Now their expanded website is online, and the programme will be aired again...
Here is the email that i got from producer James Gardner today...
" Hi Pierre
I hope this message finds you well.
I'm please to say that at long last, (it's only taken about a year...) the expanded website for my series 'These Hopeful Machines' is now up and running here:
<http://www.radionz.co.nz/concert/programmes/hopefulmachines>
Because of Radio New Zealand's house website style, some of the pages are very long, so you will need to do a lot of scrolling down to see all of the content!
I'd be very grateful if you'd post this news on your PatchPierre blog, and please feel free to spread the word via social media.
In case you have some New Zealand readers, they may like to know that the series is being broadcast (and streamed) again, this time on Radio New Zealand National (not Concert) on Fridays at 11pm, during 'Nights with Bryan Crump'. So that should get it to a slightly bigger real-time audience...
In the meantime, I wish you all the very best
Cheers
Jim"
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.
"I Dream of Wires" is a crowdfunded independent documentary film about the resurgence of the modular synthesizer and is written and directed by Robert Fantinatto with Jason Amm (Ghostly International recording artist Solvent) serving as producer and co-writer.
The 'Hardcore Edition', a four-hour long 2-DVD-set, was released a few months ago and distributed amongst the crowd-funders and pre-orderers all over the world.
The 4-hour long documentary Hardcore Edition is definitely worth watching/buying, but if you don't have the funds, you can also entertain yourself by watching the Extended Interviews that are still online at their Vimeo account.
If you're not familiar with the I Dream of Wires Extended Interview series, they've released 9 of them so far. See the list below.
They will be releasing one more free Extended Interview piece in 2014.
Edit Dec 13, 2013 - I Dream Of Wires Extended Interview #10 is now online, with none other than Trent Reznor and Alessandro Cortini of Nine Inch Nails... Find it at https://vimeo.com/81576339
'These Hopeful Machines' is a New-Zealand electronic music -documentary that was broadcasted earlier this year during the Sound Lounge radio-programme
Sound Lounge brings you a balance of hardcore avant garde, atmospheric soundscapes, up to the minute contemporary, early 20th Century and a touch of art pop on a weekly basis.
In the documentary presenter James Gardner traces a personal path through the evolving world of electronic music in this six-part series – and meets some of the people who made it happen.
The show includes exclusive interviews with Suzanne Ciani, David Cockerell, Bernie Krause, Morton Subotnick and Peter Zinovieff and many more.
Update November 3: (via an email from the producer) "Over the next few weeks the website will be expanded to include full transcripts of the interviews, as well as photos, links and a few bits that there we weren't able to include in the programmes as they were broadcast. I'll let you know when the expanded website is up and running."
'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.
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...
The Magic Of The ARP-Synthesizer (1970)
Orchestra conducted by Bert Paige.
Last week on the 25th of October, Dutch composer, piano player and (ARP) synth-pioneer Joop Stokkermans died at the age of 75
Stokkermans was an extremely important contributor to Dutch TV music, radio music and commercials from the early 60s into the late 90s.
Although he is mainly known as a pianist, but he also had a great interest for synthesizers since they first appeared.
In 1970 he recorded a full album on the only working ARP available in Europe at the time, together with help from technician Roddy de Hillster who programmed most of the sounds.
The album contains re-arrangements of standards from classical Bach (Air) and Tchaikovsky (The Swan) compositions, re-arrangement from Bacherach, Paige and Becaud and some compositions of his own.
Together with a full orchestra conducted by Bert Paige this turned out to be a very interesting and maybe even groundbreaking album in Dutch synthesizer-music.
Video: Joop Stokkermans - Blij zijn zolang het nog kan (B.Paige)
My latest album-tip is a very recent one, released a little over a week ago.
This album, a compilation of older works from multiple grammy-winning composer/synthplayer and pioneer Suzanne Ciani gives us a nice overview of her electronic works from the years 1969-1985.
From the Finders Keepers Records blog:
" With a sonic portfolio that boasts commissions for the Xenon classic pinball machine, the sounds for the Meco Star Wars theme, the Atari TV commercials and the electronic sound effects in the original Stepford Wives film (amongst many others) the mutant electronic music CV of Suzanne Ciani is proof that in a 1970s commercial world of boys toys, monopolised by a male dominated media industry, a woman’s touch was the essential secret ingredient to successful sonic seduction. A classically trained musician with an MA in music composition this American Italian pianist was first introduced to the synthesizer via her connections in the art world when abstract Sculptor and collaborator Harold Paris introduced Suzanne to synthesizer designer Don Buchla who created the instrument that would come to define Ciani's synthetic sound (The Buchla Synthesiser). Cutting her teeth providing self-initiated electronic music projects for art galleries, experimental film directors, pop record producers and proto-video nasties Suzanne soon located to New York where she quickly became the first point of call for electronic music services in both the underground experimental fields and the commercial advertising worlds alike... ...Lixiviation complies and recontextualises both secret music and commercial experiments of Suzanne Ciani made for micro-cosmic time slots and never previously documented on vinyl or CD. This is the first sneak peek of the early Ciani metal music and non-pop that later went on see her nominated for multiple Grammy awards for her later achievements which brought synthesiser music to the new age movement."
The album contains 16 tracks, but only five of them are longer than 2 minutes, up to a track that lasts a little over 9 minutes.
Besides those nice longer tracks it includes some of her work for TV-spots like the famous Coca Cola 'Pop-and-Pour', music from a few Atari-spots and previously unreleased live bits like the wonderful 1975 Buchla live concert-track.
The longer tracks remind me of her 1982 'Seventh Wave' album that is still my favorite Ciani album.
The CD includes a booklet with an introduction by Andy Votel and track notes by Suzanne Ciani.
Overall it is a very nice compilation from this ' Diva of the Diode', a must-have for the collectors.
Here's a preview, a track from the CD called 'Liberator', that she made for an Atari TV spot. SUZANNE CIANI - LIBERATOR by Finders Keepers Records
Pubished by Finders Keepers Records. More info HERE
Catalog nr. FKR053CD/LP - total playing time: a little over 34 minutes (!)
Suzanne also recently (re)launched her Twitter account, follow her at @sevwave
or check her out on Facebook (with some awesome classic gear-pictures) or read her blog HERE
In 1993 Doepfer presented the Mogli MIDI Data Glove Controller, an alternative controller device that was based on a Nintendo Power Glove controller.
It had traditional NES controller buttons on the forearm as well as a program button and buttons labeled 0-9.
The complete Mogli set with Power Glove,
receivers, Mogli interface box and adapters
There were two ultrasonic speakers (transmitters) in the glove and you had to put three ultrasonic microphones (receivers) around your TV monitor.
The ultrasonic speakers took turns transmitting a short burst (a few pulses) of 40 kHz sound and the system measured the time it took for the sound to reach the microphones.
A triangulation calculation was performed to determine the X, Y, Z location of each of the two speakers, which specified the yaw and roll of the hand.
It could also sense the bend of the individual fingers, the only dimension it couldn't calculate was the pitch of the hand, since the hand can pitch without moving the location of the two ultrasonic speakers.
The Power Glove was originally released in 1989 and was in general a critical and commercial failure.
Partly because of the lack of accuracy and the availability of games (for it's original use with the NES)
The Mogli interface box, Power Glove and adapters
In 1993 Doepfer introduced an external box that could receive the glove's data and convert it into MIDI signals.
The name Mogli stands for 'Midi Output GLove Interface'
The original Mogli interface box was equipped with MIDI in and MIDI out, and it had a red 3-digit LED display.
The display was needed to program the unit (i.e.to assign different function to the fingers, to the X/Y/Z coordinates, to the rotating angle and so on).
After a calibrating procedure the glove could be used in different controller modes.
The 'Virtual Play' mode was maybe the most attractive mode, in which could make you play a virtual keyboard in the free space.
In Direct Mode you could assign any movement to any MIDI controller, other modes were Gesture Mode (converting sign-language to MIDI controllers) Vector Mode (position sensing only) and Manipulation Mode (for manipulating incoming MIDI with the glove).
Although i am not the world's greatest electronics-guy i do have a feeling that the original Mogli converter box could be easily transformed into a version that sends Control Voltage and/or Gate signals.
Original Nintendo Power Glove
If you can find one, it will probably just work just fine with one of Doepfer's MIDI-to-CV modules, but you might not get the most out of all the glove's many functions.
The price of the system was 598 DM (i.e. about 300 Euro) for the ready built unit including a Nintendo power glove.
The kit version was 448 DM (i.e. about 225 Euro) incl. Nintendo power glove.
The control box only (without the glove) was 398 DM (i.e, about 200 Euro)
A kit version of the box was also available for just 258 DM (i.e. about 130 Euro)
The unit was available from March 93 until December 1995, but Doepfer had to stop the production because the Nintendo Power Glove was no longer available.
Around 350 units were made in total.
Interesting fact is that the Mogli was also used by Kraftwerk (on 'Pocket Calculator' and 'Music Non Stop') during their concert at the Brucknerhaus in Linz/Austria on the occasion of the ARS Electronica Festival for Art, Technology and Society in 1993.
Okay, i admit that the technology of the Power Glove might be outdated by now, but the idea of controlling sounds/patches with the move of your hand will always stay an interesting subject.
Roland is famous for its D-Beam technology since 1998.
The A-178 Theremin Control Voltage module (or the discontinued A-179 Light Controlled Voltage Source) definitely do not offer all the functionality of a glove like this.
However, i do think we will see some kind of gesture-control-trend coming up this year with the recently announced Kinect motion sensing input device by Microsoft, that was already available for the X-Box platform but that will soon be available for the Windows platform too.
I wonder how soon the first interesting gesture-controlled modular synth-video's will pop up on YouTube...
Find the Mogli's user-manual (in German language only) HERE
Please let me know if you have an English version, or else check the start of my translation project (work in progress).
Okay, many of you already know this site, and i linked to it many times.
If you want to know everything about classic synthesizers, you should really check out http://www.vintagesynth.com/ before you look any further.
For over 15 years (since 1996) the Vintage Synth Explorer has been providing a fast and easy way to learn about vintage synthesizers.
Their library contains over 750 synths, samplers and drum machines, and is updated regularly.
They claim to be the world's leading synthesizer resource and have grown to include modern digital synthesizers, analog emulators, soft-synths, plug-ins, and other forms of electronic musical instruments.
On this site you will find detailed descriptions and reviews, pictures, audio and video samples, technical specifications, lists of famous users, links and more!
It's kinda weird that, if you search well, there are 2 Music and Technology Courses on the site of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the same course number (21M.380).
I blogged about one earlier (Contemporary History and Aesthetics, find the blogpost with an interesting 80-minute video HERE) and i am still very enthusiastic about it, but the other one is also very informative.
This course, Algorithmic and Generative Music, as taught in spring 2010 by Christopher Ariza examined " ...the history, techniques, and aesthetics of mechanical and computer-aided approaches to algorithmic music composition and generative music systems. Through creative hands-on projects, readings, listening assignments, and lectures, students will explore a variety of historical and contemporary approaches. "
Surfing through the pages of this course you will find a lot of interesting information on (analog) sound, music history and much more, again accompanied by many links to other interesting reads and audio-examples.
Find the course homepage HERE
Download the lecture notes HERE ( 11.8 Mb PDF )
Full course Materials can be downloaded from HERE
Licence info:
Ariza, Christopher. 21M.380 Music and Technology: Algorithmic and Generative Music, Spring 2010. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 16 Oct, 2011). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
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.
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
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
This course, as given by professor Christopher Ariza in the fall of 1997 is highly informative and perhaps a must-read to all of you new to analog sound or music in general.
'This course is an investigation into the history and aesthetics of music and technology as deployed in experimental and popular musics from the 19th century to the present. Through original research, creative hands-on projects, readings, and lectures, the following topics will be explored. The history of radio, audio recording, and the recording studio, as well as the development of musique concrète and early electronic instruments. The creation and extension of musical interfaces by composers such as Harry Partch, John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow, and others. The exploration of electromagnetic technologies in pickups, and the development of dub, hip-hop, and turntablism. The history and application of the analog synthesizer, from the Moog modular to the Roland TR-808. The history of computer music, including music synthesis and representation languages. Contemporary practices in circuit bending, live electronics, and electro-acoustic music, as well as issues in copyright and intellectual property, will also be examined'
Surfing through these pages you will find a lot of interesting information on (analog) sound, music history and much more, accompanied by many links to other interesting reads and audio-examples.
Video: Lecture 13 | MIT 21M.380 Music and Technology (Contemporary History and Aesthetics)
Preview Lecture 13 / Modular synthesizers
See the complete course HERE
Check the massive PDF (37 Mb / right-click and save as) for the complete set of notes and all other information on this course and enjoy!
Licence info:
Ariza, Christopher. 21M.380 Music and Technology (Contemporary History and Aesthetics), Fall 2009. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 16 Oct, 2011). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
Okay... Either you love the sound of the Theremin, or you don't. If you count yourself to the last category, feel free to skip this post and return to this blog in 3 or 4 days.
Yesterday was what would have been theremin virtuosa and electronic music pioneer, Clara Rockmore's 100th Birthday.
Clara Rockmore ( born as Clara Reisenberg ) studied violin in Leningrad, Russia, but she had to stop her career because of bone-problems due to malnutrition in her youth.
After she moved to the USA she started to work with Léon Theremin, who had recently invented the Theremin, and very quickly she mastered the instrument and became a virtuoso Theremin player.
In all the years performing with USA's finest orchestras and touring she developed a distinguished technique for playing the instrument and she proved that the Theremin really was a serious instrument, and not just an instrument to make 'eerie' sound effects for scary movies.
Although she also did these sound effects on commission, her true love was for the real classical compositions.
This 12-track CD has special arrangements of great classic composers like Saint-Saens, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Stravinsky and a few others.
Rockmore plays the Theremin beautifully, accompanied by her sister Nadia Reisenberg on piano. Pure and simple. If you are into classical music you will probably appreciate these wonderful recordings.
I have to admit that the tracks do sound a bit sad or moody, but that might just be the power of Clara's playing-style. With this recording and performances she definitely proved that you can really touch someone's soul with this instrument, and that is a great accomplishment with such a difficult to play instrument.
A few more recordings that were made during these sessions later appeared on the 'Lost Theremin Album' (1989), together with other old recordings.
Also worth watching: Theremin, an Electronic Odyssey, a 1997 documentary about Léon Theremin, his instrument and life, including various interviews and performances by Clara Rockmore.
Trialer: HERE
"The electronic instrument's value is chiefly as a novelty. With greater attention on the part of the engineer to the needs of the musician, the day may not be too remote when the electronic instrument may take its place ... as a versatile, powerful, and expressive instrument."
Alan Pearlman wrote this in 1948... 21 years later he founded ARP Instruments Inc.
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)
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.
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
Now their expanded website is online, and the programme will be aired again...
