{"id":21092376,"date":"2026-02-06T10:59:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T15:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/?p=21092376"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:04:16","slug":"think-like-a-synth-31-lessons-that-finally-made-synthesis-click","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/think-like-a-synth-31-lessons-that-finally-made-synthesis-click\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Like a Synth: 31 Lessons That Finally Made Synthesis Click"},"content":{"rendered":"

We received the Think Like a Synth course complimentary from Anthony Marinelli\u2019s team after contacting them to inquire about a review. We have received no financial compensation for this review.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve spent years \u201cusing\u201d synths without really knowing them. Following \u201crecreate this sound\u201d YouTube tutorial videos, preset surfing, and the occasional lucky accident after twisting knobs blindly. I could tell you what a cutoff does, what an LFO is, and knew how to play with resonance and filter envelopes to get a nice acid squawk. But if I had a sound in my head and tried to build it from scratch, I wasn\u2019t confident I could get there on purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the headspace I was in when I clicked on a Facebook ad for Think Like a Synth<\/a><\/strong>. Marinelli has been behind some of the most iconic synth programming in pop history, and Thriller in particular has always been a reference point for me. If the guy who helped shape some of those sounds is teaching synthesis, I wanted to learn from the best.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

What Think Like a Synth is<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Think Like a Synth is an online course built around subtractive synthesis, taught through a structured set of video lessons with chapter navigation, quick notes, and quizzes. As of January 2026, the course is presented as 31 episodes, with two of the episodes being recent additions. The pacing is deliberately detailed, and some lessons run longer than 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing to understand going in is that this is not a casual watch-along. It\u2019s a study course. If you want something you can half-watch while scrolling your phone, you\u2019ll lose useful insights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took the course over about two months on a MacBook Air M2, mostly listening on my V-MODA M100 headphones. I followed along using a Korg ARP 2600 emulation in Ableton Live, pausing frequently to match Marinelli’s moves and keep the course on track. That said, you do not need to have an existing ARP2600 emulation, as Cherry Audio\u2019s emulation of the synth is included in the cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first impression was simple: this is thorough. Real, textbook-deep thorough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To view the course, you need to log in to Teachable and stream the lessons. I did not see any option to download the course for offline use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Using Think Like A Synth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

My routine didn\u2019t change much for two months. I\u2019d watch a segment, pause to replicate it in the VST, then resume and repeat. I spent as much time rewinding and matching settings as I did watching, because I didn\u2019t want to absorb the course like background noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll benefit from a similar approach, as the value of this course only works if you treat it like a hands-on lab. Powering through without stopping might cause information overload. Slowing down and treating each lesson like something you need to demonstrate back to yourself makes this so much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course adopts a left-to-right signal-flow mindset. If you already think that way, great, but for me, instead of \u201cturn stuff until it works,\u201d I started building patches with intent, in an order that matched how most synth panels are laid out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the first wins were basic. I now hear the difference between waveforms far more reliably. The difference between a saw and a triangle. A pulse and a square. Even when they\u2019re close enough that I used to question myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marinelli gives you those small \u201cthis is what to listen for\u201d signposts that stick. One example was listening for a \u201cbuzz clipper\u201d type sound as a clue that you\u2019ve moved away from a true square wave into pulse territory. Once you hear it, even on synths with no screens, it\u2019s easy to find your way. <\/p>\n\n\n

How Think Like A Synth Teaches<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Compared to something like Syntorial, Think Like a Synth feels more like a paid Masterclass course. Syntorial is for absolute synth virgins, and teaches your ears through interactivity, including hidden patches where you recreate sounds without seeing the settings. Think Like a Synth\u2019s approach goes deeper into the technical and scientific side, including how waveforms oscillate and how audible frequencies work. It does not have a built-in synth (which is why the ARP2600 emulation is a must), and the biggest \u201cexercise\u201d is still the follow-along workflow. If you\u2019re not willing to pause and practice, you\u2019re missing most of the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A helpful touch is that Dante, Marinelli\u2019s son, appears alongside him and will occasionally stop to clarify something Anthony said, often by slowing the moment down and restating it in plainer terms.  When the instructor is operating at \u201clegend level,\u201d having someone in the room, more \u201clike you\u201d, to slow things down and pull a concept back into plain language keeps the course from drifting into expert-only territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Strengths<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

The main reason Think Like a Synth works is depth. You\u2019ll find in some other synth tutorials out there that it\u2019s typical for concepts to be briefly introduced and then quickly moved on from. With Think Like a Synth, everything from Oscillators, Waveforms, VCAs, Tremolos, Sample & Hold, etc. gets its own chapter, and a lengthy video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I think a lot of this has to do with how Anthony was taught by some of the greats, like Quincy Jones. This was long before computer software or a quick YouTube video that ran through everything in super quick time. He had to learn every nook and cranny of some very complex synths, and in the process became an expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, he takes time on the \u201chow\u201d and the science behind each concept. To expand the knowledge of people who already know a little and are tired of fiddling with knobs without a clear purpose. The left-to-right signal-flow approach, along with follow-along pacing, pushed me toward more repeatable habits rather than lucky accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n

Weaknesses and friction points<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

The tradeoff is that it can feel dense if you\u2019re starting from zero. If you\u2019re a complete beginner, it\u2019s going to feel like being dropped into a detailed lecture before you\u2019ve built your base. The quizzes help, but there isn\u2019t a built-in synth environment like Syntorial\u2019s hidden-patch approach, so you really need to follow along in your own VST or hardware to get the full benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n

Verdict<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

I received the course comped, but I still paid attention to whether it justifies its cost. Truthfully, this is similar to professional Masterclass courses in cost, and truly isn\u2019t ridiculous when you consider what\u2019s being offered. The value comes from depth and from the teacher. Anthony has been doing this for decades and has the knowledge and discography to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Like a Synth earns its price by actually teaching you how synths work inside and out. If you are a strict preset surfer who isn\u2019t interested in learning why things work, you\u2019ll probably bounce off it. And if you are a complete beginner who needs more interactivity and guided practice, you may want to start somewhere more beginner-focused first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you\u2019ve spent some time behind hardware or software synths, are synth-curious, and want to become synth-capable, this course moves you from guessing to building.<\/p>\n\n\n

See more reviews ici<\/a>!<\/strong><\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We received the Think Like a Synth course complimentary from Anthony Marinelli\u2019s team after contacting them to inquire about a … En savoir plus<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21092393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1531],"class_list":["post-21092376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-editors-picks","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21092376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21092376"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21092376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21092394,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21092376\/revisions\/21092394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21092393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21092376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21092376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21092376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}