Synthesizers

The fall of the Iron Curtain revealed a surprise for Western musicians: a flourishing Soviet synthesizer industry. Its flagship instrument was crude, cheaply made, horrible to play — and sounded like nothing else...

The hugely popular Microkorg — the worlds best-selling synth for the past few years, according to its makers — has gained what Korg describe as a big brother. Will it repeat the success of its sibling?

Waldorf build on the success of their Blofeld synth by adding not only a keyboard, but also sample RAM.

The M3 workstation, already a powerful beast, has gained impressive new features and an Xpanded name tag. Is it now top of its class?

Roland's Fantom workstation reaches its fourth generation with the 'G' series. So just how great is the Fantom family's great-grandchild?

The Voyager Old School sees Moog returning to their roots, but is there a place for an all-analogue, 1970s-style synth in the 21st century?

Is there still a place for the workstation in the computer dominated studio of 2008? Korg certainly think so, and they're making a compelling case with their brand-new, touchscreen-equipped M50, offering much of the power of the acclaimed M3 for around half the price. Our world exclusive review digs deeper...

Arturia's 'hybrid instrument' teams a custom keyboard with their massive synth patch library plug-in. Is this the way forward for hardware/software integration?

In 2004 it looked like game over for Waldorf, but the German company are back, with a hardware synth that more than lives up to their former reputation...

Clavia are as well known for their instruments' red livery as they are for the quality of their virtual analogue synths. The new Nord Wave has definitely got the colour scheme, but can it live up to the sonic reputation of its forebears?

The reputation of Sequential Circuits is up there with the likes of Moog and ARP, but is the first Prophet in 20 years a worthy addition to that heritage or a cash-in on former glories?

In 2003 the original V-Synth represented a bold leap forward in synthesizer technology. Can Roland take the concept further with the new V-Synth GT? Read on...

The new Motif XS range is top of the pile when it comes to Yamaha synth workstation technology, and thus will be going head-to-head with flagship contenders from other big-name manufacturers. Does the XS have what it takes?

Korg's new synth may be small, but there's much more to it than meets the eye...

Keyboard workstations have always been something of a Korg speciality, ever since they created the concept almost 20 years ago with the M1. Does their latest offering, the M3, live up to its pedigree?

The world's first commercially available string synthesizer, the Eminent 310, came from an unlikely source, a Dutch home organ manufacturer. It was further advanced through an even more unlikely partnership, with the legendary American synth makers ARP...

The SH201 — a versatile new modelling synth from Roland or a cash-in on past glories? Let's find out...

Synthesizer, USB audio interface, MIDI controller — Novation's Xiosynth does it all, and at a very reasonable price...

Pushing at the boundaries of synthesis, as ever, Dave Smith's Evolver range continues to, er, evolve...

They say that good things come in small packages — but just how much synthesizer can Korg cram into the tiny Micro X?

It lacked most of the features we'd expect from even a basic synth, but this rare Italian keyboard had a charm all of its own.