But it does require vacuuming, which is on deck for today.  I know she is not going to enjoy that, but it is necessary.

Fortunately, she has other spots to enjoy around HQ, including this comfy chair in the loft.

Honestly, I wanted to sit there to read 😸

We hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

CatSynth TV: Benjolin!

Our latest video features the Benjolin, a module designed by Rob Hordijk and distributed by Epoch Modular.  From the official website:

The benjolin is a multifunction synthesizer designed by Rob Hordijk. The module consists of four separate function blocks: two VCOs, a state variable filter and an additional circuit, invented by Hordijk himself, called a rungler. This particular arrangement emerged from his efforts to design a synthesizer that was, as he puts it, “bent by design”. As such, the module functions according to principles of chaos theory, where short to long sputtering patterns spontaneously transform themselves, at times, gradually, at others, quite suddenly, morphing into new pattern doublings and bifurcations. ​

The rungler is what gives the module (and its predecessor the Blippo Box) its chaotic character.  It’s basically a shift register timed off the two oscillators which then fed as a control signal back to the oscillators, creating a nonlinear dynamic feedback system.  It’s a lot of fun to just play and explore, but I have also used it in both recordings and live performance.  It works particularly well with subtle control inputs, like the Theremini.

CatSynth Video: Sophie’s Cameo (Arturia Matrixbrute, Studiologic Sledge, Alesis Samplepad, more)

Submitted by Chrissie Caulfied via Twitter and YouTube.

Another garden-based synth jam to celebrate Stuart’s purchase of an Arturia Matrixbrute and Studiologic Sledge 2.0 Me: Elektron Digitone, Novation Circuit, Alesis Samplepad pro (rather badly at the start!)

Wait for Sophie to appear at 2:46 😸

CatSynth Video: Cat rings service bell to make dark ambient music with a modular synthesizer

Cat rings a service bell to that is fed into an audio signal chain as part of this ambient electronic composition.

By Andor Polgar on YouTube, via matrixsynth.

The signal path: Poes rings the service Bell for food, the microphone picks up the sound, which then goes through a stereo volume pedal (it’s for attenuating the chewing sounds). Make Noise Maths is used as an envelope follower, which controls the sound of the Erica Synth Black Wavetable Oscillator.

https://instagram.com/_andormade
http://andor.cool

We at CatSynth absolutely adore this video and feline performance.  And we are thinking about ways to get Sam Sam into a live synthesizer performance 😸

New Video Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story

Our latest CatSynth TV episode features a review of the latest offering in the Star Wars franchise, Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The video has some spoilers in it, so we advise waiting to watch it until you have seen the movie.  For now, here are some non-spoiler takeaways:

  • The movie continues to fill in the storyline between Episode III and Episode IV, along with the Rebels TV series and Rogue One.
  • Donald Glover is great as Lando Calressian!
  • Star Wars does a good job with its gangsters and bar and club scenes, going all the way back to the Mos Eisley cantina.  There is no shortage of such scenes in this movie.
  • It’s a smaller scale story than the main movies or even Rogue One.  And force-wielders are less prominent than in any other movie or series.
  • Sadly, no cats.

We do recommend it for Star Wars nerds like us, as well as casual viewers. 😺

Star Wars Day: Tookas in Forces of Destiny

Last year on May the Fourth, we shared a bit about felines in the Star Wars universe.  In particular, the many species of tooka, a small animal with cat-like appearance and behavior that was featured in both the Rebels and Clone Wars animated series.  Tookas also make an appearance in the new Forces of Destiny animated shorts.  In one episode, Jyn Erso saves and befriends a tooka that has adopted by a girl as a pet.

We at CatSynth love these short videos in the Forces of Destiny series.  Most of the attention has gone to their featuring of the women in the franchise, but they also cleverly weave together characters from different stories over the timeline.  We will have more to say about this series in a future article.  But for now, May the Fourth Be With You! (Oy vey!)

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.

If you have not yet subscribed to our YouTube channel, please do so 😻

CatSynth Video: Savannah Cat on Piano

A young savannah cat – at least we think it’s a savannah and not an actual serval – playing on the piano. We think the music actually makes for a great introduction, perhaps the start of a theme and variations.

Seen via Emergency Kittens on Twitter. We think the cat’s name is raameses.