Synth historian Oli Freke will spend big on a good bicycle

Oli Freke is a musician and journalist whose works have appeared in Sound on Sound , The Quietus , and Mixmag . This has included using math to explore the melodic potential of the Western 12-tone scale and deep dives on effects plug-ins . He's even written a book tracing the evolution of the synthesizer from 1963 through 1995, charting the change from analog to digital and back. His new project is Beat Gems , a coffee-table visual history of drum machines from publisher Bjooks . Like other Bjooks titles, Beat Gems is loaded with gorgeous photos, fascinating historical tidbits, and practical advice for making the most of your gear, whether it's … Read the full story at The Verge.