Best hardware synth on Reddit

263 reviews from r/synthesizers, r/dnbproduction, r/edmproduction and 9 more subreddits

263 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Korg

4.3

(46)

"As many have, I’d also recommend the Minilogue XD by Korg as a first hardware synth."

"From the ones listed, absolutely get the Minilogue XD."

"Korg Kronos"

"Definitely a Minilogue XD."

"My arp odyssey"

"Opsix with its Randomize button, you don't even need to turn the knobs"

"Minilogue (not XD) or Prologue has been an absolute gem of a machine."

"Wavestate or Modwave .... perfect for that and movies."

"Modern digital synths like the Opsix of Hydrasynth are hard to beat"

"You gotta have an ARP Odyssey or a Minimoog."

Sequential

4.9

(26)

"But you said you want a poly, so Sequential Take 5 is my vote, it really does just sound great."

"Prophet 6"

"Prophet rev2"

"Prophet 5, no contest."

"Current version of the Prophet 10."

"My prophet 10 because it covers a lot of ground and is simple to use."

"Personally I like the Prophet Rev2."

"I have a take 5 and its great for high energy boss fight type music."

"Check Luke Neptune's Funk & disco patch bank for the Rev2."

"I’m really surprised you can’t find great leads with the Rev 2."

Arturia

4.2

(27)

"Got a minifreak last year and I don't regret it."

"MiniFreak all the way."

"Polybrute would be my suggestion after all of the everything in its place challenges it was the best sounding to me."

"I’d get a polybrute."

"I strongly recommend the MS-20 / Microfreak combo."

"The arturia minibrute is for sub bass. No one ever gives it love."

"ΜFreak."

"The microbrute was my first synth and I still love it."

"Minifreak. Tons of depth without being overly complex."

"Arturia Minifreak is great as well, it has a ton of engines and also can do samples."

Moog

4.6

(20)

"I use the moog minitaur and it sounds great"

"Moog Minitaur always takes me straight to electro land:)"

"Moog Subsequent 37."

"DFAM - beats, melody and drones that are fun and simple to dial in."

"Model D can make some great NES sounds with the square or triangle oscillators."

"Get a Moog"

"For me it was the Moog Model D, but since that's about $9,000 in my money I settled on the Boog."

"Moog Mother 32 is pretty awesome"

"No budget limit: moog one."

"Money not an issue: Moog One."

Novation

4.3

(21)

"Novation Peak or Summit: wide palette and hard to make sound bad."

"If you have the cash or can find a good one used, Bass Station II all the way."

"Bass station ii for that use."

"Bass Station 2"

"I know you said analog, but consider the Novation Summit. It’s a hybrid synth with digital 'Oxford' oscillators."

"Novation ultranova is a really amazing synth for the price."

"Probably the Novation Peak"

"It would be my Novation Summit."

"Novation Peak can get into really interesting territory."

"But i recommend bass station or anything monosynth for focus on bass and single note melodies"

Roland

4.2

(19)

"Jx3p easily"

"Roland System-8 is a beast."

"I got a Roland System 8 recently and fuckin' love it."

"Does the Roland SH-4d count?"

"FWIW my go-to is the Roland SE-02."

"Roland V-SYNTH"

"I’d look into Roland se02 if a mono is ok"

"SE-02? SH-01A/MS-1? Monologue? Bass station II?"

"I would consider my Roland System-8 to be completely adequate."

"I instantly thought of Roland JV-1080 / JD-990."

Elektron

4.6

(16)

"Analog 4"

"Honest to god I'd be content with anything Elektron."

"Analog 4"

"Digitone. No question"

"All the synths you listed are great but I'd recommend the DN if it's supposed to be your main or only tool for experimental music."

"Get the syntakt lol. it's analogue / digital / fm, can do melodic, generative, experimental ..."

"I would recommend a digital synth OR just sampling the bass notes."

"The way you can fade in/out FM over time and use LFOs to modulate other stuff to make even weirder sounds its unparalleled in my opinion."

"Analog Four"

"Digitakt or digitone"

Behringer

4.0

(14)

"Behringer Deepmind 12D."

"The behringer neutron would add a lot to the mother 32"

"If you want analog I'd go for something like the Deepmind"

"Bass station 2, behringer model d, or any moog monosynth"

"The behringer Poly D is an analog polyphonic that is based on Moog Model D at around $600"

"Otherwise I’d say the Behringer neutron!"

"Behringer Poly D"

"Virus TI, or neutron by behringer are pretty good for basses."

"Tight budget: Behringer Deepmind 6."

"I have the Behringer DeepMind and I love it."

Access

4.4

(11)

"Virus Ti, hands down"

"The access virus is pretty beast."

"I've got the virus ti, that thing is a beast and was well worth the price."

"Any hardware synth that uses a saw wave. Two off the top of my head are the Nord Leads and Access Virus."

"Access virus."

"Virus TI"

"I have a virus ti snow which is my absolute favourite."

"Virus Ti2 comes to mind."

"Virus!"

"Virus + Octatrack"

#10

Waldorf

4.4

(10)

"Waldorf Quantum"

"Waldorf Quantum/Iridium can become your new best friend"

"Waldorf Quantum/Iridium can become your new best friend."

"For harsh digital the blofeld is awesome."

"Waldorf Blofeld is nice."

"Look *very* closely at the new Waldorf Quantum."

"Waldorf Blofeld Module can pull off some juno sounds."

"The blofeld is totally perfect for this kind of stuff."

"Get a Blofeld. It has 16 parts, which will allow you to sequence 16 different patches at once."

"How about a Waldorf Blofeld? Nice and versatile synth on a budget."

#11

Dreadbox

4.6

(7)

"Dreadbox typhon"

"Dreadbox Typhon is terrific if you want analog!"

"Dreadbox Typhon. It has time based FX and granular built in and a 13 lane mod bus."

"Tight? Dreadbox Typhon"

"Dreadbox Typhon would suit but why not use a nice bass sample on one of the digitakt tracks?"

"I couldn't recommend the Dreadbox Typhon highly enough for this."

"I think Deadbox Typhon is a cool option if you want a small analog monosynth."

#12

ASM

4.8

(4)

"Hydrasynth"

"Hydrasynth is another great option."

"Any of the Hydrasynth series synthesizers can do this."

"ASM Hydrasynth"

#13

Teenage Engineering

4.3

(4)

"Get an OP-1. Multiple synth engines, samplers, space for drum sets, sequencers, and 4-track converter."

"OP-1f. I never liked fat, beefy sounds."

"Portable: op1."

"I've gotten a lot of mileage out of an old OP-1."

#14

Hydrasynth

4.3

(4)

"Hydrasynth. Can kick out some seriously punchy sounds."

"I have the Hydrasynth Explorer and it’s really powerful."

"Hydrasynth"

"Has no one mentioned the Hydrasynth yet?"

#15

Nord

4.0

(4)

"Nord Wave 2"

"The two that spring to mind in the new category are the Nord Wave 2 and the Access Virus TI."

"Something like a Nord Wave 2 could possibly give you a similar amount of flexibility."

"Nord Wave 2"

#16

Make Noise

4.0

(3)

"A used make noise 0-coast is a pretty good pick."

"I like the 0-Coast. It has a rich tone, but no patch memory."

"0-Coast and Strega fit this description."

#17

Lyra

4.0

(3)

"Lyra 8 might be a good one?"

"Lyra 8."

"You can get some really aggressive sounds out of it by cranking the sharpness and playing with it’s distortion."

#18

Alesis

4.0

(2)

"I have an Alesis Ion I'd let go for that."

"The alesis ion should be on your list if you want a decent vocodor packaged with a great synthesis engine."

#19

Yamaha

4.0

3.0

(1)

"Recently, just brought the Pro-800. The limited presets are not much usable."

Discover your audience

GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.

If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your first customers online, GummySearch is for you.

Tell me more

Get started