The Yamaha Reface CS is pretty sweet for the size and price, for sure. And batteries 
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Heh well that begs the question, what’s the point in being mini unless it’s portable? Space constraints in the studio/home maybe… but I think the appeal of these small devices is really amplified when they’re battery powered and portable. Not that I don’t also have small synths set up in my main space too, but it’s really fun knowing something has a lot of power/potential, and that it can go on the bus. Trying to pull you into the debate, because the somebody was me!
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Hugely powerful and nice to play, and the stereo line in brings a lot of value when pairing with a PO or whatever on the go.
Mpc live 2? Case closed…
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Remind me again what your controversial synth nomination was?
I could have sworn somebody nominated something silly like an Erica Syntrix or something. You know, something that won’t fit in your typical backpack, but is still “mini” for some reason.
I wasn’t paying close attention to the justification of why it’s legit “mini”. I just thought “ok, he’s taking the piss” and switched to another thread
Just got done watching the hour long performance that Daniel Fisher of Sweetwater gives on the Explorer. Thanks GovernorSilver for the link !
Don’t know about the “Most” and “Ever” parts of the title, but the HS Explorer definitely is a Powerful Minisynth.
Fisher really capitalizes on the small size of the HSX.
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Agreed. HSX fits my understanding of “powerful”.
When I was a kid reading Keyboard Magazine synth reviews, a synth was “powerful” to me if Jim Aikin said it was powerful. I hardly knew anything, but did know that Jim knew what he was talking about. He always found something to complain about in every review… except one synth. I forgot which one - Oberheim Xpander? - anyway, the only complaint he could come up with for that synth was “Won’t do your dishes”
For Nick Batt, it better let him do PWM, otherwise it’s worse than “not powerful” - it’s plain rubbish.
I’m sure each person has their own idea of powerful
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the most powerful minisynth… its you, it was you all along
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for me it was Craig Anderton
Nah mine wasn’t controversial, I was just saying battery power should be a prerequisite. I guess it doesn’t really have to be though, anything powerful that can be easily transported and fits in a bag works.
You mean, for you, Craig is the toughest synth reviewer of all time?
Waldorf Blofeld desktop. Smallest synth I own with the biggest polyphony and multitimbral.
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You are not alone
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As far as things I’ve personally owned, the most powerful synth per cubic volume/ weight is the original nanoloop 1.0 cartridge though that might not be the case if you factor in the gameboy and batteries required to use it. Surprisingly powerful sequencer and very flexible synth engine even in that original version.
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MFB Synth-Pro
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There’s always somebody here who brings up power banks in response to anyone saying they need battery power.
It isn’t always the same person either. That club has multiple members
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Blofeld for sure. The menu diving gave me headache (I prefer gear with more knobs) but with a good midi controller you can record tons of tunes using only that small desktop unit. It’s a beast.
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I would say that the Roland Boutique SH 01a is the most powerful mini synth . It has that signature 101 but with polyphony/unison and advanced LFO.
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Ipad Waldorf knave
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