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When shopping for synthesizers, there are so many different roads you can go down creatively, and each can be as inspiring as the next. The only obstacle, perhaps, is the wealth of choice we have available, ranging from boutique designers with carefully curated lines of synths and modules to major manufacturers with legacies that go back to the 1960s and 1970s.
Like the music that is made with synthesizers, designing a truly inspiring instrument often involves breaking a few rules. Looking back historically, synthesizers were always viewed with a degree of skepticism when they first emerged in the music industry, and this rebellious spirit is still alive and well today in the form of so many of the incredible analog and digital instruments to which we have access.
In this buyer's guide, we'll take a look back at the history of synthesis, explore classic designs from throughout the last few decades, and check out some of the best-selling synthesizers currently available at Vintage King. So, without further ado, let's begin!
Moog Music Synthesizers
Easily the most recognizable name in synthesizers, Moog Music began its journey in instrument design in the 1950s, creating theremin kits for about a decade before the first Moog synth was invented in 1964, a modular system made up of numerous smaller units. Years later, we are still enjoying and exploring these captivating instruments within Moog's modern lineup.
Historically, Moog is most famous for the miniMoog and its innovative monophonic synths. For this reason, the range reflects this today, with a wide selection of mono and paraphonic synths. At the more accessible end of the spectrum, there's the Moog Messenger, with a modern feature set and a look reminiscent of the Moog Prodigy before we move up to the more involved Subsequent 25 and Subsequent 37 paraphonic synths.
Moog's semi-modular range opens up creative possibilities with the monophonic Grandmother and the larger paraphonic four-voice Matriarch, as well as the Moog Studio range that includes the Mother-32 sequencer-based synth, the DFAM percussion synth, and the more experimental Subharmonicon. Meanwhile, the Labyrinth takes things in a West Coast direction, and the Muse tops off the range with its eight-voice dual-layer architecture.
Sequential Synthesizers
Just as Bob Moog became an icon synonymous with monosynth designs, Dave Smith was a pioneer in his respective field, polyphonic synths, with his Sequential Circuits (now Sequential) brand. Today, Sequential has one of the most extensive ranges of polysynths, drawing from the lineage of the legendary Prophet-5 from the late 1970s.
The Sequential lineup is divided into three distinct sectors, each with a slightly different design philosophy. Within its modern analog range, you'll find options like the Fourm, Trigon-6, and Prophet-6 with enhancements like step-sequencers and digital effects. Then, in the hybrid and performance-based range, the Take 5, Prophet Rev2, and Pro-3 use a combination of analog and digital components for increased modulation and sound design capabilities.
Finally, the Prophet-5 (Rev 4) and flagship Prophet-10 are premium reissues that take the purist approach you'd expect from synths bearing these prestigious names. Here, you can expect a truly authentic sound and user experience with these classic interfaces and the use of discrete analog components.
Oberheim Synthesizers
Established in the late 1960s, Oberheim Electronics broke ground as the first polyphonic synths with patch memory. The concept used an SEM unit for each voice, and although the 4-Voice launched in 1975 was eclipsed soon after by the Prophet-5, it presented its own approach to synthesis and a sound that would later define culture through artists like Prince and Eurythmics.
While the current Oberheim synth lineup is small, it still has options that suit users looking for classic or more modern approaches to synthesis. With the Oberheim equivalent of the Prophet Take-5, the TEO-5, you have a more affordable way to access the classic sound with the mathematical stability of through-zero linear FM, which expands the sonic potential.
Designed in collaboration with Dave Smith, the OB-6 features a modern recreation of the SEM filter with classic discrete VCOs and an X-Mod matrix that lets you modulate pulse width, pitch, and filter cutoff with the first oscillator and filter envelope. Finally, the flagship OB-X8 takes a more traditional approach, but it has the ability to recreate the characteristics of the two-pole SEM filter, the four-pole Curtis from the OB-Xa, and the smoother Curtis filter from the OB-8.
Yamaha Synthesizers
Yamaha's synthesizer legacy is as prestigious as any manufacturer in history, with innovative firsts in multiple eras in analog, digital FM, and modeling synthesis that continue to inspire musicians and instrument designers globally today. The current synth lineup starts with the Reface series, a selection of battery-powered mini keyboards that delve into different areas of the Yamaha sound.
From here, we move to the lightweight and budget-friendly MX Series, with over 1000 legacy voices from the MOTIF series, ideal for performers needing immediate access to tried and tested sounds. Finally, the Yamaha range ascends into the flagship MONTAGE Series workstations, featuring three distinct sound engines including the sample-based AWM2 engine, the 8-operator FM-X engine, and the virtual analog AN-X engine.
Although the MOD-X M and MONTAGE M share the same sonic architecture, the MONTAGE M features a significant upgrade in the quality of the chassis and keybed, as well as a range of premium features like polyphonic aftertouch and double the voice count and onboard memory.
Teenage Engineering
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Teenage Engineering exemplifies the modern approach to electronic instrument design, riding the line between consumer electronics and professional audio, drawing inspiration from Dieter Rams minimalism and classic video game aesthetics.
Throughout the Teenage Engineering range, there is a distinct emphasis on portability, with devices that range from compact, mobile sketch pads to flexible performance stations that can become the central hub of your electronic music production or performance rig. Starting with the popular Pocket Operator series, with units that each seem to have their own personalities, the range then moves to the EP series sampling grooveboxes with arrangement features and effects.
The flagship OP series is quite a step up in functionality, with the OP-1 Field that takes a futurist approach to the familiar "four-track Portastudio" concept. The OP-XY takes things in a more electronic direction with a 16-channel step sequencer and synthesizer, capable of controlling a myriad of other instruments in your setup.
Elektron
Founded in the late 1990s in Gothenburg, Sweden, Elektron embedded itself in the global electronic music movement by creating instruments that resonate strongly with performance-oriented workflows. Rising at around the same time as Ableton Live, Elektron instruments provided users with an alternative reality to DAW-based production, with a lineup of grooveboxes, synths, and drum machines with definitive creative identities.
Rather than taking a traditional approach and building instruments one might play a single part within the song creation process, Elektron instruments are designed for you to create a multitude of ideas and arrange songs on the fly. The current range includes the basic Model series grooveboxes, performance samplers like the Digitakt II and the Octatrack MKII, drum and rhythm creation tools like the Analog RYTM MKII and the Syntakt, and the flagship Tonverk hybrid multisampler.
The instruments that are the closest to traditional synthesizers are the Analog Four MKII four-voice polyphonic synth and the Digitone II 16-voice FM synth. While you can always connect a keyboard and play these instruments like a "normal" synth, you'd be missing out on the unconventional groove-based approach they were created with, and the impressive built-in sequencers.
Studio Electronics
Within the evolution of synthesis, rather than pivoting into digital FM and virtual analog designs over the 1980s and 1990s, the California-based boutique manufacturer Studio Electronics stayed in its lane, creating premium discrete analog designs. Within the current SE lineup, the flagship rackmount synths like the paraphonic SE-3X, the monophonic Midimini V30, and the polyphonic Omega 8 offer tremendous sound creation power with lush high-quality analog sound.
Meanwhile, in the desktop range, you'll find the powerful Boomstar series of compact semi-modular monosynths with different versions that have filters inspired by classic synths like the ARP 2600, the KORG MS-20, the miniMoog, the Yamaha CS-80, the Roland JUNO-106, and the Oberheim SEM.
This same Boomstar concept is also available in a range of individual Eurorack modules, along with a range of 2600-inspired complete synth voice modules with filter and envelope sections. Overall, you'll find quality throughout the SE lineup, with a wide array of different ways to work with classic analog subtractive synthesis.
UDO Audio Synthesizers
UDO Audio's impressive range of hybrid binaural FPGA synths is manufactured in Bristol, UK, with a unique design philosophy that combines familiar retro-inspired interfaces with digital sound generation and high-quality analog electronics. Each synth in the range has a unique binaural mode, which assigns a pair of synth voices for each note played.
The magic happens when you offset the phase of the LFO between the hard-panned voices, which creates a shifting 3D spatial effect. Within UDO's flagship 'SUPER' series, there are models with different voice counts, including the 12-voice SUPER 6, the 16-voice SUPER 8, and the 20-voice SUPER GEMINI.
Meanwhile, the most recent addition to the UDO family is the eight-voice dual-layer DMNO, with an impressive analog stereo multi-core filter section and eight different play modes that determine how the two four-voice synth engines interact and respond to the keyboard input.
Mellotron
Inspired by an American post-war instrument called the Chamberlin, the Mellotron was later developed in 1963 in Birmingham, UK. This primitive electro-mechanical sampler used a bank of 8-second tape strips containing recordings of instruments like strings, flutes, cellos, and brass, which were triggered by the keyboard.
Although the company went out of business in the mid-1980s, a Swedish engineer named Markus Resch took over in 2001 and moved operations to Stockholm before he began developing the digital Mellotron line that launched in 2010. This gives you an array of options for adding the Mellotron sound to your rig in different ways, starting with the Micro Module and the compact M4000D Micro keyboard.
From here, the M4000D series also includes the travel-friendly M4000D Mini with its semi-weighted Fatar keyboard before we move up to the flagship M4000D, which is designed to replicate every aspect of the playing experience of the original Mellotron. Meanwhile, there's also the M4000D Rack, for those who prefer the sound module format.
Expressive E Synthesizers
Established in 2013, French manufacturer Expressive E specializes in MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) technology to give musicians a more cohesive experience when using software instruments with interfaces that respond continuously to gestures like touch, pressure, and lateral movement.
Using MPE, Expressive E has developed synths and controllers that expand the capabilities of keyboards, giving them a far more organic feel akin to acoustic instruments. There are two distinct keyboard ranges in the Expressive E line, including the Osmose line of standalone synths with the Haken Audio EaganMatrix engine with physical modelling, FM, and subtractive synthesis.
The other range is the Osmose CE or Controller Edition Line, with the same expressive keyboards but without the onboard synth engine. The CE models ship with the Ctrl-E software that includes more than 900 pre-mapped MPE presets for popular synth plugins like Vital, as well as virtual instruments from developers like Dawesome, GForce, and Synapse Audio.
Erica Synths & Modules
Instead of choosing to break bad, former science teacher Ģirts Ozoliņš decided to pursue his interests in synthesizer designs, and eventually founded Erica Synths in 2014 in Riga, Latvia. While some designs lean toward the darker, more industrial side of electronic music, the Erica Synths lineup is extremely diverse.
Within the range of desktop instruments, you'll find techno staples like Bassline DB-01, the accessible Bullfrog series, the powerful Steampipe eight-voice physical modeling synth, and the Perkons HD-01 performance-oriented percussion instrument. For users who like to delve deeper, there is also a range of Eurorack modules and complete systems.
This allows you to combine the premium modules with ones from other manufacturers to build the ultimate creative instrument for your style of music. Overall, the Erica Synths range is loaded with options, giving you unique approaches to sound design and creative effects processing.
Make Noise Synth Modules
Founded in 2008 in North Carolina, Make Noise has become an intrinsic part of the global Eurorack modular community, with uniquely leftfield designs heavily influenced by the West Coast or Buchla-style approach to synthesis, with an emphasis on wave-shaping and complex modulation.
Getting into the Make Noise ecosystem is easy with their range of standalone desktop synths that includes options like the 0-Coast semi-modular synth that combines East and West Coast design philosophies, and the Strega drone synth created in collaboration with Alessandro Cortini, ideal for taking a more experimental and atmospheric approach to sound creation.
For those who like to mix and match modules, Make Noise has the New Universal Synthesizer System (N.U.S.S.) and the Core & Classic ranges of Eurorack modules. Meanwhile, if you're after a comprehensive Make Noise instrument, options like the New Universal Skiff System, the ReSynthesizer, and the Tape & MicroSound Music Machine offer endless creative potential.
Pittsburgh Modular Synths
Founded in Pittsburgh, PA in 2012, Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers has grown from a basement DIY project to becoming one of the most respected manufacturers in the space. The current Pittsburgh Modular lineup is laden with exciting semi-modular keyboards and desktop units, each with their own distinct identities.
With the popular Taiga desktop and keyboard, you get a versatile sound creation platform that combines the East and West Coast approaches, with three-oscillator paraphonic architecture. The most recent addition, the Lifeforms SV-2, gives you a fresh new take on East Coast synthesis with thru-zero FM, dual state-variable filters, built-in spring reverb, and a 37-key keybed with aftertouch.
For the most experimental, West Coast approach, the flagship Voltage Lab 2 has complex wave-shaping capabilities, with unique dynamics controllers, and a 16-note touch controller and sequencer. In addition, the Pittsburgh Modular range of Eurorack modules is equally impressive, especially since these were responsible for putting the brand on the map initially.
Tiptop Audio Synth Modules
Founded in Hollywood, California in 2008, Tiptop Audio rose to become one of the most singularly influential manufacturers within the global Eurorack market, showing the world that modular synth design went far beyond tinkering with a soldering iron and into the realm of mainstream electronic instruments that could hold their own when compared with any of the big-name synths.
Tiptop Audio's exciting line of modules ranges from classic tools like analog drum machine voices all the way up to the groundbreaking polyphonic ART series with their specialized Polytip protocol. What's more, Tiptop has an official collaboration with Buchla USA, bringing the legendary 200t Series into the more accessible Eurorack format.
Some of the highlights of the Tiptop Buchla range include the Model 248t MARF, or Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator control voltage programmer and complex modulation sequencer; the Model 259t & 258t analog oscillators and wave generators; and the Model 296t spectral processor designed for multi-band filtering.
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