Those of us who have worked with them for years can breeze past the basics without stopping. For beginners, though, that’s a recipe for confusion. I can’t teach you everything in these basics-oriented columns, but I can give you a foundation to build on.
I first encountered synths in 1976, when I began working as Keyboard magazine’s assistant editor. At first, I had no idea what all those knobs and sliders did, but I had fun poking around. A few months later, I started editing Bob Moog’s monthly column. When I had questions, I could pick up the phone and ask the man himself. You couldn’t get a better education than that.