Who Is Your Favourite Synth Manufacturer? - The Results

[@IanWaugh]

See what fellow synthesists think about synthy topics: www.youtube.com/@IanWaugh/community

[@paolopaioli601]

Thanks for sharing Ian 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@IanWaugh]

Glad you found it interesting,, Paolo 👍

[@mwmusic29]

Great experiment! I guess I’m going to have to switch to another company. I don’t like to do the popular thing!! Haha! Thanks for sharing this, Ian. Super interesting!

[@IanWaugh]

Awe... 😢 Who's your 2nd favourite? 😊

[@mwmusic29]

@@IanWaugh sadly, my second favorite is also KORG. Guess I’m stuck! 🤣

[@IanWaugh]

@@mwmusic29 Ha! Ha! Just keep doing what you're doing 😊 👍

[@ingolf7411]

Yes ... my both (I've also chosen two manufacturers 😉) votes are ranked in the "middle". Thank you.

[@IanWaugh]

Some choices are not easy. Thanks for taking part 👍

[@Hannah_Grey]

I'm probably too new to the subject to have been able to vote. I would likely have gone Roland, although agree with other commenters in that they do seem to be concentrating on reissuing their old gear in various forms. I do have to give a shout out to Studiologic. I have a Sledge 2, which has given me a lot of bang for buck and has been great for learning on. I suppose it could come under the Waldorf banner, being a collaboration.

[@IanWaugh]

Hi Hannah - Yes, a few manufacturers didn't make it, and I'm a little surprised that Waldorf wasn't higher. The Sledge looks great 👍 What sort of music are you making?

[@ohheyitskevinc]

Seems fair! I missed the video the other week, but strangely if I look at the number of synths I own by manufacturer, you’d have a pretty good guess who my favourite would be: Roland 13, Moog 5, Korg 3, Yamaha 3, Emu 2, and a BArp. Yep, my favourite is Sequential 😂 Surprised Teenage Engineering didn’t make the cut 😂

[@IanWaugh]

TE is very devisive , especially with their pricing on the OPs. I think for most TE users it's a secondary synth rather than their main one.

[@kierenmoore3236]

“Sequential/Oberheim” votes were because Sequential makes the only currently manufactured Oberheim synth(s) … Oberheim is part of Sequential now, basically

[@mwmusic29]

Interesting. I wasn’t aware of this. I knew about their collaboration synth but didn’t know the connection ran deeper than that.

[@kierenmoore3236]

@@mwmusic29 The OB-6, yeah. That’s why I put synth(s) in brackets … OB-X8 is the only one branded Oberheim, per se.

[@TheDavidPoole]

@@kierenmoore3236 also, I'm pretty sure Sequential is now owned by Focusright, so is Novation also in the mix somewhere?

[@IanWaugh]

Yes, I understand that but that wasn't always so and they are now seen, I believe, as different brands.

[@IanWaugh]

Yes indeed but I was trying not to overthink it 😊

[@skyko]

Very interesting!!! I believe I voted Sequential #1 (and hoped Moog would be last since they've gone off the charts with the wokeness crap). Another excellent video Ian!! : )

[@IanWaugh]

Thank you 😊 Good call 👍 Shame about Moog 😢

[@NeuroPete]

Kurzweil is my favourite. A powerful synth engine atop high quality samples. The company is still going, though barely these days.

[@IanWaugh]

I would have loved one of their keyboards back in the day but couldn't afford one 😢

[@NeuroPete]

@@IanWaugh Yes, Kurzweils were crazy expensive back in the day. You could get a lot more bang for the buck with Korg, Yamaha, Casio, etc.. In the early 2000’s I bought a used Kurzweil for not too much money. I hadn’t heard of them before. I really loved the way it sounded. 12 years ago I bought a new one which sounded even better. There are thousands of great sounds on it, and the synthesis engine is incredible, but it is tedious to program on its tiny screen. Now though, I only use it as a controller. I feel a bit sad about that, but when I sit down to play, the virtual pianos on the computer sound so much better. Like Noire or Garritan CFX. Of course, there are also a multitude of other great sounding VST’s to play and record. I suppose Kurzweil is still in business because there are enough live performers who need a simple rig with a multitude of classic keyboard sounds for covering old hits. I see that their prices are more competitive now, and they have a decent line of digital pianos.

[@nkronert]

I'm sure it would be possible to have a way to include individual 2nd to 5th places by using weight factors. Top 1000 shows have been doing that forever. Have a great Sunday!

[@IanWaugh]

I'm sure it would - I'm just not that clever 😊

[@proluxelectronics7419]

Got the Roland's D's cheap due to keyboard ribbon faults, Love all my Korg's, But as a pure digital "analogue" DAC unit, Novation Supernova 2 rack job. Also, a company that will send spares for a 20-year-old piece of gear.

[@IanWaugh]

That's amazing service 👍 I had an UltraNova which was great but my eyes couldn't manage the display 😢

[@davidcooke3331]

I know you emphasised one vote only and I'm guilty of providing 3 as I followed someone else and thought it may be useful for a bit more context. And yes, expected you'd only take the top answer. Pleased and not that surprised to see my 3 listed in the top 3, just in a different order. I voted in order: Sequential, Roland and Korg. Not surprised Korg came out on top as they do seem to be keeping developments going / adding a new twist (WaveState, OP6, ModWave, Prologue). I'll always have a soft spot for Roland but I don't think they've really moved synthesis forward in the last decade as they seem to be cashing in on their 80s Jupiter, Juno, TR names. What's Juno DS got to do with Juno6(0). PS love your channel :)

[@IanWaugh]

- Thank you, David, very kind 😊 No probs with the multi-votes - I just had to work out how to use them fairly 🤔 Yes, I def think Korg wins on innovation and Roland seems to be turning into a software company 😢

[@kevinstoneham1245]

I would have gone Kirghiz. First since was a Wavestation SR and I loved it.

[@IanWaugh]

Yes, they made a lot of classics 👍

[@kevinstoneham1245]

@@IanWaugh I meant Korg lol. Thanks

[@IanWaugh]

@@kevinstoneham1245 I sorta got that 😊

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I chose Roland below your previous video on the subject, Ian, because I have purchased more equipment (both synthesizers and guitar amps/processors) from Roland (and Boss) than the others I’ve purchased equipment built by. Yamaha gets honorable mention between the handful of synths and piano I’ve had and a combination of guitars and drum/percussion instruments. It didn’t make sense to choose Korg, since I’ve only owned a paltry 4 units made by them from 1997 to 2024. Was it a mistake to go by my own purchases in lieu of reverence?

[@IanWaugh]

All is fine. I did say not to over-think it and it was a bit of (serious) fun 👍 Roland and Boss have produced an amazing amount of stuff over the years 😲

[@jumpingman8160]

At this moment: Behringer ASM Rides in the Storm. Lots of bang for the buck.

[@IanWaugh]

Yes indeed. Bis always good value and the Hydras are one of the relatively few hardware synths you can say offer good VFM 😊

[@DisciplinedCommotion]

interesting survey, I thought Korg would be high up, tho' I picked behringer

[@IanWaugh]

Yes, and I thought Behringer would be much higher 😲

[@axs203]

I thought Korg would come out top. They seem to innovate a lot more than the others. They have done some whacky stuff. The Monopoly plugin skin that looked like a Monopoly board. So original. The Korg DSN 12 on the 3ds. Very cool and it sounded phatt. The Trinity with it's touchscreen - not to mention the M1. They have consistently innovated. I find their user interfaces much easier on the workstations than Yammy or Roland. I am not sure about them lately with some pricing decisions....but I do like the fact they do software and hardware. I loved the idea of the Volca Modular but didn't like the sound......maybe they can have another bash. The Prologue for all it's criticisms was simple and very nice sounding to me.....and the Minilogue made analogue more affordable. Korg Gadget VR. Amazing. The control of it in VR is awful at the moment - but let's see what happens there. I voted for Novation because I thought the Supernova and the X Station/K Station and the KS Series were really nice designs. Very futuristic and that 'Liquid Analogue' term which was great. The Supernova was like a Rolls Royce of a synth. I'd love a SuperNova II keyboard. It's that blue...............and those leds and glowing screen. The X Station is my desert island synth. Arturia are doing amazing stuff as well.

[@IanWaugh]

Yes, Korg is one of the most prolific and innovative manufacturers. Appreciate the cost benefits of the Volcas but never liked the small format. With you on Novation - some really cool stuff here 👍

[@TheDavidPoole]

Sorry, that would include me 😔

[@IanWaugh]

No probs, David - I just had to think of a way to incorporate them 😊

[@robertsteinberger5667]

What abput dreadbox?

[@IanWaugh]

Hi Robert - yes, there are a few maybe smaller companies which didn't make the list at all. Dreadbox makes cool stuff👍

[@robertsteinberger5667]

@@IanWaugh i watched a video where they said digital has advanced so much, you dont need analog anymore. i wonder what you think about that. it iwas from one of those major vintage synth guys on the internet. cante remember who.

[@IanWaugh]

@@robertsteinberger5667 I personally don't care if it's one or the other - it's about the sound. But I absolutely agree. Put a digital emulation of an analog synth in a mix and even the most ardent proponent would struggle to tell. And the rest could care less 😊 Even outside a mix playing solo most folks couldn't tell 😄