After getting a good introduction to Subtractive Synthesis with Welsh's Synthesizer Cookbook, I found another book that went in a little deeper into the subject of synthesis called "How To Make A Noise" by Simon Cann: http://noisesculpture.com/htman.html
This book goes in depth into subtractive synthesis as well as into other forms of synthesis such as FM synthesis, Additive synthesis, wave shaping, and more. I'm still working my way through it, but it's been fairly educational so far. One of the reasons I got this particular book was that it was pretty low-priced for all the information it seemed to contain. I got it for about $15 on Amazon. (An earlier, smaller version of the book can be found for free on the Internet.) The low price is actually a little bit misleading, though.
This book looks at programming using examples from six software synthesizers: Cameleon 5000 from Camel Audio, Rhino 2 from BigTick, Surge from Vember Audio, Vanguard from reFX, Wusikstation from Wusik dot com, and Z3TA+ from Cakewalk. This means to be able to fully understand and follow along with everything in the book you need the book, the six software synthesizers, and the specially made patches that go with the synthesizers to illustrate the concepts in the book. The author sells the patches separately for $10. The synthesizers range from $90 to $200 each.
So let's break this down:
Book: $15.00
Patches: $10.00
Cameleon 5000: $125
Rhino: $90
Surge: $150
Vanguard: $100
Wusikstation: $200
Z3TA+: $100
Total price: $790
Now to be fair, most of the synthesizers have demo versions available that can be used rather than having to buy the full product. However, you can see how it can feel a bit misleading to buy a book due to its relative cheapness and discover that to fully experience everything the book discusses, you've got to spend a lot more money.
I recently purchased the patches on-line (I'm not sure why they weren't included as a CD with the book) and have been gathering the synths to soon be able to properly follow along. Hopefully it will be worth the effort.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Book: How To Make A Noise
Posted by Gumby at 2/03/2009 02:30:00 PM
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1 comments:
Well, that same author just released a newer book called "Becoming a Synthesizer Wizard: From Presets to Power User". He's a member of the kvraudio forums and, a while back I had criticized "Become A Noise" because I felt he could have chosen any of the free, capable synths for his examples (or created his own) rather than forcing you to download a bunch of demos or buy actual versions of the vst's he used within. Well, for the new book, he actually created his own VST synth and packaged it with the book. But, needless to say, I nor any of the other kvraudio forum members that first gave him the idea got no credit, as far as I know.
And, to be honest with you, I've searched high and low for a good synthesis instructional book and have found that either they're too technical or too sparse. The ideal book would be one that uses a synth that anyone can have access to (for free and for both Mac and PC and quite possible Linux) and uses a step by step instructional method that allows you to "hear" what each one of the various functions/knobs of a synth does to the basic oscillator sound. Other than that, just a newbie what this knob technically, physically, or mathematically does to a sound is of no use.
Love your blog, though. Keep it up.
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