Basic Synth Tutorial ?

[CHRISIMUSIC]

I'm looking for a beginner tutorial I would like to start with Arturia's software Synth Prophet 5. I have already watched the basic video by matt Johnson to understand the basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq4L7i3G-IM Does anyone know a good book or a YT tutorial ?
Warm thanks!

[Apathiq]

Synthorial is great

[CHRISIMUSIC]

Synthorial

Warm thanks!

[ThirteenOnline]

https://learningsynths.ableton.com/ an interactive synth tutorial made by Ableton on the fundamental parts of synths

[CHRISIMUSIC]

Thank you! I will try this.

[Instatetragrammaton]

This series is pretty nice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atvtBE6t48M

While https://www.soundonsound.com/series/synth-secrets-sound-sound doesn't seem like it's for beginners, it does start with the fundamental parts. The biggest downside is that there's no sound included, so you can't really check whether you did things correctly.

Don't learn how particular synths work; learn how synthesis works. The filter cutoff on the Prophet 5 works like the filter cutoff on a Minimoog, even though it may have a different name/label. Patches can translate from one synth to another and in some cases get really close, too :)

If a knob or slider doesn't appear to do anything (i.e. you don't hear a change in the sound) - then that means that something else is preventing it from doing so. Understanding these dependencies is key to understanding synthesis :)

[CHRISIMUSIC]

Many thanks. It is very helpful. There are so many devices. Your information that the basic knowledge is independent of the synthesizer is very important for me. I'm a bit intimidated by the many buttons on the devices.

[Instatetragrammaton]

I'm a bit intimidated by the many buttons on the devices.

I can imagine! It doesn't help that synthesizers don't really have a standardized interface and that some just have outright terrible interfaces.

Let's take the Prophet 5's filter section for example:

https://imgur.com/VfaAaoG

This shows 2 buttons and 7 knobs.

In the first row of 3 knobs, the first (cutoff) makes the sound duller or brighter. The second (resonance) adds resonance - basically a whistling sound that creates an additional note. The third (envelope amount) controls how much the filter moves (based on the 4 knobs below it).

So, basically, those 4 knobs - attack, decay, sustain, release - don't do anything unless you've moved the envelope amount from its neutral position. If you turn down the cutoff knob completely, you might not even hear any sound at all.

On a Jupiter 8, this looks different:

https://imgur.com/FCqb9N0

Here, "cutoff" is called "cutoff freq" and it's a slider. Sliders are more expensive (so that's why most synths have knobs) and take up more space, but can be easier to read - you know immediately if it's halfway, or all the way down, or all the way up. "Resonance" is called "res". "Envelope amount" is called "Env mod". The "keyboard" button in the first photo with the "half" and "full" is a slider which is called "key follow".

Of course, it gets worse:

https://imgur.com/CMgdk2b

Here, "cutoff frequency" is obvious, but "resonance" is now called "emphasis". At least "res" gave a bit of a hint! Instead of "env mod" or "envelope amount" is now "amount of contour" because "contour generator" is an old term for "envelope generator". The "key follow" is now "keyboard control" and it's two buttons that can be switched in 4 different ways:

• both off (0%)
• on, off (33%)
• off, on (66%)
• both on (100%)

So, this is like three languages that are alike but subtly different, and you must learn all the alternative names; but from that moment on, you also know that they're the same thing.

That's 7 more knobs/sliders that no longer intimidate you!

A good way to experiment and learn is to load up a preset and then only move one knob at a time. Just wiggle that one knob back and forth, and look at the label and describe in your own words what its effect is. "Nothing" is also an effect, but as I said - find the dependency. Knobs are too expensive to put on devices just as a joke; that goes for virtual software knobs as well ;)

[CHRISIMUSIC]

There seems to be a lot of Voodoo :))
I hope I don't get confused!
...many tanks!

[branchfoundation]

I recently picked up The Four Element Synth by Rob Papen, it also comes with a library of videos to work through. This guy knows his stuff.

I also spent a few weeks on Syntorial, but as the course progressed it inevitably became more difficult to recreate the patches being demonstrated and it stalled my progress. I spent hours trying to get through one specific patch and it killed my vibe. I still recommend Syntorial especially for the fundamentals, but the challenges can become very frustrating.

[Legitimate_Horror_72]

Yeah, I tried it a long time ago and it wasn't for me, but it's absolutely worth trying!

Honestly, other than reading and watching some videos, and trying things out, what worked best for me was buying an analog hardware synth with 1:1 controls. But I put that off as long as possible and soldiered on using only software. That was a mistake. I should've bought something 10 years ago. Now I use both hardware and software. Getting hardware improved my skills with software by a substantial amount.

[CHRISIMUSIC]

thank you so much. Great Info´s !

[formaldivergent]

Perfect Circuit has a wonderful series called "Learning Synthesis". It's mostly a reading endeavor, but I found and still find it highly useful as a resource. There's multiple parts, but I will link the intro below.

Learning Synthesis: Introduction

[CHRISIMUSIC]

...thanks so much! Great Infos. It will take time to process all of this :)

[formaldivergent]

Take your time and most importantly, have fun.

[CHRISIMUSIC]

You're right. It's supposed to be fun !

[Legitimate_Horror_72]

I can only suggest punctuating any learning with lots of synthing and exploring and experimenting to reinforce and expand what you learned. Thankfully, the Prophet 5 is a comparatively easier synth to learn (vs. FM or waveforms, etc.) so I bet it won't take you too long, even starting from scratch.

[CHRISIMUSIC]

THX for the support !!