5 of the Best 2000s Synths
The sound of the naughty oughties!
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Relive the sound of the Millennium with these five best 2000s synths, including amazing hardware and software instruments from Korg, Access, Native Instruments, and more.
The Best 2000s Synths
I hate to break it to you, but the 2000s were 20 years ago. If that’s not making you feel old, consider this: the synthesizers released in that decade are now officially vintage. You may want to sit down before you throw your back out from hearing that news.
Today, let’s revisit the naughty oughties with five of the best 2000s synths, including both hardware and software instruments. This is, after all, when we all started selling our physical gear and going in the box. (How did that work out, by the way?)
The Best 2000s Synths: Korg Triton
The 2000s were an interesting time for synthesizers. Many of the big advancements in digital synthesis – mainly sample synthesis and virtual analog – happened in the 1990s but carried over into Y2K. Take the Korg Triton, for example. The workstation debuted in 1999, but was such a hit, it and its many variants dominated pop and hip-hop music production for the next 10 years. So although I’m going to just say “Triton,” you can assume I’m talking about the whole series.
The Triton featured Korg’s HI (Hyper Integrated) Synthesis, which is just a fancy way of saying sample synthesis. You got multi-samples, two digital filters, and plenty of effects as well, plus the ability to sample, something hip-hop producers loved. And, if you splurged on the MOSS board, you got Z1-derived physical modeling and virtual analog, too.
If you’re after that Millennial sound, Korg offers the Triton and Triton Extreme together as a plugin. It’s perfect for ambient drum and bass and other lush electronic genres.
- Korg Triton/Triton Extreme product page
The Best 2000s Synths: Korg microKORG
The 2000s synth with the longest-lasting impact has to be the Korg microKORG. First released in 2002, it’s still in production 24 years later and has gone on to spawn not only a steady stream of limited-edition versions but sequels in the form of the microKORG XL, microKORG XL+, and microKORG 2. Odd because the original microKORG is actually a scaled-down MS2000, which is in turn based on the Z1 engine.
If you’re unfamiliar, the microKORG is a VA+ mini synth with four voices of polyphony, two multi-function oscillators with VA waveforms, DWGS waves from the DW-8000, a VOX wave, and noise, plus a filter and effects. It’s remarkably good at analog-style sounds and has found favor with indie bands needing synth sounds on stage. LCD Soundsystem has famously used multiple microKORGs to recreate its expensive vintage synths live.
The microKORG is still a remarkable deal and every bit as excellent as when it first came out. If you’re after the sound but don’t need the hardware, Korg makes a VST version now, too.
- Korg microKorg product page
The Best 2000s Synths: Access Virus T1
It’s hard to overestimate the importance of the Access Virus series of synthesizers to electronic music in the 1990s and 2000s. Much like Serum today, it was the instrument to have, and anyone making hard-hitting dance music had at least one in their arsenal. The virtual analog synths were clean and powerful, with a razor-sharp sound that defined the big underground records of the day.
Starting in 1997 with the Virus A and running all the way up until the TI2 line in 2009 (which didn’t go out of production until 2024), the Virus series was unparalleled. As we’re talking about the 2000,s though, let’s focus on the TI series, which launched in 2005. Standing for Total Integration, the TI instruments – including the Keyboard, Polar and Snow – used two Motorola DSP chips for extra power, adding Hypersaw and wavetable oscillators to the VA mix.
Sadly, Access no longer makes synths, having evolved into Kemper and amp modeling. If you absolutely positively need the sound of one of the best 2000s synths in your productions, however, give The Usual Suspects a look-see.
- Access Virus T1 product page
The Best 2000s Synths: Native Instruments Massive
I said before that the 2000s were largely a continuation of digital synthesis advancements made in the 1990s. That’s true, but the manner in which we accessed those synthesizers changed drastically during these 10 years. I’m talking about soft synths, with VSTis debuting in 1999, and DAWs really hitting their stride in the mid-2000s. And that brings us to Massive by Native Instruments, a massive (I had to do it) hit and the sound of mid-2000s electronic music.
Everybody needs Serum now, but Massive walked so Steve Duda’s synth could run, making wavetables sexy again and pioneering things like the single-page GUI and drag-and-drop modulation assigning. Massive appeared in 2006 alongside other now-classics from NI like FM8 and Reaktor, and soon became the reason why you wanted to go into the box. It also put dubstep on the map, cranking out wubs like a slaughterhouse making sausages. Or something less disgusting to visualize.
Twenty years later and Massive still sounds great. For something a little more modern, check out Massive X.
- Native Instruments Massive product page
The Best 2000s Synths: Spectrasonics Omnisphere
If Massive defined the sound of bass music in the 2000s, Omnisphere from Spectrasonics made synthesis cinematic. One of the first of what I like to call “super synthesizers,” Omnisphere does a little bit of everything, combining samples with VA and more as it’s developed over the years. Now up to version 3, it remains the instrument of choice for film and game composers, and anyone looking for a widescreen sound.
Developed by Eric Persing (he of the Roland D-50 Pizzagogo fame) and incorporating the soundset from his ground-breaking Atmosphere soft synth), Omnisphere came with 50GB of samples spread across six DVDs – yes, we used to install plugins manually off physical media. It also had a patch browser of the kind that we’re all used to now but at the time was pretty revolutionary. It was also expensive at launch. Some things never change.
- Spectrasonics Omnisphere product page
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