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

Entry: Synthesizers: an overview - A27524360
Author: a_a_e - common sense is what tells you that the world is flat - U8640200

This has been stewing in the writing workshop for a few days but nobody is saying anything. First entry.

ok, first a couple of style issues:

Links to other h2g2 entries can only be to Edited Guide entries, like the one you used for Moog. The *effects or signal processors* link is not to an EGE, so I'm afraid that it will have to be removed.

Your footnotes should have a fullstop at the end of each one.

Ok, that the cosmetic stuff out of the way.

>>If you are using a piece of software you don't need to do this, the sound will come from of the soundcard's output.<<
You still need a cable to connect the synthesizer to your computer's MIDI input port

>>The most humdrum waveforms are as follows.<< Suggest this is better expressed as:

>>The basic settings of a filter are<< neds a colon at the end

Same with >>These are the most common.<<

1980's >> 1980s

What's happening with the >>All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy<< header?

I'll have another read later

The Moog link is a BBC news link. Are these okay?

The software bit was about audio cables. I've tried to clear this up but I think there is a bit of confusion in that para. Working on it.

Done the rest

Ah, last bit, not sure if I'm finished or not. Might sum up with a run down of all time greats.

BBC news links are fine.

Cleared up confusion in the second para

It looks good to me. I have to confess, tho, its been a long time since I though much about the details.

I have settled on Ableton Live as my music software of choice, mostly because of the "live" playing features. And they give me plenty of software synths to play with, along with both audio and MIDI effects. (The latter being pretty cool, IMHO). I torture the whole shebang with an m-Audio "MIDI controller" - not a lot of piano style keys, but lots of knobs and buttons, assignable to the knobs and buttons in Ableton Live.

- Steve K.

I like this a lot. It starts from the very basics but isn't afraid to tackle the vital technical bits, and is obviously written by someone who knows his stuff. Classic EG material .

What would I change? Well, first time reading through I noticed you'd gone straight into envelope shaping without actually describing how the note is produced in the first place. For consistency, you need to say something about how conventional instruments produce sound (e.g. a string wobbling at a particular rate), and then go on to say that a synthesiser uses an oscillator to create the sound directly. Just a very quick, basic intro before the "That sounds ghastly" section.

db-> dB (technical pedantry)

Not sure about the Z in synthesizer either, but am open to persuasion.

Footnote 3. When you describe this as the peak to trough ratio, I think of amplitude. I'd call this the mark to space ratio.

And you need to finish the last para

Why is there a subheader at the end with nothing under it?

Are you still working on this, a_a_e?

There's some first-person which isn't allowed: <> if you could sort that I don't think there's too much left for the sub-ed to fix.

I rather thought the final subheader was the closing line, but it does look a bit stand-outish. If it were switched to tags instead it would look better

GB

a_a_e have you abandoned this? Makings of a good piece but various suggestions appear to be un-addressed in the last couple of months...

Can I tempt you out with some ?

Speller

Or an ???

???!!!?!?!

Go on then.

I've taken out the first person from the bulk of the entry but left it in the sub-headers for the time being as it is part of a humorous conceit.

I'm not sure about synthesizers with a z either. Could be American, not sure. I will find out.

I will finish the last para as a run down of great synths/great synth makers.

I really enjoyed re-reading this - I am NOT an expert in the field so you could be writing utter gibberish BUT it makes sense, and I learnt some things! - so Excellent!
NOW - some nit-picking (it's what I do!)

"Pulse waveforms look a bit like a square wave but the peak to trough ratio is not equal. You could call the rectangle waves" - I think that should be them rectangle waves ?

"White/Pink noise is available on some synthesizers and can be used to make percussion sounds or stupid wind noises" I would remove "stupid"

"It is after this process of designing timbre by harmonic interference that the sound will be routed through a filter or number of filters" 'one, or a number' ?

"This is because filters, you may be scandalised to find out," I would drop the sarcasm down a little to "unsurprisingly"

I don't think your "filters" bullets should have full-stops in them (possibly)

In the Praise Bob section - you could link Stevie Wonder to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A3477954

Still in the Praise Bob section there are some unwieldy sentences... e.g. "Despite early analogue synthesizers being monophonic, tonally unstable and without a patch memory or a generic control system such as MIDI they remain popular for their "organic", "fat" and even "hot-juicylicous" sound which some feel is lacking from the more prevalent and reliable modern digital synthesizers." that might do with some breaking down to make them more readable (IMHO)

The list of common module acronyms looks messy and I think would look better with the acronym on the same line as the explanation possibly

And still the ending...

As I said - I like the entry BUT a little work still to do I think...

Speller

Cheers Speller. I've done most of that. Left the sarcasm and stupid wind noises in (they are stupid). Done some deunwieldyficationalisation and put another link in. Good point about the full stops, I'm not sure what the standard is. I'll try to find out...

"Great synths of all time The Access Virus The Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 The Roland TB303 The Fairlight CMI (computer musical instrument) The Moog MiniMoog The Korg MS20 The Arp Odessy Casio CZ series NED synclavier system Yamaha DX7 The Thingythingy Placeholder"

Does that make any sense?

nly f ths ds!

Well, I could understand that better than the last paragraph of the entry!

Try this:

"Great synths of all time: The Access Virus, The Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, The Roland TB303, The Fairlight CMI (computer musical instrument), The Moog MiniMoog, The Korg MS20, The Arp Odessy, Casio CZ series, NED synclavier system, Yamaha DX7, The Thingythingy Placeholder"

Much better! I get it now, it's a list of synths!

Any more comments here?

a_a_e, are you going to sort out that last paragraph? - see posts above ^^^