Electronic Projects for Musicians [Paperback]

Craig Anderton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1978

How to build pre-amps, tone controls, ring modulators, mixers, and many other inexpensive electronic accessories. Written in simple language, with hundreds of clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Guitar Player Productions; 3rd Revised edition edition (May 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891220119
• ISBN-13: 978-0891220114
• Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,304,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars IMHO This is Still the Bible for Electronic Guitar Effects, January 23, 2005

By 

Blind Lemon Pledge (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electronic Projects for Musicians (Paperback)

This book was first published in 1975, I believe. I purchased it in the 1980s. At the time, it was the only authoritative book on the subject of building your own effects. Finding schematics and parts was, to say the least, difficult. Rackmount processors were just beginning to dominate the marketplace. Craig Anderton emphasized low noise in designing the circuits and the projects represented the state of the art, but they might be somewhat noisy by today's standards (they are still fairly quiet, though).

In this modern age, schematics, parts, and tips on building your own projects are just a mouse click away. For the amount of money it would cost to build the projects in this book, one could buy a multieffects box that is, arguably, more versatile with better fidelity.

However, EPFM is far from obsolete, especially in an era where analog effects are (thankfully) becoming all the rage again. The book might benefit from a revision that addresses the increased resources available via the internet and, if feasible, circuit design modifications which reflect any technological advancement in noise reduction.

Nonetheless, EPFM is still the standard for entering into the field of audio electronics. That is no accident. Some reviewers lament the book is not very in-depth and does little more than teach you to solder. Craig Anderton makes no secret of the fact that his objective is to whet your appetite and give you the opportunity to create some usable effects as effortlessly as possible.

He succeeds. The accompanying CD reveals that these are all wonderful sounding effects. The ring modulator is my personal favorite and the phaser sounds as good as any on the market. Be aware you will need to study further if you want to delve deeply into the field of audio electronics. This book has an entire chapter devoted to pointing you in the proper direction.

In the forward to EPFM, guitarist Joe Walsh writes "I couldn't think of a better place to begin than right where you are." Thirty years later, this statement holds true.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Classic book In DIRE need of a major update and revision., November 10, 2008

By 

Hotrodimus "Hotrod" (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Electronic Projects for Musicians (Paperback)

"Electronic Projects for Musicians" is a classic, but the book is so hopelessly dated at this point that a major revision of the text is in order. To begin with, none of the IC's that the projects are built around still exist - they've been discontinued and there are significantly better chips available, but figuring out the appropriate substitutions for these can be incredibly difficult. Several of the designs could easily be redone from scratch in more efficient and better configurations...I still don't understand why Anderton goes with a two-9V configuration for powering everything, when that's a design decision that you simply never see anywhere else.

Still, the initial several chapters are timeless and contain great info for newcomers about basic concepts of building, soldering, wiring, packaging, etc. The book is almost worth it for those chapters alone. Sadly, the actual projects are unbuildable in 2008, and the book is frankly outclassed by so many books that have been written since. With the popularity of "Make" magazine and this new generation of DIY'ers, a major overhaul, re-write, and update of the book would be outstanding.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The good and the bad, November 14, 2008

By 

Andrew Brannon "poor rich andy" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electronic Projects for Musicians (Paperback)

I am basically a 100% newb and this is a great place to get your feet wet in electronics. That being said, I was hoping to be able to build some of these projects though. I'm not a guitar player myself but was hoping to give some cool pedals away to friends. After diving into some of the projects, even buying a few parts and pieces, I realized there are very few of these projects that are even buildable. He uses an IC in most of his projects that isn't available anymore and I haven't found information as of yet on a replacement. Even if I did I would have to redesign the circuit boards in the books to fit my needs. Other reviewers made this clear and I should have paid more attention before buying the book. There are other books out there that are cheaper that will get teach you the basics, this was sadly a disappointment.