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JD-Xi is not hard to find used for $250 which is pretty good

Does the DAW just automatically send the clock out or do I have to set it up that way? Is the Hydrasynth getting its sync from the MIDI cable or from USB?

Thanks 🙏

I have noticed that most of your synths you own are not actually real analog synths like Oberheim, Deckard's, Moog Etc. etc. I was wondering whether you like the real deals or too much to mess with. For the first time ever I bought both the new OB-X8m and Deckard's and once I did have a Moog, forgot I had that one. There's something special about the real thing and I'm sure you've had those at some point. It's actually a blessing that we can now buy these and they aren't $30K.

pad 7 is really good

Hey Scott, great video! I really appreciate the way you explain gear with their strengths and weaknesses. It's very helpful to budding synthesists like myself. Cheers, from Australia 🤙

I know it's not new release but still relative cheap . . but as as the story goes start at the beginning as with early pocket programmable synths like the tiny Casio VL tone 'toy' . . even on own but through effects get weird sounds ambient background atmospheric which I think are synths strengths rather than the cacophony of every sound possible played in sequence . . same reason why I like 3 & 2 & 1 , raised action slide guitar . . too many strings muddies the waters

Man they released it in a bad state I only found out about all these problems today a few days after buying it. Only issues I've noticed is my Peak and Summit changing each others settings and if I change preset on one it changes on the other I've put it down to user error and disabled them interacting with one another in Peak settings CC/NRPN and Bank/Patch REC+Tran to disabled.

The hydrasynth has a great keybed but Roland doesn’t mess around with their keys. My 88 key full weight Roland has the best keybed I’ve ever played on

The menu and sound creation seems so straightforward on this beast!

Can't get Korg Kross 2 for about $700 discounted? (MSRP has been raised to $930, but standard 20% off brings it under $750, and can always negotiate...) Powerful, great sounds and capabilities (basically like M3/Triton with full-size 61 keys, batterey powered, only 8 pounds, some knobs, 120 polyphony/16-multi/7 fx units/134 algos/2 filters per voice, big mod matrix, full sampling, 16 pads, arp, many performance features, wide variety of sounds etc., etc.) Looks like GAIA 2 MSRP is also $900, discounted to $700, just Korg has MSRP/MAP policy preventing dealers advertising discounts?

Scott , this was fantastic , I hope you expand this to different price points , I know it has a lot of personal perspective , but who cares I loved it !!!

For a true beginner, consider your goal and budget. If you are trying to learn synthesis or just be a twiddler, get a synth with a lot of knobs/sliders so everything is WYSIWYG. Budget wise, you'll get more bang for the buck if you buy something used, considering most new synth prices have skyrocketed. If your goal is to learn how to play, buy a cheap 88 key digital piano and take lessons. Using Scott's picks as inspiration, I would go with a used DeepMind12 or Hydrasynth Explorer. I would avoid the JD-Xi. My personal pick for price range, knobs, sound would be a used Studiologic Black Sledge-- all knobs, bi-timbral, wavetables, high quality 5 octave keyboard, aftertouch....

Because the Gaia is out of production, and I just bought a Gaia2 this week, I (like you) searched for the best beginner synth again, and what would I recommend. My conditions are similar: 1) Must be polyphonic, 8 voice minimum. 2) Must have full sized keys. 3) Must have all the subtractive physical controls. Eight voices mean chord options for both hands simultaneously. Full sized keys mean an organist or pianist can play comfortably and a new keyboardist can learn on a standard size. All the physical controls are really the only way to begin to learn subtractive. I teach subtractive synthesis and most people cannot learn with a menu, just as 99% of the people I know don't understand computers. Most people are not capable of having that file cabinet (file hierarchy) in their head. IF it ain't in front of them, they're lost. Sooooooo, my recommendation is: The Behringer MS-1 + one MIDI cable + The Roland Boutique JX-08 = $620.00. Here you have best of analog and digital, mono and poly. Both together is a fantastic combination of 20 voices digital and a big mono monaural. The Boutique has an audio in so you can connect headphones to the Boutique and hear both synths, and then use the Boutique to record directly to your computer over USB MIDI and/or audio. What the two sound like layered I don't know, but I'll bet it is interesting.

Great work ! Thinking of building one for studio one .

This video kept showing up in my YT list, I was going to click "not interested" and then noticed it was new, I thought it was your old one :) . I like your channel because we think alike, we are not analog snobs and use whatever synth does the best job for task at hand. I just bought a Gaia2 because it is so rare, been using the Gaia for 13 years, it is my favorite digital poly. The original Gaia was my favorite not because it sounded better than anything else, but because it was lighting fast to design patches with gigantic chord changes or fast keyboard play with medium release. I have a Fantom, but I use the Gaia because the Fantom needs a menu and about 5x to 10x the time to sound design. So I rank the Gaia as favorite simply because I use more than any other digital poly. Sound design should be fun not frustrating work, that is why it was a no brainer to buy the Gaia2. While the Gaia2 has nothing in common with the Gaia, both will complement each other, I will probably use the Gaia as a stereo enhancer to the Gaia2 since I can pan oscillators in the Gaia and can't in the Gaia2.

Bad choices.knob per function studiologic sledge

So if we have the Gaia 2 … I don’t know if the price is below 700$ i clearly would add the Korg Modwave which is also a wavetable synth like the Gaia but the synth engine is more powerful. Same with the Opsix. But I don’t know if they are below the $700 limit.

Shout out for the Roland Boutique JU06A. Great synth if you want to learn how to program a synthesizer. Very hands on.

While not a popular opinion, I would suggest adding an MPC One+ to the list (sub US $700). Ok, the "keybed" is a set of velocity sensitive pads, but it has onboard plug-ins for synthesis and fx as well as sample playback, sampling and sequencing and is a great hub when you add further hard or soft synths to your collection. They won't suit everyone but it provides multiple options when producing music, they're very accessible and can be great fun.

Can you refill the 8gr CO2 cylinder?

I’d argue real beginners don’t have a dedicated studio or workspace established. I would start a beginner with a module and an affordable MIDI keyboard. Less investment and less space in some cases. Particularly if the beginner is buying used. Less potential failure points (keys and wheels). For the beginner, front end investment probably will be a factor so the least upfront investment, the better. Otherwise, the list isn’t bad.

Love this video

No Moog, Sequential or Oberheim ‘anything’??

I recently had to buy three synths for beginners as gifts.. Two of the recipiens were very young people, so I chose the Cobalt5s, which is hugely capable and has very nice sounding internal sounds. One was for an older, more experienced musicisn, so he got a Hydrasynth Explorer. All of the recipients loved their new synths, and I think that these were good choices for the skill level of the recipients.

Thanks so much for this video, just my rant, I hate it when modern digital synths are not 16 part multi timbral

As an owner of both the Roland JD-Xi (my first polyphonic synth), and the Korg Microkorg S.... All the review videos I Saw of the Hydrasynth Explorer said it was very portable and compact, so I was expecting it to weigh less, but between those 3 it's my biggest 37 key synth lol

Get rid of the cheap foam pads and install or supply full 3M Anti-Slip to keep it premium., IMO. I still like every video, Scott. Well Created.

Wouldn't buy a Gaia 2 even for $200.

My old singer gave me his before he passed. I have the Original Juno 106. I don't use it I guess it's just for collecting for now! I got a newer Yamaha Keyboard as well as a Yamaha Digital Grand so I can use the Softube version that they have of the Juno. Its been fun hearing some old school tones.

Does the minifreak have granular? I thought it was just the micro that got it?

Confused about why JD Xi is at #6 since you had almost exclusively bad things to say about it.

MiniFreak has an analogue filter which I do think makes a difference, and it sounds slightly better than it’s VST equivalent, to my ears at least

Whenever you do these videos I get excited. Then I remember that I live in Canada while you're in the US😎

Great list. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a mono like the Bass Station 2 if someone isn't into classic bread and butter keys, especially if in a band.

I feel that you should expand your maximum price and include the Sequential Take 5. I almost bought the Hydrasynth Explorer after watching your videos but decided to go with something that wouldn’t involve a lot of menu diving.

Just wanted to say about the Minifreak, although its natural tendency is toward extremely digital sounds, some of the oscillator types such as Waveshaper and the NE Bass, combined with the modulation capabilities and oscillator routings (and the smooth analog filter) mean you can absolutely get "analog sounds" from it. As another commenter mentioned, Arturia's presets didn't necessarily do the synth justice, as they tended toward harsh and digital. Like the Hydrasynth, the MF is extremely deep and powerful and with a bit of sound design experience, can sound like almost anything.

Do one of these but over $7,000 😊

You know what else is pretty awesome, the Vermona Mono Lancet 15! I don't own one, and am not exactly a total beginner, but that thing is an extremely usable, very simple analog synth that makes some wonderful tones. I kinda want one, even though it does way less than many other synths!

So I guess Summit is still worth buying.

Excellent video! That Yamaha MX-49 sounds beautiful!

I think the Gaia2 is the best begginer synth for how easier it is to understand synthesis than some of the other synths. Love the episodes❤ Thanks scott

I like what you do, I don't have a synth or music experience but I'm looking for something inspiring that makes me want to learn that's not too thin on what can be done, I've been on the fence on the deepmind 12 but it doesn't really get my interest until the effects are applied. I'm 59 and at a point if I don't do anything now I never will, I've seen youtubes on Sequential Take 5 and Yamaha Juno X which I like the sounds from, I recently liked a demo track from Roland Gaia 2 but not heard much from it.

In a few weeks, I'll be starting my first college campus job, and I'm going to be saving up for a month for a Korg Minilouge XD. I'm also thinking of getting a Roland AIRA S-1 for on-the-go tinkering. I have a Black Arturia MiniLab 3 that I've been using with VCV Rack for modular practice, but I'm also going to get Syntorial for extra learning. I prefer the real hardware stuff since it's more plug-and-play vs. setting up a midi and wasting time configuring it. I'm kind of nervous because $700 is a lot of cash, and I really don't know which synth is the right one to begin with, even though there have been many positive reviews of the Korg Minilouge XD as a beginner synth. However, I do like the sound of the Korg Minilouge XD. What do you think?

Speaking of microkorg, look for akai miniak (or alesis micron if feeling extra risky) second hand in your area. Much deeper synth. UI is somewhat bearable, coming from mc-101 and 707

Fantastic setup! How do you monitor / what studio monitors you have and where are they located?

Cobalt 5s owner, and I can say the thing is amazing at almost everything one would need from learning to exploring to playing as the first hardware synth, why?, the algorithms shows you lots types of synthesis, just from that you can explore what FM, sync, pwm, RM, AM... sounds like with simple 2 macro parameters that you can mod. As scott and others reviews say, the way modal has layout the synth is pretty intuitive and really fast. The app is amazing for viewing And then the 5s portability is just amazing since it runs from usb, so basically whatever, I travel with the thing and a battery pack and literally play wherever...

+1 on the Deepmind. But there are several things I'll share that you didn't mention. First, you CAN get the 12-voice Deepmind for $700, but just the desktop module. Works great if you already have a keyboard that you like with suitable midi out to control the desktop module. Secondly, Behringer provides both a PC and iPad version of and editor/librarian. The screen on the Deepmind, although informative, has a crappy resolution. I plug my Deepmind into my iPad Pro that sits on a stand behind the synth, and it is a DREAM setup. Not only can I quickly load any of the 512 presets onboard, but I can pull from my library on my iPad, and I can easily edit the sounds and avoid the menu diving required to do the same thing on the keyboard. I also use Cubasis on my iPad to sequence my Deepmind. And to get 12 lovely, liquid sounding voices of TRUE analog sound for this price point makes it simply one of the best synth values on the market. PERIOD. Yes, it has very simple analog waveforms, but so did the Juno series, and look how many hits were created on those synths. So highly recommended, especially for a first analog synth. It is truly the real analog modern version of the Juno that Roland should have made (instead of all the digital clones)!

Roland MC-101 has ZEN-Core engine (+4 timbers, +128 voices of polyphony)... and for 700USD you can buy MC-10 and MIDI keyboard. But it is not a synth for beginners ;)

Hi Scott, I'm a soft synth designer and a subscriber who generally enjoys your content but has two criticisms of your list. With so many dislikes and bottlenecks on the JD-XI, you should've excluded it as a "best." You're a Modal fan, but the Arturia software is a prime example of how poorly designed the Cobalt software is. If you use the Cobalt software in a DAW with a mouse and keyboard, it becomes apparent Modal cut corners with their software design. Also, a VA synth (Cobalt) that didn't get free-running oscillators until a year after release is terrible.