Behringer has a few classic synths built into the same sort of format. This includes takes on the legendary Minimoog, classic Korg MS-20 and French made Kobol synth, but for me it’s the Wasp that’s the most fun.

The Crave is a reflection of a modern day classic, the Moog Mother-32. Behringer took the architecture of Mother-32 and boiled it down to a straightforward and great sounding shadow of itself. While it has none of the class or aesthetic beauty of the origianl it does capture the sound and playability giving you a great synth at a third of the cost.

Crave is semi-modular meaning that out of the box it will make regular synthesizer sounds just by turning the knobs. However, if you wanted to think a bit more outside the box then it has an 18 x 14 patch matrix so you can cable up your own ideas.

It has a single analog oscillator with a pair of waveshapes and a noise generator. The resonant 24dB filter delivers exactly what a filter should and with a little bit of modulation it really elevates. Modulation is easy and deliberate with a single LFO and simple envelope.

The arpeggiator and 32-step sequencer make it easy to fine tunes and possibilities as you explore patching and enjoy the sense of classic synthesis that this little machine generates. Like the Mother-32 the Crave is a relaxed and groovy place to enter the world of the synthesizer.

Street Price: $199
Behringer.com

Behringer has a few classic synths built into the same sort of format. This includes takes on the legendary Minimoog, classic Korg MS-20 and French made Kobol synth, but for me it’s the Wasp that’s the most fun.

The Behringer Wasp is based on the quintessential British synth, the EDM Wasp Deluxe from 1979. They’ve taken the synth, the look and the logo really quite shamelessly. The Wasp was all about character, from the rasp of the filters, to the grit of the digitally controlled oscillators. So it’s not as clean or as well behaved as some other synths; but that, of course, is why we like it.

The Wasp has two digitally controlled oscillators switchable between ramp, pulse and square. Oscillator 1 can enjoy pulse width modulation and oscillator 2 has a bit of detuning. The analog filter is multimode with low, high, bandpass and notch options and a lovely sweepable resonance. There’s a loopable envelope for the VCA and another for modulation purposes. It has a well-endowed LFO with six waveshapes.

So, there’s a lot of good synthesis going on but it’s well laid out, clear and gorgeous in the yellow and brown. Perhaps what it lacks is any arpeggiator or sequencer so you’ll going to have to connect it up to something, but once you do it’s a whole load of fun.

Street Price: $149
Behringer.com

The first in the “micro” series from Behringer is a teeny weeny take on the Roland JP-8000 synthesizer. The JP-8000 was one of the first virtual analog synthesizers that used computer models of oscillators as a sound source. It gave all the sound (arguably) of analog synths but with the convenience of digital control, stability and parameter recall. The JT-4000 takes this idea and miniturises it so you can buy it and put it in your pocket for the price of a video game.

The JT-4000 has four voices, each with two oscillators that can run any of six modelled waveforms. This includes sawtooth, square, triangle, noise and the supersaw shape that made the JP-8000 famous. It has an analog lowpass filter with dedicated knobs which gives the synth a nicely juicy edge.

It has dual ADSR envelopes and a pair of LFOs for plenty of modulation. There’s a useful arpeggiator and you can store up to 32 presets. It’s not exactly brimming with controls and that 16-note capacitive touch keyboard is not going to feel great, but it is ridiculously compact and sounds excellent for a crazy price.

Other Micro and Mini synths are on their way from Behringer which should all be under $100.

Street Price: $49
Behringer.com

Behringer has turned the synthesizer industry on its head with it’s remarkable cut-price synthesizers. They bring long-lost classic synths back to life, that would cost a fortune in the second-hand markets, and put them in reach of everyone. The most affordable option is Behringer’s take on the classic Acid-inspiring synth, the Roland TB-303.

Behringer calls it the TD-3 and it sounds amazing. It looks great, it has all the functionality of the original Bass Line monosynth and in no time you’ll be tripping out those squelchy melodies and tweaking that filter like it’s the early 1990s. The sequencer takes some getting used to, it’s authentically difficult but that’s all part of the character.

In terms of improvements over the original 303, Behringer has added a distortion effect that’s based on the Boss DT-1 pedal. It also has MIDI and USB connection so you can sequence the sound and parameters from your DAW if you wish.

The TD-3 is every bit a 303 down to its bones. It’s fun, quirky, available in a range of colours and will have you wanting to buy a companion drum machine.

Street Price: $129
Behringer.com

The Korg Volca FM2 is a perfectly formed 6-voice FM digital synthesizer. It perfectly encapsulates the sound of the classic Yamaha DX7 with its 6 Operators and 32 FM Algorithms. The crazy thing is that this little box can load original DX7 sounds via a webpage interface.

But let’s not get too excited, the Volca FM2 is not trying to be an old Yamaha synthesizer, it has ideas of its own. The Volca series are all about the 16-step sequencer. It puts a forever evolving machine of movement in your hands that’s enormous fun to use. You can throw in notes, move steps around, warp and randomise. But the greatest thing is the Motion Sequence that captures knob movements, changes and parameters onto every step.

The result is a synth that’s alive and energised. While it only has a few controls they are perfectly curated to move all the right stuff under the hood to give you an enjoyable FM experience without the headache of deep programming. It feels good, sounds good, has some great effects built in and can run brilliantly over MIDI for a much bigger synth experience.

Korg has several other Volca boxes around this price point that cover bass lines, drums, percussion and other synth styles but for me the FM2 is the best yet. Check out my review in the video above.

Street Price: $169
Korg.com

This is from an unexpectedly brilliant range of compact synths from Roland. The S-1 starts off by trying to emulate the classic SH-101 but then somehow subverts, expands and runs off down a completely different road.

The S-1 is based on the software ACB (Analog Circuit Behaviour) emulation of the SH-101 synthesizer. It has the tone and character of that classic playful monosynth. But because this isn’t restricted by the physicality of analog oscillators Roland has fleshed it out into four voices. So it play like a polysynth using the same waveforms, mixing and filter that we love from the SH-101. The filter sounds amazing and all the controls are right there on the front panel in miniature form.

However, then it starts to deviate. The S-1 has a function which lets you draw your own waveforms, blowing the lid off the sonic capabilities. You can introduce harmonics and overtones that take it in very different directions. Couple to that is a decent effects engine which adds chorus, delay and reverb giving it a much more cinematic sound. The expanded 64-step sequencer can acquire information from all the knobs to inject motion into the movements. Talking of which, you can pick up the S-1 and use physical movement to alter parameters.

The S-1 is far too much synthesizer and far too much fun in a little box that sounds better than anything many times its price.

Street Price: $199
Roland.com

Roland.com

This is possibly once of the most complex compact synthesizers you will ever come across. The Volca Modular is designed to follow the esoteric path of the Buchla West Coast synthesis model. A path that takes you to strange, experimental and otherworldly places. It may take longer to get into than your average synth but it won’t sound like anything else you’ve played with.

The Volca Modular from Korg is a semi-modular analog synthesizer with 50 patch points, a 16-step sequencer and a quizical interface. It’s a similar size to the Behringer mini synths and uses thin patch wires to give you a modular patching experience. It has centers of uncertainty, functions to fiddly with and pathways to low pass gates. It also has a steep learning curve, but not worthwhile is ever easy.

It does make sound without patching so you have a place to start. But once you begin to place those patch wires it can take on a personality all of its own.

The sequencer, like with all Volca sequencers, brings a lot to the table. Each step is capable of recording all sorts of paraemters and you can build a map of motion across the steps that can result in exquisite outcomes.

It’s different, it’s a bit weird and will keep you thoroughly entertained.

Street Price: $169
Korg.com

Bastl Instruments do things differently. Their synths are often about the collision between creativity, art and electronics. It’s more about experimentation than predefined and sensible synthesizer architecture.

The Kastle ARP brings a unique modular melody generator to the palm of your hand. It gather noble sine waves and destroys them with gleeful abandon. It quantizes, it reverse through digital waveshapers, it finds notes and chords and finds variation where none should exist.

It will make noise by itself but with a handful of artfully placed patch wires it will alter time, speed up the harvest and teleport you off this rock. It’s perfect for beauty, awesome for distress, instinctively chip tune and never completely under your control.

You don’t worry about the specs or technical details, you simply give in to the mood of the Kastle ARP and enjoy the ride.

Street Price: $107
Baslt-Instruments.com