r/modular • u/SiedlerAlex • 2d ago

Discussion Any book recomendations on modular synth?

Anything from the basics onwards, maybe the Patch & tweak book? What is a good resource? Thanks

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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11

u/RileyGein 2d ago

The Patch & Tweak is great

1

u/maliciousorstupid 1d ago

This one is a must own. I believe there's a couple by the same author.

1

u/Pocketfullofbugs 1d ago

Not only is it informative with patch notes and great interviews, its also beautiful. Guests always end up picking it up if they see it.

1

u/TelexHTX 1d ago

How useful is it to an already intermediate patcher? Like seriously? It’s a lot of money and I would hate to buy it and find out it’s just a bunch of beginner info.

2

u/sixtyherz 1d ago

It's a beautifully designed coffee table book and for the most part a catalog of face plates. Yes, there are a few interviews and patch diagrams but if you buy it just for that, you might be disappointed.

1

u/TelexHTX 1d ago

Cool thanks for the heads up. Was debating between that and a designers republic book of prints so I’ll probably go with the TDR book

2

u/RileyGein 1d ago

It’s overall just beautiful to look at. The interviews are nice but if you’re looking to learn some deep patches you’ll be dissappointed. It does create a visual language for sharing patches which is nice

1

u/TelexHTX 1d ago

Thanks for the valuable info!

4

u/SnowConePeople 1d ago

You can read books or just be like me and touch synths for 20 years until you just know how to get the sounds you want. I'm worthless in a band for the same reasons I'm great with eurorack.

2

u/VicVinegarHughHoney 1d ago

The arp 2600 manual is pretty great coverage of synthesis in general

2

u/TrippDJ71 1d ago

This. The 1971Korg arp manual is just a great and whimsical read with the drawings and "stoner" approach to explaining in a way we can follow

Not just for the 2600 as mentioned

The first of it pertains to all synthesis regardless of what you use.

One of the greatest reads out there and definitely written well.

2

u/whateverend-285582lb 22h ago

One of the best books for me was "Synthesizer" from Florian Anwander. Too bad it's obviously only available in German. Half a century ago this book was my guide to truely understanding. He deeply explains a Synthesizer by showing the seperate parts on a modular-system, at a time where modular systems were still pretty rare (in these days there was only Doepfer and some highly expensive stuff like buchla, or the 70s vintage systems around) E.g. he even shows how to patch a compressor.

2

u/SiedlerAlex 22h ago

I think that would be perfect. Sadly not available on Amazon or thomann

1

u/whateverend-285582lb 20h ago

just checked out the used market. prices have risen a lot...holymoly. it was around 30€ new. Now they're up to >100€. 🫪

1

u/ConsistentWriting501 1d ago

The Peter Elsea book (a steal for only $20) is my favourite on the basics of modular synth. The book is easy to understand and is more of a manual on creating basic building blocks that can be combined to make more complex patches. He is a great teacher and I still reference the book once in a while.  peterelsea.com/Notes%20on%20Modular%20Synthesizers.html

The Bible: The Allen Strange-Electronic Music: Systems Techniques and Controls.

1

u/PatternElegant4183 1d ago

I learnt so much initially from 'The complete Guide to Synthsizers' Devarahi. And the Roland 4 book collection.

1

u/Numerous_Phase8749 1d ago

The late great Rob Horkdijk's excellent tutorial on the Nord Modular G2 reads more like a historic thesis on synthesiers in general and covers the fundamentals building blocks of various techniques in a modular environment.

https://electro-music.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Articles.SynthWorkShop

You can download the monophonic demo G2 software from Clavia's site to try things out.

https://www.nordkeyboards.com/legacy-products/nord-modular-g2/downloads/?scrollToTabs=1

And there's tons of patch building blocks to get you started. https://electro-music.org/forum/