Electronic Projects for Musicians

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Summary: great book i need a new copy
Review: i made a few of the projects they worked great and were cheap

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Summary: Still relevant after all these years...
Review: I was in a bunch of bands growing up in the late 80's. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life but was dabbling in electronics. Then I found this book at the library...

To make a long story short I don't play music much anymore but am an electrical engineer.

I still own a copy of this book and would never think of getting rid of it. Though we are in an age of digital signal processing, this book still stands the test of time. It is literally a timeless classic in applied electronics!!!!

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Summary: The projects work, but you won't learn a lot
Review: Most of the projects in the book will work fine, but you are not going to learn very much from building them besides how to solder. I had worked as an electronics assembler before upgrading to technician and I can solder, all modesty aside, much better than "the guys" (the mostly male technician pool) but working with audio design is a little new to me.

Vacuum tubes, which is where most of the interest from guitar players is today, aren't covered in this book, but neither are discrete transistors with their biasing and multi-pole filters. To be honest, I get the idea that Mr.Anderton regards the reader as having the technical ability of twelve-year-olds.

The projects do work though, so if you just want a constructon exercise or to save money (if you already have a electronics bench of gear-you need a scope, bench supply and generator to do this,regardless of what he says) I can't criticize.

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Summary: IMHO This is Still the Bible for Electronic Guitar Effects
Review: This book was first published in 1975, I believe. I purchased it in the 1980s. At the time, it was the only authoritative book on the subject of building your own effects. Finding schematics and parts was, to say the least, difficult. Rackmount processors were just beginning to dominate the marketplace. Craig Anderton emphasized low noise in designing the circuits and the projects represented the state of the art, but they might be somewhat noisy by today's standards (they are still fairly quiet, though).

In this modern age, schematics, parts, and tips on building your own projects are just a mouse click away. For the amount of money it would cost to build the projects in this book, one could buy a multieffects box that is, arguably, more versatile with better fidelity.

However, EPFM is far from obsolete, especially in an era where analog effects are (thankfully) becoming all the rage again. The book might benefit from a revision that addresses the increased resources available via the internet and, if feasible, circuit design modifications which reflect any technological advancement in noise reduction.

Nonetheless, EPFM is still the standard for entering into the field of audio electronics. That is no accident. Some reviewers lament the book is not very in-depth and does little more than teach you to solder. Craig Anderton makes no secret of the fact that his objective is to whet your appetite and give you the opportunity to create some usable effects as effortlessly as possible.

He succeeds. The accompanying CD reveals that these are all wonderful sounding effects. The ring modulator is my personal favorite and the phaser sounds as good as any on the market. Be aware you will need to study further if you want to delve deeply into the field of audio electronics. This book has an entire chapter devoted to pointing you in the proper direction.

In the forward to EPFM, guitarist Joe Walsh writes "I couldn't think of a better place to begin than right where you are." Thirty years later, this statement holds true.

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Summary: Step-by-step intro to building F/X for electric instruments
Review: This outstanding book presents a number of useful circuits for shaping the sound of electric instruments. Starting with small projects and presenting gradually more difficult jobs, the author takes the reader by the hand and makes easy the whole process of building a "stomp box." You can save money, or create a more powerful tool than is commercially available, or sometimes even both. Best book of its kind. No electronics knowledge necessary to begin - but you will have some when you're done!