Synthesizer Basics Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)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.

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Product Description:
Here is the fundamental knowledge and information that a beginning or intermediate electronic musician must have to understand and play todayÕs keyboard synthesizers. This basic primer, newly updated from the classic original edition, offers step-by-step explanations and practical advice on what a synthesizer is, the basic concepts and components, and the latest technical developments and applications. Written by Bob Moog, Roger Powell, Steve Porcaro (of Toto), Tom Rhea, and other well-known experts, Synthesizer Basics is the first, and still the best, introduction available today.

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