Hands-On Synthesizers I: Fundamentals of Synthesis Workshop

What actually happens when you turn a knob on a synthesizer?

Hands-On Synthesizers I: Fundamentals of Synthesis is a 100% hands-on workshop at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum. Starting with a single oscillator, you'll patch, play, listen, and explore as we connect one part of the synthesizer at a time, hearing what each one does along the way.

No previous experience is required.

What We'll Explore

We'll work through the fundamental components and concepts of analog synthesis:

Oscillators • Filters • VCAs • LFOs • Envelopes • CV & Gate

You'll be using equipment the entire time. Rather than explaining a concept and then letting you try it, we'll introduce ideas while you're patching and playing with them. We'll periodically stop to compare what we're hearing, draw things on the dry-erase board, and dig deeper into what's happening and why.

The oscilloscopes let us see the waveforms, voltages, and envelopes we're hearing, connecting the sound coming from the speakers with the controls under your hands and the electrical signals moving through the synthesizer.

We'll work with Eurorack modular systems, Roland SH-101s, Korg SQ-1 sequencers, and a Roland TR-808, gradually turning a raw oscillator into a complete, playable synthesizer voice.

There will be plenty of room to experiment. Make something that sounds great. Make something awful. Turn something too far. Figure out why.

Six People, Two Modular Systems

The workshop is limited to 6 participants, working in two groups of three. You'll spend the afternoon with other people who are curious about synthesizers and how they work; patching, comparing sounds, asking questions, and sharing discoveries. Ask as many questions as you like, experiment at your own pace, and participate at whatever level feels comfortable, no one is ever put on the spot.

Each participant also receives the Fundamentals of Synthesis zine, created specifically for the workshop and used throughout the class.

The goal isn't to memorize terminology. It's to leave with an intuitive understanding of what the fundamental parts of a synthesizer actually do, and the confidence to approach synthesizers with a much clearer idea of what's happening under the hood.

Come ready to patch, listen, experiment, and make some sounds.

Once you're comfortable with these fundamentals, continue with our follow-up workshop, Hands-On Synthesizers II: Modulation, Motion & Texture, where we explore multiple oscillators, oscillator sync, PWM, noise, filter envelopes, ring modulation, cross modulation, and more.