If Dean is still around and kickin', I owe this guy a beer and a handshake, totally demystified my synth for me, makes me actually feel like I could be an artist or something on this JD-XA I have, thank you good sir, Dean and MatrixSynth
Well said, Joe! I got my Gaia SH-01 10 days ago, and I’ve watched a bunch of videos, most of which move too fast or are focused on a specific synth, but this series is perfect. The "Intro To Synthesis" series by Reverb is much shorter and also very good. Enjoy!
Watching this 30 years later and this is far and above still the best resource I've found for learning about this stuff. I'd recommend reading "A Young Person's Guide to the Principles of Music Synthesis" and then watching these 3 videos.
i know ha this video is awesome, i didn't realize that synths today use the same principals. Im using sylenth 1 (wish i had analog) but at least the idea of oscillators and filtering is the same.
I wish I had this guy in my pocket to teach me everything i needed to know he is very patient and informative with some humor. Great teacher. Great stuff, love these videos, I can't wait to dive into number three.
i programmed synths for 30 years. this is good to teach you what the controls do. what i found in my experience of making your own sounds is that there are no rules and the best way to get to know your machine and create your own original sounds is to get it home, rip it out of the box and put the manual away use it if you can just to find out how to perform writing patches and setting utilities get to work on turning knobs and pushing sliders . when you sounds good store it keep going
Wow I can normally only watch videos like this for 5 minutes at a time, but I sat through this whole hour without once losing concentration....amazing vid! Awesome job by Dean Friedman.
Dude, you are the GOAT for uploading this 3 part series. I always come back and watch them every so often to refresh my basic knowledge. It's extremely necessary, and powerful to have this knowledge and I appreciate you Big Dawg.
I'm having a great afternoon watching these videos! This guy is precise, informatiive and most of all FUNNY! Yay! Thank you Dean & The New York School of Synthesis! =D
Wow, I found gold. What a fantastic teacher. I just bought a nord A1 and I haven't energized it yet. Being a guitar player for 30 years, I decided to learn a new instrument. Yes i need to learn some piano too, but I can make some noise with the nord until I learn. As for learning the synth, everyone should come here first. You cant find this resource in my neighborhood anyway. Thank you so very much for this extremally valuable resource. I am truly grateful.
I have ADD (no hyperactivity) and it really cripples my ability to pay attention to stuff, and I still found this really easy to understand, so I can safely say this shit legit.
This series has been so helpful! I have been sitting down with a pencil and paper taking notes as if this were a class, because that is what it is for me. I have needed an informative tutorial on the basics of synthesis, thank you for posting this! I am excited to graduate to part 3
I watched this when I first got into synthesizers... It was pretty helpful. I went from looking at the thing and going "what the fuck is this?" To looking at it and going "ahhh I know what that does".
This video series has been more helpful that a TON of other videos out there so far, and I haven't even gotten into part 3 yet. This is the exact video lesson I have been looking for.
Synthesis is not that difficult. You got five things: oscillator, LFO (also an oscillator), envelope, filter (optional), and amplifier. But it took me 25 years to realize that.
Angello Hector Relax. I am Polish, so I am slow. On the other hand, I also realized that learning synthesis is fun, but unfortunately it's also a good excuse not to practice music. So your music and keyboard skills are going down the drain once you concentrate on synthesis. Sort of like the pianist learning the carpentry to build the piano is unlikely to become a good musician.
Will all his head movements if you pause the movie and click around the timeline you can make him dance... Great movie by the way lol super informative and the information is presented in an easy and fun way.
I love the synthesizer selection. No ubiquitous Minimoog or modular synths here, or thanks goodness no PC based soft synths. The Prophet-600 is perfect for demonstrating analog synthesizer, and I didn't even realize this instrument so complete feature-wise. SQ-80 is a great example of a wavetable synth (which is quite different from sample playback), D-50 and DX7 are no brainers, they are absolute must to have here. M1, could be replaced with Kawai K5 to demonstrate additive synthesis.
I love these videos (but yeah, where is video 3?) Dude's a natural teacher, that slow and somewhat eccentric delivery is perfect for the subject matter which is something I've struggled with since I've entered the 'synth stage' of my life :D
I'm happy that I found this video! I'm also sad at the comments, saying that this is probably the best video resource out there. Surely, there must be some more good video resources out there worth seeing, yes?
astarothgr most tutorials are too specific. not many people go through the entire synth signal path - I think that's why people like it. this teaches foundation knowledge, exactly how everyone should approach
Great lesson so far, only - Yamaha came out with their first synthesizer in 1974 and in the music industry making instruments and equipment since 1897.
Yeah. It's like the opposite of the motorcycle documentary "On Any Sunday" where the narrator talks about the bike made by a Japanese piano company called a Ymaaah Ha. "Probably never see one of them again" Hahahaha
Pretty much. The buttons are mapped out in the signal flow. The lines indicate the flow. You can set different levels for each oscillator followed by an overall level.
Thanks man, just trying to get all Dean's jargon-busting understood !! No, i have not seen the MMTA video yet ?? i did look thru a few of your videos but you have a large collection so i just randomly picked a few here and there.
Ahhh that Classic joke at 6:00! What a gem... Can't tell you how many times I have heard that one! That old chestnut! I'm sorry, I have never heard that joke... I must be out of touch. Perhaps it was an 80s thing?
Differences between analog vs. digital are as follows: 1) It's more expensive and cumbersome to implement additive synthesis using analog oscillators. Therefore commercially viable additive synthesizers are digital. (e.g. Kawai K5, Casio FZ-1) 2) Analog synthesizers do FMl; however, analog oscillators are too unreliable and unstable to achieve four, six, or eight oscillator FM synthesis. Analog FM falls apart after just two oscillators modulating each other, due to analog oscillators instability. Other than that are very negligible differences between analog and digital subtracrive synthesizers. Sampling? It's a form of subtractive synthesis for the most part, starting out with rich in harmonics waveforms then using filters to chisel those harmonics out. Phase Modulation? Similar to FM, since DX and TX-series synthesizers do in fact use phase modulation to implement FM. Granular Synthesis? Just a recording manipulation technique, like phrase loops, vector "synthesis", and wave sequencing. Physical modeling? Now we're talking real synthesis. Mathematical models of drivers and resonators. I am not talking about "analog" physical modeling, D-50 does that very well with its square wave generator with variable pulse width. I am talking about physical modeling of acoustic instruments, like the one used in Yamaha VL1, VP1, Roland V-Piano, and Pianoteq.
Regarding DCWs and Modulators on a DX7 I believe that is the closest analogy. BTW, have you checked out my video titled: MMTA Spring SYNTHFEST 2013: Dave Bristow & The History of Yamaha FM Synthesis ?
Yes, thats what i meant thanks. i tried to zoom in on it and it looks like you have VDA 1,2,3 to the left (ie. next to the OCS's), then on its own VDA 4 (i think it says).
Noob here - learning a little audio terms. Does anyone happen to know if "Phase Distortion" means altering the harmonics that get created from the main freq, or something else? Like shifting the harmonics "off their linear multiple frequency" and/or the amplitude of the harmonic frequencies - or is it a different concept? thanks
Oh yeh, thats a good idea !! Do you know which model of CZ the synth is becuse it seems there are many !! So DCW is more or less the same as a MODULATOR on the DX7 ??
@ 13:25 there is (far right) a DCA button at the end of the chain. Is this like a MASTER Amplifier for the 3 x DCA's which occur earlier in the chain ??
i dont get while there is a knob for the sustain level?? So if the knob is in the middle of sustain level and you hold the note down does it keep playing?
and still relevant! still in that Goldilocks zone that old freedman ;P hilarious dude, and so righteous too, what with the pizza and adjustable roller skates humor.
watching this in 2013, and using reason 5, and seeing the voice editing system in the computer at 23:35 "let's make use of this EXTREMELY helpful computer system" and i'm like THANK YOU it is right on that shit all up in it shit. rawesome. thanks fellow producer dm fife for the link and you all please excuse me for expressing my innermost feelings in the comments section on youtube. thnx there ya douche XP whoever you are. (justincase, there always are and they obv need the attention XD. muchluv
Why do the EG envelopes have a fixed peak? What if I want a sound that goes up slowly then at the "peak" it goes faster up till the sustain and then goes down at release.
Some synths have variations on the ADSR so you can have 2-pseudo-attack portion (what i think you want?). I have any old yammy synth with ADDSR with also an initial level and delay to the env trigger point.
So with the advent of partially sampled sounds, they pretty much gave up on synthesizing complete real instrumnts? Is that correct or are scientists still trying to achieve thar?
![Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]](/img/n.gif)
2:22 The Different Kinds of Synths
4:40 Additive
5:41 Subtractive
6:29 FM (Frequency Modulation)
7:38 Phase Distortion
7:47 Samplers
9:00 Hybrids
12:34 Amplifier (DCA)
16:51 Oscillator (OSC, Freq)
25:35 Filter
28:14 Resonance
30:10 Envelope Amount
31:39 Modulator
34:08 Volume Envelope
35:10 37:56 41:06 ADSR
46:27 29:01 Filter Envelope
48:50 Pitch Envelope
51:44 LFO
55:46 LFO Sync
again; thanks a lot!
have my children
: ]
Kei Korono wow, thanks for this Kei!
you are the real MVP!
One fifth of those watching part 1 graduated to part 2 ^^
and one tenth passed to the third part
Jesús Dawaher Bakhos 1/20th wants to know if there's a fourth...
harmonic viewers
Most replies did not get the joke lol
l'm one of those :D
If Dean is still around and kickin', I owe this guy a beer and a handshake, totally demystified my synth for me, makes me actually feel like I could be an artist or something on this JD-XA I have, thank you good sir, Dean and MatrixSynth
Well said, Joe! I got my Gaia SH-01 10 days ago, and I’ve watched a bunch of videos, most of which move too fast or are focused on a specific synth, but this series is perfect. The "Intro To Synthesis" series by Reverb is much shorter and also very good. Enjoy!
Dean's still touring - mostly in the UK.
Watching this 30 years later and this is far and above still the best resource I've found for learning about this stuff. I'd recommend reading "A Young Person's Guide to the Principles of Music Synthesis" and then watching these 3 videos.
is that the exact title of the book? who was the author? thanks
i know ha this video is awesome, i didn't realize that synths today use the same principals. Im using sylenth 1 (wish i had analog) but at least the idea of oscillators and filtering is the same.
Thanks guy with a cartoon avatar and channel name. I needed your guidance.
thanks
I wish I had this guy in my pocket to teach me everything i needed to know he is very patient and informative with some humor. Great teacher. Great stuff, love these videos, I can't wait to dive into number three.
You are welcome! Dean gets the credit for sending them my way. He is the man.
i programmed synths for 30 years. this is good to teach you what the controls do. what i found in my experience of making your own sounds is that there are no rules and the best way to get to know your machine and create your own original sounds is to get it home, rip it out of the box and put the manual away use it if you can just to find out how to perform writing patches and setting utilities get to work on turning knobs and pushing sliders . when you sounds good store it keep going
Wow I can normally only watch videos like this for 5 minutes at a time, but I sat through this whole hour without once losing concentration....amazing vid! Awesome job by Dean Friedman.
His explanation of ADSR is amazing
Dude, you are the GOAT for uploading this 3 part series. I always come back and watch them every so often to refresh my basic knowledge. It's extremely necessary, and powerful to have this knowledge and I appreciate you Big Dawg.
Year 2015 and this video is still the best!
2016, still the best
In 2030 this is still the best too
Hello from 12,401. We have moved beyond sound, and music is a quaint academic footnote to human culture, but this is still the best.
2020 here (:
2022 and it's still the best of the best!
I love how much of a dork this dude is. I would rather learn from a guy like him than almost anyone else.
31:03 lol
I'm having a great afternoon watching these videos! This guy is precise, informatiive and most of all FUNNY! Yay! Thank you Dean & The New York School of Synthesis! =D
Wow, I found gold. What a fantastic teacher. I just bought a nord A1 and I haven't energized it yet. Being a guitar player for 30 years, I decided to learn a new instrument. Yes i need to learn some piano too, but I can make some noise with the nord until I learn.
As for learning the synth, everyone should come here first. You cant find this resource in my neighborhood anyway. Thank you so very much for this extremally valuable resource. I am truly grateful.
Finally! A perfect explanation of subtractive vs. Additive synthesis. Brilliant.
And his explanation of ADSR makes all other ADSR explanations look like worthless trash.
I have ADD (no hyperactivity) and it really cripples my ability to pay attention to stuff, and I still found this really easy to understand, so I can safely say this shit legit.
agreed. I wish more guides were like this
I'm sure all the video games you play and books you don't read are doing wonders for your condition.
I went to the doctor thinking I had ADD, but after watching these videos he said I have ADSR :-)
this is the best, I can finally understand and program my synth instead of using the presets!!
This series has been so helpful! I have been sitting down with a pencil and paper taking notes as if this were a class, because that is what it is for me. I have needed an informative tutorial on the basics of synthesis, thank you for posting this! I am excited to graduate to part 3
Best explanation ever on what an FM modulator actually does, priceless.
This is such a great resource of information. I wish I knew this stuff 10 years ago.
I watched this when I first got into synthesizers... It was pretty helpful.
I went from looking at the thing and going "what the fuck is this?"
To looking at it and going "ahhh I know what that does".
Now we can make our own bell sounds!
14:00 and he breaks into the opening of his own hit "Lydia" :-) Thank you, Dean - it's what I was waiting for!
This video series has been more helpful that a TON of other videos out there so far, and I haven't even gotten into part 3 yet. This is the exact video lesson I have been looking for.
Synthesis is not that difficult. You got five things: oscillator, LFO (also an oscillator), envelope, filter (optional), and amplifier. But it took me 25 years to realize that.
dude you just said it's not that difficult but it took you 25 years to figure that out lol😂
Angello Hector
Relax. I am Polish, so I am slow. On the other hand, I also realized that learning synthesis is fun, but unfortunately it's also a good excuse not to practice music. So your music and keyboard skills are going down the drain once you concentrate on synthesis. Sort of like the pianist learning the carpentry to build the piano is unlikely to become a good musician.
@@dvamateur It's apparently difficult for you, you dumb f-ck.
Who knew learning synthesis could be so entertaining??? : /
35:10 "And aren't you glad I told ya?" YES YES YES! Decades later lol
These videos are great. crazy to see how far we've come since then
absolute best explanation of ADSR ever!!!
Man, I can't think you enough for these videos
The computer used for the voice editing software in this tutorial is an Amiga 500 if anyone's wondering.
Always nice to see the M1 getting some recognition
i've learnt so much of this series! thank you for posting this, definetly a must-watch for anyone interested in any form of electronic music
Will all his head movements if you pause the movie and click around the timeline you can make him dance... Great movie by the way lol super informative and the information is presented in an easy and fun way.
Enjoying this series. Thanks for uploading.
Another 6 hours well spent. Worth every second. Thanks!
I love the synthesizer selection. No ubiquitous Minimoog or modular synths here, or thanks goodness no PC based soft synths. The Prophet-600 is perfect for demonstrating analog synthesizer, and I didn't even realize this instrument so complete feature-wise. SQ-80 is a great example of a wavetable synth (which is quite different from sample playback), D-50 and DX7 are no brainers, they are absolute must to have here. M1, could be replaced with Kawai K5 to demonstrate additive synthesis.
The link to all parts is in the description of the video above.
This is mind-blowingly informative. Thanks Dean!!
i love how pizza oriented these videos are.
The very very best educative material I've seen!!!!!!
i love this. Even in 2016 this is a great introduction for the younger guys starting out- go Dean:-)
I love these videos (but yeah, where is video 3?) Dude's a natural teacher, that slow and somewhat eccentric delivery is perfect for the subject matter which is something I've struggled with since I've entered the 'synth stage' of my life :D
i really like Dean's History talk at the start of this Part 2 tutorial.
These videos are absolutely awesome!!! Thanks a lot for uploading them, matrixsynth :)
This is awesome. Thank you matrixsynth.
I'm happy that I found this video!
I'm also sad at the comments, saying that this is probably the best video resource out there. Surely, there must be some more good video resources out there worth seeing, yes?
astarothgr most tutorials are too specific. not many people go through the entire synth signal path - I think that's why people like it. this teaches foundation knowledge, exactly how everyone should approach
Great video dean,from Sheffield England.
Great lesson so far, only - Yamaha came out with their first synthesizer in 1974 and in the music industry making instruments and equipment since 1897.
Yeah. It's like the opposite of the motorcycle documentary "On Any Sunday" where the narrator talks about the bike made by a Japanese piano company called a Ymaaah Ha. "Probably never see one of them again"
Hahahaha
The pure gold it is.
9:48 Shots fired...
I watched part 1 yesterday, couldn't wait for part 2 today. Very informative and straightforward way of explaining. Is that a Commodore Amiga?
Pretty much. The buttons are mapped out in the signal flow. The lines indicate the flow. You can set different levels for each oscillator followed by an overall level.
those sounds brought back nightmares of 80s arcade games like galaxian as spent so much time in arcades I heard them when going to bed
Happy to see this. Thank you!
42:20 is good to know I'm glad I went true watching this.
watch lot's of tutorial for fun and this one contains lot's of good infos compare to the other ! and it has a unique 80's VHS touch to it I love it ^^
Thanks! I passed the message along. :)
Thanks man, just trying to get all Dean's jargon-busting understood !!
No, i have not seen the MMTA video yet ?? i did look thru a few of your videos but you have a large collection so i just randomly picked a few here and there.
Where is Dean today?
Living in Peekskill, NY. Made a catchy pop hit in the 70s, "Ariel"...He's got a website.
Cheers for the upload!
you have discriminating taste, for cheesy solid gold....... I love it, thanks for these uploads
Ahhh that Classic joke at 6:00! What a gem...
Can't tell you how many times I have heard that one!
That old chestnut!
I'm sorry, I have never heard that joke... I must be out of touch. Perhaps it was an 80s thing?
quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/22/chip-away/
+ben inglis I was thinking pretty much the same thing.
"SoundQuest D-50 Master" -do want!!!
Very rewarding!
thank so much for this it has helped so much
Brilliant. Thanks!
2019 n I am learning so much
Differences between analog vs. digital are as follows:
1) It's more expensive and cumbersome to implement additive synthesis using analog oscillators. Therefore commercially viable additive synthesizers are digital. (e.g. Kawai K5, Casio FZ-1)
2) Analog synthesizers do FMl; however, analog oscillators are too unreliable and unstable to achieve four, six, or eight oscillator FM synthesis. Analog FM falls apart after just two oscillators modulating each other, due to analog oscillators instability.
Other than that are very negligible differences between analog and digital subtracrive synthesizers.
Sampling? It's a form of subtractive synthesis for the most part, starting out with rich in harmonics waveforms then using filters to chisel those harmonics out.
Phase Modulation? Similar to FM, since DX and TX-series synthesizers do in fact use phase modulation to implement FM.
Granular Synthesis? Just a recording manipulation technique, like phrase loops, vector "synthesis", and wave sequencing.
Physical modeling? Now we're talking real synthesis. Mathematical models of drivers and resonators. I am not talking about "analog" physical modeling, D-50 does that very well with its square wave generator with variable pulse width. I am talking about physical modeling of acoustic instruments, like the one used in Yamaha VL1, VP1, Roland V-Piano, and Pianoteq.
thanks for sharing!
very good series!!
I don't care for the t-shirt but if there was a Dean Friedman line of designer pizzas I'd put a few in my freezer.
who are unliking such video? just can't understand that...it is like he filmed this video in the '80s for the future
youtube era. :)
This is great, thank you
Thank you
Regarding DCWs and Modulators on a DX7 I believe that is the closest analogy. BTW, have you checked out my video titled: MMTA Spring SYNTHFEST 2013: Dave Bristow & The History of Yamaha FM Synthesis ?
Yes, thats what i meant thanks. i tried to zoom in on it and it looks like you have VDA 1,2,3 to the left (ie. next to the OCS's), then on its own VDA 4 (i think it says).
Not sure. Dean didn't say. It would have be after 1988 as the M1 is featured in the video.
this is amazing
Noob here - learning a little audio terms. Does anyone happen to know if "Phase Distortion" means altering the harmonics that get created from the main freq, or something else? Like shifting the harmonics "off their linear multiple frequency" and/or the amplitude of the harmonic frequencies - or is it a different concept? thanks
Oh yeh, thats a good idea !! Do you know which model of CZ the synth is becuse it seems there are many !!
So DCW is more or less the same as a MODULATOR on the DX7 ??
@ 13:25 there is (far right) a DCA button at the end of the chain. Is this like a MASTER Amplifier for the 3 x DCA's which occur earlier in the chain ??
All synths are simple after these concepts...(I knew the 80's rocked!)
i dont get while there is a knob for the sustain level?? So if the knob is in the middle of sustain level and you hold the note down does it keep playing?
thank you ....
this is so cool.
Nodoby mentioning & cherishing the (probable) first ever VSTi? :-)
Awesome
Ta man. i never heard of the Casio range before.
@4:20, on the Korg M1, what does 'Slope Time' and 'Break Point' mean please ??
and still relevant! still in that Goldilocks zone that old freedman ;P hilarious dude, and so righteous too, what with the pizza and adjustable roller skates humor.
Quality!
This video is "sonic gold" !!
hello sir. i saw your video it is funtast. i have yamaha cs1.x and i want to learn how to use . can you pleas teach me.?
Why doesn't he mention PPG Wavetable synthesis? Wolfgang Palm created an interesting analog-digital hybrid synth with cycling wavetables
Digital Controlled Waveform. Search for Casio CZ synthesizers on Wikipedia.
@3:23, on the Casio CZ, what does 'DCW' stand for please ??
watching this in 2013, and using reason 5, and seeing the voice editing system in the computer at 23:35 "let's make use of this EXTREMELY helpful computer system" and i'm like THANK YOU it is right on that shit all up in it shit. rawesome. thanks fellow producer dm fife for the link and you all please excuse me for expressing my innermost feelings in the comments section on youtube. thnx there ya douche XP whoever you are. (justincase, there always are and they obv need the attention XD. muchluv
Why do the EG envelopes have a fixed peak? What if I want a sound that goes up slowly then at the "peak" it goes faster up till the sustain and then goes down at release.
Some synths have variations on the ADSR so you can have 2-pseudo-attack portion (what i think you want?). I have any old yammy synth with ADDSR with also an initial level and delay to the env trigger point.
CZ-101, CZ-1000, CZ-3000 & CZ-5000.
So with the advent of partially sampled sounds, they pretty much gave up on synthesizing complete real instrumnts? Is that correct or are scientists still trying to achieve thar?
Anybody know the sound at the beginning please ?
that's called the intro
love your pic ;-)