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