As an independent publication from the team behind Bjooks, we bring the same care, quality, and passion you know from the books. Go Pro to dive into in-depth articles, artist interviews, podcast episodes, short documentaries, exclusive special offers, and the Bjooks ebooks – over 2,000 pages of synth-spiration! Or choose the Core Membership for instant access to the ebook library. Discover, learn, and stay inspired – wherever you are on your synth journey.
For Saytek, Jeremy Arndt, and Chihei Hatakeyama, playing live is about striking a balance between planning and improvisation, connection and control. Here, they share their gear, setups, and philosophies on bringing electronic music to the stage.
Step inside the world of prog legend Rick Wakeman. In this episode, he recalls wild Yes concerts, Bob Moog’s on-stage tinkering, and how the Minimoog gave keyboardists new power. Hear stories, insights, and why Rick still calls the Mini the greatest synth ever made.
Composer, sound designer, and multi-instrumentalist Heidi Chan bridges folk traditions and modular experiments. This interview follows a journey from taiko drumming to Eurorack – exploring the instruments, interfaces, and inspirations at the heart of the creative process.
For Saytek, Jeremy Arndt, and Chihei Hatakeyama, playing live is about striking a balance between planning and improvisation, connection and control. Here, they share their gear, setups, and philosophies on bringing electronic music to the stage.
Step inside the world of prog legend Rick Wakeman. In this episode, he recalls wild Yes concerts, Bob Moog’s on-stage tinkering, and how the Minimoog gave keyboardists new power. Hear stories, insights, and why Rick still calls the Mini the greatest synth ever made.
The Otamatone may look like a quirky toy, but its company, Maywa Denki, is anything but ordinary. From surreal instruments to art-as-commerce performances, Adam Douglas delves into their playful, puzzling world in a conversation with President Novmichi Tosa.
Composer, sound designer, and multi-instrumentalist Heidi Chan bridges folk traditions and modular experiments. This interview follows a journey from taiko drumming to Eurorack – exploring the instruments, interfaces, and inspirations at the heart of the creative process.
From AI-powered fraud hunting to unlocking “the tingle scale” in modular synthesis, Cinematic Laboratory reveals the secret recipes, hidden techniques, and gear ecosystems behind his truly cinematic, spine-tingling sound worlds.
Celebrate Roland’s legacy with Inspire the Music – 50 Years of Roland History! Today only: get 25% off the stunning hardcover, plus free access to the complete eBook. Don’t miss this chance to dive into five decades of innovation, design, and sound.
Guide to Hamamatsu, home to Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai, Japan’s true synthesizer city. See legendary synths at Yamaha, Korg’s first prototype, and hunt for treasures at Sonix and Hard Off, or stop by Kawai’s showroom. This UNESCO City of Music is a pilgrimage for synth fans.
Allen Strange’s book “Electronic Music” became a landmark guide to modular synthesis in the ’70s, blending technical clarity with creativity. Decades later, its ideas still inspire. We take an introductory look...
Psychedelic pioneer Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) reveals his love for synthesizers, fixed-format modulars, and the magic of tremolo. From rare EMS Synthis to Casios, he blends experimentation and melody, shaping modern psych for artists like MGMT, Beach House, and Panda Bear.
For Jermaine Dupri, the 808 is more than gear; it’s the soul of his sound. Here’s how its iconic punch powered hits from Kris Kross to Mariah Carey.
The Roland TR-808 gets celebrated each year on the 8th of August. Here's a roundup on some interesting articles we've gathered.
The TR-808 didn’t just mark Roland’s leap into the 1980s; it redefined what a drum machine could be. With its bold design, tweakable analog sounds, and easy TR-REC programming, it became the heartbeat of countless genres, from pop to hip-hop, and remains an icon in music technology today.
Now you can enjoy SYNTH GEMS 1 as an ebook – right here on your screen, whether on your phone, tablet or computer – as long as you have an internet connection. Sign up for our Core membership where you get access to SYNTH GEMS 1 and six other titles.
Since its beginnings in 1972, Roland has become one of the most influential music brands in modern history. In 400 photo-packed pages, this book tells the story of how they got there, and how they brought the music world along for the ride.
Get creative and inspired from 200+ tips and ideas and creator interviews. Learn about all the different effects types, what to get for your type of music, and how to get the most of what you already have.
Random voltage generators bring organic variation to synth patches. Learn how smooth, stepped, and trigger-based randomness can add life, unpredictability, and evolving textures to your sounds.
LFOs bring movement to synthesis by modulating parameters like filter cutoff and pulse width. Learn about waveform types, sync, delay, and how to shape modulation for evolving, expressive sounds.
Envelope generators shape how a sound evolves over time – from percussive hits to swelling textures. Learn the basics of AD, ADSR, and looping envelopes, and how they control amplitude, filters, and timbre in a synthesizer.
Waveshaping alters the harmonic makeup of a waveform to create new timbres. Learn how techniques like saturation, rectification, and wavefolding shape sound, and how modulating these parameters brings movement and complexity.
Filter resonance – also called Q or emphasis – boosts harmonics near the cutoff point, creating vowel-like tones and dramatic peaks. Learn how resonance shapes sound and brings filters to life in expressive, musical ways.
A filter’s slope determines how steeply it removes harmonics beyond the cutoff point. Learn how 1-, 2-, 4-, and even 8-pole filters shape sound with increasing intensity – from subtle roll-offs to dramatic tonal sculpting.
Filters shape sound by removing or reducing harmonics. Learn how low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch filters work – and how adjusting the cutoff frequency creates dramatic changes in tone and texture.
Noise in synthesis comes in many "colors" – from white and pink to blue, brown, and beyond – each with unique frequency content. Discover how different noise types sound and why no two noise modules sound exactly the same.
Explore how different oscillator waveforms – like sawtooth, pulse, triangle, and sine – affect the harmonic content and character of a sound.
Discover the core concepts of pitch and volume in this first installment of our Basic Concepts series. Learn how oscillators, frequency, amplitude, and voltage shape the sound in a synthesizer.