A Synth World View of a Superb 2024: Synth Journal
A look back at some of the trends and events of 2024 in the synth world...
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For my last entry into this year’s Synth Journal, I thought I’d take a retrospective look at some of the things that caught my eye in the synth world of 2024.
A Synth World View of 2024
Synth Shows
The biggest thing I love about this community of synth enthusiasts is actually meeting people, face-to-face at synth shows. Sure, the gear is the absolute lure, but getting to spend real, proper, physical time with individuals you’ve mostly met and interacted with online is just great.
Whether it is colleagues like my fellow Gearnews team members, people who watch my weekly live stream, industry people who I work with throughout the year, or that ever-growing band of friends who hang out with me online, it is absolutely the best bit of the year.
And this year provided ample opportunity to do all of that with some of the best synth gatherings on the planet! My year kicked off with Synth East, the brainchild of former Gearnews writer Robin Vincent. It’s also my most local event as it’s just up the road from me in my home city of Norwich.
A complete sell-out, it featured some superb stands, excellent live performances and loads of time to talk synths with like-minded people. I can’t wait for the 2025 show!
Then there’s the big one. Superbooth! And this year was as brilliant as ever. The size, the vibe, the weather and the gear all contributed to one fantastic 5 day hang with my synthesizer fam! If you have never been, make it a priority to try and get there. It is an incredible event that goes from strength to strength.
It’s a lot of hard work for those of us in the media because we try to get to see as many people as possible to get the low down on as much gear as we can. 2024 had some incredible things to play, and the list of amazing people I got to hang with went on forever. Top of my list? Lisa Bella Donna and the incredible Anthony Marinelli.
Nestled between Superbooth and SynthFest U.K. is the rather small, but brilliantly hosted Synthesized in Cambridge, U.K. Held at the Centre for Computing History, it’s nothing like the other shows, and that’s what makes it so appealing. I go every year and always take something rare and interesting to display.
SynthFest U.K. is the big event in the British synth world calendar, held annually in the spiritual home of British electronic music, Sheffield. This year’s event was as busy as ever and very well organised by hosts Sound On Sound. The seminars are always a highlight, and there was plenty of cool gear on show.
The last big U.K. show of the year was Machina Bristronica, a heavily modular-based event that takes place in Bristol. It occupies a place between Superbooth and SynthFest in terms of vibe, but on a lesser scale than its Berlin cousin. This year was my first year and as someone who really isn’t that into Eurorack, I felt a little out of my depth, but I did get to hang out with E-MU founder and all round synth genius, Dave Rossum, which was just a joyful experience!
I can’t wait to go to the 2025 versions of all these events and hope to see at least some of you there too! What were your favourite synth world shows of 2024? Let me know in the comments!
Big Analogue Polys are Back!
The synth world got its mojo back when it came to big, analogue polysynths in 2024. Since the analogue synth revival began, its mostly been about monophonic instruments, with polys only getting a little love. But all that changed in 2024 when the synth world received not one, not two, but three big analogue polyphonic synths to savour and enjoy.
Behringer finally delivered on their promise of a huge analogue poly when they finally released the UB-Xa, their take on the classic Oberheim synths of yore. Yes, yes, I know it finally made it out of the factory at the very end of 2023, but it didn’t really start hitting people’s studios until 2024, so I’m standing by that!
For a very tidy sum of less than $1200, a price that has since dropped even further to just $899 at the time of going to press, you get 16 voices of pure analogue goodness with, and get this, polyphonic aftertouch! Also appearing in desktop form, this is the analogue poly for the masses, and sales have borne that out to be true!
And then we had the showdown between two analogue heavyweights. First up was Arturia with their magnificent PolyBrute 12. Building on the already amazing original PolyBrute, they didn’t just double the voice count. It got an amazing new paint job, vents that used physics to cool the whole shebang but the biggest innovation was its stunning FullTouch MPE keyboard mechanism.
To appreciate the PolyBrute 12, you really do have to play it. It is a thing of real beauty and sounds like nothing else. And it’s that sound that sometimes comes in for a bit of stick. Arturia did not want it to sound like every other traditional synth and its Brute oscillators are a wonderful addition to your sonic palette, especially when used with the Steiner Parker filter.
Last but not least, Moog finally gave us the Muse. Never before has a synth been so leaked/anticipated/delayed (delete as applicable)! But when it finally arrived, it had the synth world bubbling with excitement. I got my first taste in Berlin in May, followed by a stellar performance by Lisa Bella Donna who really made it sing.
After the infamous Moog One and all the negative press it came to receive, it was great to see Moog back on form with a solid-sounding analogue poly at a very reasonable price. Much was made about its manufacturing origins and the fact it was the first big Moog music release since its rescue by inMusic. Some people are reporting tuning issues since its release, but the bulk of the synth world seems very happy to have a great Moog poly again.
Is the Vintage Gear Bubble Bursting?
I’m hearing more and more people talking about the vintage synth market not quite being what it used to be, and a quick survey of places like Reverb, eBay and VEMIA might actually bear that point out. It does very much feel like things aren’t selling for what they used to.
Quite why this is is anyone’s guess. Is it the Behringer effect? Have their clones actually affected the vintage market? Are people choosing to buy a cheap clone instead of its vintage inspiration? I can’t answer that definitively, but I’m sure there has been an impact.
You could also look at the fact that the quality of software instruments has become so good that some plugins sound better than the hardware! Or could it be the effect of the global economic downturn in a post-pandemic world that means we all have less disposable income right now?
Whatever the reason, things simply ain’t selling for what they may have done a few years ago. And that means there might never be a better time to pick up that vintage classic you’ve always wanted. But is it safe to do that? Synth techs are telling of increasingly short component supply, or certain parts costing 10x more than before. That bargain vintage synth may end up becoming a huge money pit!
The Hits and Misses of Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has been a staple of innovative synth production in recent years. It seems that both developers and consumers alike embrace this way of building funds to create new and exciting pieces of gear. But it’s not always a bed of roses as backers of Aodyo found out to their cost.
The French innovators seemed to have been on a run of success with their Anyma Phi hardware physical modelling synth. So much so that they announced a polyphonic version called the Anyma Omega which generated a lot of interest and a significant amount of backing.
They also developed and funded a controller called Loom, an equally innovative device that got a lot of people excited. As it turned out, it wasn’t enough to cover the spiralling costs of the development of both products and the company eventually conceded defeat, leaving backers without their products and, more importantly, their money. Not even a software version of the Phi, the Anyma V, could help generate enough funds to keep the company afloat.
Such is the risk of these ventures that one must always enter into one with the words ‘Caveat Emptor’ ringing in your ears. That said, there have been many campaigns that have successfully used crowdfunding to get a product to market this year.
Most notable was the Chompi Club, a cutesy little sampler that was actually a lot of fun to use. Similarly, Sonicware, who seem to be masters of successfully delivering crowdfunded campaigns, brought their LoFi-12 XT and ELZ_1 play to the mass market and all three are enjoying healthy sales!
The Death of Music Tech Print Media
It seems disappointing to end on a sad note, but I think many of us in the synth world saw this coming but it was no less disheartening when Future Publishing announced the demise of two long-serving print titles, Future Music and Computer Music.
To be fair, it could be said that many were surprised they lasted as long as they did, such has been the onslaught of online media in this particular space. The irony of me typing this right now is not lost on me. However, the consumer drives this market, and the consumer has long preferred to consume such content online.
It is impossible these days for magazines to have the same impact as they once did. Each issue is planned well in advance, so when a company decides to launch a new product, the print magazine is often one or two months behind the curve unless the manufacturer is prepared to stall its launch to coincide.
This is almost unheard of now, with online leaks and extremely tight release windows dictating an approach best suited to online. But I, for one, mourn the loss of our print media brethren. I have piles of copies of magazines and have likely binned many more. I even (foolishly) skipped a box full of cover-mount CDs from ’90s editions of the aforementioned mags.
It was a sad few days when this was announced but it’s good to hear that their online incarnations will continue the good work.
Synth Journal Will be Back Next Week!
My colleague Lasse will be back next week with the very last Synth Journal of 2024. Gearnews will be publishing great content over the holiday season, so make sure to check here every day for lots of great content from the synth world we know and love!
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