Hardware Synth reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 380 Reddit reviews across 13 subreddits and 60 posts to rank the best Hardware Synth brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/synthesizers, r/windsynth, r/edmproduction, r/dnbproduction, r/TechnoProduction. Top-rated brands include Korg (4.3/5), Arturia (4.3/5), Moog (4.7/5).
Stats
Reviews380
Subreddits13
Posts60
Brands27
Products97
380 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Korg
4.3
(55)
"It has been incredibly intuitive to get started."
"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"
#2
Arturia
4.3
(41)
"Arturia polybrute Hold down save, press the location, create a name. That simple"
"Got a minifreak last year and I don't regret it."
"MiniFreak all the way."
"The Arturia Matrixbrute and Polybrute have an incredible mod matrix that lets you route just about anything to anything."
"The Arturia Matrixbrute and Polybrute have an incredible mod matrix that lets you route just about anything to anything."
"I am a huge proponent of the micro freak"
"I loved my MicroBrute. great synth to learn the properties of subtractive synthesis on and really fun to play."
"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."
#3
Moog
4.7
(36)
"I've really enjoyed using a Moog Mother 32"
"I use the moog minitaur and it sounds great"
"Moog Minitaur always takes me straight to electro land:)"
"Moog matriarch dark, it's the only synth I think I ever will need..."
"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 dfam - so much fun to play around, almost always sounds good"
#4
Sequential
4.8
(32)
"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."
"Analog Poly: Prophet 6"
"Prophet 5 because it is a perfect polyphonic synthesizer."
#5
Novation
4.4
(33)
"One of the best synths for EWI is hands down the Novation Peak. Absolutely wonderful synth."
"Novation Peak or Summit: wide palette and hard to make sound bad."
"I love how the Summit works, it’s so fast and intuitive."
"If you have the cash or can find a good one used, Bass Station II all the way."
"Bass station ii for that use."
"A used Novation Summit - simply an amazing, beautifully designed synthesizer!"
"Novation Summit - logical workflow and lovely poly sound"
"Novation Summit"
"Bass Station 2"
"I would check out a Novation Bass Station II on the used market."
#6
Elektron
4.5
(26)
"Analog 4"
"Honest to god I'd be content with anything Elektron."
"Analog 4"
"Digitone. No question"
"My Syntakt does really really well IMHO and so does the Summit. Those are always a breeze manage projects."
"Analog rytm - favorite drummachine, sounds good, flexible, fun to do lots of stuff"
"I love it, when I got mine I was looking for a 0-Coast bit the dealer had none and presented the Digitone to me, I was sold almost instantly and never regreted it."
"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."
#7
Behringer
4.2
(27)
"Awesome little synth for the price. If you like Stef’s suggestion of Mother 32 but want something a little more affordable — I can now recommend Crave"
"Holy hell this thing is great! To my surprise, it responded immediately to MIDI CC 5 for glide time! Hot damn!"
"The crave was my first hardware synth and i love it ever so dearly."
"The Behringer Deepmind 12 is very good about this. It can let you audition the original patch you were working over and when you want to write it you can audition other existing patches in different slots."
"The deepmind mod routing lets you create a huge variety of classic subtractive synth sounds"
"For affordable, I always recommend the Behringer Deepmind 12. It can do so much for the price."
"Inexpensive (<$200) ones are: Behringer Crave ($160 new. $130 used)"
"Bass - behri model d"
"It's 8 note polyphonic, with presets you can mess around with, and figure stuff out with."
"The behringer neutron would add a lot to the mother 32"
#8
Roland
4.0
(26)
"Roland V-Synth, a Moog One and a Akai MPC Key 61 is a good combination."
"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"
"Roland TB-303"
"OG SH-101."
"Tb-303"
"I’d look into Roland se02 if a mono is ok"
#9
ASM
4.7
(16)
"Probably the single most complete synth engine you might want to have as an entry user, but at the same time it's crazy, and I mean CRAZY fun to fiddle with."
"Hydrasynth"
"Hydrasynth is another great option."
"Yeah, gonna have to go ahead and chime in with the Hydrasynth, too."
"Hydrasynth Deluxe - what else?"
"1) Hydrasynth 2) Hydrasynth 3) Hydrasynth"
"To me the Hydrasynth comes first in mind. It has great visual representation of the lfo’s and the envelopes as well as the wavetables, and is pretty much hands on."
"I got the deluxe last year and I am constantly blown away by it."
"I love synths and my Hydrasynth is my favorite piece of gear for a lot of reasons."
"I think the hydrasynth explorer is the way to go!"
#10
Waldorf
4.3
(16)
"If you have the budget can do everything you want and is that sweet spot between vst and having all the knobs at the ready."
"Waldorf Iridium/Quantum. The only synth that can basically do anything."
"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."
"Something interesting, from Waldorf maybe, a quantum or iridium perhaps."
"The Waldorf Iridium might be the ultimate machine for your purposes, especially its visual aspects and versatility, but it is way more expensive though."
"Finally, There's the Waldorf Iridium."
"Waldorf Blofeld is nice."
#11
Access
4.5
(15)
"Virus Ti, hands down"
"A virus TI2 should be the top of the list."
"A virus ti2 hits all the marks."
"The access virus is pretty beast."
"Really classic tone."
"I've got the virus ti, that thing is a beast and was well worth the price."
"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"
#12
Dreadbox
4.5
(10)
"I love, love, love the Dreadbox Typhon for EWI. Massive MIDI implementation, massive mod matrix, tons of very solid FX, that awesome Dreambox sound — and it’s even pre-configured with a CC2 mod lane that makes breath routing."
"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 can advise the Dreadbox Typhon, I think that the knobs are very easy and fun to play in a live performance if you program it correctly."
"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."
"The Dreadbox Typhon sounds great."
#13
Nord
4.3
(8)
"Nord Lead is idiot proof - enter save mode - bank/patch number starts blinking and you can scroll through patches and quickly listen to them before deciding."
"Any hardware synth that uses a saw wave. Two off the top of my head are the Nord Leads and Access Virus."
"Nord Wave 2"
"Nord lead has sound manager"
"Nord Wave 2 - probably the one if you were looking for sample-loading capabilities."
"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"
#14
Yamaha
4.3
(6)
"Might I suggest a Yamaha Montage? It integrates perfectly with a DAW like Cubase, acts as audio and midi interface and delivers all the sounds you mentioned and some more."
"Yamaha FS1R Oberheim Matrix12 Kawai K5000 You can keep on editing patches for decades and you're still not done."
"Yamaha Montage m8x"
"Yamaha montage"
"DX-7 (or a modern equivalent)"
"Dx7"
#15
Dave Smith Instruments
4.6
(5)
"OB-6"
"Sequential Pro 3 - badass mono"
"Sequential Pro 3"
"Ob6 and trigon 6 have really easy to save functions. Press write and the number, done."
"Pro 3 for mono synth in my opinion"
#16
Akai
4.5
(4)
"I have the EWI 5000 and can recommend it."
"If you’re ok with spending time to learn a new instrument, I’d recommend the EWI 5000. It will just be getting use to the touch sensitive keys and the roller octaves."
"You get a classic sampler/sequencer and synths."
"MPC Live for two out of three."
#17
Hydrasynth
4.3
(3)
"Hydrasynth. Can kick out some seriously punchy sounds."
"Hydrasynth"
"Has no one mentioned the Hydrasynth yet?"
#18
Teenage Engineering
4.3
(3)
"Get an OP-1. Multiple synth engines, samplers, space for drum sets, sequencers, and 4-track converter."
"Portable: op1."
"I've gotten a lot of mileage out of an old OP-1."
#19
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."
#20
ARP
5.0
(2)
"For pure sound design an Arp 2600 or Synthi/Syntrx is honestly the best bet."
"If our studio caught fire I'd try to save the ARP 2600, Minimoog and the Juno 106."
#21
Yamaha VL70m
5.0
(2)
"The ideal would be an old used Yamaha VL70m module if you can find one."
"The VL70m is the perfect mate for WX7."
#22
Udo
5.0
(2)
"Udo Super 6"
"I love the immediacy of the UDO Super 6. All you do is press the bank button for the band you want, then hold the patch button you want to save to for 3 seconds."
#23
EMS
4.5
(2)
"EMS Synthi or VCS-3"
"Synthi, 2600, Matriarch"
#24
Lyra
4.0
(2)
"Lyra 8 might be a good one?"
"Lyra 8."
#25
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."
#26
Groove Synthesis
4.0
(2)
"Digital Poly: 3rd Wave"
"Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, because it does almost everything the other two don’t."
#27
Ableton
5.0
(1)
"The Push is the best for what you’ve asked for"
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