Learning about synthesizers etc?

This is my first post so hello all.

I'm completely (well almost) new to synthesizers and just wondered what the best way to learn about the subject is.

I realise that there's a lot of just 'mess around and see what happens' involved which I've started doing and finding it a lot of fun. However, are there any books that are recommended on the subject or can a person learn everything they need to know from the net? I don't want to spend on books if it's all to be found with a bit of searching.

I do have an Alesis Micron, but am seriously considering getting Reaktor 5 (I've installed and played around with the demo) as this whole thing is something I want to dig into deeply

I'm particularly interested in creating my own sounds although instrument emulation (is that the correct term) is good too.

Appreciate any advice.

Yes you can find loads of tutorials on the net , no need to buy a book. The book will just have all collected for you in an easy way to digest. But still you will return to the net where the biggest chunk of info lies.

I advice starting from here

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs

No need to get REAKTOR yet( i also love REAKTOR by the way). Start step by step and be prepared to spend an eternity in learning more or less

I am sure you will find loads of cool guys here that will be more than glad to help you.

Practice of course is the BEST teacher.

And dont forget the most important thing in the world "HAVE FUN" all else is just waste of time.

That's great, thanks for the link!

I completely agree with you on the fun bit. Strange thing is I've grown up listening to synthesizers and remember the moog being developed (I'm ancient ) but it's something that for some reason I never much cared for. Then I saw a demo of someone messing around on the Micron and was fascinated by it and thought I'll get one of those. Now this whole world of sound is starting to open to me and I can't wait to get into it!

That's great, thanks for the link! I completely agree with you on the fun bit. Strange thing is I've grown up listening to synthesizers and remember the moog being developed (I'm ancient ) but it's something that for some reason I never much cared for. Then I saw a demo of someone messing around on the Micron and was fascinated by it and thought I'll get one of those. Now this whole world of sound is starting to open to me and I can't wait to get into it!

What made me get into the whole sound synthesis and ambient thing was a track by JEAN MICHELE JARRE " OXYGEN 2" after one decade I managed to discover the track , the sound that defined me and moved beyond that.

"OXYGEN 2" had been a light house that instead of avoiding I felt drawn to it, and the only way approaching it was through sound synthesis and composition.

After 20 years of music making I am beyond that point , searching my own universe and my own existence as a musical being .

But I would never forget those two tracks that started all, "OXYGEN 2" by Jean Michel Jarre and "SPIRAL" by Vangelis.

They were surely by "BIG BANG!"

If you don't want to buy a book, then make sure you at least read through Gordon Reid's Synth Secrets (the series starts at the bottom of the list). It's as close to a standard recommendation as you're likely to get. In fact, you could go quite far on Synth Secrets alone -- Reid is a great author, and really knows his stuff.

If you want to move on to books, then check out my recommendations in another thread. Mark Jenkins' Analog Synthesizers would be a great follow-up to synth secrets; Jenkins spends more time on the history of analog synthesis. He profiles a number of well-known synthesists and explores how their (often improvised) techniques helped to create the standard palette of synth sounds we enjoy today.

Compared to Synth Secrets, Martin Russ' Sound Synthesis and Sampling treads similar territory, but goes into greater technical detail. The book is pretty dry, and Russ isn't nearly as accessible as Reid or Jenkins (in particular, Russ desperately needs an editor to do basic proofreading), but he'll take you deep into the theory behind synthesis, so you understand the basic electrical and mathematical premises at work.

That's as far as I can take you; I still haven't finished the Russ book, myself (not to mention, my big fancy S&S keyboard hasn't even arrived here, yet). I've compiled a tentative reading list for after I've cleared Russ, and you're welcome to take a gander. I can't vouch for the quality of the books, though, nor for the order in which they ought to be read.

start here

And CK, would you kindly paste your excellent post into one of the threads listed there? We like to keep useful things together.

Done. It's at the tail end of "A few synth books."

You're all being very generous with your help and I really appreciate it! Thanks!

Kilon, I know (or I'm pretty sure I have) that I've Oxygen 2 so I'm going to check that out again. I can't remember anything about it other than being fairly sure I've heard it (as I mentioned before I didn't much care for this kind of music), but I'll being listening to it with different ears this time!

Was it Jean Michael Jarre who did a big open air concert (back in the 80's I think) in some city using sky scrapers as a back drop and a massive light show? I seem to remember something like that.

Citizen Klaus...thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

It's not that I don't want to buy a book (I have bought and am half through reading Analog Days, good read) but if I can find want I need on the net as far as learning this stuff goes then I could use the money I would have spent on books on something else.

And if you need links to demo music software, shareware, or freeware:

HitSquad Links

thanks

If you don't want to buy a book, then make sure you at least read through Gordon Reid's Synth Secrets (the series starts at the bottom of the list). It's as close to a standard recommendation as you're likely to get. In fact, you could go quite far on Synth Secrets alone -- Reid is a great author, and really knows his stuff.

 

If you want to move on to books, then check out my recommendations in another thread. Mark Jenkins' Analog Synthesizers would be a great follow-up to synth secrets; Jenkins spends more time on the history of analog synthesis. He profiles a number of well-known synthesists and explores how their (often improvised) techniques helped to create the standard palette of synth sounds we enjoy today.

 

Compared to Synth Secrets, Martin Russ' Sound Synthesis and Sampling treads similar territory, but goes into greater technical detail. The book is pretty dry, and Russ isn't nearly as accessible as Reid or Jenkins (in particular, Russ desperately needs an editor to do basic proofreading), but he'll take you deep into the theory behind synthesis, so you understand the basic electrical and mathematical premises at work.

 

That's as far as I can take you; I still haven't finished the Russ book, myself (not to mention, my big fancy S&S keyboard hasn't even arrived here, yet). I've compiled a tentative reading list for after I've cleared Russ, and you're welcome to take a gander. I can't vouch for the quality of the books, though, nor for the order in which they ought to be read.

 

It's monophonic, but it is a great platform for learning because the visual interface is intuitive and easy to work around, and you will be able to perform pretty much every technique described because it is so flexible. This is all possible with reaktor or some other modular platforms as well, but few are as easy to work with as the G2 demo editor.

yup thats Jean Michel Jarre all right.

By the way if you just starting with soft synth then I cannot to recommend highly enough Z3ta+ , it is just the Most ideal synth for beginners and yet one of the most powerful out there.

It is also very cheap

http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Z3TA/default.asp