Synthesizer

A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an <a href="/facts/Electronic_musical_instrument/dQSuuYtF">electronic musical instrument</a> that generates <a href="/facts/Audio_signal/rFSTI9IF">audio signals</a>. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating <a href="/facts/Waveform/yAskMREw">waveforms</a> through methods including <a href="/facts/Subtractive_synthesis/2Kk3TqUE">subtractive synthesis</a>, <a href="/facts/Additive_synthesis/N8bbwbEg">additive synthesis</a> and <a href="/facts/Frequency_modulation_synthesis/9wALwfgD">frequency modulation synthesis</a>. These sounds may be altered by components such as <a href="/facts/Audio_filter/NoWkx8fo">filters</a>, which cut or boost <a href="/facts/Audio_frequency/LzHtINcf">frequencies</a>; <a href="/facts/Envelope_(music)/FJylhHed">envelopes</a>, which control <a href="/facts/Articulation_(music)/5SoWzI6X">articulation</a>, or how notes begin and end; and <a href="/facts/Low-frequency_oscillator/kxPocUsz">low-frequency oscillators</a>, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting <a href="/facts/Timbre/lVXB949E">timbre</a>. Synthesizers are typically played with <a href="/facts/Musical_keyboard/Mz0FGAe4">keyboards</a> or controlled by <a href="/facts/Music_sequencer/VhLzSPhr">sequencers</a>, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via <a href="/facts/MIDI/tblhmeFV">MIDI</a>.

Synthesizer-like instruments emerged in the United States in the mid-20th century with instruments such as the <a href="/facts/RCA_Mark_II/RgdC4qND">RCA Mark II</a>, which was controlled with <a href="/facts/Punch_card/44WsPulQ">punch cards</a> and used hundreds of <a href="/facts/Vacuum_tubes/VHd1BNLq">vacuum tubes</a>. The <a href="/facts/Moog_synthesizer/I6EkoW5J">Moog synthesizer</a>, developed by <a href="/facts/Robert_Moog/IcaxADgA">Robert Moog</a> and first sold in 1964, is credited for pioneering concepts such as <a href="/facts/Voltage-controlled_oscillator/85sdYF0m">voltage-controlled oscillators</a>, envelopes, <a href="/facts/Noise_generator/CcmffW8Y">noise generators</a>, filters, and sequencers. In 1970, the smaller, cheaper <a href="/facts/Minimoog/baQtRQ4V">Minimoog</a> standardized synthesizers as self-contained instruments with built-in keyboards, unlike the larger <a href="/facts/Modular_synthesizer/ojx5CYP3">modular synthesizers</a> before it. 
In 1978, <a href="/facts/Sequential_Circuits/3YBIqh07">Sequential Circuits</a> released the <a href="/facts/Prophet-5/V2gR3RIN">Prophet-5</a>, which used <a href="/facts/Microprocessor/Fx9CaQht">microprocessors</a> to allow users to store sounds for the first time. MIDI, a <a href="/facts/Standardized/vS9AhNMS">standardized</a> means of synchronizing electronic instruments, was introduced in 1982 and remains an industry standard. The <a href="/facts/Yamaha_DX7/lKyT53wH">Yamaha DX7</a>, launched in 1983, was a major success and popularized <a href="/facts/Digital_synthesis/9IxIlvFf">digital synthesis</a>. <a href="/facts/Software_synthesizer/1dale4sj">Software synthesizers</a> now can be run as <a href="/facts/Plug-in_(computing)/351Du3Wu">plug-ins</a> or embedded on <a href="/facts/Microchip/fjn6vg7C">microchips</a>. In the 21st century, analog synthesizers returned to popularity with the advent of cheaper manufacturing and the increasing popularity of <a href="/facts/Synthwave/mfD6YbYC">synthwave</a> music starting in the 2010s.
Synthesizers were initially viewed as <a href="/facts/Avant-garde/6ofnXfo4">avant-garde</a>, valued by the 1960s <a href="/facts/Psychedelia/aPaJ3R3C">psychedelic</a> and <a href="/facts/Counterculture_of_the_1960s/BjyVc83W">countercultural</a> scenes but with little perceived commercial potential. <a href="/facts/Switched-On_Bach/wtokgMz8">Switched-On Bach</a> (1968), a bestselling album of <a href="/facts/Bach/qA71yhEb">Bach</a> compositions arranged for synthesizer by <a href="/facts/Wendy_Carlos/BxFYFwRU">Wendy Carlos</a>, 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. <a href="/facts/Sampling_(music)/QLXy5WbA">Sampling</a>, introduced with the <a href="/facts/Fairlight_CMI/RzeKLXHU">Fairlight</a> synthesizer in 1979, has influenced genres such as electronic and <a href="/facts/Hip_hop/7HjAPIEh">hip hop</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Fact_(UK_magazine)/Fxzh9vaG">Fact</a> in 2016, "The synthesizer is as important, and as ubiquitous, in modern music today as the human voice."

Synthesizer open-in-new

Synthesizer