Modern analogue solutions
The second-hand cost of pioneering synths from the 1970s and early 1980s are eye-watering. Twenty-five years ago, you could pick up Roland SH-101s and Juno-6’s for bargainbasement prices, but the popularity of the sounds of these classic synths is now at an all-time high. If the tactility and deep sonic richness of analogue hardware is an itch you have, there’s a new breed of hardware synths that’ll help you scratch it, and they have all of the practicalities of modern software.
Let’s start with Korg’s Monologue and Minilogue synthesizers, which couple all-analogue sound engines with step-sequencing and oodles of real-time tweakability. Moog’s Mother32 is another great example. Despite only offering a single Oscillator, this nevertheless offers a semimodular approach, providing an analogue synthesizer and step-sequencer, coupled with a Eurorack-ready patchbay, that allows you to take CV and gate signals from the instrument to connect to a wider range of modules for a larger, modular system.
Arturia’s ‘Brute’ synthesizers, from the MicroBrute up to the flagship MatrixBrute, are also well worth a look, with an all-analogue design and both CV/gate and USB connectivity. Of all of the leading synth manufacturers to jump back into providing analogue and digital/ analogue synthesizers, it was perhaps a surprise that Roland took so long to join the party, particularly as their Juno and Jupiter synths are among the most renowned and coveted. But with their standalone and ‘plug-out’ synths, as well as the Aria-led reboot of individual modules to provide 21st century versions of their classic System 700 and System 100 modules, there’s plenty to explore in their new designs.
If your budget extends a little further, Dave Smith’s more recent synth designs are glorious, with ‘new’ versions of some of the most desirable hardware of all time available in the forms of revised Prophet, Oberheim and (Sequential Circuits) Pro 2 instruments among his titles. These are by no means cheap, but they’re less costly than second-hand versions of the originals, with the benefits of increased ‘stability’, digitally controlled memory locations, MIDI connectivity and more besides.
Other noteworthy products to explore include synths from Access’ Virus range, Nord’s Lead 4 synthesizer, Novation’s Bass Station II and Ultranova synths, Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operators, Korg’s portable Volca synths and MS-20 reboot, Waldorf’s Rocket and Pulse synths… the choices are mouth-watering. One thing to look out for; there’s a difference between true ‘analogue’ sound generation and ‘virtual analogue’, where Oscillators and other ‘analogue’ synth modules have had their behaviours modelled, ready for digitally-controlled playback and modification.
Meanwhile, another hardware approach has been taking the synth world by storm. Eurorack epitomises the popularity of ‘modern analogue’ better than any single instrument. If you’re unfamiliar with the Eurorack concept, this is a modular ‘format’ with components from oscillators and filers to sequencers, arpeggiators, effects processors, LFOs and so on.
Doepfer were major players in establishing the Eurorack protocol and they’ve been joined by countless other manufacturers too. This sub-section of the music technology industry is thriving. To get a better sense of what’s possible with Eurorack, we recommend some online research, as there are simply too many individual components and companies to name-check. For a great source of Eurorack inspiration, composer, sound designer and producer Richard Devine has a website and Twitter feed awash with inspirational and practical examples of what’s possible with these modules.