making the sounds i want from my analog keyboard?

[Justin_M]

i was wondering if anyone out there knew of any good books, instructional video's/DVD's ,or web sites to teach me the art of making an analog keyboard make the sounds that i need/want it to make? what diffrent sinewaves to use and when? i realy want to learn how to program my keyboard, not just tweek knobs till it makes a cool sound. i'm sure this kind of information is out there somewhere!

[electrobank]

Hi,
I do not know off hand of any books that show how to program analog synths.I am sure there are few. My best advice would be for you learn all the parts of your synth and what function the serve. Get yourself familiar with LFO's, VCO's, VCA's, Filters, Envelopes, OSC Sync, modulation etc. You will then have a better approach when creating the sounds you want. You wont just be "tweaking" knobs until you get the sound you want. But sometimes, that method is how you come across interesting sounds by accident. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Vegadark]

yes, it just takes some time to get to know your synth. then you will be able to make what ever you want with it. i have a couple of va synths, but they work in different ways so one book that would work for one would not for the other.

[Digi9000000]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...-4669920-01225 49

also, this site has some good starter info:

http://tyala.freeyellow.com/2ansynth.htm

[Justin_M]

thanks guys, i'm going to check out this site tonight and consider buying one of those books. if anyone else out there has any more info on this subject please share it. just remember it's not just me your helping, it's the whole digi family of musicians! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[gavinchan]

Sound on Sound Magazine has/had a section called "Synth Secrets" which was all about that kind of thing. (how to emulate voice, brass instruments... Wind instruments... etc) Check it out. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[marcusb]

I've got a radical idea ... if you have an analog keyboard why not just bash the keyboard and twiddle with knobs until you start getting some sounds you like. This is what analog synths are all about!

A bit of creativity and experimentation in my book is heaps better than getting all anal and scientific about it.

Cheers,
Marcus

[Sven Golly]

Justin, can you let us know what synth(s) you have? That may help us to point you in the right direction. There are a number of sites out there on programming specific synths; perhaps there's one for your specific board.

Cheers,
Sven

[ac1d te5t]

Hi Justin,

What synth do you have? It might be easier to offer advice if you let everyone know.

I believe the best way to get the most out of analogue synths is to just play with them.

For example, the Roland TB303 Bassline was designed to sound like a generic bass guitar or bass section (which it didn't [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ), and the aim of it's design was to provide an accompanying bass line for guitarists or other solo musicians to play along with, along with it's sister machine, the TR606 drum machine. However, during the emergence of house music, musicians started playing around with the controls of the TB303 in real time - this of course led to the discovery of the 'acid' sound that this little synth is famous for, and the invention of acid house music. The TB303 was not designed to be used in this way, and yet 'abusing' it's functionality in this way led to the creation of a whole new musical form, and of course now this fortunate 'misuse' of the TB303 has made this synth one of the most sought after in the world.

I hope this example demonstrates that there aren't really rules concerning what you can do with a musical instrument. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I generally find that the most useful document you can have when it comes to analogue synths is the manual. If you don't have one for your synth, you'll probably find it on the web somewhere...

Have fun with your synth - analogue rules! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

peace

[minimoog]

first up, experiment. the different waveforms that the oscillators can produce sound strangely like they look. turn dials and watch your ears.

failing that,

Vintage Synth

Analogue Heaven

harmony-central

Synth Museum

TweakHeadzLab

Synth Zone

have a few resources. there are many mailing lists.

welcome to the nerdy world of the analogue-heads!