The purpose of this book is to present basic electronics in an audio context. The vast majority of modern audio technology is electronic in nature. Furthermore, a growing interest in custom and circuit-bent musical instruments and equipment renders a basic level of electronics expertise ever more relevant and valuable to the modern musician, audio professional, and sonic experimenter.

Electronics can be approached at a variety of levels. As a highly academic engineering discipline it merits study in the context of a technically rigorous electronics degree, and a career of application, and deepening theoretical knowledge and comprehension.

As a practical tool for technically minded musicians, music producers, and sonic artists, electronics can open up a world of experimentation and artistic possibilities, without the need for the depth and rigour of the professional electronics engineer. Creativity wedded to a modest but solid technical knowledge-base opens this rich world of experimentation and inspiration, expanding the boundaries to create new sounds in interesting and unusual ways.

Of the very many electronics textbooks available, few enough approach the subject from a more informal standpoint, better suited to application in less technical disciplines. For the most part they are aimed at electronics engineers, and rely on detailed technical analysis and much mathematics. Fewer still diverge from the general approach to the subject, and provide a treatment specifically focused on the audio electronics sub-specialty. This book aims to address these dual requirements, with an accessible, audio-centric presentation. It provides a relatively rigorous but easily digested treatment, with enough technical detail to allow the reader to expand their understanding, while avoiding the use of complex mathematics and analysis.

This book is aimed at the technically minded electronics non-specialist who wishes to explore circuit building and hardware hacking, without getting bogged down in electronics theory and advanced mathematics. It allows students, musicians, hobbyists, and audio professionals to develop the skills and understanding needed to engage creatively in the rich and varied hacking subculture which exists where music and engineering intersect.

The book combines this moderate level of technicality with a firm focus on the practical. The aim is to allow the reader to become an electronics builder and experimenter, understanding more than is achieved by simply following step by step circuit building tutorials, but avoiding the limiting requirements of a full technical treatment.