Make: Analog Synthesizers: Make Electronic Sounds the Synth-DIY Way

by Ray Wilson

Dive hands-on into the tools, techniques, and information for making your own analog synthesizer. If you’re a musician or a hobbyist with experience in building electronic projects from kits or schematics, this do-it-yourself guide will walk you through the parts and schematics you need, and how to tailor them for your needs. Author Ray Wilson shares his decades of experience in synth-DIY, including the popular Music From Outer Space (MFOS) website and analog synth community. At the end of the book, you’ll apply everything you’ve learned by building an analog synthesizer, using the MFOS Noise Toaster kit. You’ll also learn what it takes to create synth-DIY electronic music studio. Get started in the fun and engaging hobby of synth-DIY without delay. With this book, you’ll

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, Technology, Engineering

183 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2013

Reviews

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is amazing how much can be found on the pages of this book. It is at once a step-by-step guide, a textbook, a reference manual, a detailed introduction into analogue instruments, a primer on advanced topic, and a guide to learning with hands-on experience regardless of your current level of skill. When I was looking for a resource on building an analogue synthesizer I was not optimistic about finding a book or even a series of tutorials that would be possible for me to understand on my own, and from which I could learn on my own; the topic of analogue synthesizers was made to sound so complicated by other authors I felt little hope until I found this book. It is at once the perfect guide to understanding synthesizers module by module, and also the best guide for actually making such wonderful circuits on your own - the author has designed, prototyped, tested and explained every circuit in great detail, and has done a remarkable job in preparing a resource that both teaches you how to approach a project step-by-step, while at the same time using each project as a stepping stone for your ultimate goal of building a synthesizer. Each circuit is also used to illustrate the fundamentals of signal processing in detail, which can enable you to begin to really understanding synthesizers, and what goes on behind their fascinating knobs and buttons for the first time.Regardless of your level of experience, this guide can help walk you through an otherwise daunting territory, and it can give you both the skills and the knowledge, as well as the motivation, to try to make an affordable instrument for your explorations into vintage instruments. The author's love for synthesizers is contagious, and so is his enthusiasm for making the type of „space music“ only they can make.

[Tim Cosgrove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides useful context for synth circuit design and DIY, as well as diving into some detail of the component circuits of a specific synth. If you are new to electronics, it will not get you started there, apart from recommending specific equipment you would need to build and test your designs. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... is probably a better starting point for that.

I wish it had gone deeper into a wider variety of circuit designs, but that would probably be beyond the scope of the book, and Make always intends for you to have a specific completable project.

[Javier Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Está muy bien para conocer la forma en que se genera el sonido en los sintetizadores sustractivos analógicos, para un prinicipiante como yo ofrece información muy valiosa también en lo que respecta al montaje de circuitos, soldadura, identificación de componentes electrónicos, solución de problemas que pueden aparecer en nuestros montajes...

Tiene dos problemas, se enfoca muy claramente en un diseño concreto de sintetizador DIY que vende el autor en su página web, que explica en profundidad (cuando quizás podría haber empleado ese tiempo en explica cosas más generales y quizás más útiles), otro problema es que se pone demasiado técnico en algunos momentos, en concreto hay una buena parte del libro dedicada a explicar las distintas aplicaciones de los amplificadores operacionales, que es algo que para quien no quiera diseñar circuitos resulta bastante intrascendente.

En todo caso es un libro que puede ser muy útil para introducirse en el mundillo. Merece la pena si te interesa el tema.

[Michael Vawser]

Biblio.com US$22.95

[to'c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not judge this book by its cover! Analog Synths? Oh yeah! You'll learn about analog synths. You may even build one. I won't but I read this book practically cover to cover. I was fascinated with learning about the building blocks of a synth (chapter 4), about op amps (chapter 5, appendices A and B), about how the whole thing works (chapter 6), and about various musical techniques embodied in the most fun Audacity lessons I've seen.

And Mr. Wilson's educational style is a joy to behold. Informative yet light-hearted. You can sense his joy not only in synthesizers but in teaching us all about them.

Will I ever build an analog synth? Probably not. But that doesn't mean I won't be arming my robots with sonic weapons of mass joyfulness using some synth bits!

[Ross Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to the basic principles behind synth DIY! A lot of books on this and similar subjects tend to deal only in theoretical, giving textbook style descriptions of the various circuits, while neglecting the more practical aspect of how to actually build the damn thing! This book has an excellent balance between the technical and the practical, all with a very readable writing style and plenty of humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in building a synthesizer, or just learning more about how they work on the component level. Pretty sure this book will be born completely ragged by the time I'm done with it!!

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good book, but I wish it covered more than the one project. I wish there had been a little more coverage of electronics basics. Granted this book isn't a guide to basic electronics, but I think a bit more coverage of basics might have been a good addition. Still all in all an interesting book and worth a look if you are interested in using electronics to make music.

[Brian Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13357177

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make machines, make music!