Top 5 Best Synthesizers

If this selection of the best synthesizers takes us into a futuristic world, it mainly lets us travel through the realms of space thanks to its cosmic sounds. From Japan to the United States, from France to England, manufacturers compete in ingenuity to provide us with instruments featuring multiple timbres that touch the soul. Join us in this comparison of the best synthesizers of the moment.

Minilogue XD or mini-Prologue four voices? Here’s the question. This new synth version has indeed abandoned the Minilogue filter to adopt that of the Prologue. The Minilogue XD is designed to sound in polyphonic mode, the synthesis used is hybrid analog and digital based on two VCOs with variable modulated waves, identical to the Prologue, plus the Multi Engine which adds a third oscillator. The sound engine is equipped with three types of sound generators (Noise, VPN, and user slot). The digital effects are high quality thanks to a 32-bit DSP and the synth benefits from automatic and manual tuning for each key. Compared to the Minilogue, the XD adds a stereo output, a pedal input, CV / Gate inputs but removes the audio input to the filter.

More than twenty years after its founding, and following the success of the Mini, Micro, and MaxiBrute, the Grenoble-based company Arturia now tackles the polyphonic analog synth (2 VCO sub-oscillator, 2 VCF and VCA). The PolyBrute features 61 velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keys for six voices of polyphony and retains the concept of the modulation matrix with 12 sources and 32 destinations controlled by a 12 x 8 multicolor button pad. It is also equipped with a 64-step polyphonic sequencer, an arpeggiator up to 32 voices, and another matrix arpeggiator. On the control side, the front panel is loaded with potentiometers, encoders, sliders, push buttons, as well as the Morphée, a 3D wooden touchpad whose movements are displayed on the OLED screen.

The Subsequent 37 is a paraphonic analog synth in the lineage of the Sub Phatty with an extra octave, a panel covered with multiple direct controls, and a semi-weighted dynamic keyboard with aftertouch. Its sound generator includes two VCOs with variable waveforms, a sub-oscillator, a noise generator, and an external audio signal. The 4-pole low-pass VCF filter (switchable from 1 to 4 poles) is identical to that of the Sub Phatty and includes MultiDrive. The Sub 37 also features a programmable step sequencer for a 64-step user pattern. Its arpeggiator is equipped with tap tempo, a latch mode with the ability to add notes within an arpeggio range of plus or minus two octaves, and many playback patterns (up, down, random, etc.).

Combine a five-octave keyboard with two sound modules from the Peak by the same manufacturer and you get the Summit, a high-end hybrid synth weighing 11 kg combining digital (oscillators, modulations, effects) and analog (filters, amp, saturation) technologies. The synth includes 51 potentiometers, one encoder, eight sliders, and 63 switches, while each voice of the Summit can use three oscillators, two multimode VCFs, several distortion stages, and a VCA. Each oscillator offers four classic waveforms (sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth) plus 60 wavetable options editable via a small menu. The Summit operates in bi-timbral mode with two stereo output groups for 16 voices of polyphony. It features a modulation matrix with 22 sources and 38 destinations and a layered arpeggiator with seven playing modes.

Modal, originally specialized in high-end synthesizer manufacturing, has become a reference in wavetable synthesis. After the analog modeling synths Skulpt and Argon 8, here is the Cobalt 8 with eight voices of polyphony whose sound engine is based on 64 oscillators divided into Osc Group 1 & 2, each containing 34 algorithms. The keyboard has 37 keys by default, with an X version of 61 notes and the Cobalt M expander. Like the Argon, the Cobalt 8 is always equipped with a metal joystick offering four assignable axes, an OLED screen, a 512-note real-time polyphonic sequencer, a 32-step arpeggiator, and three effect blocks, but this time it integrates MPE. The Cobalt 8 is compatible with the Modal app standalone and VST3 / AU.

The search for pre-digital sounds has seen an unlimited enthusiasm in recent years, leading to the development of analog synthesizer use. All manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon to try to recreate their legendary machines, some with solid references like Roland, Korg, or Moog, while others arrive with less history but just as much expertise in analog modeling, such as Novation or Arturia. Here is a special top 5 of analog synthesizers.

Top 5 Best Analog Synthesizers Under €700

The first semi-modular in Eurorack format from the pioneer of modular synths, the Mother 32 from the American manufacturer Moog has a single oscillator producing two waveforms, sawtooth and pulse, only one of which is accessible without patching, as well as a ladder LPF and HPF filter. You can modulate the VCO frequency or pulse width with the LFO, knowing that the patchbay offers 32 connection points. The lower part covered with buttons is used to program the 32-step monophonic sequencer that spans eight potential octaves with 64 sequence slots. The Mother 32 receives MIDI Clock and converts the signal to CV. The module can be mounted in two or three units with an optional kit.

The JD-Xi by Roland is a lightweight 37 mini-key keyboard with 128 voices of polyphony that integrates a mono analog circuit coexisting with SuperNatural synthesis, a Drum mode, a real-time/step pattern sequencer, an arpeggiator, and a vocoder with a microphone included capable of processing voice formants like instruments plugged into the input. The microphone has gain control, and the vocoder programs accept chords, Auto Pitch mode which corrects the signal according to a user-defined scale, and Auto Note which detects the fundamental at the input and applies it to the synth pitch. The JD-Xi contains eight banks of 64 four-voice poly-timbral setups.

Direct evolution of the original MiniBrute, the MiniBrute 2 combines analog power with a semi-modular architecture, offering a gateway to the Eurorack world without sacrificing accessibility.

With its analog oscillator with mixable waveforms, Steiner-Parker filter, and the Brute Factor, Arturia's signature sound, the MiniBrute 2 delivers powerful and incisive sounds, as well as soft pads and deep basses.

The 48-point patchbay opens the door to advanced modulation without requiring patches to operate. An excellent choice for musicians wanting to dive into modular while keeping a direct workflow.

Creative features:

- 2 assignable LFOs and a loopable AD envelope

- Built-in step sequencer and arpeggiator

- 25-key keyboard sensitive to velocity with aftertouch

- USB, MIDI In/Out, audio, and Eurorack-ready connections

Arturia MiniBrute 2 BK

Direct evolution of the original MiniBrute, the MiniBrute 2 combines analog power with a semi-modular architecture, offering a gateway to the Eurorack world without sacrificing accessibility. With its analog oscillator with mixable waveforms, Steiner-Parker filter, and the Brute Factor, Arturia’s signature sound, the MiniBrute 2 delivers powerful and incisive sounds, as well as soft pads and deep basses. The 48-point patchbay opens the door to advanced modulation without requiring patches to operate. An excellent choice for musicians wanting to dive into modular while keeping a direct workflow. Creative features: – 2 assignable LFOs and a loopable AD envelope – Built-in step sequencer and arpeggiator – 25-key keyboard sensitive to velocity with aftertouch – USB, MIDI In/Out, audio, and Eurorack-ready connections

• Strengths
• Semi-modular architecture ideal for sound exploration
• Intense and versatile analog sound, from sharp leads to textured pads
• 48-point patchbay to connect to a Eurorack system
• Unique Steiner-Parker filter, very colorful
• Built-in sequencer and arpeggiator
• Robust build quality with metal chassis

• Weaknesses
• No preset memory

See product

Arturia MiniBrute 2 BK

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How to Choose Your Synthesizer Well?

What Are Polyphony, Paraphony, and Multitimbrality?

Polyphony normally corresponds to the number of notes that can be played simultaneously on an instrument. It also depends on the number of “voices,” meaning oscillators used for each note. Paraphony is the equivalent of duophony but with a common path through the same filter and amplifier circuit. Finally, the multitimbral mode (or multitimbrality) allows the use of multiple MIDI channels with different sounds.

Different Types of Synthesis

Various synthesis methods that can generate sound signals are found in digital or analog form in a synth. The most widespread is subtractive synthesis, which appeared in the 1960s. It consists of a basic waveform generated by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), from which harmonics are then removed through filtering (VCF) before shaping the signal’s behavior over time (ADSR). There are also other types of synthesis: granular, FM, wavetable, sampling, and more.

Sound Architecture

Synthesizers are divided into two categories: modular and semi-modular. The former describes a synth whose modules (VCO, VCF, VCA, envelope generators, etc.) are independent and can be connected freely among themselves. Modules are usually “patched” using mini-jack cables. The latter start from a set of modules from the same manufacturer that cannot be changed and usually offer a pre-wired configuration.