I’d always loved music but it was hearing Prince - and more importantly seeing his video for “1999” with the prominent placement of Oberheims - that I fell in love with synthesizers. My first was a Korg Poly-800 and I haven’t looked back since. These days my studio is full of mostly Japanese synths from the 1980s (I live in Japan, after all) but really, I love all kinds. Analog, digital, whatever.
My musical tastes tend towards the electronic. The first record I released was a Chicago acid throwback in 1993. Since then, I’ve done techno, breaks, drum and bass, dubstep and even Krautrock but the genre I keep coming back to is ambient. Leave me alone with a droning synth and I’m endlessly happy.
Dave Smith’s Sequential Circuits started a synth revolution and then kept on going. Here’s their story in this history of Sequential.
Polyend soups up its Play groovebox with four synth engines—three virtual analogue and FM/wavetable—and stereo samples plus DAW integration.
In this week’s edition of Synth Deals, we’ve selected some exciting offers on incredible synthesizers for electronic music production.
Forget Akihabara and Mt. Fuji. Let us help you plan your tour of the beautiful country of Japan around what’s really important - synthesizers!
With so many drum machines released every year, it's hard to keep track. Here are 5 underrated drum machines that should be on your radar.
Celebrate Elektron’s 25th anniversary with handmade limited versions of three of their biggest boxes, the Digitakt, Digitone and Syntakt.
Roland's expansion comes amidst a global downturn, signalling the straight-to-Bad Gear company is actually doing just fine, thank you.
Tom Oberheim went from designing guitar pedals to some of the most revered synthesizers ever made. Here’s his incredible story.
From the Odyssey to the 2600 to the Omni, ARP ruled the synthesizer market in the 1970s and left an indelible mark on the world of music.
Moog changed everything and did it with class. Here is a brief history of the company and the man, from the theremin-beginning to the unsure future.
Custom-skinned version of the popular SP-404MKII phrase sampler includes Stones Throw artist-created sample banks, a vinyl record and mixtape.
Has any other instrument company had so many unintentional hits as Roland? Here are five of its accidental icons, from TR-808 to JP-8000.
Summer 2023 was a banner season for hardware synths. Here’s our list including entries from Sequential, Korg, Behringer and Isla Instruments.
Roland open their second retail store, this time in the heart of Tokyo’s fashion district, Harajuku. Exclusive pictures of synths and more.
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Behringer’s affordable version of the open source Mutable Instruments Marbles Eurorack module makes wild random samples and is now shipping.
Rumours abound that Moog Music is laying off its staff and moving production to Taiwan as a result of its purchase by inMusic. Is this actually true?
Artist guitars and pedals are all the rage so why not synthesizers? Here are seven signature synths featuring artists like we’d like to see.
Not every synth can rise to the top of the best-seller list. Here are five great synthesizers that are still raking in the cash after 10-plus years.
New firmware for TR-8S and TR-6S includes an ACB emulation of the CR-78 and a new instrument made from pitched 808 booms. And they’re free!
The latest monosynth from Analogue Solutions combines some of the best features from the company's recent instruments into one Ample package.
Is it the one after 909? The long-awaited update for D16 Group’s Drumazon 2 will release this 909 Day, September 9, with effects, busses and more.
Is owning a vintage Roland Juno-106 really all it's cracked up to be? We look at this classic polysynth and how you can create its sound.
Ready to buy your first synth but don’t know what to get? Here's some of the best synths for beginners to point you in the right direction.
The 1983 Crumar Spirit, one of the wildest analogue synths ever made, is slated for a revival by the Italian company. Hold onto your hats!