KVR Audio

beni_72 · Post by **beni_72** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 10:59 am

Hi,

Wondering if anyone can suggest some good online videos/articles/pdf's to learn synthesis.
Subtractive synthesis more so but would love some stuff on the other varieties too

Thanks!

bluzkat · Post by **bluzkat** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 11:10 am

Here are some good articles from Sound on Sound...

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm#Top.

Do a search on YouTube, lotsa stuff on there.

Enjoy.

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:19 pm

Syntorial is the best way, it teaches you by ear training how all the different parts of the synthesizer work and interact. No other tutorial focuses on training your ear and that why it really advances you so fast.

Download the demo and do the first lessons. http://www.syntorial.com/tour.php

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:39 pm

How to make a noise ...

http://noisesculpture.com/how-to-make-a ... rogramming

Free book (pdf) on synthesis.

wesleyt · Post by **wesleyt** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:56 am

+1 for both Syntorial and Simon Cann's books. Both are great.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:23 am

wesleyt wrote:+1 for both Syntorial and Simon Cann's books. Both are great.

I second Simon's book.

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Synthesi ... nth+wizard

I used it to teach a class in audio production and I found the students took to it pretty easily. Check out a program like MUX modular which is a nice and cheap visual way of hooking up modules and messing about with how they interact.

xamido · Post by **xamido** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:40 am

Syntorial is excellent. I've even learn new stuff despite i thought i already know synthesis good enough already.

dleigh · Post by **dleigh** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:14 pm

Rob Papen has a great Book/DVD package called The Four Element Synth. Best one I've seen so far. Macprovideo has some nice courses on synthesis as well. Check out their Foundation of Synthesis courses.

mprodtrance · Post by **mprodtrance** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 5:25 pm

+1 for Syntorial, really you should look at it, it is an amazing way to learn by doing.

But if you don't want to pay for it, the best way to learn synthesis is to

Understand the basic components of a synth AND how they sound. Really important, because knowing how they sound is the key to good synthesis skills.
Pick 1 and only 1 synth to learn inside out! Soo important! Resist the want and desire to use every synth available. You first need to build your skillset! Then you'll be able to move and pick more synths. But if you're learning synthesis, just pick 1 of the many synths available, and run just with it for a little while.
Diversify your synth arsenal and start to appreciate the different sonic qualities each of them has.
Practice practice practice, stop doing mental masturbation on knowledge. Once you know the basics, it's all about practice. You'll understand more by doing than by learning.

Hope it was helpful

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:24 pm

Everybody learns differently. That's the first thing you need to understand and figure out for yourself.

For example. I learn best by simply diving into something head first and then, after I've gone as far as I can go on my own, I then seek out tutorials that might fill in some missing pieces.

Some people learn best by having somebody actually sit down with them and walk them through the subject, like you did in school. Unfortunately, on the Internet, this isn't a viable option most of the time. If you know somebody who lives close to you who is into synthesis and you learn best in this way, you might want to seek them out.

Others learn literally by opening a book and reading it, using each principle that they learn as they learn it such as, after reading the section on oscillators, going to their synth and playing with the oscillators, understanding how each tweak of the controls changes the sound.

I'm going to assume that you've learned how to do other things in the past and you have a pretty good idea of what works best for you.

I do agree with getting only one synth and learning it the best you can. After 35 years of programming these things I can tell you from experience that if you learn one very well, the rest will come a lot easier. Yes, there are some major differences between something like an analog subtractive (Minimoog), an FM synth (FM

and something like Cycle (not really sure what the hell it is) that took me 3 days to figure out, but for the most part, synthesis is synthesis. Once you understand the principles, most synths shouldn't be too difficult to tackle.

But start with something simple. If you try to tackle a synth with too much going on in it, you might get frustrated. I haven't used Syntorial but I've heard lots of good things about it. It may not be a bad place to start.

And of course as the poster above said, practice a lot. You're not going to really get good at this by reading books or watching tutorials. You're only going to improve by actually getting your hands dirty and programming.

When the day comes that you're "bored" programming your old synth because there's just nothing left to do with it, that's when you'll know you're ready to move on.

Good luck.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:27 pm

Additionally to what has been suggested, I can recommend the Propellerhead Reason manual. The parts about Subtractor and Thor cover up a lot of basics too.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:57 pm

Online video sites are an excellent resource. You can watch a ton of free videos from companies showcasing their new products. If you ignore all the marketing hype and actually watch what they're doing with the device you can learn how components create or change a sound. Some notable examples:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... EFFA1493EF
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 3D3CFCB477
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... A994B13A64
http://vimeo.com/album/2218641
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 60BDB65AA2
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... yeinXztM3q
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 60F7CF76BA

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... V6J6l67yiD
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... F29218252D
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... UYQ6aQ1sTU
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 9spcnlwyd3

Focus on oscillators, filters, envelopes, modulation. Don't get swayed by the product marketing. Learn to associate certain common concepts with certain sounds: the sound of a saw osc, the sound of a 24db filter closing, the sound of an amp envelop with a large attack time, etc. It also often shows you how the developer of the tool intended for a knob to be used.

Hope this helps.

CC4 · Post by **CC4** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 8:24 pm

Along with most of the previously mentioned stuff, "Sound Synthesis & Sampling" is a good book by Martin Russ.

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 8:34 pm

beni_72 wrote:Hi,

Wondering if anyone can suggest some good online videos/articles/pdf's to learn synthesis.
Subtractive synthesis more so but would love some stuff on the other varieties too

Thanks!

Honestly if you want to learn Synthesis..

Pick up a copy of Native Instruments Reaktor.

Inside it has most of the common algorithms and is an AWESOME learning platform.

You can get it cheap on the market place.

I would highly recommend you look into http://www.platinumears.com/theinsiders ... aktor.html to help you get it up and running.

A older free guide which covers Reaktor3 is located @ http://www.swiftkick.com/

Next thing go to https://www.wikipedia.org/ and look up topics on

FM Synthesis, Wavetable Synthesis, Phase Distortion, Granular Synthesis, Additive Synthesis, Physical Modelling Synthesis, Analog Modular Synthesis, etc

Dro205 · Post by **Dro205** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:51 pm

I see someone linked an ADSR tutorial video (at least one) above. I'm relatively new to this too, and I've seen several ADSR vids on YouTube that have helped me understand different functions of several different synths. They seem to have a wide variety of videos out there. This thread is beneficial to me too, so I also appreciate the suggestions. I see several things listed that I need to check out.

Best way to learn synthesis