Writer, designer, and musician Kim Bjørn's first book—Push Turn Move—was the beginning of a celebrated series on instrument design. That debut looked specifically at how the knobs, pads, sliders, and keys of synth interfaces shape the sound of electronic music. Patch & Tweak, Bjørn's second book, written with Chris Meyer, focused on modular synthesis, and was so popular its Kickstarter funding campaign sold out it in less than an hour.
Today, Bjørn is announcing a new collaboration, this time with a storied synth company.
Patch & Tweak with Moog is a 200-page guide to Moog's semi-modular synth line: including the Grandmother, Subharmonicon, Mother-32, and other popular releases. Like the original Patch & Tweak, the book itself is a visually enticing collection of photographs, illustrations, and interviews with the artists and sound designers who use these instruments every day.
Part how-to manual, part history, part coffee table book, it's a celebration of the passion for Moog instruments. According to the press release:
"The forthcoming release of PATCH & TWEAK with Moog is the result of more than a year of extensive collaboration with electronic music icons, established and emerging artists, and Moog employee-owners. Opening with a foreword from acclaimed film score composer and sound designer Hans Zimmer, this hardcover book features 200 pages full of synthesizer techniques, creative patch ideas, sound design tips, professional artist interviews, in-depth discussions with Moog engineers, and a glimpse into Moog’s remarkable history. Readers will get an inside look into the Moog factory in Asheville, North Carolina, where these iconic instruments are built by hand, and learn about the modular synthesis innovator who started it all: Dr. Bob Moog."
It's now available for pre-order at bjooks.com. You can find the original Patch & Tweak on Reverb. And of course you can find synths from across Moog's history on Reverb as well.