Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming: The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design Book/CD-ROM (Power Tools Series) [Paperback]

Jim Aikin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004 | Series: Power Tools Series

From hit records to home studios, synthesizers are used in almost every genre of music. This book fills the know-how gap left by skimpy or garbled owner's manuals. It maps out the components of contemporary synths in clear, concise detail, and discusses how they can be harnessed to achieve specific musical effects. Each chapter presents hands-on projects that help musicians hone their skills. The companion CDROM contains audio examples that teach programming techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879307730
• ISBN-13: 978-0879307738
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the "Ultimate" but pretty darned good., February 1, 2005

By 

P. Gunderson (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming: The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design Book/CD-ROM (Power Tools Series) (Paperback)

Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming is a handy reference resource for musicians who want to learn about the ins-and-outs of sound synthesis. While most of the information in the book can be obtained online and in music magazines, it's very convenient to have it all in one well organized, well written book.

Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming explains the processes behind all the major (and not-so-major) forms of synthesis, including subtractive, additive, granular, and wavetable. You get chapters on oscillators, filters, LFOs, envelopes, modulators, etc. The included audio CD gives handy examples of the phenomena being described (such as oscillator beating, aliasing, filter sweeps, etc.).

Although every chapter has one or two exercises at the end, it should be stated that this book is not a patch recipe book or primer in synthesis technique (despite the subtitle "The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design"--surely a subtitle contributed by the publisher's marketing department). The concepts and technology are explained in detail, but there is very little here by way of "tips and tricks."

Hopefully, Mr. Aikin will publish a sequel to this title that gives some hands-on instruction on how to produce specific types of sounds. There are literally hundreds of practical sound design questions that such a sequel could answer: How can I create a patch emulating the dynamics of a wind instrument? How can I make string patches sound more alive? How can I make really biting lead sounds? How are different drum and percussion sounds synthesized? I think a book that answered these and similar questions would sell very well indeed.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very good book, December 12, 2004

By 

synth man (in my studio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming: The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design Book/CD-ROM (Power Tools Series) (Paperback)

I was really impressed by this book. It gives a very good background on synths/audio/nature of sound etc etc. It covers many issues. It will help newbies grasp the synth "language" very easy and quick

I have used synths for more than 10 years and i learned new stuff from this book. It is a "must" for beginners !!!

I wish that Mr Aiken will write a "ADVANCED" book on this...but as in really advanced in synthesizer programming

I can recommend this book to anyone interested in Synthesizers from beginners to advanced users.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Pedantic Book But..., January 24, 2007

By 

nico dotti "nico" (oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming: The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design Book/CD-ROM (Power Tools Series) (Paperback)

I would really give this a 3 1/2 stars, but that's not an option.

This book is great for getting an overview of how general synth functions work. If you're interested in getting a general overview without actually applying it, then get this book. Better yet, get this book as a compliment to your manual or some other book. Sure it has projects in the back of each chapter, but they're more like 'suggested experimentations' IMO. Given that there seems to be little written on the subject, it might still be worthwhile. I also got Welch's Cookbook and enjoyed the hands on approach with that book, though I must admit that Power Tools covers a wider set of synth possiblities...that is, it covers an area like LFO's and then discusses every different type of LFO one might encounter given the fact that the synths on the market vary so much for one synth to the next.

After reading this book I wondered how much of the information really 'stuck' with me, as I didn't actually apply it as I went through the material. Given the abstract nature of this topic I think that this would have been helpful. Like I stated before, Welch's Cookbook did give me that in the first several chapters (the later chapters are basically synth recipes); for example, you learn how to look at a sound through an FFT analyzer and see the partials in the sound (you don't get this type of hands on with Power Tools).

There was definitely a part of me that questioned whether the $25 outlay was worth it. I decided that it was to have a sort of generalized reference on my bookshelf. But I definitely agree with the other reviewer that fealt that there needed to be more examples. Obviously, the author knows a great deal about synths. But I couldn't help feeling that he had written this by spewing his knowledge and not considering how important applying the concepts would be. If he was so inclined, he could create a freeware (or use someone else's) softsynth, and create projects that concretely apply at least some of the theoretical knowledge in future editions. This just might make it a great book. JMTC.