h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Great subject and treatment. It seems pretty thorough to a layman like myself.

You may not want to expand, but the history of the synthesizer would probably seem incomplete without mention of proponents that made it popular enough to last.

I'm certain that their are several recognizable music luminaries that would qualify for inclusion as early users and promoters of the devices. One which springs to mind was Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. His may have even been a pre-production model, I'm not sure I remember; but, he was one of the first to bring it into the recording studio.

Thanks for the kind comments, as for the history of the synthesiser I was looking more at the origins of it being produced rather than the whole history of it's usage. But maybe a change of title for that section would be in order.

I agree with the first posting - outstanding overview, very useful and accurate. Isn't it a sod trying to indicate synthesizer sounds in type? I believe bzwang is one standard term for filter-swept sawtooth waves...

The history of these things is a microcosm of fashion. I bought a Korg MS-200 back in the mid seventies when it was pretty much state of the art. It cost an arm, a leg, and several pints of blood. By the mid eighties digital was everything and I could not have sold it if I had wanted to - it had become an embarrassment, rather like having a typewriter instead of a computer on your desk would be nowadays. However...

By the nineties, the pendulum had swung and the big fat analogue sound was back. I advertised it (once) and had so many people wanting it that I conducted what amounted to an auction. It sold in the end for more than I paid for it.

Anyway, nice entry. Keep on oscillating!

You should have kept it!

I think a list of bands who use analog synthesizers regularly should be included.