Synapse: The Electronic Music Magazine
Synapse: The Electronic Music Magazine was a bi-monthly American magazine about synthesizers and electronic music published March 1976 to June 1979. During an era when commercial synthesizers were still pretty new and mostly DIY, Synapse was notable for its high production values, interviews with famous musicians, and articles by well-known writers.[1][2][3]
 | |
| Editor | Douglas Lynner |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music magazine |
| Frequency | Bi-monthly |
| Publisher | Schill and Schill Publishing, Synapse Publishing Co. |
| First issue | March 1, 1976 |
| Final issue | June 1, 1979 |
| Company | Synapse Publishing Co. |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Los Angeles, CA |
| Language | English |
The first production team consisted of editor Douglas Lynner,[4] art director Chris August, photographer Bill Matthias[5] and technical illustrator/circulation/publisher Angela Schill . Staff changes brought managing editors Colin Gardner and Melodie Bryant.[6] After 14 issues they ran out of funds and closed down.
The magazine issues have been scanned and posted online by its founder Cynthia Webster[7] at Cyndustries, but have now been removed.[2][3][8]
Publication history
| Issue | Date | Cover | Interviews | Featured Articles | Major Concert Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vol.1 No.1 | March 1976 | Line drawing | Alan R. Pearlman (ARP) | Devices for the Control of Synthesizers (Nyle Steiner), Frequency Reference Chart, In Search of the Musical Hemisphere (Alex Cima), Graphic Equalizers (Rob Lewis) | Live Electronic Music |
| Vol.1 No.2 | Apr/May 1976 | Line drawing | Morton Subotnick | Organizing an Electronic Concert, Copyrighting Electronic Music, Ephemeral Forms, Black Noise (score) | |
| Vol.1 No.3 | Sep/Oct 1976 | Kraftwerk | Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk), Tom Oberheim, Larry Fast | Making Music with Calculators (Craig Anderton), Audium: Sound In Space (Phillip Elwood), Taking It To The Streets: The Electronic Music Mobile Assaults New York (Randy Cohen), Constructing an Arabesque Generator (Arpad Benares), Light With Sound (Alex Cima), A Seven-Stage Frequency Divider (John Blacet), How Computers Talk to Synthesizers (Peter Hillen), Time Vs. The Critics (Stan Levine) | Jasun Martz and the Neoteric Orchestra |
| Vol.1 No.4 | Nov/Dec 1976 | Malcolm Cecil and TONTO | Serge Tcherepnin, Bob Easton of 360 Systems, Malcolm Cecil | How Computers Store Numbers (Peter Hillen), Electronic Guerillas Invade Bay Area (Bob Davis), Sound Arts (Luther Donaldson), A Big Synthesizer's Little Helpers (Arpad Benares), Illusion and Motion (Alex Cima) | |
| Vol.1 No.5 | Jan/Feb 1977 | Gary Wright | Gary Wright, Patrick Gleeson | The Link Between Computers & Synthesizers Pt.1 (Peter Hillen), Philip Springer (Alex Cima), What To Do Until the 4-Track Arrives (Craig Anderton), Computer Meets Keyboard (Prentiss Knowlton), Walking Ring Sequencer (John Blacet), Liz Phillips in New York City (Randy Cohen), Pop Goes the Synthesizer (Jeff Janning), Touch Responsive Keyboard (Arpad Benares), Guerilla Electronics (Bob Davis) | Maggi Payne at Mills College |
| Vol.1 No.6 | Mar/Apr 1977 | Roger Powell & Todd Rundgren | Steve Hillage, Roger Powell & Todd Rundgren | Buying Your First Synthesizer (Alex Cima), New York Public Access Synthesizer Studio (PASS) (Phil Terr), Los Angeles Center for Electronic Music (LACEM) (Phil Terr), Synthesizers on the Eco-Front (about playing music to whales) (Will E. Jackson), The Left Hand & the Synthesizer (Craig Anderton), Audio-Video Synthesis (Jerry Hunt), Constructing a Programmer (Arpad Benares), The Link Between Computers & Synthesizers Pt.2 (Peter Hillen), Color Wheel (Danny Sofer) | Laserium |
| Vol.2 No.1 | May/Jun 1977 | Robert Moog | George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Robert Moog | Star Instruments, Inc. (Phil Terr), Learning Voltage Control (Alex Cima), A Closer Look at Digital Dronezilla (Phil Loarie), Analog Programming (Eric Valinsky), Vocal Synthesis (Peter Hillen), Modulation: Part One (Danny Sofer), The Link Between Computers & Synthesizers pt.3 (Peter Hillen) | Liz Phillips and Tangerine Dream |
| Vol.2 No.2 | Jul/Aug 1977 | Globe Graphic | Tangerine Dream, Bernie Krause | A Cosmic Sound Gets Down to Earth (Arman Matthews), Synthesized Video (Randy Cohen), Techniques of Electrophony (Eric Valinsky), Space Rockers Unite! (Magic Moe), Beyond the Clang Tone: Alternative Ring modulation (Stephan Bilow), Conceptual Traditionalism: The 57th Annual AES Convention (Eric Valinsky), Interfacing Acoustic, Electric & Electronic Keyboards with Synthesizers (Alex Cima), Modulation Part Two: Fast Modulation (Danny Sofer), High Points and High Jinks: The History of Electronic Music (John Adams & Bob Davis), Analog to Digital Conversion (Peter Hillen) | AES showcase |
| Vol.2 No.3 | Nov/Dec 1977 | Isao Tomita & Karlheinz Stockhausen | Isao Tomita, Karlheinz Stockhausen pt.1, John Simonton | Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Will E. Jackson), Digital Pattern Generator (John Blacet), Generating More Tracks from Four Tracks (Craig Anderton), Jinks 'n Points: The High History of Electronic Music (Bob Davis & John Adams), Processing & Controlling (Danny Sofer), Using an A/D Converter (Peter Hillen) | |
| Vol.2 No.4 | Jan/Feb 1978 | Jan Hammer | Timo Laine, Jan Hammer, Karlheinz Stockhausen pt.2, David Rosenboom | Profile: Jay Ellington Lee, Copyright Law Revised (Barton McLean), Production Professionalism in the Home Studio (Craig Anderton), The International Computer Music Conference (Eric Valinsky), Real-Time Electronic Music (Eric Valinsky), Voltage Controlled Clock with Event Arranger (John Blacet), An Electric Bass Controlled Synthesizer (Chris August), Ambience pt.1 (Danny Sofer), S/H and A/D Conversion (Peter Hillen) | |
| Vol.2 No.5 | Mar/Apr 1978 | Michael Hoenig | Edgar Froese, Michael Hoenig, Jean-Claude Risset | Profile: Stefan Weisser, Marketing Your Music (Magic Moe), Profile: Boston School of Electronic Music (Kenneth Perrin), Home Recording pt.2: Production Techniques (Craig Anderton), Patch Notation (Richard Bugg), Digital delay lines (Peter Hillen), Pitch Drift in Keyboard Synthesizers (Richard Diermer), Ambience pt.2 (Danny Sofer) | American Stockhausen Festival |
| Vol.2 No.6 | May/Jun 1978 | Devo | Frank Zappa pt.1, Devo, Cameron Jones, Don Preston | Let There Be Light: Composing Dynamic Laser Light Sculptures (Ron Pellegrino), Looking for an Electronic Music Class (Rodney Oakes), On Keeping Score (Robert Devoe), Guitar Synthesis (Doug Lynner & Ernie Perevoski), Computer Controlled Triggers & Gates (Peter Hillen) | David Bowie, Steve Hackett, The Screamers |
| Vol.3 No.1 | Jan/Feb 1979 | Brian Eno | Brian Eno, Frank Zappa pt.2, Larry Fast, Allen Strange | Profile: The Omega Intermedia Center, Synthesizer Basics (Kenneth Perrin), Controlling & Interfacing Synthesizers (Peter Hillen), Oberheim OB-1 Review (Melodie Bryant), ARP Avatar Review (Buzz Kettles), Lovely Music Records Review (Bob Davis), Computer Languages (Peter Hillen) | David Behrman, Devo, Captain Beefheart, Terry Riley |
| Vol.3 No.2 | May/Jun 1979 | Robert Fripp | Patrick Moraz, Robert Fripp, Patrick Gleeson | Profile: Karl Richardson & Albhy Galuten, Profile: Michael Boddicker, Synthesizers & Recording (Mark Styles), Languages/Systems (Peter Hillen), VCA Basics (Kenneth Perrin), Texas Instruments SN76477 (Craig Anderton), Profile: Jean-Luc Ponty | Herbie Hancock, Talking Heads, Jean-Luc Ponty, Larry Austin, Stewart Dempster, Moebius, Joan La Barbara |
References
- Synapse Magazine - Electronic Music and Synthesizers
- Peter Kirn. "I Love the 70s: Complete Issues of Synapse Mag, A Look at Electronic Music's Past". createdigitalmusic.com.
- Complete scans of 70s electronic music magazine Synapse by Rob Beschizza
- Doug Lynner's World of Noise
- WKM Photography
- https://www.npr.org/buckets/music/women/artist.php?artistId=608
- Cynthia Webster: Designing Modular Analog Synthesizers » Synthtopia
- Read vintage issues of ‘Synapse the Electronic Magazine’ in their entirety
External links
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