Showing posts with label Booktip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Booktip. Show all posts

Saturday, May 24, 2014

BookTip XVI: The Synthesizer by Mark Vail

Music journalist, historian, teacher, and performer Mark Vail is the author of the new book 'The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument' (2014), published by Oxford University Press, as well as classic Vintage Synthesizers (1993, 2000) book.
He has developed an elective music curriculum based on Propellerhead Reason and has taught 6th through 12th grade students at private schools in Sacramento and San Jose, California, since 2003.

The Synthesizer book by Mark Vail
In his latest book he explains the important developments throughout the history of the synthesizer and how engineers, musicians, and visionaries have advanced its capabilities.
He gives important practical tips on choosing a synthesizer and reveals the deep creativity and imagination of those who work with synthesizers
The book is thoroughly illustrated with over 350 images

" Electronic music instruments weren't called synthesizers until the 1950s, but their lineage began in 1919 with Russian inventor Lev Sergeyevich Termen's (Theremin) development of the Etherphone, now known as the Theremin.
From that point, synthesizers have undergone a remarkable evolution from prohibitively large mid-century models confined to university laboratories to the development of musical synthesis software that runs on tablet computers and portable media devices.

Throughout its history, the synthesizer has always been at the forefront of technology for the arts.
In The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument, veteran music technology journalist, educator, and performer Mark Vail tells the complete story of the synthesizer: the origins of the many forms the instrument takes; crucial advancements in sound generation, musical control, and composition made with instruments that may have become best sellers or gone entirely unnoticed; and the basics and intricacies of acoustics and synthesized sound.

Vail also describes how to successfully select, program, and play a synthesizer; what alternative controllers exist for creating electronic music; and how to stay focused and productive when faced with a room full of instruments.
This one-stop reference guide on all things synthesizer also offers tips on encouraging creativity, layering sounds, performance, composing and recording for film and television, and much more."

A companion website features resources which accompany the book.

I haven't bought the book yet, but i will definitely order it this year... A must-have in my opinion although i do expect it partially overlaps the Vintage Synth book of him that I also have.

Mark Vail “The Synthesizer”
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-539481-8

Friday, June 28, 2013

BookTip XV: Theremin - Ether Music And Espionage

Wow... It took me quite some time to complete reading this book, but it was worth it... and i believe I have never read such an interesting biography as this one.
Maybe it has to do with the broad spectrum of interests that this book covers, maybe just because Lev (Leon) Termen (Theremin) had such an interesting life.

Theremin - Ether Music and Espionage
by Albert Glinsky
Before i started reading this book i only knew a few things about Theremin; his Russian origin and his main
invention the Theremin (created in 1919, patented in 1928), originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone or termenvox/thereminvox.

Theremin lived from 1896 to 1993 and this book takes you along on his journey through a very interesting time with some of the world's major events of the last century: the Russian Revolution, two world wars, America's Great Depression, Stalin's purges, the cold war and perestroika.
It clearly shows how Theremin lived a life between communism and capitalism and "from the KGB to Macy's store windows, Alcatraz to the Beach Boys, Hollywood thrillers to the United Nations, Joseph Stalin to Shirley Temple."

The book is very well written and closely follows Theremin's life from the time when he came up with his first invention - the only instrument that is played without being touched, and also shows that he wasn't just a 'one-hit-wonder'.
In fact, he invented loads of things and was a true electronic pioneer that stood on the base of techniques that we still use today like burglar-alarms, television, those loops in the asphalt near traffic-lights and even RFID

A few of Theremin's other inventions on a row:
Burglar alarm, or "Signalling Apparatus" which used the Theremin effect (1920s)
Electromechanical television – Nipkow disk with mirrors instead of slots (ca. 1925)
Terpsitone – platform that converts dance movements into tones (1932)
Theremin cello – an electronic cello with no strings and no bow, using a plastic fingerboard, a handle for volume and two knobs for sound shaping (ca. 1930)
Keyboard theremin (ca. 1930), looking like a small piano, "with hornlike tones"
The Great Seal bug, also known as "The Thing" – one of the first passive covert listening devices; first used by the USSR for spying (1945 or earlier)
The Buran eavesdropping device (1947 or earlier)
Rhythmicon – world's first drum machine (1931)*

The book is IMHO must-read for Theremin players, but also a good read for people who are only interested in lifestyle and culture in the first half of the last century.
I can't wait to get a real Theremin now... I must say my skills on the Doepfer Theremin are improving after reading this book, so i might take the step to buy a 'real' one this year... an Etherwave or a ThereMAX for example.

Rhythmicon from Thomas Patteson on Vimeo.
" Ancestor of the Drum Machine: Leon Theremin's Rhythmicon
The Russian inventor Leon Theremin is best known for the eponymous instrument he created around 1919. But another invention of Theremin's is perhaps even more prophetic of later developments in electronic music: the Rhythmicon, produced in 1931 at the behest of the American composer Henry Cowell. 
This device allowed for the real-time generation of complex rhythmic patterns thought to be un-performable by humans. 
 Each successive note on the keyboard triggered a division of the basic beat in whole number ratios: the second key beating twice for each basic beat, the third key beating three times, and so on.
This video shows the Russian scholar Andrey Smirnov demonstrating the how the Rhythmicon is played.
The device shown in the video is likely the later version, developed in the 1960s and now housed in the Theremin Center in Moscow."

Theremin - Ether Music And Espionage by Albert Glinsky
(Music in American Life) - ISBN - 978-0-252-07275-8
More info about the writer and the book at http://albertglinsky.com/book.html

*Source / more about Theremin and his inventions on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_Theremin

Also worth watching:
the documentary 'Theremin: an electronic odyssey' - Trailer
, plus the 'Moscow Electro'/ 'Elektro Moskva' documentary,
that also seems to have interviews with Theremin.
(thanks for the tip @adicarter)

Find my other BookTips HERE

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

BookTip: Vintage Guides from FutureMusic

'50 Great Second-hand Buys' and '30 Vintage Buys' by FutureMusic
I have been buying/collecting Future Music Magazine almost since the beginning, i believe it was in 1993 when i first discovered the magazine and bought issue #5 in a Dutch bookshop.
Back then it was a great magazine, i remember that it was around the top of the big retro-hype that was going on in the mid-nineties.
One of the main advantages of that was that every month it was filled with lots of reviews of interesting hardware, in contrast to what i see lately whenever i pick one up in the local bookstore.

50 Great Second-Hand Buys
Free with Future Music #18
April 1994
About half a year after I bought my first FM  issue I got myself a subscription, and I have enjoyed the magazine for almost a decade.
I even had a year subscription to the Dutch version of the magazine.

Not only did the Future Music come with a free demo-CD with every issue, sometimes the came with other extras, like these two little books for example.

The '50 Great Second-Hand Buys' booklet (64 pages) came with the April issue of 1994 and featured descriptions and (basic) technical specifications of 50 of the best second-hand music-buys around.
It also gave advice on what to look for and what your rights were when you were looking into buying second-hand gear.
It's weird to see how dated the info in the book now looks with the AtariST and Amiga hardware and software-tips...

30 Vintage Buys
Free with Future Music #37
November 1995
The other booklet (32 pages) '30 Vintage Buys' appeared 1 ½ year later.
It had quite some overlap with the other book, but was also very interesting for people who wanted to buy second-hand classic gear.
This one included 30 retro gear reviews (including 13(!) Roland products), buying advice, pros and cons of the equipment and a short fact file section for each item.

If you are interested in vintage gear, these two books together are nice collector's items, but the info in it was rather limited and at some points very dated.
If you need more details on older equipment i suggest you read other books like the 'Keyfax Omnibus Edition' by Julian Colbeck or Peter Forrest's 'The A-Z of Analogue Synthesizers' (out of print) for example.
These books offer much more in-depth info, and cover much more instruments.
Also check out my other BookTips

Saturday, February 09, 2013

BookTip XIV: Electronica for Dummies (Dutch Edition)

Electronics for Dummies, Dutch Language version

Okay, a bit of a weird BookTip this time... at first sight.
The For Dummies series is an extensive series of instructional/reference books which are intended to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered.
As of December 2012, over 1800 For Dummies titles have been published with editions in numerous languages.

This Electronica (electronics) edition (published in 2005 in multiple languages) is extremely useful for the beginning electronics DIY-ers (like me), and it has already been very helpful making thing more understandable.
The book (416 pages) covers a whole range of subjects, from the basics, preparation, tools and safety-measures to easy-to-build small projects on a breadboard or with self-made printed circuit boards (pcb's).
On your way through the book you'll learn everything about diodes, resistors, capacitors and reading schematics. It even has a robotics section...
I learned a lot from this book so far, although i haven't even read it all... i mainly use it for reference.

In the English language you have the choice of a few different books about this same subject in the For Dummies series,
Closest is probably the Electronics All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies, and for the advanced DIY-ers I guess they could even try the Circuitbuilding Do-It-Yourself For Dummies, but please check before you buy because i'm not sure.

Written by: Gordon McComb & Earl Boysen
ISBN: 978-90-430-1162-4

Find my other BookTips HERE

Monday, January 07, 2013

BookTip XIII: Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer


I have had 2 whole weeks off from work this holiday season, so i had enough time to read a few interesting synth-related books.

The first one i read was 'Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer' by Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco.
It's a very interesting book (368 pages) that was published in 2004, and that tells the story about Robert (Bob) Moog, synthesizers from the mid-60s to the mid-70s in general and about the Moog company and its products.

The book has a foreword by Bob Moog himself (he passed away a year after the publication of this book) and the writers have spend a large amount of time and effort into making it.
The book is filled with stories by musicians, technicians and other pioneers from that era where everyone seemed to share a same passion for analog synthesis.

The list of interviewed people for this book is too large to mention, but it includes people like Don Buchla, Suzanne Ciani, Keith Emerson, Rachel Elkind, Tom Oberheim, Alan Pearlman (from ARP) and many more.
That's a very impressive list, and the whole book is written in a chronological style, filled with many anecdotes and interesting facts, what makes it fun and easy to read.
A must-read in my humble opinion, if you are interested in this kind of stuff, of course...

Info: http://books.google.nl/books/about/Analog_Days.html?id=3hjvWzkMK-sC …
Harvard University Press, 15 nov. 2004 - 368 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0674016170

Find my earlier BookTips HERE
My next BookTip will be published somewhere next month.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Big A-100 Book by Andreas Krebs Delayed

Sad news for some of the non-German-speaking A-100 fans;

The original German version
of the big A-100 book by Andreas Krebs
Das Grosse Buch zum Doepfer A-100 Modular-Synthesizer, the German A-100 by Andreas Krebs that was published half a year ago (also check my earlier BookTips) will probably not be available this year yet.
I recently contacted him about a possible release-date of the (pre-announced) English version, but he replied that the project is delayed.

He wrote: " There had been plans to release the book end of this year. However, there have been some big delays in this project due to personal reasons (currently we’re moving from Munich to the countryside).
I hope to be able to put some more efforts on the english version as soon as we have moved and everything is “in its place” again."

I hope his situation will improve soon...

The German version is still available;
Price: Euro 29,90 € plus shipping
Find more info and ordering details at: http://www.ideenhase.de/html/doepferbuch.html
German version is also available via Doepfer

Monday, January 09, 2012

Booktip XII - How To Make A Noise by Simon Cann


Simon Cann is a musician and writer based in London. He is the author of a range of music-related and music business-related books and published this book in 2005. (my copy is the revised 2007 edition)
The book is " a comprehensive, practical guide to sound design and synthesizer programming techniques using subtractive (analog) synthesis, frequency modulation synthesis, additive synthesis, wave-sequencing, and sample-based synthesis. "

Every function of a synthesizer gets discussed in this 278-page book, and the author shows practical uses for these building-blocks to make/recreate sounds.
The book is illustrated with many pictures and screen-shots from (software) synthesizers that i had/have never heard of, and that might be the only 'problem' that i have with this book.

In my opinion this book is a bit too much focused on Software synths and some of the sounds can only be created with these soft-synths.
For analog purists (like me) this can be a bit of a trouble, but nevertheless i enjoyed reading it and had fun trying out new patches.
I like the book a lot because it is stuffed with info, patch-ideas and other suggestions, but i advice beginners to start with the more basic synth-books. (check the BookTip section of this blog)

Published by Coombe Hill Publishing
Paperback   178 pages
ISBN10      0955495504
ISBN13      9780955495502

Click here if you want to get hold of the full free download of this book for your tablet or PC.

The author recently wrote 3 digital (not on paper) follow-ups to this book.
A video with more info on these 3 e-books can be found HERE
Find additional info/ ordering details at http://simoncann.com/ or http://noisesculpture.com/
or follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonpcann

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Booktip XI - Das grosse Buch zum A-100 Modular Synthesizer (in German Language)

A very interesting book by Andreas Krebs is almost out... although it is (still) only available in the German language.
The author has been working with analog (and other) synthesizers for around 30 years and has already written and maintained a pretty impressive blog.
His " Big Book to the Doepfer A-100 Modular-Synthesizer" will be available at the end of 2011/Now

In 320 pages he systematically goes through the most interesting modules in full detail and suggests unusual patches from his 'trick-book'
The book is illustrated with over 400 images, and a good read for not just Doepfer enthousiasts, it's a very nice book for analog synth enthousiasts too... 
It explains basic and some more difficult analog synth theory in a clear way.


Update 30/5.2025:

The book is out of print, but the author kindly offers it for free download:
http://www.a100.ideenhase.de/Krebs_Doepfer_A100_small.pdf.


Further information is available at www.ideenhase.de

Monday, September 12, 2011

Booktip X - Onder Stroom by Jacqueline Oskamp (in Dutch Language)

It took me a while to get through this book, but here is finally my long promised book review.
"Onder Stroom" ( the book is in Dutch, "Under Current" might be a fitting English translation ) by Jacqueline Oskamp is a book that tells the history of early Dutch electronic music.
You have probably seen my earlier blogposts on this topic too, if you didn't, HERE's a link.

With 6 portraits of the groundbreaking and/or pioneering Dutch composers like Ton Bruynèl, Dick Raaijmakers, Jan BoermanMichel Waisvisz and others you get an amazing insight on how the Dutch electronic pioneers worked and struggled with electronics, audio, speakers and tapes in a very conservative post-war musical era.

Each in their own way, they were driven by their curiosity, found new ways of sound-creation and explored the spectrum between noise and sound.
Their influence lead to a pretty diverse electronic music scene in the Netherlands; from the pure electronic and almost mathematical approach to the pure tape-music, along with live electronics with orchestras and electro-acoustic setups you could say these early 1950s and 60s were 'our' golden years ( i'm Dutch too).
And that all started for us only half a century ago (!) If you just look around and see what has changed in recording and sounddesign.
I know we were a bit behind on the rest of the world or Europe; Leon ThereminEdgar Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen, to name just a few great minds, already paved the way and had also inspired some of our pioneers.

This book is very interesting if you're into this kind of stuff, but also very pleasant to read if you have little or no knowledge of electronics and the techniques at all.
Very impressive is the list at the end with read- and listen-tips, and the book has a section of  8 pages with b/w pictures of the composers, sadly not many pictures of the equipment...

- An interview (VPRO Vrije geluiden / in Dutch) about this book with the writer can be found HERE
/ interview starts after 19 minutes - with music by Dutch artist TokTek
- Read more on the worldwide history of electronic music on Wikipedia HERE

Published in 2011 by Ambo/Anthos
Paperback 251 pages.
Info ( in Dutch ) HERE          ISBN: 9789026323249

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Booktip IX - Analog Synthesis by Reinhart Schmitz


One of the smallest books in my whole BookTip section, but nevertheless a pretty informative one is this 128-page booklet by Reinhard Schmitz.

Analog Synthesis -The Newbie Guide to Synthesizers and Sound-Design  (also available in German) is full of basic info on how synthesis works. Very easy to read, and focused mainly on beginners this is a nice resource for all things synth...

In different chapters the main components of a (modular) synthesizer are explained, accompanied by simple  black/white pictures and graphs. 
The book is completed with an extensive glossary and a pretty nice 39-track audio-CD with audio-examples of the most important analog synthesizers of Moog, Oberheim, ARP and Sequential Circuits, to name but a few.

Some time ago Doepfer used to give this book (or the German version) away for free if you purchased a full Doepfer system. 
Getting it is better than buying it; for such a small book the price ( 36 USD ) is a bit too high IMHO...
Wizoo has quite an extensive collection of other English and German audio/ recording -books too.
You can find the other English books here

ISBN:  978-3-934903-01-2
Publication Date: 1999 by Wizoo Publishing GmbH
More info on this book HERE

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Booktip VIII - History of House by Chris Kempster


History of House is a very interesting book about the history of House music and the technology behind it.
The book is compiled and edited by Chris Kempster in 1996,  the articles come from music-technology-magazines like 'the Mix', 'Music Technology' and  'Electronics and Music Maker' (E&MM)

The 206-paged book is divided into three parts; The Artists USA, The Artists UK & Europe and a third part that is called 'The Technology'

The first part contains interviews with some of the most influential house-deejays/producers like Marshall Jefferson, Lil'Louis, Larry Heard, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Richie Hawtin and Carl Craig.
The interviews that the author/ compiler picked are very well written, and besides giving an insight into the history of house music, they also contain a lot of tech and synthesizer references. Most producers explain what instruments they used and why.
The second part of the book features UK and European artists Kraftwerk, M/A/R/R/S, S-Express, Baby Ford, 808 State, A Guy called Gerald, The Orb and Goldie.

The third and last part is all about the classic House-instruments and probably the most interesting for the readers of this blog.
Here you can find some  interesting articles about the classic house drum machines like the TR-808 and TR-909, the Roland TB-303 acid bassline, SH-101 and Juno 106 synthesizers, the Alesis MMT-8 and Korg SQD1 sequencers and from more modern machines like the Ensoniq Mirage, Yamaha DX100 to the Akai S-1000 and Kurzweil K2000 samplers.

Overall this is a very entertaining book for anyone who is interested in house music, the (mid-)80's synthesizer history and/or its instruments.  8/10

Sanctuary Publishing, Limited, 1996
ISBN: 1-86074-134-7

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Booktip VII - Keyfax Omnibus Edition by Julian Colbeck


The Keyfax Omnibus Edition, written in 1996 by Julian Colbeck, is a pretty interesting 192-page book about synths and synthesizer history. It is the sixth volume of a series by the author, his first one appeared in 1985 although he already writes about synthesizers since 1976.

The book is divided into 2 main parts, The Hot 100 and the Product Directory.
The first and largest part of the book delves into the 100 most important synthesizers in history, alphabetically ordered by manufacturers name. Together with the company profiles this book gives a nice overview on the global history of synthesizers. I like the style that it is written in, very informative...

The second part, The Product Directory exists out of an extensive list of almost every synthesizer on the planet. The directory also provides production data like production year, release-prices, the instrument's value in 1996, and often a short extra description. Very useful if you are looking into buying a second-hand ( pre-1996 ) synthesizer.

The book reads like a synthesizer history book. It is a nice resource for anyone interested in older synths and synth history. PatchPierre rates it at 8 out of 10 stars

More PatchPierre Booktips

Published by Mixbooks,
later editions published by Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 0-1918371-08-2

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Booktip VI - The Museum of Synthesizer Technology by Martin J. Newcomb


Okay... the cover-design of this book isn't outstanding, but the content is in fact very interesting.
This book, simply called The Museum of Synthesizer Technology, written by Martin J. Newcomb in July 1994 shows the huge collection of what used to be the Museum of Synthesizer Technology that was situated in a  part of Berkshire, UK.

The museum, opened by Bob Moog, only existed for a few years ( 1994 - 1997 ) and was at the time the largest collection of analogue synthesizers in the world.
The idea was nice; the aim was to preserve all these analog synthesizers for future generations, and today's generation would be helped by exhibiting them and by keeping the (service- and normal) manuals available for the public.

Basically the book ( A4-sized, 118 pages ) is an overview of the museum's collection, with a lot of large (color-) pictures and accompanied by well-written background-information on the different synth-companies and types.
...most of all i like it for it's pictures...

Not included with the book, but there was also an interesting video out about this museum with uncut demonstrations, that was published in 2006 by Analogue Heaven, called Analogue Heaven The Museum of Synthesizer Technology. It is a revised release of the original museum-video, but including some extras.
Find the 65 minute documentary HERE (in six parts)
or HERE (full version)

The book has no ISBN number.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Booktip V - The A-Z of Analogue Synthesizers by Peter Forrest


This 'Encyclopaedia of all the great analogue synthesizers and keyboards' is written by Peter Forrest and is probably one of the most detailed analog synthesizers-catalogs out there.

The books list all analog synthesizers that were ever produced, and is spread across 2 parts with a total of 600 pages, filled with useful info about manufacturers, statistics and lots of pictures in black and white.
Both books also have a 16-page full-color-section, stuffed with cool pictures.

The first edition of Part One (A-M) was published in 1994, two years before Part Two (N-Z) arrived. The Revised version of Part One was published in 1998.
Although the layout of the books and some b/w pictures may look a bit cheap the books are highly informative if you are interested in analogue synthesizer history.

ISBN Part One A-M revised 0 9524377 2 4
ISBN Part Two N-Z              0 9524377 1 6
Susurreal Publishing: http://www.vemia.co.uk/susurreal/

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Booktip IV - The Complete Simmons Drum Book by Bob Henrit


Perhaps a bit of an outsider on this blog, but this 104-page book about Simmons Electronic Drums is in fact quite an interesting read.
The British Simmons company produced drum modules since the late seventies and is perhaps best known for their distinctive sounds and their 'hexapad' drum-surface design.

This book tells the whole story, their conception, development, and even their problems.
Allmost all their drumkits are included in this book, from their first SDS-3 (SDS series), ClapTraps and expanders up to models that were never released.
The book was written and published in 1987, seven years before Simmons produced their last products so only a few models are not mentioned in this book ( like the TurtleTrap and the SDS-2000 )

I have no idea why this book was written, but it looks like a nice thick brochure to sell Simmons products.
It is filled with (b/w) pictures, background stories and stories by players and is very well-written.
I recommend this if you are interested in (drum)-synthesizer history.
A good read from beginning to end.

Wise Publications ISBN: 0-7119-0933-4
Order No. AM 63173

Friday, November 05, 2010

Booktip III - Synthesizers by Hans de Vries ( in Dutch Language )


This little Dutch book, written in 1983 (!) is probably one of the best synthesizer-technology-books that I own. The fact that it is written in Dutch wasn’t enough reason to keep this book out of this blog.

In 144 pages, Hans de Vries explores the basics of sound creation.
The first half clearly explains the basic building blocks of synthesized sound, very clearly written (... but in Dutch, remember...) and with lots of graphs and explanatory pictures ( b/w )

The second half of the book delves more into the use of synthesizers in practical situations like (home-) studio’s etc.. The book ends with an overview the most popular or groundbreaking (analog) instuments of that time, like the Korg MS20, various Moogs, Oberheims and Rolands, up to the fisrt digital synthesizer; the Yamaha DX-7

Funny detail in this book is the writer’s skepticism towards MIDI and Computerized sequencing. Remember... around 1983 there were only a few instruments equipped with MIDI, and computers weren’t cheap. Above that, computer-sequencing-programs were not widely available back then.

ISBN: 90-201-1642-8

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Booktip II - Vintage Synthesizers by Mark Vail


Another interesting read; 
The subtitle of this book: “Groundbreaking instruments and pioneering designers of electronic music synthesizers” explains a lot about the content...

This neat 300-page book, written in 1993 by Mark Vail, one of the writers of Keyboard magazine, is a very complete overview of 30 years of synthesizer history - from 1962 until 1992.
The book is full with background-stories and funny anecdotes by designers and early users and it is loaded with nice (mostly black and white) pictures.

The buying guide, the giant glossary and the comprehensive index in the back of the book make this book an unmissable read for anyone interested in (analog) synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines.

ISBN: 0-87930-275-5
More info at http://www.markvail.com/

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Booktip I - Analog Synthesizers by Mark Jenkins

Analog Synthesizers - Understanding, Performing, Buying - by Mark Jenkins

One of the most interesting books about synthesizers and synthesis is probably this one by Mark Jenkins, has 336 pages, and was published in 2007

The book starts with basics like 'what is analog' and goes through the aspects of analog sound by the hand of the different components of a synthesizer.

A large part of the book is about the history of synthesizers, and there are also a lot of interviews; with Robert (Bob) Moog, Keith Emerson, Hans Zimmer, Rick Wakeman, Jean-Michel Jarre and many more.

The book is complimented with a lot of nice black/white pictures and also includes a tuition and sound-sampling CD with over 30 different analog synthesizers, spread over 79 tracks

ISBN: 978-0-240-52072-8