I tried to order one of these used texts from Amazon but the pinheads
won't ship to Canada :-(
PLL, BFG
Adam Schabtach wrote:
> Boy, this takes me back. I knew Devarahi when he was writing that book
> (and
> yes, I have a copy on my shelf). He wrote it originally as a textbook for
> the class he taught at the local community college in Eugene, OR. I was in
> high school at the time and hence couldn't take the class, but my cousin
> took it and I managed to drop in occasionally. The original title was "The
> Secret Guide to Synthesizers" and its first printing was velo-bound
> photocopies for the class. He was a great teacher--one of those rare
> individuals driven from his heart to convey knowledge and enthusiasm to
> others.
>
> Eventually I visited his home studio a few times. He had a bunch of
> now-vintage stuff, including two 2600s and an ARP Sequencer, a Moog
> vocoder,
> an EML Poly Box (I think that's what it was called--funny thing with a
> one-octave keyboard in a bright orange box, which somehow generated a
> polyphonic signal from an input), a Roland tape delay of some sort, a big
> Emu modular tucked away in the basement ("I don't use it much these
> days"),
> a TASCAM eight-channel reel-to-reel deck, a rather new TR-808, and a brand
> new wonder called a Prophet 5.
>
> He was great with synthesizers, of course, but he could also play some
> wicked rock piano. He used to do gigs playing 50s and 60s standards under
> the name Ace Luxo, with nothing but a Rhodes and a mic. I lost touch with
> him when he moved away from Eugene and I left for college shortly
> thereafter. I made contact briefly with him about five or so years ago but
> again lost touch. At that time he was still involved with music education,
> this time utilizing tools such as interactive CD-ROMs. He'd sold the
> modular
> by then. :-(
>
> His book is a good text on analog synthesizer technique, to be sure. The
> writing is a little uneven and the illustrations are hand drawn, but as an
> introductory/intermediate text on analog synthesis, I don't think that
> anyone has beat it yet. The other artifact that I have is a cassette
> dub of
> an outdoor concert he played on the Eugene mall one summer day, as one of
> his many attempts to introduce electronic music to a wider audience.
> The set
> included covers of songs by Kraftwerk and UK as well as some
> originals. This
> was cutting-edge stuff: imagine two guys doing live electronic music on a
> summer day at an outdoor mall, with a Prophet 5 as the most sophisticated
> instrument on hand. The rest was all analog; between songs, one guy talked
> while the other guy patched. I still have one of the flyers for the show
> tucked inside the book.
>
> Obviously he was a big influence on me, since here I am, 25 years later,
> building modules and reminiscing.
>
> --Adam
>
> > I've seen the Devarahi book go for $60-80. There's one at an ebay store
> > now
> > for $59.95. It has the widest selection of vintage photos I've seen,
> > including rarities like the SMS Modular System and the Wavemaker 6.
> FWIW
> > the Wavemaker 6 photo is a stock publicity shot that also appeared in
> > Polyphony.
> >
> > John Loffink
> > The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
> > http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com
> > The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site
> > http://www.wavemakers-synth.com
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: motm@yahoogroups.com [mailto:motm@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> > >
> > > > "The complete guide to synthesizers" by Devarahi (1982
> Prentice-Hall)
> > >
> > > This book is worth over $250 :)
> > >
> > > Reason: only 500 were made, then all but a few of those destroyed
> > because
> > > the author/publisher did not get permission for the photographs. The
> > > rarest synth book.
> > >
> > > Paul S.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ∗Yahoo! Groups Links∗
>
> ∗ To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/motm/
>
> ∗ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
>
> ∗ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.
>
>