Literature on synths/electronic music

dirthelmet · Post by **dirthelmet** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:42 pm

Hey, everyone.
After ten years of occasional listening of electronic music (mostly Muslimgauze, Regis, Silent Servant, Jesu, etc) I've decided to get my toes wet. While I'm excited about collecting gear and exploring a new medium, what I'm looking for is pointers on good books.

Are there any must have synth/equipment "bibles"? Also looking for landmark books involving the culture, different genres, etc. Trying to immerse myself in as much as I can.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers from Virginia.

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 8:47 pm

the 2nd version of allen strange's synthesis book is worth having.
mini

Post by **meatballfulton** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:27 pm

Just a thought:

Before you start collecting gear, you might want to play around with some software first...it's cheap (even free) and a good way to tell whether or not this is something you really want to pursue. Your wallet will thank you

commodorejohn · Post by **commodorejohn** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:49 am

Not a book, but Gordon Reid's "Synth Secrets" series in Sound on Sound is an absolute gold mine. Here's the index: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

Weirdofromouterspace · Post by **Weirdofromouterspace** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:55 am

Vintage synthesizers by Mark Vail is a good read and available without any problems.

I also love 'Synthesizer von gestern' (two volumes, based on a series in a German synth/keyboard magazine) by Matthias Becker, but...
1) they've been out of print for over 20 years and thus are really difficult to find. Vol. 2 is occasionally offered for sale in Germany; prices typically range from - if you're lucky - 40 to approximately 80 Euros). Vol. 1 is almost impossible to get.
2) they are in German, and there is no English version.

thermite zapruder · Post by **thermite zapruder** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:04 pm

This is a classic text that used the Arp 2600 as its reference: http://www.scribd.com/doc/73903222/Arp- ... Technology

Play along with a 2600 VST!

Nakatsu_Hime · Post by **Nakatsu_Hime** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 3:28 pm

Bought the following book way back in the 90s when I was doing a lot of patch programming on my DX7s.
It's quite a technical read, with much emphasis on the theory of FM sound generation, but some may find it useful.
To be honest, I'm suprised it's still available new, that is, if you have about £117 to spare !

FM Theory and Applications: By Musicians for Musicians

Mooger5 · Post by **Mooger5** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 7:58 pm

Analog Days was a fun read.

Plumpudding · Post by **Plumpudding** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 3:32 pm

Not sure I should reccomend it yet, as I just started reading, but check out Sound in Z. A pretty thick book about electronic music/sound experiemnts in russia during the early twentieth century.

pflosi · Post by **pflosi** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 4:12 pm

All good recommendations so far

Let me add some from my list, bit random but there you go...

Thomas Wells and Eric Vogel - The Technique of Electronic Music
Jim Aikin - Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming
Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco - Analog Days
Harry F. Olson - Music, Physics and Engineering

Literature on synths/electronic music

Literature on synths/electronic music

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