Analog Days...

The Unknown · Post by **The Unknown** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:25 am

Just finished reading this great book, and I am wondering if anyone knows of any others that are worthwhile? I'd also be interested in DVDs about the early days of synthesizer technology.

MarkM · Post by **MarkM** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:38 am

It's a wonderful book and a must-read for anyone interested in synths.

Impossible Sound · Post by **Impossible Sound** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:56 am

Of couple of documentary DVD's about electronic music you might want to check out:

"Moog" by Hans Fjellestad
"Theremin, an Electronic Odyssey" by Steve Martin
"Haack: The King of Techno" by by Philip Anagnos
"Modulations: Cinema for the Ear" by Iara Lee
"Better Living Through Circuitry" by Jon Reiss

The last 2 are moreso about current electronic/dance music, but they get into the history a little.

Not a documentary, but worth checking out:

"Ohm" by various artists

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:58 am

Analog Days is incredible - one of my favrite books.

Check out the Moog documentary if you haven't: www.moogmovie.com
Very good, though it does not have a ton of archival footage.

As for books: It's not about analog synths, but it reminds me a lot of Analog Days, and it does touch on computer music. Proto-silicon valley, drugs, digital cowboys, all that stuff. It's about the birth of the personal computer industry, and how it was created by the same sort of counterculture wonks and supergenious eccentrics as synthesis (IMO.) It's called What The Dormouse Said. It's a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Dormouse-Sai ... 0670033820

If there's a nice small old library near you, there could be a small stack of musty 1970's era books on sound creation and synthesis begging to be checked out or stolen. Or eBay, if you're not a robber. Also, hit every video on YouTube demo-ing a synth. There's cool vintage documentaries in there.

Anyone else?

museslave · Post by **museslave** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:40 pm

After reading books such at "Analog Days," I am frustrated by movies such as "Moog," and especially "Modulations."
I was frustrated by both of them because they seemed to be written from the perspective of a person who knew nothing about the instruments or their history, and then sort of portrayed the instruments and the history from the context of a person living now, as opposed to a traditional documentary format where the information is researched and portrayed in a biasless and academic context.
In both cases (less so Moog, because there are experts mixed in with the clueless), you see electronic music, instruments, and its history from the perspective of a person today who has only really experienced them through the context of DJing, techno, etc... which is VERY frustrating as the modern genres and usages of these instruments is very small in comparison to the overall history.
For example, if I see one more person describe Pierre Schaeffer as "a proto-turntablist," I'm going to go on a killing spree. Ditto, Kraftwerk was not "early techno," but rather band that techno artists were inspired by. It is not academically or historically sound to label everything in the past with the temporary labels of today, associated with genres/cultures that may or may not exist in the future. it's like a televangelist's viewpoint of Christianity, or an emo kid's perception of the Beatles.
But all of these books and movies contain good information.

MC · Post by MC » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:44 pm

A-Z Encyclopedia of Analog Synthesizers by Peter Forrest is a must for any analog enthusiast.

Sweep · Post by **Sweep** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:14 pm

Well said, Museslave.

The Unknown · Post by **The Unknown** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:14 pm

Thanks for all the input, guys. Some very interesting titles. I'd really like to find some info/footage on/of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, during the production of the Doctor Who theme. I know that this was made using many of the elements that make up a synthesizer (i.e. oscillators) without actually being made with a synthesizer, as they didn't exist then! Pioneering stuff, indeed.

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:16 am

MC wrote:A-Z Encyclopedia of Analog Synthesizers by Peter Forrest is a must for any analog enthusiast.

As is "Vintage Synthesizers" by Mark Vail.

For a rigorous academic text on the subject, consider "Electronic and Computer Music" by Peter Manning. This is a book on the history and evolution of electronic music, from birth to present day.

Also, someone mentioned "Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music". This release is available in several forms, including a DVD-only package (archival interviews, performances, experimental video works), and a 3-CD set of music from early EM pioneers using theramins, modular synths, found sounds and tape manipulations.

For more on recommended EM texts and audio/video recordings, look on the SquareWave site in the Resources folder.

- Greg

museslave · Post by **museslave** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:29 am

GregAE wrote:s is "Vintage Synthesizers" by Mark Vail.

I agree! I loved this book!! I nearly wore the thing out!
It's a crime it doesn't have any history/etc. about the early Rolands, though!

GregAE wrote:For a rigorous academic text on the subject, consider "Electronic and Computer Music" by Peter Manning. This is a book on the history and evolution of electronic music, from birth to present day.

Oh, I SO agree. Manning's book is electronic music presented in an academic and historically accurate context. Maybe not as fun as some others, but you will come away with understanding as opposed to entertainment. The version I have only goes up to the 80s, but it was roughly that point where electronic music became more of an entertainment/culture than an academic pursuit.

Anyway, yes, I agree with GregAE... these two books are wonderful!

Sweep · Post by **Sweep** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:39 am

The Unknown wrote:I'd really like to find some info/footage on/of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, during the production of the Doctor Who theme. I know that this was made using many of the elements that make up a synthesizer (i.e. oscillators) without actually being made with a synthesizer, as they didn't exist then! Pioneering stuff, indeed.

Delia Derbyshiere used a bank of test bench oscillators for the main theme, and also an organ, I think, that produced sine waves.

The rhythm part was a piece of wire stretched between two nails, taped and then played at different pitches - the old tape splicing technique. Quite amazing results, and a lot of hard work.

I managed to find out how the oscillators were used. There's an effects loop involving distortion and feedback. I replicated that and got some great samples of variations on the idea. I'll check back on the info I found and post it here soon.

Sweep · Post by **Sweep** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:52 am

I can't find the notes I made, but this is what I remember. It's essentially what she did:

sine wave goes through pitch shifter and feedback loop. Control the feedback carefully to get different rich tones in conjunction with the pitch shifter.

I used the Voyager and controlled the external input carefully to modify the distortion. I can't remember if I also used an additional distortion treatment or just overdrove the input on the Moog, but obvously it's worth experimenting. Different pitch shifter settings and different models of pitch shifter would be worth trying as well, of course.

This will give the warmth of the original oscillator sound, and also a wealth of variations. Come to think of it, it might be worth Moog or someone building a small pitch shifter into a synth to work in conjunction with the overdrive so as to get this effect.

I was baffled by the warm sine tone of the original theme until I found this out. I wondered if the original test tone oscillators were run until hot and produced weird harmonics or something, until someone was kind enough to let me in on the secret.

The Unknown · Post by **The Unknown** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:53 am

Thanks for the info Sweep - fascinating, isn't it? I seem to recall the original TARDIS sound being created by scraping a piece of metal along the anchor cable of an electricity pylon, and then pitch-shifting it down. In the latest series, I have also noticed a screaming sound, which I believe to have been created on an Anologue Systems synth, as the TARDIS disappears. I'm sure this sound used to be featured on their website, as one of the samples. Can anyone confirm this?

rlainhart · Post by **rlainhart** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:31 am

I'd also recommend Electric Sound by Joel Chadabe, which does a great job of covering the early days of electronic music, particularly the more experimental and academic sides.

MrPink · Post by **MrPink** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:35 pm

I too thought the moog documentary was really bad, great idea with amazing subject matter which was horribly executed. Although, The Album Leaf live track in the extras is amazing...