Sep 19, 2006 05:03 am Well, if Noize gets his next article done, you'll have a great start...but him and I just haven't had time to finish our latest article yet...Music Tech Magazine a couple months ago had a great article on programming synths.
Beginning on Synthesizers
Posted on Sep 18, 2006 11:20 pm
peterparker
The Beat Keeper
Member Since: Dec 16, 2004
Could anybody recommend any websites or books on beginning with synthesizers? Ive got a semi understanding just looking for more info, and maybe a little more in depth.
Thanks!
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Sep 19, 2006 05:03 am Well, if Noize gets his next article done, you'll have a great start...but him and I just haven't had time to finish our latest article yet...Music Tech Magazine a couple months ago had a great article on programming synths.
Sep 19, 2006 11:38 am i'd just google "synth programming"...there's bound to be endless articles on the net.....also know what kind of synth you're programming, subtractive (most popular), additive, FM, granular, PCM, and sample playback are the most common types. keywords to understand are :oscillators (saw, square, sine, and pulse are most common), pitch envelope, volume envelope, Low Frequency Oscillators (LFO's), and filters...get them down, and you'll be up and runnin' in no time.
Sep 19, 2006 05:39 pm Damn i cant believe i missed that mag! Found something at tweakheadz.com Gonna have to check that out. Thanks guys!!!!
Sep 19, 2006 05:40 pm could anybody break down modulation by chance purty please? Its like vibrations correct?
Sep 19, 2006 06:22 pm OK, lets get all scientific then shall we. :-)
Modulation is the process of varying a carrier signal in order to use that signal to convey information. The three key parameters are its amplitude, its phase and its frequency, all of which can be modified in accordance with an information signal to obtain the modulated signal.
In other words, by modifying your carrier signal which in a synth is generally created by an Oscilator or wave form, that is how you create the diffreant timbres or sounds that you hear in the end.
There are now many differant modulaters and types of synth modulation. Frequancy, Amplitude, Pulse width, Pulse code and the list goes on.
To make it really simple, modulatin is what really gives the end tone you hear its character.
As for the article, it is being written around a freeware synth by Native Instruments and the synth itself will be available for download so you can actually load the patches I creat to show exactly how the modulation and all the synth goodies work.
As for a book, I highly recomend The Secrets of Analog and Digital Synthesis by Steve De Furia published by Hal Leonard. It is an older book but is every bit as workable today as it was back then. And pretty much everything in there can be applied to todays software synths.
Noize
Sep 19, 2006 08:23 pm Niiiiiiiiice. Thanks Noize! Just went to amazon and ordered the book. Look forward to the article. Thanks again for everything. Been reading more and more today spent 3 hours last night digging into my synth and its making more sense. IIIITS ALIIIIIVE!!!!!!
Sep 20, 2006 07:16 pm I remember when I got to play my first synth. A monster modular moog. I had never been in such a happy place in my life. And thankfully I had a good teacher who was willing to spend the hours with me while I learned to patch cables and tweak knobs. In those days it wasn't just twisting knobs and turning differant Osc and such on and off. You actually had to connect all the differant hardware together via patch cables. But man could you make some interesting sounds.
Glad ya found the book, I was afriad it might have been out of print by now.
Noize
Sep 20, 2006 09:00 pm Yeah there were tons of em on Amazon. Thanks for that again.
Man that sounds like a itd be off the hook. You have any pictures of it? Whyd you get rid of it?
Sep 20, 2006 09:27 pm I dont have any pics of the actual synth that I learned on. I did not own that one. In those days they were expensive and huge. A studio I used to frequant back when the modulars first where out had a good sized unit and that is what I learned on. After a few years the smaller more portable ones came out, but they were nothing like the huge modular beasts.
I'll see if I can locate a pic of a similar Moog.
Sep 20, 2006 10:15 pm Maybe something like one of these?
Sep 20, 2006 11:39 pm That would take a day just to patch everything!!!!
Sep 21, 2006 05:11 pm Here are a few good shots with the modules and cables to give you an idea of what it took.
www.sequencer.de/moog/moog_modular_system.html
And indeed Goldenmean that is about what it looked like. The one I first tinkered on was a good deal larger with a few more modules. But that is the basic idea.
And depending on the amount of patching, yes it could take a couple hours at least, especially for a rooky like I was back then.
Sep 21, 2006 08:08 pm man those are some dope pictures, would need a ladder to get to the top of those things.
Sep 21, 2006 11:02 pm Its gonna take quite a bit more programming of soft synths & modeling synths before we'll ever top those bad boys. I've had the joy of owning a few modelers and hours of play time on some old Junos, a few Moogs, a prophet, and 1 or 2 others. I will say that the sound can become infectious. And Yes, some hearing loss due to them as well. I knew my Korg MS2000 by heart before I traded it in for a Triton Extreme. Those who truely embark on the Synth journey can get lost in space .. .. be careful .. .. lol
Sep 22, 2006 04:53 pm Carbonic, what made you get rid of your MS2000?
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