Synth Libraries: 5 of the Best Places to Check Out Synthesizers
Who says libraries aren’t cool?
You don’t always have to buy. These are the five best synth libraries to check out electronic musical instruments.
Synth Libraries
I can’t remember the first time I heard about synth libraries. Checking out a synth like you would a book and taking it home for a few weeks? What an amazing idea. Our late-stage capitalist world is so profit-focused, it seems almost quaint for there to still exist places that are about community and access, and not just making money. Book libraries still exist, so why not ones that loan out synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments?
I wanted to know more, so I did some digging and found these five synth libraries based in the United States and the United Kingdom. I’m sure there must be more, so if you know of any, please let me know in the comments. Also, many regular book libraries may also loan out instruments, much like they do DVDs and other media. Check out your local library if nothing here is in your neighborhood.
If you’re looking for a synthesizer studio, check this out. I’ve also talked about synth museums before.
Lastly, you may want to buy something that you read about here. If so, please consider doing so at Thomann*.
Synth Libraries: Synth Library NYC
Founded in 2021, Synth Library NYC is a lending library of synthesizers, recording equipment, modular gear, and other electronic musical instruments based out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in New York City. The library is a membership organization with free membership, and is open to all, with priority access to those who have been traditionally marginalized from the fields of music production, such as BIPOC and individuals of all marginalized genders.
The inventory reveals a wide variety of gear, not just synths. A quick perusal turned up a Dirtywave M8, Ableton Push 2, Eurorack modules like the Black Locust Quad FX, and Focusrite Scarlett audio interfaces. It’s not all new either, with choice vintage pieces like the E-Mu Drumulator and Roland R-8 making an appearance.
Check out the Synth Library NYC website (link below) to find out more.
Synth Libraries: Glasgow Library of Synthesised Sound
The Glasgow Library of Synthesised Sound, or GLOSS, claims to be the UK’s first electronic music library. It’s a community-based and artist-led space in Glasgow that provides affordable and free access to electronic instruments, equipment, space, workshops, education, performances, and resources.
Rather than check items out and take them home, as at Synth Library NYC, GLOSS works on a session system. Three-hour sessions are available to book twice a week, with two sessions on each day. You can then work with the gear on hand, collaborate with others who may be there, and attend workshops.
As for the gear, there’s no inventory list that I could find, but the photos on the site show a number of tantalizing instruments, including a Roland TR-808 and JX-3P, Korg Minilogue XD, lots of effects pedals, and the Instrument For The People of Glasgow, a Eurorack rig/art piece made up of donated modules.
If you’re in Scotland (or will be soon), visit the site (link below) to find out how to book a session.
Synth Libraries: Synth Library Portland
Heading back to the States, this time to the West Coast and Oregon, for the Synth Library Portland. A collectively-run arts non-profit, Synth Library Portland provides low-cost access to electronic musical instruments as well as education. Depending on the monthly price point, members can take instruments home for three weeks at a time, and also work with tutors on-site as part of the Studio Hours Program.
The studio inventory includes three different well-stocked modular rigs, a Moog DFAM and Mother-32, a Korg MS-20M, a Deckard’s Dream from Black Corporation, and vintage synths in the form of a Roland JX-3P and Juno-106. Interestingly, there’s also a big video desk and a test equipment desk for old-school Hainbach-like experiments. And that’s just what stays on-site. The list of items that you can take home is staggeringly big.
I’m not often in Portland, but Synth Library Portland looks like a fantastic reason to visit.
Synth Libraries: Feminist Synth Lab
Heading down the West Coast and arriving in Los Angeles, we’ve got the Feminist Synth Lab, which is a music equipment lending library and workshop series for all marginalized genders. Gear is lent out for three-week periods, with a small, returnable deposit required.
The inventory is substantial indeed and includes not only synthesizers like Arturia MicroFreak and Dreadbox Nymphes but also DJ gear, drum machines, effects including Erica Synths’ incredible Zen Delay, and samplers like the Roland SP-404MKII.
Feminist Synth Lab also hosts workshops and events, and looks like a fantastic resource for people in the community in Southern California. Find out more at the link below.
Synth Libraries: Synth Picnic
I’ve talked about Synth Picnic before. It’s a pop-up event that happens in Norwich in England once a month, with synthesizers and other gear spread out on picnic-style tables for you to play with. Less of a library and more of a try-before-you-buy model, it operates in a similar way, giving you access to instruments without having to pay for them.
Robin Vincent (who used to write for Gearnews.com) started Synth Picnic as a way to get around the closing of physical shops. “We certainly need creative solutions that look beyond bricks and mortar music stores and, as ridiculously simple and under-resourced as it is, I think this might be one,” he says on the Synth Picnic site.
As for what synths will be available, that’s subject to what they have on hand at the time, but he does mention that he focuses on synths that are accessible and affordable, like Modal Cobalt8, ASM Hydrasynth Explorer, and Pittsburgh Modular Taiga. Given that Robin makes his own Eurorack modules, you can expect a fair helping of modular too.
Visit the site (link below) to find out more.
More Information
*Note: This article contains advertising links that help us pay for this site. Don’t worry: the price for you will always be the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!
This might also interest you
