I love old synthesizers, and it did not surprise me that I liked this 1984 book from the publishers of Keyboard magazine. What did surprise me was how much I'd recommend the book to musicians who are not such synthesizer enthusiasts. The articles that I found so exciting were written by Moog. He has an ability to combine his understanding of technology and music that makes his writing directly useful. His article about phase shifters explains not only how the circuits work, but how to test for noise introduced by the effect. He contrasts the properties of an instrument that resembles the behavior of a voltage-controlled filter with those that can be better simulated with a parametric equalizer. For those who are interested in synthesizers, his in-depth explanation of voltage control is invaluable. The remainder of the book ranges from nice stories about the history of synthesis from Tom Rhea of Keyboard magazine to some goofy thoughts about home recording from Roger Powell of Utopia. While parts of the book, which was compiled even then from mostly older articles, are obviously out-of-date, many of the basic assessments of coupling music and technology are still very relevant today. Unfortunately, I don't think Synthesizer Basics is still in print, so search your used book stores and harass Keyboard magazine to bring it back.