Peak if you can stretch to it.
If not, in order:
Hydrasynth
Virus
Blofeld
Glad somebody mentioned the Peak, such a beautiful thing to use, and such wonderful results (just delete the factory presets!).
No love for the Korg Modwave on here? I have one, and it’s 2 part multitimbral if you want it to be, or think of it as a six* oscillator Wavetable synth, with 2 unique features: The Kaoss physics modulator and the Wavesequencing (similar to a Wavestation / Wavestate etc…).
*six Oscs, which is OSC1 and 2 on Layer A and Layer B, plus a sub Osc on each Layer.
A LOT of scope on this synth, I do enjoy it. Single stereo output though.
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Blofeld has so much synthesis-options that it could last for musicians life. Virtual Analog, FM, Wavetables, Samples (hey, fm for samples!) paired with a shitload of possibilities and then there’s a pretty great modmatrix. I love this thing and that it can sound from beautiful to rubbish, it’s not a seewtspot-only synth.
I also would like to have a Hydrasynth 
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And it has modifiers. When I grasped what the modifiers really add to the matrix (via this video) I was kind of blown away
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The Hydrasynth has a fast UI, but it’s so deep that sometimes it feels like I’m building a (simpler) synth within a synth. I mean that in a good way. The mutants encourage this way of thinking because it’s like you have to sort of roll your own PWM, sync, etc. I’m getting the feeling you want something more immediate, so it’s probably not what you’re looking for, and it’s definitely not multitimbral, at least not in the traditional sense.
As an anecdote, I tried to make a kind of traditional ring mod percussion patch as sample fodder to make some little donk sounds. I failed miserably. But I ended up really liking the patch as a bizarre pad and bass generator (nice for techno-type stuff), and now it’s in my #1 patch slot. When I fire up my Hydra, it’s a total happy accident generator. I twist some macros and I have patches within the one patch. It feels kind of like the Nord Micro Modular that way. I love it.
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So. Recently I found as a contender to Viruses Korg Wavestate. It’s multitimbtal, can make lush pads, cheaper… Don’t know about sequencer, because I don’t like Minilogue sequencer… Maybe it’s new version of Korg sequencer?.. Or just what’s your opinion? Yesterday I started thinking that rather old gear can have some problems as freezing or other used bits…
Have you considered a Waldorf M?
The Wavestate is a very different synth to the others. It’s really interesting but complex to program & as a result tends to be a bit of a time sinkhole, that can be good or bad. If you have ever used a wavestation, then you will have some idea of how the sequencers work. Each of the sequencers can have different timings even per step, lengths etc and so as a result can produce extremely complex sequences. It’s a bit too much to go into here, so I recommend you look for an intro on YouTube to see if it’s something you’d enjoy digging into.
In terms of multi-timbrality, you basically have 4 layers which can be keyboard split of on separate midi channels, but it’s geared more towards a single sound rather than MT. The effects are a bit weird because they are macros rather than absolute values and there are a bunch of macros to choose from. Each layer has a mod type effect/delay and there is a reverb that is applied to all of them equally (rather than having a send amount which is a strange decision).
In terms of storage there is a ton of space and you can load sample content etc, the main containers are called sets which contain 64 presets which means it sacrifices the tradition bank message/program channel function. There are quite a few container objects such as sequences/layers which all can be saved individually & it really does require some learning to get your head around it.
With all that said, it’s a great synth even for just layering basic sample layers, the filters sound great. The sequencing system is probably the most sophisticated algorithmic type sequencing out there with tons of scope for experimentation. It’s hard to describe. Personally I don’t use it too much as I said earlier you can spend hours being drawn into it, & that puts me off a bit but when I do get it out, I get into it & think it’s great.
A friend of mine has really got into the sampling side of it and been sampling loads of stuff to load in. That’s what he uses it more than the sequencing.
There is now a software version which might have a demo for you to try out and see if you get on with it.
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Sadly Blofeld multi mode is such a pain to manage it’s a moot feature.
If you want multi-timbral, go for the virus. If you don’t, Hydrasynth sounds just fantastic and the price is great.
I have a snow and a blofeld
The virus any day of the week…
If you can afford it go larger than the snow, just 4 voices is sometimes not enough.
Waldorf M is beyond the budget
Snow has great price secondhand. But I’m not sure it has as fast control and short menu diving as B, C ir TI that’s important for live improvisation.
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It doesn’t. You will really appreciate additional controls of TIs.
Personally, I am not sold on Hydrasynth. People praise it everywhere, but for the love of me I can’t find examples of it where it sounds usable. It might be a joy to program and play, but whenever I find a video with it (which are rare) it is either drenched in reverb and delay (making it sound like everything else), does noisy and harsh blip blops or set to create textures in the background of the mix. This might be one of the few examples where it sounds good to my ears. Why so many owners of Hydra end up with very different sound palette is beyond me.
I would suggest you to look at Korg Modwave. It is cheaper than Virus, has more controls than Blofeld and will suit your genres better (IMO) than Hydra. It has good onboard FX as well.
Check these examples:
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And what about Wavestate? They are too similar at first, but different in sound architecture. Wavestate is more organic and Modwave is more traditional wavetable? Or am I wrong? Has these Korgs less menu diving comparable to Viruses?
I think Wavestate requires you to be a lot more intentional with it. You can’t change the timbre of the sound since it is already baked into the sample, so you rely more on picking the right samples, programming sequences and layering. Each step in a sequence have multiple parameters not accessible from the front panel so you have to dive into the menu.
Modwave uses wavetable oscillators and gives you control of the sound right there with the knobs, buttons and shift functions on the panel. You would be able to create a usable sound without touching a menu, but if you want most of the parameters are accessible through PAGE buttons. You can layer wavetables with samples and you can program sequences on Modwave as well. It just a lot more immediate and easily controllable than Wavestate IMO.
Can’re really say anything about Virus. This video might be helpful.
Also there are software editors for all three synths so menu diving could end up not being a problem.
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M
Hydra
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But that would be my choice too.
Ah, I missed that part. However, when we’re talking about a Virus in the mix, $1400ish for an M doesn’t seem terribly outlandish.
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Virus B is the best bang for buck in the range and they’re much cheaper second hand. Slowly rising though.
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True. The B is great too.
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