Customer Reviews

Synthesizer Basics

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In this easy to read reference, Brent Hurtig takes you through the basic concepts and parts of the basic monophonic analogue synths of the 60's and 70's. This book is a wonderful introductory guide into the world of eletronic music and its origins. Just after reading the first few chapters out of a copy I got from the local library, I can now tell what makes an analogue synth tick. It also gives you a look at MIDI basic principles and the invention of digital synthesis.This book has sparked my imagination about electronic music and made me want to get out there and make some noise. My only negative comment is that it's a little out of date, but if your looking for information on modular synthesis, Moogs or analogue basics, this is the place.

This old book is a series of articles primarily from the 1970's on synthesizers that were written back when the technology was young. However, at a little more than 130 pages it is a very readable introduction to the world of musical synthesis that still has some value. Chapter one introduces the subject in a general way. Chapter two is a great introduction to how synthesis works both from an electronic block diagram standpoint and from a musical one. Chapter three explains the MIDI standard brilliantly in a few dozen pages. Chapter four, on sound systems and components, shows its age more than the first three chapters. However, it has some interesting points to make on the signal processing that takes place in a synthesizer. Chapter five on recording electronic music is pretty much obsolete at this point, but is well written and interesting from a historical perspective. If you have a firm foundation in music and would like an accessible read on the subject of synthesis before diving into the more complex books on the subject, this is a great start, especially considering the low price. I would normally give it five stars, but I felt I had to subtract one star because of the age of some of the material. If you like this book, you might want to pick up another old favorite next - "Musical Applications of Microprocessors" by Chamberlain. It is much more technical than this book.

Think outside the box...

The world changed, evolved and so, many aspects of our everyday lives. Music also changed, from the invention of the theremin (Léon Theremin/1928) to the Moog synthesizers (Robert Moog/1952) plenty of water has passed beneath that electronic bridge.

There's a world separating playing a "synth" to understating what really happens when you press a key and that awesome sound erupts from the speaker. Understanding that world is an obligation to every "synth" player.

Math governs the world, at least that is what a friend of mine who's a mathematician says to me every time we meet, and music is no exception. However, you can only see it; experience it; when you realize the magical interaction between an oscillator, a filter or an ADSR envelope.

Learn that and a whole new world will flash before your eyes. This book is carefully crafted to grasp you inner musician and shake it a little, acute your curiosity and create a whole new set of questions waiting to be answered. It is a trampoline to a different dimension where math, music, electronics rules. So grab your oscilloscope and ride the wave.