Make: Electronic Music from Scratch: A Beginner's Guide to Homegrown Audio Gizmos Paperback – October 1, 2024

I wholeheartedly recommend “Electronic Music from Scratch: A Beginner's Guide to Homegrown Audio Gizmos!” I bought it because I’m learning electronics and thought examples of circuits with practical applications would be helpful. The circuits in this book are not only functional but also produce sounds that are genuinely fun to experiment with. However, what truly sets this book apart isn’t just the circuits—it’s the way it’s written.The engaging style, fantastic illustrations, and a mix of anecdotes, humor, and historical insights make it stand out. The author’s commentary on electronics, their creators, and their cultural significance, occasionally laced with political undertones, adds a unique dimension. On top of that, the book introduces readers to experimental music and art, which quickly became my favorite part. Without it, I might never have discovered pieces like “I Am Sitting in a Room” or “Variations pour une porte et un soupir”. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a curated list of music recommendations spanning genres, all tied to the world of synthesizers.I haven’t built every circuit or experiment in the book. I started out building as I read, but I was so captivated by the content that I eventually prioritized reading. While I still returned to my breadboard for many experiments, I skipped a fair number along the way. I’ll try to get back to them now.For readers more interested in music than electronics, I can’t say for sure how they’ll experience the book, but I imagine they’d enjoy it too. In my case, it even sparked a newfound interest in music—though I don’t expect to produce anything remarkable; even doorbells seem to go out of tune when I try.One thing to note: if you’re new to electronics, be prepared to invest in components—possibly more than the cost of the book itself. If you already have some components, you’ll likely find many of them reusable.I’m genuinely glad I came across this book and I’ll have it close to the bench for some time. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone curious about analog synthesizers or just starting out in electronics.

Awesome book with a lot of really good info. Written in a funny way that’s easy to u derstand. I bought it for all the schematics but it teaches you all kinds of stuff from basic to advanced. Def buy it if you’re into this stuff

Just like my favorite content creators like 3Blue1Brown or Technology Connections, the author here takes a subject that seems intimidating from the outset and using simple language, potent metaphor and a good bit of comedy invites me (the reader) to dive deeper and deeper. It's taken physics concepts that I've never understood and explained them in such a way that I understand them to the point that I can play and experiment on my own. I bought this book on a whim, and halfway through I can't put it down.The drawings and writing are filled with personality and humor. If you're a parent, get this book for (you and) your teenager--it's going to open up a new world of tinkering for them. Or rather, it's going to help them experience the wonder of this world. If you're not a parent, get this book for yourself and get ready to learn, laugh, love (is that the living room poster?).

Easy to read, approachable for beginners, great illustrations, fun projects!

If you do not know what a NPN transistor symbol is, or the correct orientation for an LED to light (both in error in this book), you might enjoy this book or learn a semi-correct smattering of electronics. If you know ANY electronics, you will find a "misstatement" or downright error on every other page. I will not even address the "electronics is SO HARD you need not know the fundamentals" attitude. Shame on the "Make:" publishers for not assigning an editor to bring this book up to an elementary level. And where does the author (using the royal "we") hang out to hear parts of a potentiometer referred to "nose and cheeks"?

I have mixed feelings about this book, hence the 3 starts. In terms of useful ideas, it's a good resource of practical circuits for synthesizing electronic sounds. In terms of education, it leaves a lot to be desired. Some of the circuits are explained reasonably well, some hardly get any explanation at all, including some of the more complex circuits that are begging to be described in detail, but aren't. Many of the explanations are either vague, misleading or simply wrong. I get that the author is trying to make the material accessible to beginners, but I think he goes too far in dumbing things down. He also tries to be engaging by being funny or cute with his descriptions, but I found this just gets in the way of actually understanding how things work. I've been in the audio electronics industry for 30 years as an engineer designing high performance analog ICs, so it grates on my nerves when I read explanations of circuit behavior that I know are inaccurate, and there's quite a bit of that happening in this book. But I won't discourage people from buying the book because it does have a lot to offer. It would just be so much better if the author gave his readers credit for being able to handle more technically accurate descriptions of how electronics works.

Excellent how to guide! Highly recommended for all electronic music enthusiasts. Plus great illustrations.