Flagship synth options

I am going to opt for the unpopular opinion and would recommend the Jupiter X out of that list :blush:

Versatile, quite easy to learn/navigate and 4 part multitrimbal (5 if you count the drum parts). Great keyboard, fantastic fx and unlimited expansion possibilities. You can also multitrack both audio and midi over usb, which is a big plus for me.

It’s not analog, but my guess is that 95% can’t tell the difference in a blind test, and 99.9% wont be able to tell the difference in a mix.

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What is your goal with this synth? Are you running a commercial studio that needs cool gear to impress potential customers? Or do you want something for a private/home studio that will inspire you? Or something else entirely?

I have owned a Prologue and currently own a Fantom 7 and a Montage 6.

I have also played my son’s Quantum Mk 1 and Matrixbrute.

For me the Montage is definitely the best synth.

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Another vote for the PolyBrute 12 if you’re looking for a real flagship synth.

  • Awesome sounding
  • 12 voices, all analog signal path
  • Bitimbral, with morphing between voices A and B – awesome for discovering new sounds
  • Digital FX if you want 'em (quite good)
  • FullTouch / PolyAftertouch keyboard – the new FullTouch mode is awesome, but even just the ā€œregularā€ Poly AT is well implemented and awesome for controlling other synths
  • Modulation galore
  • Powerful and flexible sequencer/arp section
  • Incredibly well designed UI
  • Helpful and thorough companion software tool when you want to work with it from your DAW
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Those UDO synths have the nicest build quality ive ever touched. It’s like a military metal enclosure (in blue or white!) with the firmest clicky knobs, almost like knobs on a high end kitchen appliance or something. And yeah they sound insane.

The Moog Muse is neat and sorta affordable compared to others.

I had the Novation Peak for a while, which is the smaller desktop module version of the Summit. It was good - had a very clean sound, and was flexible. But I got a bit bored of it over the years and ended up offloading it. It has a very pristine and crystalline sound. It’s got a few key parameters hidden in menus, although most of the controls are on the front.

The Hydrasynth is a lot more affordable and it sounds fricking amazing, but IMO its quite an ugly design.

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How do you feel about the UDO Super 6? I’ve been going through these past weeks and making about a bank of patches a week and have been liking the range sounds I’ve been getting out of it.

I also have an OB-6 but haven’t got a chance to go through and make my own patches yet, so I don’t really have an idea of what kind of range it has. Really digging the patches that the guy I bought it from left on it tho…

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That’s the last thing I’d say about Jupiter XM. Yes, the sound is awesome. But even the most basic things like loading and saving a patch are so unnecessarily obtuse that I regularly lost patches even after several months of owning it. I’d recommend this if the UI was better and you love your classic Roland sounds, but definitely try it before you buy it.

The UDO Super Gemini would definitely be my pick, I just think it has the best sound of all of them, though that new Moog might be a close second.

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I get where you are coming from. Yet, there is a substantial difference between the X (the one I am referring to) and the Xm. Still, Roland gonna be Roland. But honestly, I find it quite intuitive to work with (and I don’t even own one myself)

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Other than faders, what’s different?

Well, not sure about the exact amount of dedicated buttons (don’t own them, but played quite a lot), but I thought there were quite a few more dedicated controls on the X (e.g. for both envelopes) and the faders make a big difference to me.

Also, I happily sacrifice some direct access to get all these Roland classics in one machine, but I realize I am in the minority :slight_smile:

Montage M8X is the one out of the OPs list that I’ve been thinking about.

It would be be an instant upgrade over any of my current keyboards as a centerpiece machine. 88 keys to cover a wide range of pitches, with poly aftertouch, ribbon controller, etc. Better sampled pianos than any of my current machines. Ridiculous polyphony. The onboard sequencers have been criticized but they look good enough for sketching out songs.

The onboard FM-X and VA sounds seem decent enough to me but I’d probably spend more time playing the thing than diving into sound design. I have a modest analog synth collection I can turn to if i want that kind of sound so I’m not picky about the VA engine.

However, this is based on my own tastes and considerations as to how the new piece would fit with the gear I already have. OP may have completely different tastes, priorities, etc.

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just get an op-1. its the preferred option for many users of this forum
:rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :joy:

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3rd wave groove synthesiser

richest sounding thing on the planet

3rd wave comes in blue

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I’ve had (together with my brother) 50+ synth/sampler models over the years - in 8 cases we’ve had/have more than one unit at the same time.

The Sequential Prophet X is, for us, the best of them all (we’ve got 2).

I know it’s not being made anymore but if you can find one 2nd hand for a decent price, I would encourage you to consider it :slightly_smiling_face::+1:.

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Osmose is particular, very different.
Some don’t like it, other find it’s a game changer.

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I am not looking to impress anyone. I mostly mix in the box…

My studio is 90% private, with the odd job to help out local bands

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Those things look n ice. I saw a review a little while ago and liked what I saw

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I do believe, if you have money to spend, that a Moog Muse is money well spent ^^

I know I would go for it if I had the money.