Synthesizers

In the 20 years since its launch, the Bass Station has become something of a classic — and with analogue monosynths enjoying their biggest revival since the early '80s, what better time for a sequel?

Kurzweil's latest workstation introduces enhancements — but doesn't mess with that Kurzweil sound.

Dave Smith’s latest synth crams four Mophos into one keyboard-shaped box. The result promises to be more than the sum of its parts.

For the best part of 20 years, musicians have been asking certain Japanese manufacturers for recreations of their classic synths, and finally one of them has been brave enough to do it. How does Korg’s reborn MS20 compare to its illustrious ancestor?

It’s named in honour of everyone’s favourite giant ape, but will Korg’s new keyboard scale the heights or be shot down in flames? Find out in our exclusive review...

Novation go back to their portable synth roots with a compact gem that reworks the Ultranova synth engine and adds a few extras...

Roland’s Jupiter 80 has gained a little brother in the shape of the Jupiter 50. Does this slimmed-down synth offer the same Supernatural sound?

Years in the making, John Bowen’s Solaris is finally with us. So is this hugely ambitious synthesizer everything we hoped it would be?

The Minitaur may look like a simple beast, but there’s much more to Moog’s most affordable synth than meets the eye...

Arturia have broken away from their soft-synth roots with the MiniBrute, a 100 percent analogue monosynth. We put it to the test in our world-exclusive review.

Self-contained keyboard synths have an immediacy that is seldom matched by synth modules or software instruments. There's a great variety of them available at the moment, but how do you know which one is right for you? Here’s a selection of the models we've looked at over the last couple of years, with links to the SOS reviews, to help you decide.

The latest addition to Arturia’s Analog Experience series takes their hybrid software/hardware synth concept even further.

Yamaha’s MOX range offers unusually tight integration with your DAW. Is this the way forward for synthesizer workstations?

The Jupiter 8 looms large in synthesizer history, and any synth bearing the name has a lot to live up to. Is the Jupiter 80 destined for the same legendary status? Find out in our world‑exclusive review...

Korg really know what they're doing when it comes to workstations, and their new one has been eagerly anticipated. Meet the Kronos in our world exclusive review...

Arturia have taken their Origin concept further with the addition of a keyboard and new modules. So is it now the only synthesizer you'll ever need?

Kurzweil's new workstation maintains the company's reputation for solid reliability, and does so at a lower cost than you might expect...

Arturia's Analog Experience range pairs tweakable preset soft synths with dedicated controller keyboards. We put the first two to the test...

Korgs latest keyboard blurs the boundaries between their affordable Micro range and their pro workstations.

The Formanta Polivoks is becoming an increasingly familiar sound to Western ears — it is, for example, all over Franz Ferdinand’s most recent album Tonight. But for those who haven’t heard this mighty Russian beast in action, Sam Inglis created a few examples to accompany Gordon Reid’s Retrozone feature.

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...