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We are living in a golden age of synthesizers where legendary brands meets futuristic intentions and we find whole new avenues of sonic exploration.

The power we have at our fingertips is unbelievable. We’ve moved beyond large clunking machines that can do everything digitally and onto hybrids of nuanced sound, directed intelligence, spectacular design and a flow of nostalgia. Unexpected and familiar sounds are waiting to be discovered behind sliders and knobs that get us deep into the soul of what synthesizing sounds is all about.

A syntheiszer doesn’t have to do everything, it just has to be a joy to use and a sonic adventure waiting to be experienced.

In this roundup of the best synthesizers of 2024, I’m looking at recent synths that really bring something awesome to our fingers and our ears.

Our picks for the best synthesizers of 2024 include:

  • Sequential Trigon-6
  • Dreadbox Nymphes
  • Korg Modwave
  • Arturia PolyBrute
  • Oberheim OB-X8
  • Arturia MiniFreak
  • Roland Jupiter-X
  • UDO Super 6

But first, some FAQs:

Your Questions About Synths Answered

How do I choose a synthesizer?

Robin Vincent

Your first consideration is going to be the cost because the price of a synthesizer can vary from around a hundred dollars, like a Behringer Crave, to many thousands, such as the Sequential Pro 3. Once you have an idea of your budget then the next factor will be the type of sound or synthesis you want to play with.

Do you want classic vintage sounds like the Mutuca FM? Do you want digital sounds with presets like the Korg Modwave? Are you after monophonic basslines and melody or big pads and multiple layers? Think about the sort of music you like and want to make and let that guide your decision and if you can, go to a music shop and try some out.


What's the best synthesizer for beginners?

Robin Vincent

Something simple that has the ability to run its own tunes and can be easily expanded. That means a synth with a sequencer so you can enjoy the running of notes while you play with the sound design.

Good examples would be the TD-3 from Behringer (based on the classic Roland TB-303 bassline) or the Modal Craft Synth 2.0 for its unique range of sounds. For something larger with polyphony and a proper keyboard, I’d look at the Korg Minilogue XD as a great synth to start your synthesis journey with.


How much is a good synthesizer?

Robin Vincent

Behringer has released a bunch of great synths from around $150 to $300 which offer a thoroughly decent synthesizer experience, from the TD-3 to the CAT. But the more you spend the greater the depth, the bigger the sound, and the wider the possibilities.

Pushing up towards $500, you could snag the Dreadbox Typhon, or a Korg Monologue or Behringer MS-1 monosynths.

You’d need to head above $500 to get into polysynths like the Dreadbox Nymphes, Arturia MiniFreak, and Korg Modwave.

Once you are past $1,000 then the world is your oyster with big keyboards, fat monosynths, and your choice of varied and astonishing synthesis — but great little synths don’t have to cost the earth.

Best Synthesizers 2024

On to this year’s best synthesizers.

Sequential Trigon-6

Any of the Sequential synthesizers could make it onto this list without any trouble. The Trigon-6 is the last that Dave Smith worked on and it’s a great-sounding, 6-voice synthesizer that uses three VCOs to give it a huge sound. You could call it a polyphonic Minimoog but it’s so much more than that.

The oscillators are redesigned and offer a tremendous amount of warmth and presence. It has a classic ladder filter but it’s been pushed out of its comfort zone with the addition of drive and feedback to take it from creamy to thunderous and back again.

Modulation options are many and you can run oscillators into each other for some unexpected timbral variations. You can stack the VCOs into a huge unison mode that is simply breathtaking. The front panel is designed for easy sound design free from menu diving or frustration. And at the end, you have a dual effects section for a range of classy effects, reverbs and modulation.

The Trigon-6 is a solid synthesizer with an unparalleled lineage that would fit nicely into any studio.

Street Price: $3,499
sequential.com

Dreadbox Nymphes

Every now and then something comes along that’s a little bit special. Nymphes from Dreadbox is one such synthesizer that somehow packs 6-voices of gorgeous analog sound into a tastily small desktop unit with great control and a stunning price.

Dreadbox isn’t trying to be all synths to everyone but it knows what it is and performs that function perfectly. It oozes fat unison basslines, radiates warm gooey pads and wants to help you find your joy in synthesis.

It has a classic polyphonic analog architecture that’s straight out of the 1980s. It has a single oscillator with variable waveshape feeding into a low and high pass filter controlled by ADSR envelopes and a pair of LFOs. The LFOs seem to have a life of their own with groovy delay and fade functions that take you all the way up to audio rate modulation.

The sliders on the front double up for accessing dual functions that save space while still giving you that hardware feel. A simple menu system unlocks playing modes, modulation options and the fabulous chord mode for capturing notes for instant one-finger playback.

Nymphes does lack effects and some of the functions are hidden but with a MIDI controller and a couple of effects pedals, it is genuinely superb for the price.

Street Price: $599
dreadbox-fx.com

Korg Modwave

Wavetables are all about movement, modulation and dynamics and the Korg Modwave has all that in spades. Filled full of wavetables and coupled with rich analog filters it reflects the idea of the classic 1985 DW-8000 synthesizer and takes it to a whole other level.

Each of the two oscillators can access over 200 wavetables containing up to 64 waveforms. If you run out of waves then you can also add your own with a simple piece of software. Hidden away there’s also a bank of PCM sample-based instruments so you can blend regular sounds with the weirdest and most varied selection of waveforms you’ll find anywhere.

But wavetables are nothing if they don’t move, well, the Modwave has over 30 modifiers to push, pull and twist the waveforms, filters and other parameters into new sonic territory. The Motion Sequencing engine gives you per-step control over the movement of notes and modulation of parameters so that every key-strike is an adventure. And then over on the left is an XY pad with a physics-based Kaoss engine for real-time interaction and multi-dimensional modulation. This thing moves!

You have multiple filter models, two layers of sound, digital effects, randomisation and gigabytes of sounds. This is one fun little monster synth that punches well about its weight and price point.

Street Price: $849
korg.com

Arturia PolyBrute

Ever since Arturia released the MatrixBrute 3 oscillator analog synthesizer in 2016 people have been wondering what a proper polyphonic version would sound like. Arturia took their time but their answer to that question is the PolyBrute and it’s fabulous.

PolyBrute is a 6-voice analog synthesizer with a raw and exciting sound coupled with an expressive interface that elevates it to a new level of playability. It has a powerful modulation engine that can be patched into anything while offering a limitless supply of tones as you morph seamlessly from one preset to another. And then it pours itself through a digital effects processor, bounced around by an arpeggiator and motioned by a sequencer.

This is not just a synth, it’s an instrument. It has a ribbon controller like on the classic Yamaha CS-80 for slides and stretches and then it has the Morphée touch and pressure sensitive 3D controller for inhabiting sounds and bringing the touch of the virtuoso to your movements.

PolyBrute has 2 analog VCOs per voice, dual filters combining a Steiner Parker filter with a Ladder filter in series or parallel, 3 LFOs, 3 envelopes and a 12×32 modulation matrix for keeping everything moving. It’s not lacking in any area of form or function and will keep you in analog synthesis heaven.

Street Price: $2,699
arturia.com

Oberheim OB-X8

The OB-X8 is what happens when the whole world wishes for the same synthesizer all at once. It’s been a long time coming and has had various opportunities to come into being like with the OB-6 that Oberheim made with Sequential a few years ago. But with Oberheim back on its feet, the OB-X8 comes along as the synthesizer that has the greatest of all Oberheim’s synthesizer built right in.

It has a 100% analog signal path flowing from exquisite oscillators to throbbing filters, stinging envelopes and dreamy textures. It comes from years of researching the best possible outcomes, most subtle nuances and full-on warm cuddles of the spirit of the originals. This is a proper synthesizer.

It has 8 voices of pure analog joyfulness. Each voice uses a pair of VCOs that come straight from the Oberheim wall of fame. It has both SEM and Curtis filters that deliver all of the OB-X, OB-Xa and OB-8 character. It can be split into two different machines to run a pair of presets across the keyboard. A useful Vintage knob lets you dial in as much deterioration or perfection as your music requires.

Velocity and aftertouch bring in a new level of expression not previously available on an Oberheim synth. But it’s also not been overwhelmed with zany new ideas. The OB-X8 is solid, unfussy, large and luxurious: a king amongst machines.

Street Price: $4,999
Oberheim.com

Arturia Minifreak

The Minifreak is a continuation of an idea that was first found in modular synthesis. The Mutable Instruments Braids and Plaits trailblazed the idea of an oscillator based on multiple, algorithmic sound engines. Arturia fleshed this idea out with the quirky MicroFreak synthesizer which has now evolved into a much more mature and inspiring MiniFreak.

The MiniFreak is playful, immediate, and full of rich and enchanting oscillations. It can turn on a dime and flip into a completely different character. The huge sound engine is kept under control by the easiest of interfaces. It responds, it modulates, and it bulges with sound and possibility as it folds out into a whole synthesizer experience.

The 22 unconventional sound sources and modulations cascade into an analog filter with multiple modes and self-oscillation. The envelopes and modulators twist and turn via a comprehensive matrix to connect up in unexpected ways. It then falls into a stereo effects section that expands the textures and throws out a wide environment of sound.

And through it all, you can poke and play at every aspect with the keyboard, the sequencer, arpeggiator and create triggerable concepts that bounce and jiggle in many different directions.

Minifreak is almost too much fun, in a compact package that won’t break the bank and has a software version to run alongside.

Street Price: $599
Arturia.com

Roland Jupiter-X

The Jupiter-X is Roland’s flagship synthesizer that owes much to the legacy of the legendary Jupiter-8. It couples together Roland’s futuristic world of modelled synthesis with the hands-on vintage vibe of their classic heritage synths. It’s a lovely looking synthesizer.

The Jupiter-X runs on Roland’s innovative ZEN-Core synthesis engine which has the power to perfectly model all of Roland’s synthesizers down to the last component and offer them up with masses of polyphony, hyper-modern effects and the finest detail of editing. If you wanted every synthesizer in one instrument then that’s the Jupiter-X and it’s growing all the time.

Combining classic tones with futuristic synthesis techniques results in a very unusual sound generating environment where sounds that never existed before are born and evolve into unmapped sonic territory. You have multiple layers with simultaneous arpeggiators working different things into different places, rhythms and adventures.

The Jupiter-X is definitely a synthesizer for the explorer, for the people who like to experiment and bring creative ideas together in sonic forms. The hardware itself is built to last and would look beautiful in any studio. And with the software editor, you can integrate it fully into your DAW.

Jupiter-X is a super-synth. And if it all seems a bit too much then there’s a smaller version, the Jupiter-Xm with the same ZEN-Core engine in smaller form.

Street Price: 
Jupiter-X – $2579
Jupiter-Xm – $1499
roland.com

UDO Super 6

My last selection is the futuristic 12-voice polyphonic binaural analog hybrid synthesizer called the Super 6 from UDO Audio. It’s been a long time coming but it’s promised for this year and has been blowing minds wherever it’s demonstrated.

Super 6 looks like a sci-fi adventure in sound synthesis, combining familiar controls with fantastical sound quality and state-of-the-art technology. It’s all based in FPGA technology, which means the entire synthesizer engine operates inside a digital brain while being manipulated and modulated by control voltage and analog controls. It exudes rich and evolving textures filled from the super-wavetable core and sent down a binaural analog signal path with stereo and spatial effects.

You wouldn’t have heard anything quite like it, while at the same time it conjures up dreams of Oberheim and other fat analog polysynths. It has plenty of modulation, an arpeggiator and sequencer, 24-bit digital effects, and 128 presets.

The potential inside this synth is enormous and we’ve not yet scratched the surface.

Street Price: $2,500
udo-audio.com

Want to explore more synths? Check out our previous articles on the best cheap synthesizers under $100, awesome synths under $500, best modular synths, best polysynths, and top eurorack synths.

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