Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming is a handy reference resource for musicians who want to learn about the ins-and-outs of sound synthesis. While most of the information in the book can be obtained online and in music magazines, it's very convenient to have it all in one well organized, well written book.
Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming explains the processes behind all the major (and not-so-major) forms of synthesis, including subtractive, additive, granular, and wavetable. You get chapters on oscillators, filters, LFOs, envelopes, modulators, etc. The included audio CD gives handy examples of the phenomena being described (such as oscillator beating, aliasing, filter sweeps, etc.).
Although every chapter has one or two exercises at the end, it should be stated that this book is not a patch recipe book or primer in synthesis technique (despite the subtitle "The Ultimate Reference for Sound Design"--surely a subtitle contributed by the publisher's marketing department). The concepts and technology are explained in detail, but there is very little here by way of "tips and tricks."
Hopefully, Mr. Aikin will publish a sequel to this title that gives some hands-on instruction on how to produce specific types of sounds. There are literally hundreds of practical sound design questions that such a sequel could answer: How can I create a patch emulating the dynamics of a wind instrument? How can I make string patches sound more alive? How can I make really biting lead sounds? How are different drum and percussion sounds synthesized? I think a book that answered these and similar questions would sell very well indeed.
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From hit records to home studios, synthesizers are used in almost every genre of music. This book fills the know-how gap left by skimpy or garbled owner's manuals. It maps out the components of contemporary synths in clear, concise detail, and discusses how they can be harnessed to achieve specific musical effects. Each chapter presents hands-on projects that help musicians hone their skills. The companion CDROM contains audio examples that teach programming techniques.
