Category
Synthesizers · Models
Hardware synthesizers, synth model families, and related electronic instruments.
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Model
Roland System 100
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland System 100, introduced in 1975, was a semi-modular analog synthesizer sold as a set of matching components including a keyboard synthesizer, expander, mixer, and speakers. Patchable yet beginner-friendly, it bridged the gap between fixed-architecture synths and full modular systems.
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Model
Casio CZ-101
Japan
The Casio CZ-101, released in 1984, is a compact, battery-capable digital synthesizer and the first in Casio's CZ line. Using Phase Distortion synthesis, it offers polyphonic (and multitimbral) operation on a mini keyboard at a very affordable price.
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Model
Waldorf Microwave
Synthesizer · Germany
The Waldorf Microwave, released in 1989, is a wavetable synthesizer module that carried forward the technology of the PPG Wave. Its digital wavetable oscillators paired with analog filters produced distinctive evolving, metallic, and digital textures.
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Model
Yamaha CS-5
Japan
A compact Yamaha CS Series monophonic analog synthesizer introduced in 1978.
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Model
ELKA Rhapsody
Synthesizer · Italy
The Elka Rhapsody is a polyphonic string synthesizer made by the Italian company Elka in the 1970s. A popular and roadworthy string machine, it produces violin- and viola-style ensemble sounds and was widely used by touring musicians.
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Model
Yamaha DX7
Synthesizer · Japan
Yamaha's landmark six-operator FM digital synthesizer, introduced in May 1983.
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Model
Novation Summit
Synthesizer · United Kingdom
The Novation Summit, released in 2019, is a sixteen-voice bi-timbral keyboard synthesizer that effectively combines two Peak engines, allowing two independent patches to be split or layered across its 61-note keyboard. Each voice uses three New Oxford Oscillators and an analog state-variable filter.
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Model
Yamaha CS
Japan
The CS series is Yamaha's line of synthesizers, most famous for the powerful polyphonic CS-80 of the late 1970s. The classic series also includes compact analog models such as the CS-5, CS-15, CS-20M, CS-60, and CS-70M, and the name was later revived for 1990s control synthesizers like the CS1x.
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Model
Ensoniq ESQ Series
Synthesizer · United States
The Ensoniq ESQ family comprises the company's late-1980s digital/analog hybrid synthesizers, beginning with the ESQ-1 and continuing with the SQ-80. They combined digitally sampled and synthetic waveforms with analog-style four-pole low-pass filtering and an onboard sequencer.
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Model
Nord Lead A1
Sweden
The Nord Lead A1, released in 2014, is a virtual analog synthesizer designed for fast, intuitive sound creation, using a streamlined modeling engine and a simplified interface rather than deep menu editing.
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Model
Freeman string symphonizer
Synthesizer
The Freeman String Symphonizer is an early string synthesizer associated with the British musician Ken Freeman, a pioneer of the string-synth sound. It produces the lush, polyphonic ensemble-string tones that became widely used in 1970s pop and rock.
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Model
ARP Omni
Synthesizer · United States
The ARP Omni, released in 1975, is a polyphonic synthesizer that combined a popular string-ensemble section with a polyphonic synth and a bass voice. One of ARP's best-selling instruments, its lush strings were widely used in 1970s pop and rock.
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Model
Yamaha Reface DX
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha Reface DX, released in 2015, is a compact synthesizer in Yamaha's Reface line that revisits FM synthesis with a four-operator engine, touch-slider control, and built-in effects in a highly portable mini-key instrument.
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Model
Korg MS2000
Synthesizer · Japan
The Korg MS2000, released in 2000, is a virtual analog synthesizer with knob-per-function control and a built-in vocoder, styled after the MS series. Its accessible interface and rich modeled sounds made it a popular performance synth.
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Model
Oberheim Xpander
Synthesizer · United States
The Oberheim Xpander, introduced in 1984, is a six-voice rack-format analog synthesizer module and the architectural sibling of the Matrix-12. Each voice offers two oscillators, fifteen filter modes, five LFOs, five DADSR envelopes, ramp and tracking generators, and a flexible modulation matrix, making it a benchmark of analog synthesis flexibility in a keyboardless module.
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Model
Roland JX-305
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland JX-305 Groovebox is a 1998 keyboard instrument built on Roland's groovebox concept, combining a sample-based synth engine with a pattern sequencer and dance-oriented sounds and effects in a 61-key format.
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Model
Roland V-Synth
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland V-Synth, released in 2003, is a flexible digital synthesizer combining sampling, variable-phrase modeling (VariPhrase), and analog-modeling oscillators with a hands-on interface for radical sound design.
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Model
Korg Polysix
Synthesizer · Japan
The Korg Polysix, released in 1981, is a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer with one oscillator per voice, a resonant filter, and built-in chorus, phaser, and ensemble effects. Its warm sound and patch memory made it a popular and affordable polysynth.
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Model
Korg Nautilus
Synthesizer · Japan
The Korg Nautilus, released in 2020, is a flagship music workstation that brings together multiple sound engines from Korg's Kronos—including sampling, modeling, and acoustic-instrument synthesis—with a touchscreen and deep sequencing in a streamlined keyboard.
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Model
Alesis Andromeda A6
Synthesizer · United States
The Alesis Andromeda A6, released in 2000, is a sixteen-voice analog synthesizer with two oscillators and dual filters per voice plus extensive digital control and effects. A rare large-scale analog polysynth of its era, it is prized for its deep, powerful sound.
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Model
Teenage Engineering PO-20 arcade
Sweden
The Teenage Engineering PO-20 Arcade is a pocket-sized synthesizer in the Pocket Operator series themed around video-game sounds, with chiptune-style voices, a sequencer, and effects.
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Model
Elektron Digitone
Synthesizer · Sweden
The Elektron Digitone is a compact multitimbral FM synthesizer introduced in 2018, pairing a four-operator FM engine with Elektron's parameter-locking step sequencer in a desktop format. The current Digitone II expands the instrument to sixteen voices across sixteen tracks and adds wavetable and other synthesis machines.
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Model
Korg volca bass
Japan
The Korg Volca Bass is a compact analog bass synthesizer in the Volca series, with three oscillators, a resonant filter, and a built-in step sequencer designed for punchy acid- and synth-bass lines.
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Model
Yamaha SY85
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha SY85, released in 1992, is a sample-based (AWM2) digital synthesizer workstation with sampling-style sound editing, a sequencer, and effects, aimed at producing realistic and layered sounds.
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Model
Moog Sub Phatty
Synthesizer · United States
The Moog Sub Phatty, released in 2013, is a compact monophonic analog synthesizer in the Phatty family. Built for fat bass and aggressive leads, it features two oscillators with a sub-oscillator, a multidrive circuit, and a streamlined panel.
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Model
OP–1 field
Drum machine · Sweden
The OP-1 Field, released in 2022, is Teenage Engineering's premium update to the OP-1 portable synthesizer, sampler, and sequencer, adding stereo throughout, longer battery life, Bluetooth MIDI, and improved connectivity in a refined aluminum body.
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Model
Yamaha MOTIF ES6
Japan
The Yamaha Motif ES6 is the 61-key model in the Motif ES generation (2003) of Yamaha's flagship workstation line, offering expanded sample-based sounds, sampling, and sequencing.
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Model
ARP String Synthesizer
Synthesizer · United States
The ARP String Synthesizer is an ARP keyboard that combined a polyphonic string-ensemble section with a monophonic synthesizer voice, letting players blend lush strings with synth leads and basses.
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Model
Yamaha AN1x
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha AN1x, released in 1997, is a virtual analog synthesizer with a knob- and ribbon-equipped performance interface. Its modeling-based analog emulation and arpeggiator made it a capable and expressive performance synth.
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Model
Korg Trinity
Synthesizer · Japan
The Korg Trinity, released in 1995, is a digital synthesizer workstation that combined sample-based synthesis, a touchscreen interface, sequencing, and an expandable architecture. A flagship of its era, it influenced the design of later Korg workstations.
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Model
Yamaha SY77
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha SY77, released in 1989, is a digital synthesizer that combined six-operator FM synthesis with sample-based (AWM) synthesis—Yamaha's 'RCM' system—plus filters and effects, offering richer, more playable sounds than the earlier DX line.
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Model
Yamaha DX9
Japan
A Yamaha DX Series FM digital synthesizer included in the original DX Series lineup discussed in Yamaha's official synth history.
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Model
Roland MC-09
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland MC-09 is a compact tabletop instrument from Roland for creating synthesizer and bass phrases, combining a knob-driven sound engine with a built-in step sequencer.
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Model
Teenage Engineering PO-14 sub
Sweden
The Teenage Engineering PO-14 Sub is a pocket-sized bass synthesizer in the Pocket Operator series, with a built-in sequencer and microtuning, designed for sub-bass and melodic bass lines.
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Model
Mulogix Slave 32
digital-synthesizer · United States
The Mulogix Slave 32 is an extremely rare rack-mounted digital synthesizer derived from the Digital Keyboards Synergy. Aaron Lanterman's Synergy preservation page describes Slave 32 units as essentially rack-mounted Synergys and estimates that only about 25 to 30 were made. The instrument keeps the Synergy family context while adding rack-module practicality and MIDI-era control.
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Model
Roland JD-XA
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland JD-XA, released in 2015, is a crossover synthesizer that combines a true analog voice section with a digital synthesis section, allowing the two to be layered or used independently. It targets producers who want both analog warmth and digital versatility in one keyboard.
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Model
Roland RS-202
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland RS-202 is a polyphonic string synthesizer from the mid-1970s, part of Roland's RS series. It produces ensemble string and brass-like sounds with built-in chorus, capturing the warm, lush character associated with vintage string machines.
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Model
Yamaha EX5
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha EX5, released in 1998, is a flagship synthesizer combining multiple synthesis types—sample-based (AWM2), analog/physical modeling, and FM—with sampling and sequencing in one powerful instrument.
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Model
Roland JD-990
Synthesizer · Japan
The Roland JD-990 is a rackmount digital synthesizer released in 1993 as a powerful tone module relative to the JD-800. It expanded the JD sound engine with more waveforms, advanced effects, and deep multitimbral capabilities for studio production.
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Model
Korg PS-3300
Synthesizer · Japan
The Korg PS-3300, released in 1977, is a large, fully polyphonic analog synthesizer in Korg's PS series. It uses three independent oscillator-and-filter banks per note for an exceptionally thick sound and is one of the rarest and most coveted vintage Korg instruments.
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Arturia MicroFreak
Synthesizer · France
The Arturia MicroFreak, released in 2019, is a hybrid synthesizer pairing a versatile digital oscillator (with many synthesis models) and an analog filter, played from a distinctive touch-plate keyboard. Its modulation matrix, sequencer, and affordable price made it a popular experimental instrument.
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Model
Yamaha V-50
Japan
A Yamaha FM synthesizer workstation combining TX81Z-derived synthesis with a keyboard, MIDI sequencer, PCM rhythm machine, and digital effects.
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Model
Arturia MatrixBrute
Synthesizer · France
The Arturia MatrixBrute, released in 2016, is a flagship monophonic, duo-split, and paraphonic analog synthesizer with three Brute oscillators, both Steiner-Parker and ladder filters, five analog effects, and a large hands-on modulation matrix. Its 49-note keyboard with aftertouch sits above a 64-step sequencer with dedicated step, accent, slide, and modulation lanes.
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Model
Yamaha S90
Synthesizer · Japan
The Yamaha S90, released in 2002, is a sample-based synthesizer with an 88-key weighted action, drawing on Motif-era sounds and aimed at pianists and performers wanting an expressive stage instrument.
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Model
Sequential Prophet-5
Synthesizer · United States
The Sequential Prophet-5, released in 1978, was the first fully programmable polyphonic analog synthesizer, letting players store and recall patches. Its five voices, dual oscillators, and warm sound made it a landmark instrument used across pop, film, and electronic music.
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Model
Virtual ANS
Synthesizer · Russia
Virtual ANS is a software synthesizer developed by Alexander Zolotov (WarmPlace) that recreates the ANS, the photoelectronic synthesizer built in the Soviet Union by engineer Evgeny Murzin and named after the composer Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin. Like the original instrument, it produces sound from drawn images: the user paints on a vertical spectrogram-style canvas where the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is pitch, and the program resynthesizes that picture additively across a large bank of sine-tone oscillators. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and in a web browser, and is widely used for spectral, drone, and experimental sound design.
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Model
Oberheim TEO-5 Synthesizer
Synthesizer · United States
The Oberheim TEO-5 is a five-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer released in 2024, developed under Tom Oberheim with Sequential. It delivers a modern, compact Oberheim voice with two oscillators per voice, a flexible filter, and a built-in sequencer.
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Model
Minimoog Voyager
Synthesizer · United States
The Minimoog Voyager, released in 2002, is Bob Moog's modern reinterpretation of the original Minimoog. It keeps the three-oscillator, ladder-filter architecture while adding patch memory, MIDI, an expressive touch surface, and extensive modulation.
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Model
Yamaha S
Japan
The S series is Yamaha's line of sample-based synthesizers with weighted keyboards aimed at pianists and performers, including the S80 and S90.
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Moog Phatty
United States
The Phatty family is a line of analog synthesizers Moog introduced with the Little Phatty in 2006, built around the company's classic oscillators and ladder filter at more accessible prices. It includes the Little Phatty, Slim Phatty, Sub Phatty, and the paraphonic Sub 37.