As we prepare for Luna to go tomorrow for her next surgery, we received this wonderful picture and note from our friend Merce the cat on Twitter:
@catsynth Go, Luna! You got this!
diy
CatSynth pic: SoundMachines NS1nanosynth
Submitted by Davide Mancini via our Facebook page.
“Nanosynth or MegaCat?”
More on the NS1nanosynth can be found here.
CatSynth pic: Cat on Prototype Synth (in Space)
By Bob Porvan via the group Cats on Synthesizers in Space, and shared to us via Facebook. The synth is apparently a mock-up or prototype, but the cat is clearly all over it 🙂
CatSynth pic: Mr. Fluff and Circuit-bent Keyboard
Mr. Fluff shows off his circuit-bending skills. From eevolute on Instagram.
Mr. Fluff is back on the job! #catsynth #synthcat #fluffy #catsofinstagram #catastic #synthesizer #studio
CatSynth pic: Merce and Synth (for Luna)
A sweet picture from Merce the cat with an interesting DIY synth on Twitter in support of Luna.
“@catsynth thanks for the updates. Glad to hear Luna is in good spirits!”
CatSynth pic: Paws and Wires crossed for Luna
We have been blessed to receive so many warm wishes for Luna over the past few days, including a few in the form of CatSynth Pics. Here is one Merce (@merce_the_cat) via CatSynth.
@catsynth hang in there, Luna! I’m keeping my paws and wires crossed for you
CatSynth video: Cat Music
From Circuit Ben on YouTube, via matrixsynth.
“Soporific”
The “cat music” does indeed appear to be having a soporific effect on the cat.
Getting Ready for “Play Ball!”, Arc Gallery
“Play Ball!” at Arc Gallery and Studios is a multimedia show about women’s passion for baseball bringing together artists Amanda Chaudhary, Mido Lee and Priscilla Otani. The installation was a true collaboration brought together our respective talents in physical object making, electronics, software, sound, and photography.
One of the more challenging aspects was the interactive sound installation, which was to be installed a series of columns representing the bases on a standard baseball diamond. Four sound sets were composed based on field recordings made at Bay Area games and installed on an Arduino-based system for playback. The electronics included the Arduino itself, a Wave Shield from Adafruit for sound playback, and several motion sensors.
The sensors and main electronics package were installed in spheres made from baseball scorecards.
Programming the devices, installing them into the physical space, and then testing and debugging was an incremental, iterative, and at times grueling process. But through repeated efforts and understanding the interaction of sensors, wiring, and our software code we ultimately made it work.
[Photos by Priscilla Otani]
Within the final installation, viewers can explore the bases and the surrounding life-size images representing the diversity of women at baseball games. As viewers pass by individual bases, different sounds will be triggered, creating an immersive sound, space, and visual experience.
“Play Ball!” opens at Arc Gallery and Studios on Friday, April 3. In keeping with the theme, traditional stadium fare (including hot dogs and peanuts) will be served.
CatSynth pic: Radio Music Synth Module
Submitted by our friend ⓉⒺⒸⒽℕ⌽▃ⒾⒹ●⒞⒪⒨ via Twitter.
“@CasaMmia: Ordered a radio music kit, john cage modular @thonk_synth cannot wait “
We are thinking of getting one of these as well 🙂
NAMM: New Korg Synths and ARP Odyssey clone
One of the big announcements before the show was Korg’s new clone of the ARP Odyssey. It was up there with the Moog Modular and Sequential Prophet 6. So I had to see and play this one for myself.
Like most of Korg’s recent reissues of classic analog instruments, this version of the ARP Odyssey is about 80% the size of the originally. I’m not sure what it is with Korg making things “just a little smaller” than the original. But it did have the sound of the original – I tried, somewhat poorly, to play some lines from Head Hunters. And I was happy to see that had the original industrial design, including the Helvetica-style red lettering on black background that remains very distinctive. It would be interesting to play this along side my vintage Octave CAT. At just under $1000, it’s even possible one day.
Another new offering from Korg this year was the MS20-M kit, a kit variation on the MS-20. It was paired with the new and very compact SQ-1 CV sequencer.
The MS-20M has no keyboard, but that’s not much of an impediment as one can control it via external CV.
At the small end of the spectrum there was the LittleBits SynthKit, a collaboration between Korg and LittleBits. We actually have one of these kits at CatSynth HQ.
