Create Digital Music » PAiA Synth Kit Founder John Simonton Has Died

Nov 29 2005

PAiA Synth Kit Founder John Simonton Has Died

I’m saddened to learn that John Simonton, synthesizer kit pioneer and founder of synth kit maker PAiA Electronics, has died. Simonton broke ground by bringing synthesis to the tinkerer, in an affordable, kit form. He’s considered by some to be the “Godfather of DIY synths.” There’s already a blog devoted to memories of Mr. Simonton and his creations. To his friends, family, and colleagues, our condolences.

For more on John Simonton and PAiA, see:

Music thing’s memorial tribute, ode to the greatness of PAiA, and DIY reader report

Brilliant and wacky creations in the PAiA hall of fame

Craig Anderton’s extensive Interview with John Simonton for Synapse Magazine (now-defunct publication, via the folks at Cyndustries; image above by Rhonda Fleming for Synapse)

PAiA at the Synthmuseum

In the Synapse interview, Simonton says he built the PAiA for the “experimenter.” In the age of Make Magazine and the new DIY renaissance, his vision seems especially apt.

RozzBox Synth: Box, Knobs, Sequencers, 4-op FM

GBP15 Doppler Effect for Windows, More Free/Cheap Windows Goodies

2 Comments

carmen

and quite possibly the godfather of electronic/synth/digital/diy music journalism as well, via PAiA’s magazine “Polyphony” subsequently renamed to “Electronic Musician”..and while i havent subscribed since 1995 or so (nee gopher/mosaic) was a great redad in the pre-blog era.

thanks for mentioning this, if somewhat morbid story - i certainly wouldnt have heard about this seeing as Simonton didnt have the same cachet as Bob Moog…maybe his name just didnt have the same ring to it ;)

November 30, 2005 @ 12:15 am

Create Digital Music » Learn Musical Electronics, No Soldering: Free PAiA Ribbon Controller Kit for CDM Readers

[...] good news is that PAiA Corporation is working very hard to recover from the loss of their founder, John Simonton. He was a real innovator and visionary, and it’s comforting to know his vision is living on [...]