Both in aesthetics and ergonomics Nord 3 is hard to beat imo
Arguably the best user interface ever conceived on a hardware synth.
Such an amazing workflow with the led encoders. An absolute pleasure to work with.
Sonically it is no slouch either, with some of the best FM you’ll hear also.
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Not surprising that you haven’t tried the Quantum, though 
Since the presentation at Messe this year I got the same gut-feeling, which I had after the presentation of the MatrixBrute at NAMM 2016, which is now standing in my little studio. That Quantum could become a highly desirable synth too … and who knows …
Let’s see how the Roland SE 02 will be in real flesh … sad that’s in this small Boutique size only … but also Korg has learned after a while eventually and came out with the ARP Odyssey FS
Not everyone wants the ody FS tho. I prefer the desktop.
I think I largely prefer elektron og sized boxes in general. Compact but not so small as to actually make operating it fiddly.
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Yeah … just guys like me with fingers too thick to be happy with those small sized keyboards … BUT le’s not start THIS discussion here again … it doesn’t make sense to beat a dead horse
Not a big fan of ext keyboards I take it?
Personally I dislike synths with keys… I only need one keyboard, having four of them is just silly and fills up my room. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
only real nerds debate the merits of butter face synths 
Well … there is no denial for ext keyboards. Got some too.
I like to perform in the middle of a setup with front, left, right, (back) providing two keyboards stacked … each of them either playing via sequencer/arp or live. I like to switch between them on the fly, manipulate the patches too … sometimes I play two different instruments (front/back; front/side), which might be a strange view sometimes …
maybe that explains, why I prefer all keys having a standard size or having multiple keyboards at all.
Looks do matter to me, thank god they don’t to my wife 
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I played this thing at Schneiders last year, probably lost about an hour just tweaking it, it’s absolutely mental. Sounds I’d never heard before.
Back to the topic, I feel like an instrument can be aesthetically ugly but still be highly functional and enjoyable to play. The feeling of the thing is top priority for me, the interface, how it’s laid out and where it leads you. It doesn’t matter if something is capable of producing incredible sounds - if the interface is no good, it has to go.
Maybe I’m too picky about this. Have been through lots and lots of gear now, only liked a small portion of it!
I totally agree, though, I can’t think of an example for myself.
Aesthetics in musical instruments are a bit different for me with regard to whether one is talking about say, a “traditional” instrument (like strings/horns/etc) versus an electronic instrument. But I think only slightly. I’d say, in all cases, I prefer a somewhat understated look (leave off the heaps of flashing lights or multi-coloured pads, please). This is a big reason why I like the Elektron boxes. I definitely pay attention to the look of guitar pedals as well, though sound is always first. If the pedal is cheap but sounds great, I’ll think to myself “Well, maybe I’ll paint this one, eventually”.
My own designs pretty much adhere to this, I love simplicity and elegance and try to incorporate it into most things that I do, one of my most popular items is a good example of this.
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My favorite looking instrument is the Waldorf Blofeld desktop unit.
Least favorite looking piece of gear: The Elektron Analog mk2 series 
-Edit: mostly the Analog 4 mk2
My favorite is OP-1.
I love it that color is the element that links an encoder to a graphic parameter.
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Yes OP-1 is a beautiful design throughout 
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Hi,
Do you sell your mixer ?
Is it possible to create a stereo version ?
Thanks
I agree. I am selling my blofeld because of exactly this. The blofeld can create really evocative sounds, but the four knob interface is just too damn clunky for my taste, and I end up using presets with it because of this… I have editors for it on iOS as well as desktop, but I still end up frustrated… So its gonna go. A4 can take its table space (well, already has) in my rig.
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I felt the same about it, just too many submenus and pages to slog through to make a patch.
The version pictured is stereo/mono switchable, I will DM you so as not to pollute the thread 
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