A synthesizer is an electronic instrument. It can be used to generate and modify sounds. A synthesizer consists of several modules that are applied in combination to produce the sound required.

There are two kinds of synthesizer: the analog synthesizer, which is a physical device, and the digital synthesizer, which is a computer software, application. These are commonly known as hardware synths and software synths.

Hardware synthesizers are becoming increasingly popular, incorporating any number of fantastical modules (radio receiver, cosmic ray detector, Transylvanian soil sensor etc.). The ModularGrid website provides a decent overview of some of the available modules.

Regardless of whether we are operating on a hardware or software synthesizer, the terms, approach and descriptions used are derived from the old analogue systems. We talk about audio signals and control voltages, which are no longer really relevant in a digital environment where everything is just numbers.

For the purposes of this website, we make no distinction between hardware and software synthesisers but refer simply to synthesizers in the sense of any device or program intended for generating and modifying electronic sound.

Here are a couple of links to start with:

• 120 years of electronic music
• Wikipedia article about synthesizer

Synthesiser modules are connected to one another with what are known as patch cords. Creating a complex sound will often require a confusing array of connections reminiscent of a plate of spaghetti or an old-fashioned telephone switchboard. Indeed, it is from early telephony that we get the term 'patch cord'.
Today, the term patch is used to refer to a particular sound or preset, regardless of whether actual patch cords are involved in creating it.