Please help me decide a hardware synthesizer

[LoveEnigma18]

I am looking to buy my first hardware synthesizer soon, and one that's versatile. I am mostly into alternative rock/pop, R&B, and electronic (not EDM or its sub genres) music. The intention is to enjoy playing wide variety of on-board sounds, tweak existing sounds to a decent extent, create new sounds in some capacity at least, loading external samples/presets would be great, and also to record the sound as audio into DAW to add a "hardware" sound element in my music production.

Based on the budget (or a stretched one) and various considerations, I have shortlisted the options below, but I am unable to decide which one I should get.

Updated list here: viewtopic.php?p=9246729#p9246729

Korg NAUTILUS AT
Korg Wavestate SE
Korg OPSIX SE 61

Roland JUNO-X
Roland FANTOM-06

Yamaha MODX M6

ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe

Note: I like the Korg minilogue XD as well, but I may add it to my setup later, so excluding it for now.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

[Michael L]

Those are all very very different!
Make a spreadsheet with the features you want on the left, give every synth or workstation a column to tick the features, AND note the features each has that you don’t need.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thanks for the suggestion. I agree, and I have indeed started making a spreadsheet as it was getting a bit overwhelming, but it is in progress. So, I thought to post here to get some recommendations from users of the mentioned synths in the meantime.

[cryophonik]

…to add a "hardware" sound element in my music production.

Based on the budget (or a stretched one) and various considerations, I have shortlisted the options below, but I am unable to decide which one I should get.

Korg NAUTILUS AT
Korg Wavestate SE
Korg OPSIX SE 61

Roland JUNO-X
Roland FANTOM-06

Yamaha MODX M6

ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe

Honestly, you are not going to get a “hardware sound” from any of those digital synths. They’re 100% digital and in some cases, their synth engines have been ported directly over to software versions that will sound identical (sans some negligible shifts from A/D conversion). That’s not to say that there aren’t other good reasons to buy hardware, but I wouldn’t prioritize “hardware sound” as a discriminator for any of the synths you mentioned.

[zerocrossing]

I am looking to buy my first hardware synthesizer soon, and one that's versatile. I am mostly into alternative rock/pop, R&B, and electronic (not EDM or its sub genres) music. The intention is to enjoy playing wide variety of on-board sounds, tweak existing sounds to a decent extent, create new sounds in some capacity at least, loading external samples/presets would be great, and also to record the sound as audio into DAW to add a "hardware" sound element in my music production.

Based on the budget (or a stretched one) and various considerations, I have shortlisted the options below, but I am unable to decide which one I should get.

Korg NAUTILUS AT
Korg Wavestate SE
Korg OPSIX SE 61

Roland JUNO-X
Roland FANTOM-06

Yamaha MODX M6

ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe

Note: I like the Korg minilogue XD as well, but I may add it to my set up later, so excluding it for now.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

I wouldn't recommend any of those. Maybe the Minilogue XD. Aside from heating up your studio, none of those offer anything you don't already have. I'd recommend. having a look at some actual analogs or hybrids, which do offer sonic characters that are a bit different than a lot of plugins, and have enjoyable interfaces to work with.

[LoveEnigma18]

cryophonik and zerocrossing:

Thank you, appreciate your suggestions. I understand that these are not proper/actual analog hardware synths, but I want a hardware synth not for the analog sound, but something I can enjoy playing on its own. I am OK with digital hardware synths. I am hoping it will be bring some fun in music production, which sometimes I tend to lose in the box. I have never had any hardware synth, so I thought let me start with something which is familiar in terms of (software) sounds but gives a tactile control.

Also, most of the analog synths are too expensive for me. I would want to get minilogue XD sooner or later as it has that analog sound at an affordable price, but I am looking for more polyphony and a bigger keybed apart from other things.

I wish I could buy UDO Super 6/8, but it is not affordable and not even available in my country.

Do you have any specific recommendations for synths that I should consider checking out? Please note that my budget is $1500 to $2000.

[cryophonik]

I understand that these are not proper/actual analog hardware synths, but I want a hardware synth not for the analog sound, but something I can enjoy playing on its own. I am OK with digital hardware synths. I am hoping it will be bring some fun in music production, which sometimes I tend to lose in the box. I have never had any hardware synth, so I thought let me start with something which is familiar in terms of (software) sounds but gives a tactile control.

Those are all perfectly valid reasons. I just wanted to be clear that the sound won’t be all that different.

Do you have any specific recommendations for synths that I should consider checking out? Please note that my budget is $1500 to $2000.

I’ll defer to others to suggest some items based on the criteria in your OP, which seems to be best fulfilled by a rompler/sampler/workstation type of synth that I don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with. But, you have a LOT of options in that price range, including analog and hybrid polyphonic synths.

I would strongly recommend considering a used synth in excellent condition rather than buying new. The prices on secondhand synths tend to be pretty stable so you can often sell it at no loss if you decide later that hardware is not for you or you just want to replace it with something different. The market is full of synths that people bought brand new, used for 4 hours, realized that they prefer software or that making music is hard, and then dumped them off at a pretty big loss (and I’ve been exploiting that market for 40 years ).

[bmanic]

Of those I'd say the Yamaha MODX M6 is the best bang for the buck (Korg Nautilus probably the most "capable" of those you listed but it's literally double the price of the M6). It has absolutely tremendous range of sounds available, tons of polyphony for create layering and big multitimbral sessions. Just a few days ago I camped in a music store for almost 4 hours playing it. Almost walked home with one but managed to resist.

You can load your own samples onto the thing but apparently the process is a bit convoluted. Still, even if you just stick with the onboard samples and the AN-X VA synth engine, you'll have more than enough things to explore.

I do NOT recommend the Hydrasynth though. I'd strike that off the list immediately. No samples in that one and the VA synth engine is in my opinion it's weakest point. It just doesn't sound very good, no matter how hard you try to tweak it.

[LoveEnigma18]

I understand that these are not proper/actual analog hardware synths, but I want a hardware synth not for the analog sound, but something I can enjoy playing on its own. I am OK with digital hardware synths. I am hoping it will be bring some fun in music production, which sometimes I tend to lose in the box. I have never had any hardware synth, so I thought let me start with something which is familiar in terms of (software) sounds but gives a tactile control.

Those are all perfectly valid reasons. I just wanted to be clear that the sound won’t be all that different.

Yes, I understand your point.

Do you have any specific recommendations for synths that I should consider checking out? Please note that my budget is $1500 to $2000.

I’ll defer to others to suggest some items based on the criteria in your OP, which seems to be best fulfilled by a rompler/sampler/workstation type of synth that I don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with. But, you have a LOT of options in that price range, including analog and hybrid polyphonic synths.

I would strongly recommend considering a used synth in excellent condition rather than buying new. The prices on secondhand synths tend to be pretty stable so you can often sell it at no loss if you decide later that hardware is not for you or you just want to replace it with something different. The market is full of synths that people bought brand new, used for 4 hours, realized that they prefer software or that making music is hard, and then dumped them off at a pretty big loss (and I’ve been exploiting that market for 40 years ).

Good point, but I don't see second hand options here else I would have considered them. On the other hand though, for my first synth, I am quite excited to buy something new. I will stick to the options mentioned else I will get even more confused.

[LoveEnigma18]

Of those I'd say the Yamaha MODX M6 is the best bang for the buck (Korg Nautilus probably the most "capable" of those you listed but it's literally double the price of the M6). It has absolutely tremendous range of sounds available, tons of polyphony for create layering and big multitimbral sessions. Just a few days ago I camped in a music store for almost 4 hours playing it. Almost walked home with one but managed to resist.

You can load your own samples onto the thing but apparently the process is a bit convoluted. Still, even if you just stick with the onboard samples and the AN-X VA synth engine, you'll have more than enough things to explore.

I do NOT recommend the Hydrasynth though. I'd strike that off the list immediately. No samples in that one and the VA synth engine is in my opinion it's weakest point. It just doesn't sound very good, no matter how hard you try to tweak it.

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I am leaning towards Roland Fantom-06 or Yamaha MODX M6.

Would you recommend Korg Nautilus AT over them if I could afford it? I loved the sound demos, but I think there are better features and controls on Roland and Yamaha ones barring aftertouch capability, which would surely be nice but not mandatory.

Korg Wavestation SE is also something I am really finding interesting even though it is difficult to program, but it does have aftertouch. I am checking with the online stores here if it is even available and if the pricing works.

[EnGee]

I would strongly recommend considering a used synth in excellent condition rather than buying new.

+1

I would take the hardware for fun experience not really for the sound. So, maybe a good used King Korg (nice VA), Korg minilogue XD or DeepMind 6/12 (with a keyboard) would be lasting fun at a reasonable price

I have the MODX (not M or +) and ended wrapping it and put it aside. I prefer now to use Halion 7, Triton (soft) and Groove Agent (or Addictive Drums/XO) instead.

You can program FM-X to have new sounds, but it is not that fun really! I much prefer using FM Lab or any other soft FM synth.

MODX has a terrible sequencer (or patterns actually). You can't edit the notes (midi notes). So, using it without a computer is a headache to record your own performances. It has audio over usb (audio interface, 16bit/48K). The clarity using its audio interface is excellent. So the USB connection is enough for both audio and midi.

That's my experience with MODX6. Would I buy it again? No! Would I buy any hardware you listed? No! Not even any hardware analogue/VA synth. I don't care for the difference in sound quality neither the hands-on experience. Maybe for some fun, Yes

[vitocorleone123]

Those are all very very different!
Make a spreadsheet with the features you want on the left, give every synth or workstation a column to tick the features, AND note the features each has that you don’t need.

Even more important than features for an instrument is choosing the one the OP loves the sound of. Which one of those can give them chills sometimes when listening to it, even on YT?

If you don't love the sound of an instrument, it's a chore to use, and why put that on yourself when you're trying to make music?

[Michael L]

Which one of those can give them chills sometimes when listening to it, even on YT?

Korg Wavestate!

[Uncle E]

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I am leaning towards Roland Fantom-06 or Yamaha MODX M6.

Would you recommend Korg Nautilus AT over them if I could afford it? I loved the sound demos, but I think there are better features and controls on Roland and Yamaha ones barring aftertouch capability, which would surely be nice but not mandatory.

Any of these would match the sounds you're looking for. You might also want to check out the Yamaha CK61 or CK88 for the hands-on experience, or the Yamaha DGX 670 for its Super Articulation voices, which would be something you can't quite get ITB.

Korg Wavestation SE is also something I am really finding interesting even though it is difficult to program, but it does have aftertouch.

Doesn't match the sounds you're looking for.

[kritikon]

to add a "hardware" sound element in my music production.

Based on the budget (or a stretched one) and various considerations, I have shortlisted the options below, but I am unable to decide which one I should get.

As already mentioned, none of those will give you a "hardware sound". They're digital, some of them even ported as plugins and sound identical.

So with that aspect ruled out, you mentioned usability and playability. Which pretty well only really leaves Nautilus, Fantom & ModX

1.Wavestate is a beautiful and versatile synth but not really what you want - it's a steep learning curve to program. You won't be up and running to make your own sounds on it for quite a while. I'd class it as the type of synth that needs a bit of experience behind it to get the full glory. It also has quite a distinctive character, not the most versatile in that list (though it is far more versatile than it initially sounds like)

2. Opsix likewise is more versatile than it initially appears and is easier to program than Wavestate but it has a specific character. FM is its thing. I wouldn't clas it as a workstation - which is what you seemingly want.

3. JunoX - ridiculously overpriced and again veering towards a specific sound character. It really is NOT good value compared to almost any of the others.

4. Hydrasynth. Quite a bit more versatile than the above but as mentioned - I think you have to specifically like its character to love it. You really may as well buy a VA plugin than that thing. It's easier to tweak and program and will give some playing enjoyment, but....it's not that well thought of generally. Not without good reason.

Which leaves Nautilus, Fantom & ModX. You need to try them to see which you best like. They're all far more versatile, will give easy and obtainable tweaking and playing value. They're all what I'd call workstations, so they fit the bill. ModX are decent value for some models. Roland, despite I hate to praise them as they churn out an awful lot of expensive shite nowadays, still make decent workstations (as long as you avoid the godawful Juno/Jupiter etc namesakes) and Fantoms are actually good synths. I'm a Korg fanboi, but not so much their workstations, but they do still make decent ones.

For sheer playability and ease of use you might want to consider something Nord, though they are horrendously overpriced. I doubt you'd get a decent one in your budget range.