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A '''synthesizer''' (also '''synthesiser''' or '''synth''') is an [[Engineering:Electronic musical instrument|electronic musical instrument]] that generates [[Engineering:Audio signal|audio signal]]s. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating [[Waveform|waveform]]s through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as [[Engineering:Audio filter|filters]], which cut or boost [[Physics:Audio frequency|frequencies]]; [[Engineering:Envelope (music)|envelopes]], which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting [[Physics:Timbre|timbre]]. Synthesizers are typically played with [[Engineering:Musical keyboard|keyboards]] or controlled by [[Engineering:Music sequencer|sequencers]], software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via [[MIDI]].

{{Listen
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 | description  = Composed and performed on the Synclavier II in the Bregman Electronic Music Studio, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
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Synthesizer-like instruments emerged in the United States in the mid-20th century with instruments such as the RCA Mark II, which was controlled with punch cards and used hundreds of vacuum tubes. The [[Engineering:Moog synthesizer|Moog synthesizer]], developed by [[Biography:Robert Moog|Robert Moog]] and first sold in 1964, is credited for pioneering concepts such as [[Engineering:Voltage-controlled oscillator|voltage-controlled oscillator]]s, envelopes, [[Noise generator|noise generator]]s, filters, and sequencers. In 1970, the smaller, cheaper [[Engineering:Minimoog|Minimoog]] standardized synthesizers as self-contained instruments with built-in keyboards, unlike the larger [[Engineering:Modular synthesizer|modular synthesizer]]s before it. 

In 1978, Sequential Circuits released the [[Engineering:Prophet-5|Prophet-5]], which used [[Engineering:Microprocessor|microprocessor]]s to allow users to store sounds for the first time. MIDI, a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments, was introduced in 1982 and remains an industry standard. The [[Engineering:Yamaha DX7|Yamaha DX7]], launched in 1983, was a major success and popularized digital synthesis. [[Software:Software synthesizer|Software synthesizer]]s now can be run as [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-ins]] or embedded on microchips. In the 21st century, [[Engineering:Analog revival|analog synthesizers returned to popularity]] with the advent of cheaper manufacturing and the increasing popularity of [[Social:Synthwave|synthwave]] music starting in the 2010s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-28 |title=Rise of the Synthwave: Popularity of the Retrowave and Origins |url=https://newretro.net/blogs/main/rise-of-the-synthwave-popularity-of-the-retrowave-and-origins#:~:text=This%20new%20music%20was%20often,popular%20genres%20of%20electronic%20music. |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Newretro.Net |language=en}}</ref>

Synthesizers were initially viewed as [[Philosophy:Avant-garde|avant-garde]], valued by the 1960s psychedelic and [[Philosophy:Counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural]] scenes but with little perceived commercial potential. ''Switched-On Bach'' (1968)'','' a bestselling album of Bach compositions arranged for synthesizer by Wendy Carlos, took synthesizers to the mainstream. They were adopted by electronic acts and pop and rock groups in the 1960s and 1970s and were widely used in 1980s music. Sampling, introduced with the [[Engineering:Fairlight CMI|Fairlight]] synthesizer in 1979, has influenced genres such as electronic and hip hop music. Today, the synthesizer is used in nearly every genre of music and is considered one of the most important instruments in the music industry. According to ''Fact'' in 2016, "The synthesizer is as important, and as ubiquitous, in modern music today as the human voice."<ref name="Fact-2016">{{Cite news |last=Twells |first=John |date=2016-09-15 |title=The 14 most important synths in electronic music history – and the musicians who use them |url=https://www.factmag.com/2016/09/15/14-most-important-synths/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=Fact |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Precursors ===
As [[Physics:Electricity|electricity]] became more widely available, the early 20th century saw the invention of [[Engineering:Electronic musical instrument|electronic musical instrument]]s including the [[Engineering:Telharmonium|Telharmonium]], [[Engineering:Trautonium|Trautonium]], [[Engineering:Ondes Martenot|ondes Martenot]] and [[Engineering:Theremin|theremin]].<ref name="Chadabe-2011">{{Cite web|url=http://emusician.com/tutorials/electronic_century1/index1.html|title=The Electronic Century Part I: Beginnings|last=Chadabe|first=Joel|date=2011-09-14|website=Electronic Musician|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914022718/http://emusician.com/tutorials/electronic_century1/index1.html|archive-date=14 September 2011|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref> In the late 1930s, the Hammond Organ Company built the [[Engineering:Novachord|Novachord]], a large instrument powered by 72 voltage-controlled amplifiers and 146 [[Physics:Vacuum tube|vacuum tube]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stewart|first=Dave|date=October 2010|title=Soniccouture Novachord|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/soniccouture-novachord|access-date=2021-06-19|website=Sound on Sound}}</ref> In 1948, the Canadian engineer Hugh Le Caine completed the [[Engineering:Electronic sackbut|electronic sackbut]], a precursor to voltage-controlled synthesizers, with keyboard sensitivity allowing for vibrato, glissando, and [[Engineering:Envelope (music)|attack]] control.<ref name="Chadabe-2011" />

In 1957, Harry Olson and Herbert Belar completed the [[Engineering:RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer|RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer]] at the [[Company:RCA|RCA]] laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. The instrument read [[Engineering:Punched card|punched paper tape]] that controlled an [[Engineering:Analog synthesizer|analog synthesizer]] containing 750 vacuum tubes. It was acquired by the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center and used almost exclusively by Milton Babbitt, a composer at [[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]].<ref name="Chadabe-2011" />

=== 1960s: Early years ===
[[File:Bob Moog3.jpg|thumb|[[Biography:Robert Moog|Robert Moog]] with [[Engineering:Moog synthesizer|Moog synthesizer]]s. Many of Moog's inventions, such as [[Engineering:Voltage-controlled oscillator|voltage-controlled oscillator]]s, became standard in synthesizers.]]
The authors of ''Analog Days'' define "the early years of the synthesizer" as between 1964 and the mid-1970s, beginning with the debut of the [[Engineering:Moog synthesizer|Moog synthesizer]].{{r|Analog Days|p=7}} Designed by the American engineer [[Biography:Robert Moog|Robert Moog]], the instrument was a [[Engineering:Modular synthesizer|modular synthesizer]] system composed of numerous separate electronic modules, each capable of generating, shaping, or controlling a sound depending on how each module is connected to other modules by [[Patch cable|patch cable]]s.<ref name="Kozinn-2005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/arts/music/robert-moog-creator-of-music-synthesizer-dies-at-71.html|title=Robert Moog, Creator of Music Synthesizer, Dies at 71|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|work=The New York Times|date=23 August 2005 |access-date=2018-12-03|language=en}}</ref> Moog developed a means of controlling pitch through [[Physics:Voltage|voltage]], the [[Engineering:Voltage-controlled oscillator|voltage-controlled oscillator]].<ref name="McNamee-2010">{{Cite web |last=McNamee |first=David |date=2 August 2010 |title=Hey, what's that sound: Moog synthesisers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/02/moog-synthesisers |access-date=8 January 2020 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> This, along with Moog components such as [[Engineering:Envelope generator|envelopes]], [[Noise generator|noise generator]]s, [[Voltage-controlled filter|filters]], and [[Engineering:Music sequencer|sequencers]], became standard components in synthesizers.<ref name="Vail">{{Cite book|title=The Synthesizer|last=Vail|first=Mark|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-0195394894}}</ref><ref name="Analog Days" />

Around the same period, the American engineer Don Buchla created the Buchla Modular Electronic Music System.<ref name="Lee-2018" /> Instead of a conventional [[Engineering:Musical keyboard|keyboard]], Buchla's system used touchplates which transmitted control voltages depending on finger position and force.<ref name="Analog Days" /> However, the Moog's keyboard made it more accessible and marketable to musicians, and keyboards became the standard means of controlling synthesizers.<ref name="Analog Days" /> Moog and Buchla initially avoided the word ''synthesizer'' for their instruments, as it was associated with the RCA synthesizer; however, by the 1970s, it had become the standard term.<ref name="Analog Days" />

=== 1970s: Portability, polyphony and patch memory ===

In 1970, Moog launched a cheaper, smaller synthesizer, the [[Engineering:Minimoog|Minimoog]].<ref name="WaPo">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082200373.html|title=Robert Moog Dies; Created Electronic Synthesizer|last=Bernstein|first=Adam|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2005-08-23|access-date=2018-12-03|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="RedBullMinimoog">{{Cite web|url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/10/instrumental-instruments-minimoog|title=Red Bull Music Academy Daily|website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com|access-date=2018-11-28}}</ref> It was the first synthesizer sold in music stores,<ref name="Analog Days" /> and was more practical for live performance. It standardized the concept of synthesizers as self-contained instruments with built-in keyboards.<ref name="Wired">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/07/new-minimoog/|title=Clear Some Space on Your Synth Rack: The Minimoog Returns|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-11-28|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Franklin Crawford">Franklin Crawford (August 23, 2005). [https://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug05/Moog.obit.fac.html "Robert Moog, Ph.D. '64, inventor of the music synthesizer, dies of brain cancer"]. Cornell University News Service. Retrieved 4 May 2007.</ref> In the early 1970s, the British composer Ken Freeman introduced the first [[Engineering:String synthesizer|string synthesizer]], designed to emulate string sections.<ref name="Reid-2007">{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Gordon |date=February 2007 |title=Ken Freeman and the birth of string synthesis |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/people/ken-freeman-birth-string-synthesis |access-date=2016-09-27 |website=Sound on Sound |publisher=}}</ref> [[File:Minimoog.JPG|thumb|The [[Engineering:Minimoog|Minimoog]], introduced in 1970, was the first synthesizer sold in music stores.]]

After retail stores started selling synthesizers in 1971, other synthesizer companies were established, including ARP in the US and EMS in the UK.<ref name="Analog Days" /> ARP's products included the [[Engineering:ARP 2600|ARP 2600]], which folded into a carrying case and had built-in speakers, and the [[Engineering:ARP Odyssey|Odyssey]], a rival to the Minimoog.<ref name="Analog Days" /> The less expensive EMS synthesizers were used by European art rock and progressive rock acts including [[Biography:Brian Eno|Brian Eno]] and Pink Floyd.<ref name="Analog Days" /> Designs for synthesizers appeared in the amateur electronics market, such as a design published in ''Practical Electronics'' in 1973.<ref name="PEsynth">{{cite magazine |last=Shaw |first=G D |date=February 1973 |title=Sound Synthesiser |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Practical_Electronics.htm |access-date=10 January 2020 |magazine=Practical Electronics |page=140 |volume=9 |number=2}}</ref> By the mid-1970s, ARP was the world's largest synthesizer manufacturer,<ref name="Analog Days" /> though it closed in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/01/07/arp-instruments-founder-alan-r-pearlman-dies-aged-93/|title=ARP Instruments founder Alan R. Pearlman dies aged 93|date=2019-01-07|website=FACT Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-12 |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott }}</ref>

Early synthesizers were monophonic, meaning they could only play one note at a time. Some of the earliest commercial polyphonic synthesizers were created by the American engineer Tom Oberheim,<ref name="Lee-2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/electronic-music-early-history-of-the-synth|title=This is the early history of the synthesizer|last=Lee|first=Sammy|date=3 July 2018|website=Red Bull Music|access-date=2019-11-02}}</ref> such as the OB-X (1979).<ref name="Analog Days" /> In 1978, the American company Sequential Circuits released the [[Engineering:Prophet-5|Prophet-5]], the first fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer.{{r|group=|Vail|p=93|q1=||}} Whereas previous synthesizers required users to adjust cables and knobs to change sounds, with no guarantee of exactly recreating a sound,<ref name="Analog Days" /> the Prophet-5 used [[Engineering:Microprocessor|microprocessor]]s to store sounds in patch memory.<ref name="Fact-2016-1">{{Cite news|date=2016-09-15|title=The 14 most important synths in electronic music history – and the musicians who use them|language=en-US|work=Fact|url=https://www.factmag.com/2016/09/15/14-most-important-synths/|access-date=2024-03-04}}</ref> This facilitated a move from synthesizers creating unpredictable sounds to producing "a standard package of familiar sounds".{{r|Analog Days|p=385|||group=|q1=}}

=== 1980s: Digital technology ===
The synthesizer market grew dramatically in the 1980s.{{r|group=|Vail|p=57|q1=||}} 1982 saw the introduction of [[MIDI]], a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments; it remains an industry standard.<ref name="FACT-2017">{{Cite news|url=http://www.factmag.com/2017/04/02/ikutaro-kakehashi-life/|title=The life and times of Ikutaro Kakehashi, the Roland pioneer modern music owes everything to|date=2017-04-02|work=FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en-US}}</ref> An influential [[Engineering:Sampler (musical instrument)|sampling synthesizer]], the [[Engineering:Fairlight CMI|Fairlight CMI]], was released in 1979,<ref name="Fact-2016-1" /> with the ability to record and play back samples at different pitches.<ref name="Howell-2015" /> Though its high price made it inaccessible to amateurs, it was adopted by high-profile pop musicians including Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. The success of the Fairlight drove competition, improving sampling technology and lowering prices.<ref name="Howell-2015">{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/lost-art-sampling-part-1|title=The Lost Art Of Sampling: Part 1|last=Howell|first=Steve|date=August 2015|website=Sound on Sound|language=en-gb|access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref> Early competing samplers included the E-mu Emulator in 1981<ref name="Howell-2015" /> and the [[Engineering:Sampler (musical instrument)#Akai|Akai S-series]] in 1985.<ref name="MusicRadar-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/a-brief-history-of-sampling-604868|title=A brief history of sampling|work=MusicRadar|access-date=2018-10-12|language=EN-GB}}</ref>
[[File:Yamaha DX7 synthesizer - combined image with diagonal and top views.jpg|thumb|The [[Engineering:Yamaha DX7|Yamaha DX7]], released in 1983, was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer and was widely used in 1980s pop music.]]
In 1983, Yamaha released the first commercially successful [[Engineering:Digital synthesizer|digital synthesizer]], the [[Engineering:Yamaha DX7|Yamaha DX7]].<ref name="shepard2013">{{cite book|title=Refining Sound: A Practical Guide to Synthesis and Synthesizers|last=Shepard|first=Brian K.|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199376681|date=2013|quote=The first digital synthesizer to make it into the studios of everyone else, the Yamaha DX7, became one of the most commercially successful synthesizers of all time.}}</ref> Based on frequency modulation (FM) synthesis developed by the [[Organization:Stanford University|Stanford University]] engineer John Chowning,<ref name="holmes_257">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCthQ-bec-QC&pg=PA257|title=Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture|last=Holmes|first=Thom|publisher=[[Company:Taylor & Francis|Taylor & Francis]]|year=2008|isbn=978-0-415-95781-6|edition=3rd|page=257|chapter=Early Computer Music|access-date=2011-06-04}}</ref> the DX7 was characterized by its "harsh", "glassy" and "chilly" sounds, compared to the "warm" and "fuzzy" sounds of analog synthesis.<ref name="Fact-2016" /> The DX7 was the first synthesizer to sell more than 100,000 units{{r|group=|Vail|p=57|q1=||}}and remains one of the bestselling in history.<ref name="shepard2013" /><ref name="holmes_2572">{{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Thom |title=Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture |publisher=[[Company:Taylor & Francis|Taylor & Francis]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0415957816 |edition=3rd |page=257 |chapter=Early Computer Music |access-date=2011-06-04 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCthQ-bec-QC&pg=PA257}}</ref> It was widely used in 1980s pop music.<ref name="Brøvig-Hanssen-2016">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2SkCwAAQBAJ&q=%22bon+iver%22+dx7&pg=PA188|title=Digital Signatures: The Impact of Digitization on Popular Music Sound|last1=Brøvig-Hanssen|first1=Ragnhild|last2=Danielsen|first2=Anne|date=2016-02-19|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262034142|language=en}}</ref>

Digital synthesizers typically contained preset sounds emulating acoustic instruments, with algorithms controlled with menus and buttons.<ref name="Analog Days" /> The [[Engineering:Synclavier|Synclavier]], made with FM technology licensed from Yamaha, offered features such as [[Audio bit depth|16-bit sampling]] and digital recording. With a starting price of $13,000, its use was limited to universities, studios and wealthy artists.<ref>{{Cite web|last=April 2019|first=Computer Music10|title=Blast from the past: New England Digital Synclavier|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/blast-from-the-past-new-england-digital-synclavier|access-date=2020-09-19|website=MusicRadar|date=10 April 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=October 2019|first=Scot Solida28|title=The 10 synths and drum machines that defined the '80s|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/10-synths-that-defined-the-80s-213447|access-date=2020-09-19|website=MusicRadar|language=en}}</ref> The Roland D-50 (1987) blended Roland's linear arithmetic algorithm with samples, and was the first mass-produced synthesizer with built-in digital effects such as delay, reverb and chorus.{{r|group=|Vail|p=63|q1=||}} In 1988, the Japanese manufacturer Korg released the M1, a digital synthesizer [[Engineering:Music workstation|workstation]] featuring sampled [[Physics:Transient (acoustics)|transients]] and loops.<ref name="M1-Retrozone">{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-m1-retrozone|title=Korg M1 (Retrozone)|last=Vail|first=Mark|date=February 2002|website=Sound on Sound|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref> With more than 250,000 units sold, it remains the bestselling synthesizer in history.<ref name="M1-Retrozone" /> The advent of digital synthesizers led to a downturn in interest in analog synthesizers in the following decade.{{r|group=|Vail|p=59|q1=||}}

=== 1990s–present: Software synthesizers and analog revival ===
{{Main|Engineering:Analog revival}}
1997 saw the release of ReBirth by [[Company:Propellerhead Software|Propellerhead Software]] and Reality by [[Company:Seer Systems|Seer Systems]], the first [[Software:Software synthesizer|software synthesizer]]s that could be played in real time via MIDI.<ref name="Vail" /> In 1999, an update to the music software [[Software:Cubase|Cubase]] allowed users to run software instruments (including synthesizers) as [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-ins]], triggering a wave of new software instruments.<ref name="MusicRadar-ComputerMusic" /> Propellerhead's [[Philosophy:Reason|Reason]], released in 2000, introduced an array of recognizable virtual studio equipment.<ref name="MusicRadar-ComputerMusic">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/a-brief-history-of-computer-music-177299|title=A brief history of computer music|last=Tech|first=Computer Music Specials 2008-10-13T15:29:00 286Z|website=MusicRadar|date=13 October 2008|language=EN-GB|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>

The market for patchable and modular synthesizers rebounded in the late 1990s.{{r|group=|Vail|p=32|q1=||}} In the 2000s, older analog synthesizers regained popularity, sometimes selling for much more than their original prices.<ref name="Sound on Sound-2014">{{Cite web|date=March 2014|title=The Analogue Revival|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/analogue-revival|access-date=6 November 2019|website=Sound on Sound}}</ref> In the 2010s, new, affordable analog synthesizers were introduced by companies including Moog, Korg, [[Company:Arturia|Arturia]] and Dave Smith Instruments. The renewed interest is credited to the appeal of imperfect "organic" sounds and simpler interfaces, and modern [[Engineering:Surface-mount technology|surface-mount technology]] making analog synthesizers cheaper and faster to manufacture.<ref name="Sound on Sound-2014" />

== Impact ==
Early synthesizers were viewed as [[Philosophy:Avant-garde|avant-garde]], valued by the 1960s psychedelic and [[Philosophy:Counterculture of the 1960s|counter-cultural]] scenes for their ability to make new sounds, but with little perceived commercial potential. ''Switched-On Bach'' (1968)'','' a bestselling album of Bach compositions arranged for Moog synthesizer by Wendy Carlos, demonstrated that synthesizers could be more than "random noise machines",<ref name="Kozinn-2005" /> taking them to the mainstream.<ref name="Analog Days">{{cite book |last1=Pinch |first1=Trevor |last2=Trocco |first2=Frank |date=2004 |title=Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-01617-0}}</ref> However, debates were held about the appropriateness of synthesizers in [[History:Baroque music|baroque music]], and according to the ''Guardian'' they were quickly abandoned in "serious classical circles".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/aug/25/obituaries.guardianobituaries|title=Obituary: Robert Moog|last=Stearns|first=David Patrick|date=2005-08-25|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-01-13|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Today, the synthesizer is one of the most important instruments in the music industry,<ref name="borthwick2004p1202">{{harvnb|Borthwick|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=r4bmVbNSnk4C&dq=synthpop&pg=PA119 120]}}</ref> used in nearly every genre.{{r|Analog Days|p=7}} It is considered by the authors of ''Analog Days'' as "the only innovation that can stand alongside the electric guitar as a great new instrument of the age of electricity ... Both led to new forms of music, and both had massive popular appeal."{{r|Analog Days|p=7}} According to ''Fact'' in 2016, "The synthesizer is as important, and as ubiquitous, in modern music today as the human voice."<ref name="Fact-2016" />

=== Rock ===
[[File:Emerson moog.jpg|thumb|Keyboardist Keith Emerson performing with a Moog synthesizer in 1970]]The Moog was adopted by 1960s rock acts including the Doors, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Keith Emerson.<ref name="BBC News-2005">{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4696651.stm|title=Obituary: Dr Robert Moog|date=2005-08-22|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-03|language=en-GB}}</ref> Emerson was the first major rock musician to perform with the Moog and it became a trademark of his performances, helping take his band Emerson, Lake & Palmer to global stardom. According to ''Analog Days'', the likes of Emerson, with his Moog performances, "did for the keyboard what Jimi Hendrix did for the guitar".{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=200|q1=||}} String synthesizers were used by 1970s progressive rock bands including Camel, Caravan, Electric Light Orchestra, Gentle Giant and Renaissance.<ref name="Reid-2007" />

The portable Minimoog (1970), much smaller than the modular synthesizers before it, made synthesizers more common in live performance.<ref name="Franklin Crawford" /> Early synthesizers could only play one note at a time, making them suitable for basslines, leads and solos.<ref name="Red Bull">{{Cite web |last=Weiner |first=Sophie |date=20 October 2017 |title=Minimoog: The First Truly Portable Synthesizer |url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/10/instrumental-instruments-minimoog |access-date=2018-11-28 |website=Red Bull Music Academy}}</ref> With the rise of polyphonic synthesizers in the 1970s and 1980s, "the keyboard in rock once more started to revert to the background, to be used for fills and atmosphere rather than for soloing".{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=207|q1=||}} Queen included statements in their 1970s album notes specifying that no synthesisers had been used, but added them in their 1980 album ''The Game''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Snowden |first=Don |date=2012-05-23 |title=Robert Moog: 'I wouldn't call this music' – a classic interview to mark a Google doodle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/23/robert-moog-interview-google-doodle |access-date=2020-01-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="popmatters-game">{{cite web |title=Funk Rock and Synthesizers in Munich: Queen's 'The Game' at 40 |last1=Ingalls |first1=Chris |publisher=PopMatters |date=26 August 2020 |url= https://www.popmatters.com/queen-the-game-40-atr-2647087835.html |accessdate=4 August 2022}}</ref>

=== African-American music ===
The Minimoog took a place in mainstream African-American music, most notably in the work of Stevie Wonder,<ref name="Analog Days" /> and in jazz, such as the work of [[Unsolved:Sun Ra|Sun Ra]].<ref name="Red Bull" /> In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the Minimoog was widely used in the emerging [[Software:Disco|disco]] genre by artists including Abba and Giorgio Moroder.<ref name="Red Bull" /> Sampling, introduced with the [[Engineering:Fairlight CMI|Fairlight]] synthesizer in 1979, has influenced all genres of music<ref name="McNamee-2010" /> and had a major influence on the development of electronic and hip hop music.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trew |year=2017 |title=Hip-hop's most influential sampler gets a 2017 reboot |language=en-US |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/22/akai-mpc-live-mpc-x/ |access-date=2018-04-03}}</ref><ref name="Vox-2018">{{Cite news |title=Meet the unassuming drum machine that changed music forever |work=Vox |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/16/16615352/akai-mpc-music-history-impact |access-date=2018-05-11}}</ref>

=== Electronic music ===
In the 1970s, electronic music composers such as Jean Michel Jarre<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jean Michel Jarre {{!}} Biography, Albums, Streaming Links {{!}} AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jean-michel-jarre-mn0000230593 |access-date=2017-12-12 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> and Isao Tomita<ref name="jenkins_20072">{{citation |author=Mark Jenkins |title=Analog synthesizers: from the legacy of Moog to software synthesis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3EHIpo0DKwC&pg=PA133 |pages=133–4 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Company:Elsevier|Elsevier]] |isbn=978-0-240-52072-8 |access-date=2011-05-27 |author-link=Mark Jenkins (musician)}}</ref><ref name="allmusic_tomita2">{{allMusic|id=q6265|label=Tomita|access-date=2011-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Snowflakes Are Dancing |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/tomita/25745#/album/tomita/snowflakes-are-dancing-electronic-performances/85902/review |access-date=2011-05-28 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> released successful synthesizer-led instrumental albums. This influenced the emergence of synth-pop from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The work of German krautrock bands such as Kraftwerk<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kraftwerk |url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/4654-Kraftwerk |access-date=2017-12-12 |website=Discogs |language=en}}</ref> and Tangerine Dream, British acts such as John Foxx, Gary Numan and David Bowie, African-American acts such as George Clinton and Zapp, and Japanese electronic acts such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kitaro were influential in the development of the genre.<ref name="borthwick2004p1202" />

The sequencer-based [[Engineering:Roland TB-303|Roland TB-303]] (1981), in conjunction with the Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines, became a foundation of electronic dance music genres such as house and techno when producers acquired cheap second-hand units later in the decade.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2014-02-14 |title=Roland launch new versions of the iconic 808, 909 and 303 instruments |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/14/roland-launch-new-instruments-808-909-303 |access-date=2019-11-02 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The authors of ''Analog Days'' connect the synthesizer's origins in 1960s psychedelia to the raves and British "second summer of love" of the 1980s and the club scenes of the 1990s and 2000s.{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=321|q1=||}}

=== Pop ===
Gary Numan's 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" made heavy use of synthesizers.<ref name="Warren20012">{{citation |last=George-Warren |first=Holly |title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll |url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/707 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/707 707–734] |year=2001 |publisher=Fireside |isbn=0-7432-0120-5}}</ref><ref name="Robbins19912">{{citation |last=Robbins |first=Ira A |title=The Trouser Press Record Guide |page=473 |year=1991 |publisher=Maxwell Macmillan International |isbn=0-02-036361-3}}</ref> OMD's "Enola Gay" (1980) used distinctive electronic percussion and a synthesized melody. Soft Cell used a synthesized melody on their 1981 hit "Tainted Love".<ref name="borthwick2004p1202" /> Nick Rhodes, the keyboardist of Duran Duran, used synthesizers including the [[Engineering:Roland Jupiter-4|Roland Jupiter-4]] and Jupiter-8.<ref name="Black20032">{{citation |last=Black |first=Johnny |title=The Greatest Songs Ever! Hungry Like the Wolf |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=829 |journal=Blender |issue=January/February 2003 |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013131909/http://blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=829 |access-date=2008-04-16 |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Chart hits include Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981),<ref name="borthwick2004p1202" /> the Human League's "Don't You Want Me"<ref name="borthwick2004p1302">{{harvnb|Borthwick|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=r4bmVbNSnk4C&pg=PA129 130]}}</ref> and works by [[Software:Ultravox|Ultravox]].<ref name="borthwick2004p1202" />

In the 1980s, digital synthesizers were widely used in pop music.<ref name="Brøvig-Hanssen-2016" /> The Yamaha DX7, released in 1983, became a pop staple, used on songs by A-ha, Kenny Loggins, Kool & the Gang.<ref name="Fact-2016" /> Its "E PIANO 1" preset became particularly famous,<ref name="Fact-2016" /> especially for power ballads,<ref name="Guardian-DX7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/14/the-greatest-preset-sounds-in-pop-music|title=More synthetic bamboo! The greatest preset sounds in pop music|last=Simpson|first=Dave|date=2018-08-14|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-10-19}}</ref> and was used by artists including Whitney Houston, Chicago,<ref name="Guardian-DX7" /> Prince,<ref name="Brøvig-Hanssen-2016" /> Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, Billy Ocean,<ref name="Fact-2016" /> and Celine Dion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dummymag.com/features/borne-into-the-90s-pt1|title=Borne into the 90s [pt.1]|last1=Saxelby|first1=Ruth|website=Dummy Mag|language=en|access-date=September 15, 2011|archive-date=5 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405174504/http://www.dummymag.com/features/borne-into-the-90s-pt1|url-status=dead}}</ref> Korg M1 presets were widely used in 1990s house music, beginning with Madonna's 1990 single "Vogue".<ref name="Gizmodo">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/12/a-beginners-guide-to-the-synth/|title=A Beginner's Guide To The Synth|date=2015-12-29|website=Gizmodo Australia|language=en|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>

=== Film and television ===
Synthesizers are common in film and television soundtracks.{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=273|q1=||}} In 1969, Mort Garson used a Moog to compose a soundtrack for the televised footage of the Apollo 11 moonwalk, creating a link between electronic music and space in the American popular imagination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiner |first=Sophie |date=27 September 2016 |title=Mort Garson |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/09/mort-garson-feature |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Red Bull Music Academy |language=en}}</ref> ARP synthesizers were used to create sound effects for the 1977 science fiction films ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=9|q1=||}}'' and ''Star Wars'', including the "voice" of the robot R2-D2.{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=273|q1=||}} 

In the 1970s and 1980s, synthesizers were used in the scores for thrillers and horror films including ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971), ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), ''The Fog'' (1980) and ''Manhunter'' (1986). Brad Fiedel used a Prophet synthesizer to record the soundtrack for ''The Terminator'' (1984),<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stevenson|first=Seth|date=2014-02-26|title=What Is the Time Signature of the Ominous Electronic Score of The Terminator?|language=en-US|work=Slate|url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/02/the-time-signature-of-the-terminator-score-is-a-mystery-for-the-ages.html|access-date=2023-02-09|issn=1091-2339}}</ref> and the filmmaker John Carpenter used them extensively for his soundtracks.<ref name="SOS_July2016">{{cite magazine|author=Paul Tingen|title=John Carpenter - Film Director & Composer|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/john-carpenter|magazine=Sound on Sound|issue=July 2016}}</ref> Synthesizers were used to create themes for television shows including ''Knight Rider'' (1982)'', Twin Peaks'' (1990) and ''Stranger Things'' (2016).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ryZCdlXtpkNG3yRl3Y7pnh/a-tribute-to-the-synth-how-synthesisers-revolutionised-modern-music|title=A tribute to the synth: how synthesisers revolutionised modern music|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref>

=== Jobs ===
{{Quote box
| quote = "When we did a rerecorded version [of 'Video Killed the Radio Star'] for ''Top of the Pops'', the Musicians' Union bloke said, 'If I think you're making strings sounds out of a synthesiser, I'm going to have you. "Video Killed the Radio Star" is putting musicians out of business.{{' "}}
| author = —{{hair space}}Geoff Downes, keyboardist for synth-pop and new wave band the Buggles<ref>{{cite news|last=Simpson|first=Dave|date=30 October 2018|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/30/the-buggles-how-we-made-video-killed-the-radio-star|title=The Buggles: how we made Video Killed the Radio Star|work=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News & Media|access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref>
| align = right
| width = 27em
}}
The rise of the synthesizer led to major changes in the music industry, including job displacement, comparable to the 1920s arrival of [[Engineering:Sound film|sound in film]], which put live musicians accompanying silent films out of work.<ref>''From Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution,'' ''1890–1950'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).</ref> With its ability to imitate instruments such as strings and horns, the synthesizer threatened the jobs of session musicians by allowing one keyboardist or music programmer to produce the same range of sounds as an entire orchestra. For a period, the Moog was banned from use in union work, a restriction negotiated by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).<ref name="Analog Days" /> Robert Moog felt that the AFM had not realized that his instrument had to be studied like any other, and instead imagined that "all the sounds that musicians could make somehow existed in the Moog — all you had to do was push a button that said 'Jascha Heifetz' and out would come the most fantastic violin player".<ref>Interview with Bob Moog, ''Plug,'' Fall 1974, p.2.</ref>

The musician Walter Sear persuaded the AFM that the synthesizer demanded skill, and the category of "synthesizer player" was accepted into the union. However, players were subject to "suspicion and hostility" for years.{{r|group=|Analog Days|p=149|q1=||}} In 1982, following a tour by Barry Manilow using synthesizers instead of an orchestra, the British Musicians' Union attempted to ban synthesizers, attracting controversy.<ref name="MUhistory2">{{cite web|url=http://www.muhistory.com/contact-us/1971-1980/|title=1981–1990 – The Musicians' Union: A History (1893–2013)|website=www.muhistory.com}}</ref> In the 1980s, a few musicians skilled at programming the Yamaha DX7 found employment creating sounds for other acts.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XtPAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT81 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music |date=September 16, 2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199887132 |editor=Roger T. Dean |page=81}}</ref>

== Sound synthesis {{anchor|Theory}} == <!-- Other articles link here. -->
[[File:Synth Diag.svg|thumb|right|160px|In subtractive synthesis, complex waveforms are generated by oscillators and then shaped with filters to remove or boost specific frequencies.]]Synthesizers generate audio through various forms of [[Engineering:Analog synthesizer|analog]] and [[Engineering:Digital synthesizer|digital]] synthesis.

* In subtractive synthesis, complex [[Waveform|waveform]]s are generated by oscillators and then shaped with filters to remove or boost specific frequencies.<ref name="Vail" /> Subtractive synthesis is characterized as "rich" and "warm".<ref name="MusicTech-2019">{{Cite web|date=2019-06-04|title=All you need to know about subtractive synthesis|url=https://www.musictech.net/guides/essential-guide/what-is-subtractive-synthesis/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=MusicTech|language=en-GB}}</ref>
*In additive synthesis, a large number of waveforms, usually [[Physics:Sine wave|sine wave]]s, are combined into a composite sound.<ref name="Vail" /><ref name="Crute-2019-1">{{Cite web|last=Crute|first=Adam|date=2019-07-03|title=Introduction to additive and phase distortion synthesis|url=https://www.musictech.net/guides/essential-guide/additive-and-phase-distortion-synthesis/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=MusicTech|language=en-GB}}</ref>
* In frequency modulation (FM) synthesis, also known as phase modulation, a carrier wave is modulated with the frequency of a modulator wave; the resulting complex waveform can, in turn, be modulated by another modulator, and this by another, and so on.<ref name="Crute-2019">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musictech.net/guides/essential-guide/how-fm-synthesis-works/|title=Learning the basics of FM synthesis and how it works|last=Crute|first=Adam|date=2019-07-01|website=MusicTech|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-06}}</ref> FM synthesis is characterized as "harsh", "glassy" and "chilly".<ref name="Fact-2016" />
* Phase distortion synthesis, implemented in [[Engineering:Casio CZ synthesizers|Casio CZ synthesizers]], is similar to FM synthesis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-18 |title=What is phase distortion synthesis? |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/what-is-phase-distortion-synthesis-618081 |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=MusicRadar |language=en}}</ref>
*In wavetable synthesis, synthesizers modulate smoothly between digital representations of different waveforms, changing the shape and [[Physics:Timbre|timbre]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-26|title=The science of wavetable synthesis|url=https://www.musictech.net/guides/essential-guide/science-wavetable-synthesis/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=MusicTech|language=en-GB}}</ref>
* In sample-based synthesis, instead of sounds being created by synthesizers, samples ([[Digital recording|digital recording]]s of sounds) are played back and shaped with components such as filters, envelopes and LFOs.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-07-26|title=The history of sample-based synthesis|url=https://www.musictech.net/guides/essential-guide/history-sample-based-synthesis/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=MusicTech|language=en-GB}}</ref>
* In vector synthesis, pioneered by the [[Engineering:Prophet VS|Prophet VS]], users crossfade between different sound sources using controllers such as joysticks, envelopes and LFOs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Q. Can you explain the origins of wavetable, S&S and vector synthesis?|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-can-you-explain-origins-wavetable-ss-and-vector-synthesis|access-date=2021-01-20|website=Sound on Sound}}</ref>
*In granular synthesis, an audio sample is split into "grains", usually between one hundredth and one tenth of a second in length, which are recombined and played back.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Price|first=Simon|date=December 2005|title=Granular Synthesis|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/granular-synthesis|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Sound on Sound}}</ref>
*In physical modelling synthesis, a mathematical model of a physical sound source is created.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/jul94/yamahavl1.html|title=Yamaha VL1|work=Sound On Sound|date=July 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608005838/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/jul94/yamahavl1.html|archive-date=8 June 2015}}</ref>

== Components ==

=== Oscillators ===
{{Listen
 | header       = <span style="font-size:120%;">'''Oscillator wave shape example'''</span>
 | filename     = Saw_triangle_comparison_moog_synthesizer.ogg
 | title        = Sawtooth wave compared to triangle wave
 | description  = An example of two identical groups of notes being played first by a sawtooth oscillator, and then by a triangle oscillator.
 | format       = [[Software:Ogg|Ogg]]
 | image        = 
 | pos = right | help = no
}}
[[Engineering:Electronic oscillator|Oscillators]] produce waveforms (such as [[Sawtooth wave|sawtooth]], [[Physics:Sine wave|sine]], or [[Pulse wave|pulse wave]]s) with different [[Physics:Timbre|timbre]]s.<ref name="Vail" />

=== Voltage-controlled amplifiers ===
Voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs) control the volume or [[Engineering:Gain (electronics)|gain]] of the audio signal. VCAs can be modulated by other components, such as LFOs and envelopes.<ref name="Vail" /> A VCA is a preamp that boosts (amplifies) the electronic signal before passing it on to an external or built-in power amplifier, as well as a means to control its amplitude (volume) using an [[Engineering:Attenuator (electronics)|attenuator]]. The gain of the VCA is affected by a ''control voltage'' (CV), coming from an envelope generator, an LFO, the keyboard or some other source.<ref name="Reid2000">
{{cite journal|last=Reid|first=Gordon|year=2000|title=Synth Secrets, Part 9: An Introduction to VCAs|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/synthsecrets.htm|url-status=bot: unknown|journal=Sound on Sound|issue=January 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404103507/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/synthsecrets.htm|archive-date=2016-04-04|access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref>

{{anchor|ADSR envelope}}{{anchor|Envelope generator}}<!-- There are several important redirects to this section -->

=== Envelopes ===
{{Main|Engineering:Envelope (music)}}
[[File:ADSR parameter.svg|thumb|right|213px|Schematic of ADSR]]
{{clear2|right}}

Envelopes control how sounds change over time. They may control parameters such as [[Company:Amplitude|amplitude]] (volume), filters (frequencies), or pitch. The most common envelope is the ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) envelope:<ref name="Vail" />

*'''Attack''' is the time taken for initial run-up of level from nil to peak, beginning when the note is triggered.
*'''Decay''' is the time taken for the subsequent run down from the attack level to the designated sustain level.
*'''Sustain''' is the level during the main sequence of the sound's duration, until the key is released.
*'''Release''' is the time taken for the level to decay from the sustain level to zero after the key is released.

{{Listen
 | header       = <span style="font-size:120%;">'''ADSR envelope example'''</span>
 | filename     = Adsr envelope sawtooth moog synthesizer.ogg
 | title        = ADSR envelope with sawtooth wave
 | description  = An ADSR envelope applied to note amplitude.
 | format       = [[Software:Ogg|Ogg]]
}}

=== Low-frequency oscillators ===
{{Main|Engineering:Low-frequency oscillation}}

Low-frequency oscillators (LFOs) produce waveforms used to modulate parameters, such as the pitch of oscillators (producing vibrato).<ref name="Vail" />

=== Filters ===
{{Main article|Engineering:Audio filter}}
Filters remove frequencies from the audio signal, similarly to [[Equalization (audio)|equalization]], to shape sounds.<ref name="Sound on Sound-2009">{{Cite web |date=July 2009 |title=Q. What are filters and what do they do? |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-are-filters-and-what-do-they-do |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Sound on Sound}}</ref><ref name="Douglas-2025">{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Adam |date=2025-02-17 |title=What's Up With Filters? A Practical Guide To Synthesizer Tone Control |url=https://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/tutorials/whats-up-with-filters-a-practical-guide-to-synthesizer-tone-control/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Attack Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> They typically include controls to set the point at which frequencies are attenuated, and to add [[Resonance|resonance]].<ref name="Douglas-2025" /> Common types include low-pass filters, which remove audio above a specified frequency, and high-pass filters, which do the opposite.<ref name="Sound on Sound-2009" /> Filters may be controlled with envelopes or LFOs.<ref name="Douglas-2025" />

=== Arpeggiators ===
{{Listen
 | header       = <span style="font-size:120%;">'''Trance Lead'''</span>
 | filename     = Arpeggiator.ogg
 | title        = sound sample of arpeggiator <!-- Arpeggiator.ogg -->
 | description  = A sample of Eurodance synthesizer riff with use of rapid 1/16 notes arpeggiator
 | format       = [[Software:Ogg|Ogg]]
 | pos = right | help = no
}}
Arpeggiators take input chords and convert them into arpeggios. They usually include controls for speed, range and mode (the movement of the arpeggio).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aisher|first=Bruce|date=2013-02-01|title=An introduction to arpeggiators|url=https://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/tutorials/an-introduction-to-arpeggiators/|access-date=2021-12-16|website=Attack Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Controllers ===
Synthesizers are often controlled with electronic or digital [[Engineering:Musical keyboard|keyboards]] or [[Engineering:MIDI controller|MIDI controller]] keyboards, which may be built into the synthesizer unit or attached via connections such as CV/gate, [[Engineering:USB|USB]], or [[MIDI]].<ref name="Vail" /> Keyboards may offer [[Engineering:Keyboard expression|expression]] such as velocity sensitivity and aftertouch, allowing for more control over the sound.<ref name="Vail" /> Other controllers include [[Engineering:Ribbon controller|ribbon controller]]s, which track the movement of the finger across a touch-sensitive surface; [[Engineering:Wind controller|wind controller]]s, played similarly to [[Engineering:Woodwind instrument|woodwind instrument]]s; motion-sensitive controllers similar to video game [[Engineering:Motion controller|motion controller]]s; [[Engineering:Electronic drum|electronic drum pads]], played similarly to the heads of a [[Engineering:Drum kit|drum kit]]; touchplates, which send signals depending on finger position and force; controllers designed for microtonal tunings;<ref name="Vail" /> [[Engineering:Touchscreen|touchscreen]] devices such as [[Engineering:Tablet computer|tablets]] and [[Engineering:Smartphone|smartphone]]s;<ref name="Vail" /> and fingerpads.<ref name="Vail" />

==Clones==

Synthesizer clones are unlicensed recreations of previous synthesizers, often marketed as affordable versions of famous musical equipment. Clones are available as physical instruments and software. Companies that have sold software clones include [[Company:Arturia|Arturia]] and [[Company:Native Instruments|Native Instruments]]. [[Company:Behringer|Behringer]] manufactures equipment modelled on instruments including the Minimoog, Pro-One, and TB-303, and [[Engineering:Drum machine|drum machine]]s such as the TR-808. Other synthesizer clones include the MiniMOD (a series of Eurorack modules based on the Minimoog), the Intellijel Atlantis (based on the SH-101), and the x0x Heart (based on the TB-303).<ref name="Behringer">{{Cite news|url=https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/08/behringer-minimoog-synth-clones/|title=Attack of the clones: Is Behringer's Minimoog a synth replica too far?|last=Warwick|first=Oli|date=8 April 2017|work=Fact|access-date=30 November 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

Creating clones of older hardware is legal where the [[Social:Patent|patent]]s have expired.<ref name="Behringer" /> In 1997, [[Company:Mackie|Mackie]] lost their lawsuit against Behringer<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34|title=Billboard|date=1997-07-05|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|language=en}}</ref> as copyright law in the United States did not cover their circuit board designs.<ref name="Behringer" />

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
;Lists
* [[Engineering:List of synthesizers|List of synthesizers]]
* List of synthesizer manufacturers
;Various synthesizers
* [[Engineering:Guitar synthesizer|Guitar synthesizer]]
* [[Engineering:Keyboard bass|Keyboard bass]]
* [[Engineering:Keytar|Keytar]]
* [[Engineering:Modular synthesizer|Modular synthesizer]]
* Semi-modular synthesizer
* [[Engineering:String synthesizer|String synthesizer]]
* [[Engineering:Wind controller|Wind controller]]

;Related instruments & technologies
* 3D sound synthesis
* [[Engineering:Clavioline|Clavioline]] (Musitron)
* [[Engineering:Electronic keyboard|Electronic keyboard]]
* [[Engineering:Musical instrument|Musical instrument]]
* [[Engineering:Music workstation|Music workstation]]
* [[Engineering:Sampler (musical instrument)|Sampler]]
* [[Speech synthesis]]
** [[Software:Vocaloid|Vocaloid]]

;Components & technologies
* [[Analytic signal]]
* [[Engineering:Envelope detector|Envelope detector]]
* [[Engineering:Low-frequency oscillation|Low-frequency oscillation]]
* [[MIDI]]

;Music genres
* [[Software:Computer music|Computer music]]
* [[Physics:Electronic music|Electronic music]]

;Notable works
* ''List of compositions for electronic keyboard''
{{div col end}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation
   | last = Borthwick
   | first = Stuart
   | year = 2004
   | title = Popular Music Genres: An Introduction
   | publisher = Edinburgh University Press
   | page = 120
   | isbn = 0-7486-1745-0
   | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=r4bmVbNSnk4C&q=synthpop&pg=PA119
   }}
* {{citation
 |last        = Holmes
 |first       = Thom
 |year        = 2008
 |title       = Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture
 |url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=hCthQ-bec-QC
 |edition     = 3rd
 |publisher   = [[Company:Taylor & Francis|Taylor & Francis]]
 |isbn        = 978-0-415-95781-6
 |access-date = 2011-06-04
}}
* {{citation
   | last = Vail
   | first = Mark
   | year = 2000
   | title = Vintage Synthesizers: Groundbreaking Instruments and Pioneering Designers of Electronic Music Synthesizers
   | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tNci9y0jlRgC
   | publisher = Backbeat Books
   | pages = 68–342
   | isbn = 0-87930-603-3
 }} {{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book 
   | last  =  Crombie  | first = David
   | year  = 1986
   | title = New Complete Synthesizer
   | publisher  = Omnibus Press
   |isbn  = 0711907013
  }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Gorges | first = Peter
   | year  = 2005
   | title = Programming Synthesizers
   | publisher = Wizoobooks
   | location = Germany, Bremen
   | isbn  = 978-3-934903-48-7
  }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Schmitz | first = Reinhard
   | year  = 2005
   | title = Analog Synthesis
   | publisher = Wizoobooks
   | location = Germany, Bremen
   | isbn  = 978-3-934903-01-2
  }}
* {{cite book 
 |last  = Shapiro
 |first = Peter
 |year  = 2000
 |title = Modulations: A History of Electronic Music: Throbbing Words on Sound
 |isbn  = 1-891024-06-X
 |url   = https://archive.org/details/modulationshisto00shap
|publisher = Caipirinha Productions, US
 }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Kuit | first = Roland
   | year  = 2014
   | title = SoundLab I: The Electronic Studio. Publisher's number: 13664
   | publisher = Donemus
   | location = The Netherlands, The Hague
  }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Kuit | first = Roland
   | year  = 2014
   | title = SoundLab II: Architectures for Philosophers. Publisher's number: 13665
   | publisher = Donemus
   | location = The Netherlands, The Hague
  }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Kuit | first = Roland
   | year  = 2014
   | title = Laboratory of Patching: Illustrated Compendium of Modular Synthesis. Publisher's number: 13662
   | publisher = Donemus
   | location = The Netherlands, The Hague
  }}
* {{cite book 
   | last  = Kuit | first = Roland
   | year  = 2014
   | title = To be On, to be OFF, that's the SWITCH. Publisher's number: 13666
   | publisher = Donemus
   | location = The Netherlands, The Hague
  }}

== External links ==
* Sound Synthesis Theory wikibook
* [http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/sound_synthesis/?content=index Principles of Sound Synthesis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120080457/http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/sound_synthesis/?content=index |date=20 January 2016 }} at Salford University
* [https://sites.google.com/site/learning4synthesizer/home Synthesizer Tutorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611203717/https://sites.google.com/site/learning4synthesizer/home |date=11 June 2022 }}

{{Sound synthesis types}}
{{Computer music}}
{{Electrophones}}
{{Musical keyboards}}
{{Music technology}}
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[[Category:Synthesizers| ]]
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