Best multi-purpose hardware synth

heysimo

New member
Hello,

I always worked mostly with bands and real instruments but as years go by I find myself using more and more Logic, vst etc.
I'm pretty settled with Serum, Omnisphere .. I do have a lot of sounds but of course hardware is a different thing.
I would like to buy a good hardware synth and I'm looking for the most multi-purpose possible.

I'm into pop music mostly, pretty soft stuff.
I was thinking about mini logue but it might be a little too harsh .. and a Clavia I'm afraid might sound a little old .. Juno is a super classic but not very versatile .. So, I'm undecided.
Any suggestions ?
If you could choose only one hardware synth for your studio, which one would it be ?
Thanks!
 
Hi!

I think some clarifications are in order. First and foremost, how do you mean "hardware is a different thing"? I'm only asking because I've really often seen this phrase being thrown around, usually accompanied by some pretty unrealistic expectations that just because something sits in a box outside your computer it's somehow magically better :) Also, if you can elaborate a bit on what you mean by "multi-purpose", it would make it easier to actually suggest something.

I was thinking about mini logue but it might be a little too harsh .. and a Clavia I'm afraid might sound a little old .. Juno is a super classic but not very versatile .. So, I'm undecided.
Any suggestions ?

The Korg Minilogue is a fine low-cost analogue poly - wouldn't really categorize it as "harsh". I haven't spent that much time with it, but I guess it's safe to say it's somewhat...generic, in both bad and good: the bad being that it's rarely awe-inspiring; the good is that you rarely want "distinct" for a bread and butter synth, you want it to blend in the mix. All in all, it's a solid "basic" synth - not too extensive in its synthesis capabilities, but flexible enough to keep you interested (even if I personally would like a LFO or two more).

Clavia is the manufacturer of multiple lines of stage pianos and synthesizers, the latter group including Nord Leads 1-4, the newest Nord Lead A1 and the Nord Wave. Which one do you mean? The 'Leads are all VAs (Virtual Analogs), but with quite a bit of differences between the features and overall sound.

The (Roland) Juno is also a series of products. The original series - the Juno-6, Juno-60 & 106 and their variants were produced in the early 80s, and while there are some differences, they're all fairly similar: analog polyphonic synths with a limited feature set and sound palette - but while they're not very versatile, the basic sounds were and still are amazingly good. They were originally meant to be inexpensive, but as they're now regarded as classics, the prices have gone up quite a bit from what they were, say, in the 90s or early 00s. Then there are the Alpha Junos, which are also from the 80s but a bit later on – they're distinctly different sounding as the original series, but have their following. And finally there are the "new" Junos, which came about around 2007 or 2008 - the Juno-G and the Juno-DS (not sure if there are others), which, despite taking their name, looks the affordability aspect from the original series, have little to do with them - they're more like modern workstations than "pure" synths.

So, long-windedly pointing out that besides the Minilogue, none of the choices presented were actually clear cut - so I don't really know what exactly are you wanting to achieve with this.
 
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