Good book on synthesis?

Nisse · Post by **Nisse** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:37 pm

Hello fellow scopelings.

I wonder if anyone knows of a good book on synthesis. (subtractive, additive, FM and so on)

A good way to learn it is of course to fiddle around with my pulsar synths, but I sometimes feel it would be an advantage to reinforce that with some good solid theoretical knowledge of what exactly happens in a synthesizer.

Id like to find a book with good explanations, illustrations and practical suggestions. Not too mathematical, but practical techniques on how to make your synth produce just THAT sound.

I searhed this forum and saw that Nestor (I think it was him) recommended a book called Sound synthesis and sampling. It seems to be the right type of book but I fear it might be a bit outdated since it was first published in 1996.

Any other suggestions perhaps? Or is the above mentioned book considered to be viable still?

[ This Message was edited by: Nisse on 2004-04-27 14:39 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Nisse on 2004-04-27 18:28 ]

mr swim · Post by **mr swim** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:11 am

can't help you myself but just to say that I too would really like to find a nice 'not just for physicists' book on synthesis.

Cheers for any help

Post by **hubird** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:54 am

look here:
http://www.wizoo.com/

it's a start maybe

Nisse · Post by **Nisse** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:24 am

Thanks for the info, Hubie. But Wizoo seems to have mostly beginners guides to various sequencers and so on.

And to be quite frank, I consider myself to be way too cool to read a beginners guide

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 11:12 am

whatcha looking for specifically? There's a nord mod guide somewhere that walks you through almost all you need to know about synthesis, just can't find the bookmard right now.. but it's more of a general guide telling you how a specific synthesis works.

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 11:27 am

That book is on wizoo (I guess it's the one) - it's a framed site, so I can't post the URI.

"Peter Gorges / Len Sasso
Nord Modular
Introduction, Modular Sound Synthesis, How to build Virtual Synths"

If you select 'Books' from the main menu and then "Synthesizer" from the "navigator" drop-down it takes you there.

Royston

[ This Message was edited by: Counterparts on 2004-04-28 12:27 ]

Post by **hubird** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 9:23 pm

Ben Walker · Post by **Ben Walker** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 3:03 am

Hi,
I really can't reccomend the Synth Secrets articles from Sound On Sound higly enough.

Their well written, starting with the real basics, but not afraid to go into much more detail as the series progresses, covering many different angles of synthesis.

Their available for free download from the SOS website. The series has been running for c.5 years, so there's lots of material there. I understand the series will soon be coming to an end - I wonder if they'll be repackaged in book form.

You can find links to all the articles (well, nearly all - I'll bring the list up to date later today) on the links page on my site.

The other SOS articles listed below the Synth secrets links on the same page (Synth School, The Mighty Modular) are also well worth a read.

Cheers,
Ben

_________________
<a href="http://www.modularsynth.co.uk" target="_blank">www.ModularSynth.co.uk</a>

[ This Message was edited by: Ben Walker on 2004-04-29 04:04 ]

Post by **hubird** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:34 am

great link, the SOS synth series

Ben Walker · Post by **Ben Walker** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:04 am

Just brought the links up to date (May '04) but you'll only be able to read the last 6 months instalments if you are a subscriber. But there's plenty there to keep you going for now. I'd say these are essential reading for anyone new to Modular systems, or anyone wanting to learn about synthesis in general.

Ben

Counterparts · Post by **Counterparts** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:06 am

Ben Walker wrote:

You can find links to all the articles (well, nearly all - I'll bring the list up to date later today) on the links page on my site.

Crikey! Enough stuff to keep me busy for some time to come...thx, Ben.

Royston

Nisse · Post by **Nisse** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 4:57 pm

The articles in Sound on Sound are exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to buy a book about. Good stuff.

Granted, some things are a bit basic and seem obvoius to me, but then it moves further into stuff thats very interesting. Maybe I dont need to buy a book after all.

Thanks Ben, you might have saved me some money!

Michu · Post by **Michu** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 5:46 pm

after you finish the SOS series
(cheers for keeping the links up Ben, very handy

)
there is
http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/%7Eclark/nordm ... k_toc.html

at0m · Post by **at0m** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:15 pm

Yes, definately my favorite, Michu

Since Flexor, Creamware modular surpasses the Nordmod. Suddenly those advanced programming techniques don't seem that advanced anymore. Anyone feel like writing a book on the new options we have?

Nisse · Post by **Nisse** » Mon May 03, 2004 9:28 pm

Man, there are a lot of great articles in the Sound on Sound library. Not just on synthesis, but on basically everything you might want to know. Effects, mastering. . . everything!

What a great site!

Being a sound engineer by trade, I thought I knew it all, but these articles can really get you thinking. Sometimes advanced, sometimes very basic. But theres always something you might not have thought about in there.

I give this site 10 out of 10 points.

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Tue May 04, 2004 4:48 am

„Synthesizer Programming" - Peter Georges

may be of help, too