Uncover the Top 50 Synthesizers: Discover Your Ideal Synth Match

Synth Guide: Fresh Tones for Your Music Studio

Synthesizers are a tactile treasure trove in the world of music production. The expanding universe of free VST plugins means you can stock your DAW with a full arsenal of digital synths without breaking the bank. But there's something special about the hands-on feel of physical gear.

The synth market is experiencing a comeback, with more tantalizing instruments than ever before. So, it's never been a better time to bring a real synthesizer into your home studio. This guide will cover some of the coolest synths on the market right now.

How To Use This Guide:

Comparing synths head-to-head can be confusing, so we've provided a summary of each machine's essential characteristics such as the type of synthesis, number of voices, and polyphony. For a quick refresh on synth terms, review our Synth Glossary.

Pro Tip:

Plugins are the economical way to capture the iconic sounds of classic synthesizers in your music. Arturia's Analog Lab Lite offers thousands of presets from legendary vintage synths plus yearly subscriptions to our website's extensive library of plugins, AI mastering tool, digital distribution, royalty-free samples, and more!

1. Korg Minilogue

Price: $499.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 4 Voice

Korg's heritage in analog synthesis shines through with the Minilogue, an excellent choice for beginners and veterans alike. It's available in several configurations starting at $499.

2. Behringer Model D

Price: $298.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 2 Voice Paraphonic

Behringer's aggressive foray into the synth market is undeniable. The Model D, a clone of the Minimoog D, delivers classic, fat analog tones in an affordable package.

3. Korg Monologue

Price: $344.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Monologue, Korg's single voice synth, balances simplicity, flexibility, and affordability, making it a popular choice for producers.

4. Behringer Wasp Deluxe

Price: $298.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Behringer's Wasp synth is a gem, offering a unique sound due to its digitally controlled oscillators and analog signal path, ideal for interface in a Euro rack system.

5. Behringer TD-3

Price: $149.00
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Behringer's TD-3 replicates Roland's TB-303 bassline synth, the backbone of Acid Techno's unique sequencer.

6. Korg Volca FM

Price: $149.99
Type: 6-Op FM
Polyphony: 3 Voice

Korg's Volca series, compact modules marry a simple interface and musical sequencing with great sound engines. The digital Volca FM features a 3-voice, 6-operator FM synth engine.

7. Korg Volca Keys

Price: $149.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 3 Voice

The Volca Keys offers 3 analog voices for creating fat analog leads and chords.

8. Korg Volca Bass

Price: $149.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Volca Bass, compact and monophonic, excels in creating basslines. Its sequencer ensures tons of bassline groove like the original.

9. Korg Volca Kick

Price: $149.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Is a drum machine a synthesizer? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The Volca Kick synthesizes a surprising amount of bass and kick-in a compact package!

10. IK Multimedia Uno

Price: $199.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Uno from IK Multimedia, a new player in the analog world, offers an affordable monosynth with a heavy analog sound.

11. Korg Volca Modular

Price: $199.99
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Volca Modular is a patchable, semi-modular edition of the Volca series, perfect for exploring the world of modular synthesis.

12. Behringer Crave

Price: $249.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Behringer Crave, another patchable, semi-modular mono synth, features an onboard step sequencer and arpeggiator for instant groove action!

13. Yamaha Reface CS

Price: $286.65 USD
Type: Virtual Analog
Polyphony: 8 Voice

The Yamaha Reface CS offers lush pads, fat basses, and solo leads based on the legendary Yamaha CS series.

14. Yamaha Reface DX

Price: $286.65 USD
Type: 4-Op FM
Polyphony: 8 Voice

The Yamaha Reface DX is an accessible take on Yamaha's legendary FM synthesis designs. Simplifying FM synthesis, lowers the barrier to entry for this unique sound.

15. Behringer Neutron

Price: $289.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 2 Voice Paraphonic

Neutron is a Eurorack synth from Behringer, boasting flexible patching options and an onboard analog-style delay.

16. Arturia Microbrute

Price: $299 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Arturia's MicroBrute, a flexible and affordable synth, comes with patchable mod matrices, syncable LFO and step sequencer, making it a game changer for live performance.

17. Arturia Microfreak

Price: $299 USD
Type: Wavetable, Digital
Polyphony: Monophonic, up to 4 voice paraphonic.

The Microfreak is a hybrid synth that combines digital oscillators with an analog filter, offering powerful and unique sounds.

18. Waldorf Rocket

Price: $329.99 USD
Type: Hybrid Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Waldorf Rocket is a compact synth that emphasizes a powerful sound and simple workflow for instant gratification in sound design.

19. Behringer MS-1

Price: $328.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The MS-1 is a clone of Roland's SH-101 monophonic synth, notable for its popularity in '90s house music.

20. Behringer PRO-1

Price: $348 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The PRO-1, another take on the classic Sequential Circuits Pro-One monosynth, flaunts the original's timeless sound with a modern twist.

21. Roland SE-02

Price: $399.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The SE-02 is part of Roland's unique reissue Boutique series, featuring a fully analog signal path and gorgeous sound.

22. Novation Bass Station II

Price: $439.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Bass Station II delivers a wide array of bass sounds, excelling at creating bass tones with its two tunable oscillators and sub-oscillator, editable with extensive filtering, noise, and ring modulation options.

23. Arturia MiniBrute 2

Price: $449 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The MiniBrute 2 expands on the original MiniBrute with three oscillators, filters and filter envelopes, mixer, amp envelope, LFOs, effects controls, and an arpeggiator, making it a versatile monosynth.

24. Korg MS-20 Mini

Price: $529.99 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

A modern take on Korg's iconic MS-20 synth from the '70s, the MS-20 Mini has storage for user patches.

25. Make Noise 0-COAST

Price: $499 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

A single voice patchable synth that makes use of Moog and Buchla paradigms, perfect for MIDI control and live experimentation.

26. Moog Minitaur

Price: $499 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Designed to handle low-end bass frequencies, the Minitaur's compact form factor works well with MIDI controls and additional editing software.

27. Waldorf Blofeld

Price: $519.99
Type: Wavetable
Polyphony: 25 voice

Blofeld is a powerful wavetable synth that offers an impressive amount of textures with its extensive sampling memory, setting it apart from other wavetable synths on the market.

28. Moog Sirin

Price: $499
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Sirin's mission is to create lead voices to complement the Minitaur's sub-bass. It boasts additional voicing parameters and up to four voices.

29. Behringer DeepMind 6/12

Price: $597.99 / $828 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 6 or 12 Voice

A fully programmable polysynth, the DeepMind offers serious sound design capabilities with two oscillators, two LFOs, and three envelope generators per voice. Four independent onboard effects engines, an eight slot modulation matrix, and built-in step sequencer make DeepMind an incredibly powerful modern analog polysynth.

30. Behringer Odyssey

Price: $588 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic/Duophonic

The Odyssey authenticates the legendary Arp Odyssey synth of the '70s, boasting a pure analog signal path with perfect reproduction of two true analog oscillators.

31. Doepfer Dark Energy III

Price: $590
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

Dark Energy is a purely analog monophonic synth box inspired by semi-modular synthesizers. It's patchable and sports MIDI compatibility, allowing for limitless possibilities.

32. Dreadbox Erebus

Price: $599
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic, 2 Voice Paraphonic

Erebus delivers a great sound, merging a classic style with a sleek and modern design. It's ideal for experimentation thanks to its patchable architecture and solid build quality.

33. Pittsburgh Modular Microvolt 3900

Price: $629.00
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Microvolt 3900 draws inspiration from vintage semi-modular synthesizers like the ARP 2600. With a retro interface, extensive patch bay, and numerous modules, it delivers a truly authentic synthesizer experience.

34. Modal Electronics Argon8

Price: $749
Type: Wavetable
Polyphony: 8 voice

The Argon8 is a powerful wavetable synth that offers a considerable amount of sound-shaping possibilities, thanks to its dual oscillator morphing wavetables, onboard sequencing, arpeggiator, and powerful effects.

35. Moog Mother-32

Price: $649
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

A Eurorack-format synth, Mother-32 is a semi-modular analog synth designed for genre-defining sounds. With flexible patching, extensive editing options, and an arpeggiator, it offers limitless possibilities.

36. Waldorf Pulse 2

Price: $799 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic or 4/8 voice paraphonic

The Pulse 2 resurrects the legendary sounds of the original Pulse that inspired trance music in the '90s with a fresh take on its design and capabilities.

37. Korg Wavestate

Price: $799 USD
Type: Wavetable
Polyphony: 64 voice

The Wavestate is Korg's latest addition to the synth world. It offers an impressive range of sounds from its mix of vector synthesis and a whopping amount of sampling memory.

38. Moog Subsequent 25

Price: $849 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic or 2 voice Paraphonic

The Subsequent 25 offers a powerful blend of classic Moog tones with modern tweak-ability, making it an ideal choice for live performance and bass synthesis.

39. Korg Prologue 8 / 16

Price: $999 / $1499 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 8 / 16 voice

The Prologue expands on the Mini and Monologue series of synths, offering additional synthesis capabilities for more experienced musicians.

40. Malekko Manther

Price: $649 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

A unique synth that features four modules— pulse width modulation, cross modulation, ring modulation, and resonant low-pass filter— for creative sound sculpting possibilities.

41. Sequential Prophet Rev 2 8 /16

Price: $1499 / $1999 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 8 / 16

The Prophet Rev2 updates the ‘08 synth's classic design with improved features and stability, offering an expanded range of timbres for modern production needs.

42. Novation Peak

Price: $1399 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 8 voice

A forward-thinking synth that combines the strengths of analog and digital, the Peak offers two oscillators with stunningly high-resolution digital FGPA-based oscillators, and more, resulting in a versatile sound source.

43. Elektron Analog Four MKII

Price: $1349 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 4 voice

An upgraded version of the classic Analog Rytm, the MKII boasts extensive synth capabilities with a dedicated arpeggiator and sound library, making it a powerful tool for live performance.

44. Moog Subsequent 37

Price: $1599 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic or 2 voice Paraphonic

The Subsequent 37 is an extension to the Subsequent 25, offering a 37-key version with 2 voice paraphonic capabilities, making it an ideal choice for more performative setups.

45. Sequential Pro 3

Price: $1599 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic or 3 voice Paraphonic

The Pro 3 blends classic VCOs with a versatile wavetable oscillator for an impressive range of sounds, an extensive modulation matrix, and an advanced sequencer, resulting in an inspiring blend of modern and classic synthesis.

46. Sequential OB-6

Price: $2999 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 6 voice Polyphonic

The OB-6 is a collaboration between Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith's Sequential, offering an all-analog polyphonic synth with fat, organic tones and the iconic Oberheim sound.

47. Sequential Prophet 6

Price: $2799 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: 6 voice

The Prophet 6 is a modern revamp of the Prophet 5, offering an all-analog design reminiscent of iconic '70s synths. It's perfect for live performance and studio use thanks to its user-friendly interface and versatile sound design capabilities.

48. Moog Matriarch

Price: $1999 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Matriarch is a modern take on the Arturia Brute series, featuring a sleek design and monophonic architecture, coupled with a slew of patching options for hands-on sound design.

49. Moog Grandmother

Price: $999 USD
Type: Analog Subtractive
Polyphony: Monophonic

The Grandmother is a semi-modular synth that provides extra connectivity for patching external gear, making it an ideal choice for modern and live performance setups.

50. Roland D-05

Price: $359 USD
Type: Samples/Wavetable
Polyphony: 4 voice

The D-05 is a recreation of the influential Roland D-50 synth, blending samples and wavetables for a unique range of sounds. It's compact and user-friendly, making it an attractive option for modern producers and musicians.

[1] Synthesizer Guide: Top Synths of 2022

[2] Top 20 Best Synthesizers of All Time

[3] Top 5 Best Synths for Beginners

[4] Best Budget Synths for Under $300 in 2022

[5] The Best vintage Synths (35 Best Vintage Synthesizers of All Time)

In the world of music production and sound design, the synth market is experiencing a comeback with an abundance of tantalizing instruments like the Korg Minilogue, Behringer Model D, and Arturia's Analog Lab Lite that cater to the demands of entertainment and music enthusiasts. These synths, including the Korg Monologue, Behringer Wasp Deluxe, and Yamaha Reface CS, offer a diverse range of sounds, enhancing the creativity and versatility in music production.