Mina and Korg MS2000

Two beauties today: Mina the lovely black cat, and a vintage Korg MS2000 synthesizer. From synthguy on Instagram.

At least my synths are well guarded. Mina and the MS2000.

The MS2000 is a virtual analog instrument that combines the vintage sounds of the MS series (e.g., the MS-10, MS-20, MS-50) with an equally vintage industrial design, reminiscent of Korg’s 1970s keyboards. We know Mina and her human must have a lot of fun playing it.

Cleo with Korg Rhythm 55, Roland SH-101, Arturia

Cleo the cat naps next to a Korg Rhythm 55 drum machine.  Above is a Roland SH-101 synthesizer and arturia keyboard.

Cleo naps next to a Korg Rhythm 55 vintage drum machine, while keeping a wary eye open. Behind her are a Roland SH-101 and an Arturia keyboard. Submitted by hotham sound via Twitter.

Cleo, the one and only.

We at CatSynth are quite happy to feature Cleo today. I have also had the opportunity to play a Korg Rhymth 55 in the past, at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum. A bit in the instrument from Vintage Synth Explorer:

he KR55 was, for its time (1979), an advanced preset rhythm drum machine with up to 96 preset rhythm patterns! These patterns cover the whole gamut of presets (Waltz, Samba, Rhumba, Bossa Nova, Tango, Slow Rock, Swing, Rock, etc.). The KR55 also featured a “swing beat” control to add a variation to the groove. Each drum sound’s level can be individually adjusted for each pattern. It can also be externally controlled via footswitch jack for the Start/Stop and Intro/Fill switches. The KR55B was a black-chassis version released a few years later in 1982 with twice as many rhythm patterns. It has been used by Jean-Michel Jarre, Trio and Depeche Mode.

https://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/kr55.php

Maneki-Tekno

I love this! A maneki-neko turned into a DIY electronic musical instrument. I need to make one of these and will definitely be following up with the creators and curators for more. I do regret not seeing this in person as it was at the Center for New Music here in San Francisco, but this was 2020 and we know how that was.

Fortunately, we can all see some scenes from this video show via this link.

Happy Gotcha Day Big Merp!

It was two years ago that Marlon, aka “Big Merp” came to live with us at CatSynth HQ! We had already known him for a while, but circumstances arose where he needed to find a new permanent home, and we were more than happy to oblige.

We first met him in 2018. He was living on the street in the Temescal section of Oakland, California.

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Life on the streets can be rough, and it showed on his face. But he was incredibly friendly and loved people, and enjoyed coming indoors to hang out. He was clearly a former house cat, likely abandoned. We’re glad we found him and gave him a home. The posh indoor life has been good to him.

Big Merp is a “synth cat” – he loves to get up on the main instrument desk to be close to the action. There is the iconic photo lounging with the Novation LaunchPad Pro and Arturia MicroFreak above, as well as many others.

Although he bonded with the humans right away (including visitors), things were a bit more difficult with Sam Sam. She was not happy with this newcomer to her home and tried her best to avoid him for quite a while. Over time, however, her confidence returned and the two grew more comfortable with each other’s presence. They may not be the best of friends, but they do at least accept one another and share space.

Please join us in wishing Big Merp a very happy second Gotcha Day!