That's good to hear! Thanks for letting me know, Jake.

All the best

Simon

thank you ! it helps me alot

My pleasure!

Simon

very appreciated

thanks for the book!

Is this book free, or do I have to buy it?

The downloadable PDF is free. The hard copy (paper) version costs.

You can get the free download here: http://noisesculpture.com/how-to-make-a-noise-a-comprehensiv e-guide-to-synthesizer-programming

Hope this makes everything clear!

Simon

I checked this out. It's a good but i think it misses something, It's not a complete package.

Nice book. Already have the print version. Now I'll be able to read it on my tablet. Thanks!

The book seems to have a lot of info... but before reading it, I decided to to check out some reviews on amazon. To my surprise, the majority of the reviews were negative reviews... Apparently resulting from the variations in synths that the author is using and the parameters unique to each of them. Another thing I noticed was a problem were the demos for the featured synths. Things like the demos timing out after a certain period of time, not being able to load up the patches, etc.
And then when I come on KVR, I notice that everyone more or less has a positive reaction.
The only difference (at least from what I've read) is that the reviews on amazon are from people who had actually read the book. Most reviews on here (again, from what I've seen) are from people who "skimmed" the book or just started reading.
So my question is, to all of you guys who have actually read a considerable amount of the book, is it worth the read? Have you run into any of the problems mentioned above?
Thanks!
-Flyy

Hi Flyy

Clearly I come from a biased perspective in making these comments, but perhaps I could add some background and offer some thoughts.

First, I think only you can decide whether reading the book will bring value to you. As you have seen, there are a range of perspectives on the book, and I suspect you will find a range of views here. Again bringing my bias, on the whole I don't feel that the comments are predominantly about the substance of the book. Instead many of the comments are about the (choice of) synths (and demo versions, or lack thereof), the organization/layout of the book, the decision to charge separately for the patches (which is now not the case for people who buy the book).

In other words, looked at positively I think there is a wide-spread feeling that there is a lot in there to learn (since there hasn't been much griping about that).

But as I say, only you can decide whether the book is useful to you. Since it's available for free download, why don't you grab the download? There's no downside to this. You can then skim through the PDF and make up your own mind about whether it is worth investing time in reading it (in whole or in part).

My understanding from feedback I've received from readers is that people generally don't read the book from cover to cover (as they would with a novel). Instead they adopt one of several approaches:

* Those who are new to synthesis read the early chapters to get a solid grounding.

* Those with some knowledge skim the early chapters and work through building some of the patches.

* Those with more advanced knowledge tend to refer to specific areas (for instance the chapter on Frequency Modulation).

Most people dip in and out, pulling pieces of information that are useful to them based on what they want to learn/are interested in and which of the featured synthesizers they have to hand (if they have any).

On the subject of synthesizers, when I first started writing the book in 2004 I made a decision about which synthesizers to feature. Eight years later some, but not all, of those synthesizers are still available, and of course, some are no longer with us. You don't **need** to own any of the synthesizers--they are only there to illustrate the points I am making--but it is useful to have at least one of them to hand.

If you're concerned about the book seeming to be old/out-of-date and using old synths, then I suggest you get one of the newer books in the How to Make a Noise series. You can find details about all the books in the series here: http://noisesculpture.com/how-to-make-a-noise

How to Make a Noise: Analog Synthesis, Frequency Modulation Synthesis, and Sample-Based Synthesis do not need you to own any specific synths for you to take full advantage of the books (although they do use some current popular synthesizers, but purely for illustration).

I hope this helps!

All the best

Simon

What book store should I choose to read this on my Windows PC? I'm talking about the one about FM synthesis. Thanks in advance.

If you buy How to Make a Noise: Frequency Modulation Synthesis from Amazon and download the Kindle for PC program (available for free from Amazon), then you will be able to read the book on your Windows PC (as well as on a hardware Kindle and the Kindle app for phones/tablets).

Hope that helps

Simon

I was just wondering about that myself, so yes it does help - ta

Hi Simon,

I read and am a fan of your How To Make a Noise and Synthesizer Wizard books. Any plans to do a new book based on VA and modular synths?