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A lot of synth/DAW books are published, and 90% of them are just rehashes of the manual published as quickly as possible. The exceptions are few (Kurt Kurasaki's Power Tools for Reason 3.0 jumps to mind) and this superb one.Simon Cann goes into meticulous detail about many of the synths included with various versions of Sonar, Cakewalk Home Studio and Project5. The book is slightly dated being published in 2006, but if you use Rapture, Dimension, or especially sfz or the sfz format you need to invest in this book before you buy any other. (I have to confess I'm such a nerd that I covered it with clear contact plastic to keep it from wearing out, and keep it next to my bed).
This book is a rare gem on a topic near and dear to my heart (Since first laying my eyes on an Arp Odyssey), but often not expounded upon with enough detail. If the competition (NI - Arturia -IK) would only provide similar guides, the sonic world could be a greater and more creative place. Simon Cann, however, has provided a very deep source book for Cakewalk users in general, as well as a detailed guide for comprehending wavetable and sampling synthesis.I am still slogging through the almost infinite presets which come with Dimension Pro and Rapture, as well as drilling down into creating my own sounds. I highly recommend this book to anyone with the desire to get down and spend some serious time creating their own sounds with the VSTs and AUs of today. These plug-ins have become complicated enough to warrant such manuals and I salute Mr. Cann for his efforts.
My only criticism is that the book is already out of date - e.g. This book has a lot of useful information that is very hard to find elsewhere, from the basics of synthesis to descriptions of all the Cakewalk synthesizers. the chapter on Session Drummer 2 says "at the time of this writing, it was so new that only a release candidate version was available" - but Session Drummer 2 has been available for a while (in both Sonar 7 and 6). I especially liked the web material that accompanies the book - the extra chapters and pointers to download free tools like Triangle 2 (which I used to learn the basics). I am mostly a beginner at using Sonar and this book was a significant help. Also some of the user interfaces to the programs have changed since the book was published.Learning Sonar is tough (hey, Cakewalk - please have non-engineers review your tutorial material). - this book is helping.
These are serious studio quality synths, each with a TON of power. I recommend purchasing Dimension Pro.
Each chapter dives into the depths of a specific Cakewalk synth, many of which are bundled with various Cakewalk products, so this book is like an addendum to the owner's manual. I don't consider myself a synth "tweakhead" so I found this book EXACTLY what I needed.
The book contains a great introduction to "virtual analog" synths which applies regardless of whether its a Cakewalk product or not. You can download some of these synths for free from Cakewalk.
For musicians who like to tweak their synths instead of simply playing the Presets, this is the book that explains what you're doing when you adjust those knobs, dials and sliders. Very nice.All you need is a host program (Cakewalk's Sonar, Home Studio or Project5 will be fine) and you've already got some of these synths in your software arsenal.
I've been playing around with Z3TA+ and am eyeballing Rapture as well. This book details how to harness that power and put it to work in your music.
The accompanying downloads make the value of this book increase exponentially. I have needed this book for years. Step by step, thorough instructions that have helped me to really explore the deep possibilities in Cakewalk synths. The section on Z3TA+ is worth the price of admission and then some. Thanks.
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