Books

Vintage Synthesizers

Mark Vail

This new edition is the ultimate exploration of the upstart instruments - and their unique analog growls and screams - that paved the way over the last four decades for today's fast-paced electronic music world. Explores the development of the modern synthesizer from 1962 on, with in-depth interviews with pioneering designers Bob Moog and Alan R. Pearlman of Moog Music and ARP Instruments fame. These and other designers reveal their initial ideas, reflect on their hits and misses, and discuss how star performers have used their creations. Histories of groundbreaking instruments examine modular, analog & digital synths and samplers, plus more unusual instruments like the Mellotron. Noted synthesist Keith Emerson and composer Wendy Carlos ("Switched-On Bach") offer musical insights and performance techniques. Includes fully updated pricing and production info, and more than 200 photos and a stunning color section.

The Prophet from Silicon Valley: The Complete Story of Sequential Circuits

David Abernethy, 2015

The story of Sequential Circuits, the leading synthesizer manufacturer of the 1980s.One of the great American synthesizer companies, founded and led by San Francisco electronics and computer graduate, Dave Smith, Sequential Circuits Inc. paved the way for music of the future. Smith brought easy, affordable and powerful polyphonic synthesis to all levels of music production in the form of the ground-breaking Prophet-5 synthesizer.Released in 1978, the Prophet led the new wave movement into the next decade, creating a sonically exciting soundtrack to eighties culture. It expanded the palette of all music genres and was embraced by professionals and amateurs alike.Sequential Circuits went on to create further innovative concepts and products such as programmable effects, MIDI, multitimbrality, high-quality sampling, workstation and MPC systems and many more. Today the Prophet-5 is very much sought-after as one of those truly iconic classic musical instruments. The book features many exclusive and highly entertaining and informative stories from ex-Sequential staff, music industry moguls, and famous keyboard players. Includes over 240 photos and illustrations.“The story of Sequential Circuits includes thrilling successes and unfortunate demise. Thanks to Dave Smith’s contributions to electronic music, we in the industry owe him dearly. Through thorough research and by reaching out to many artists who benefited from Sequential Circuits’ instruments and Dave Smith’s work, David Abernethy delivers the essence of the story in this beautifully written and detailed book.” Mark Vail, Music journalist, author, teacher, musician“David Abernethy has left no stone unturned in researching this incredibly detailed account of how Dave Smith and Sequential Circuits unseated Moog and ARP to become the leading synthesizer manufacturer of the 1980s. The Prophet from Silicon Valley is a must-read for synth junkies and students of musical instrument design.” Dominic Milano, Keyboard magazine writer/reviewer, editor, musician

I Believe in Music

Ikutaro Kakehashi, 2002

Published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Roland Corporation, this is the inspiring and heartfelt memoir of Ikutaro Kakehashi, a pioneering figure in electronic music instruments and the company's visionary founder. From war-torn Japan to his first watch repair business to the dawn of and subsequent enormous leaps of electronic musical instruments, Kakehashi's story is sometimes wry, sometimes touching, always wise. Through it all, Kakehashi has believed in music above else: his first priority has always been an unwavering passion for expanding the potential for artistic expression. Everyone from music aficionados to those looking for time-tested business savvy will enjoy his unique story. The book features fantastic photos throughout, including an 8-page full-color section. Ikutaro Kakehashi founded the Roland Corporation in 1972. He lives in Hosoe-cho, Hamamatsu City, Japan. Robert Olsen worked for 25 years in the international music trade before switching careers to become a college instructor and free-lance author. He lives in Northbrook, IL.

Learning music with synthesizers

David Friend, 1974

Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer

Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco, 2004

Though ubiquitous today, available as a single microchip and found in any electronic device requiring sound, the synthesizer when it first appeared was truly revolutionary. Something radically new--an extraordinary rarity in musical culture--it was an instrument that used a genuinely new source of sound: electronics. How this came to be--how an engineering student at Cornell and an avant-garde musician working out of a storefront in California set this revolution in motion--is the story told for the first time in Analog Days, a book that explores the invention of the synthesizer and its impact on popular culture.

The authors take us back to the heady days of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the technology was analog, the synthesizer was an experimental instrument, and synthesizer concerts could and did turn into happenings. Interviews with the pioneers who determined what the synthesizer would be and how it would be used--from inventors Robert Moog and Don Buchla to musicians like Brian Eno, Pete Townshend, and Keith Emerson--recapture their visions of the future of electronic music and a new world of sound.

Tracing the development of the Moog synthesizer from its initial conception to its ascension to stardom in Switched-On Bach, from its contribution to the San Francisco psychedelic sound, to its wholesale adoption by the worlds of film and advertising, Analog Days conveys the excitement, uncertainties, and unexpected consequences of a new technology that would provide the soundtrack for a critical chapter of our cultural history.

Push Turn Move

Kim Bjørn

Patch & Tweak

Kim Bjørn and Chris Meyer, 2018

Patch & Tweak with Moog

Kim Bjørn

PATCH & TWEAK with Moog is the ultimate resource for Moog synthesizer enthusiasts and musicians of all skill levels interested in an immersive modular synthesis experience. Opening with a foreword from acclaimed film score composer Hans Zimmer, this hardcover book by Kim Bjørn features 200 pages full of synthesizer techniques, creative patch ideas, sound design tips, professional artist interviews, in-depth discussions with Moog engineers, and a glimpse into the company's remarkable history. The book's primary focus is Moog's well-loved line of semi-modular analog synthesizers: Mother-32, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Grandmother, and Matriarch. 30 In-Depth Artist & Engineer Interviews PATCH & TWEAK with Moog brings readers inside the creative minds of composers, producers, and performing artists like Suzanne Ciani, Trent Reznor, Lisa Bella Donna, Paris Strother, Hannes Bieger, Stranger Things composers Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon, and Moog synthesizer co-inventor Herb Deutsch in detailed interviews featuring patching tips and tricks for musicians of all skill levels. PATCH & TWEAK with Moog Features: 100+ patch and sound design tips 30+ interviews with artists and makers 50+ years beautifully visualized timeline of Moog instruments Introduction to modular synthesis concepts Specific overviews, tips, and techniques for each Moog semi-modular instrument Advanced tips and patches for more advanced modular users Tips for integration with external gear and Eurorack modules Interviews, patches, and tips from artists and composers Insider interviews with Moog engineers and a look into the company's factory in Asheville, North Carolina The history of Bob Moog, Moog Music, and the many Moog synthesizers Big, colorful, and square: 200 pages, hardcover

Synth Gems 1

Mike Metlay

Synth Gems 1 is a unique journey into the world of vintage synthesizers, covering every aspect from design, to the impact iconic synths had on the music world. Curated by the team over at Push Turn Move, Synth Gems provides a comprehensive insight into the origins and innovation of electric music. Jam-packed with over 300 photos of legendary synthesizers, Synth Gems is the perfect gift for any synth enthusiast.

Covering everything from the birth of the Minimoog to the now-classic Jupiter-8 from Roland, Synth Gems 1 is a must-have for both newcomers to electronic music as well as synth lovers. The foreword of the book is written by master synthesis - Vince Clarke. It provides a glimpse into his views on electronic music, the role synths played in shaping modern music and a behind-the-scenes look at his personal studio.

Jam-packed with over 60+ synthesizers, Synth Gems covers every vintage synth you can think of including ARP, Roland, Fairlight, Electronic Dream Plant, Elgam, E-mu, Ensoniq and many more. It even has an annotated look at a classic synthesizer design at the start of the book to show you how everything works. Whether you're a music producer, a synth player or even a DJ; Synth Gems provides a comprehensive guide on the vast world of synthesizers and the building blocks of electronic music.

Classic Keys Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music

Alan Lenhoff

A beautifully photographed and illustrated book focusing on the signature rock keyboard sounds of the 1950s to the early 1980s. The book celebrates the Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, the Vox Continental and Farfisa combo organs, the Hohner Clavinet, the Mellotron, the Minimoog and other famous and collectable instruments.

Analog Synthesizers Understanding Performing Buying

Mark Jenkins

In this book, the technical explanation of the nature of analog sound creation is followed by the story of its birth and its subsequent development by various designers, manufacturers and performers.

The individual components of analog sound creation are then examined in detail, with step by step examples of sound creation techniques. Then the modern imitative analog instruments are examined, again with detailed instructions for programming and using them, and the book is completed with appendices listing the major instrument lines available, hints on values and purchasing, other sources of information, and a discography of readily available recordings which give good examples of analog sound synthesis.

The CD which accompanies the book gives many examples of analog sound creation basics as well as more advanced techniques, and of the abilities of the individual instruments associated with classical and with imitative analog sound synthesis.

Rhythm Machines: The rise and fall of the presets

Alex Graham, 2016

At last…a complete series of books that are an A to Z of drum machines. RHYTHM MACHINES (Volume 1) documents the rise and fall of the preset pattern rhythm units (the drum machines as they are now known) that emerged in the late 1960s, and were manufactured in large numbers until the emergence of the programmable drum machines in the early 1980s. Nearly three hundred units are detailed here, with two hundred pages packed with colour and monochrome photographs of these highly collectable rhythm units. From Ace Tone, Gulbransen, Kawai, Korg, Maestro, Seeburg, Roland to Yamaha and many other brands – the book has detailed information on all units released by both the well-known and obscure instrument manufacturers. RHYTHM MACHINES is an essential guide for instrument collectors, drum machine enthusiasts and recording artists.

Rhythm Machines 2: The 1980s Drum Computers

Alex Graham, 2018

The 1980s saw the emergence of the Synthesizer, the promo video, and the programmable Drum Machine in the music industry. Rhythm Machines 2 - The 1980s Drum Computers - features over 100 programmable drum machines from the decade, instruments that are heard on countless records from the era and are still used in the present day. The all-colour book has the Classic 1980s drum machines from the likes of the USA (E-mu, Linn, Oberheim, MXR, Sequential Circuits), the Japanese industry (Korg, Roland, Sound Master and Yamaha), as well as the more obscure drum machine models made from all over the world.

Rhythm Machines III: From Decline To Retro Designs

Alex Graham, 2018

A book featuring the drum machines/drum computers released commercially for use in music recording between 1990-2019. The 1990s saw a noticeable decline in drum machines, as keyboard workstations and samplers negated the need for stand-alone drum machines. By 2000, the high values of the classic 1980s units saw the emergence of several companies offering clones of these vintage units.Rhythm Machines - From Decline To Retro Designs contains information on over 80 drum machines, from Acidlab to Boss to Cheetah to Elektron to Jomox through to Zoom, packed into 140 colour pages.

The New Complete Synthesizer : A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Electronic Music

David Crombie, 1986

The Synthesizer & Electronic Keyboard Handbook

David Crombie, 1984

Keyfax 2

Julian Colbeck, 1986

Keyfax 3

Julian Colbeck, 1988

Synthechnics

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