5 of the Best Affordable Synthesizers – For Every Budget
Don't let budget concerns hold back your next synthesizer purchase.
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It can be tough shopping for a new synthesizer when you’re on a budget. However, there are plenty of surprisingly affordable synths out there. And the best news? You don’t have to sacrifice functionality for financial responsibility. Here are our picks for the best affordable synthesizers for every budget.
5 of the Best Affordable Synthesizers
The Best Affordable Synthesizers
Whether you’re looking for something with a tiny footprint or a commanding instrument with full-size keys, whether you hanker for analogue or digital, or just want to get the most for your money, these five thrifty synths are packed with functionality. They’re perfect for you or that synth-lover in your life.
All of the products mentioned in this article are available at Thomann*.
The Best Affordable Synthesizers: Roland S-1 Tweak Synthesizer
Let’s kick things off with the most affordable synth in this listing. Don’t get it wrong, though: just because it’s cheap, that doesn’t mean it’s no good. I’m talking about Roland’s S-1, or AIRA Compact S-1 Tweak Synthesizer, to use its rather long full name. Part of the AIRA Compact series, it manages to pack a lot into a small package – and maybe even more than you might expect.
· Source: Marcus Schmahl
The S-1 is Roland’s latest take on the classic SH-101 analog monosynth. This version is digital, of course, but that means it can do a lot and not cost too much either. For starters, it’s four-voice polyphonic. It also offers more than just VA synthesis, with two additional digital oscillators to use instead of the VCO-type one. It’s got a sequencer, arpeggiator, effects and even a D-motion gyroscope controller for performance effects.
There are lots of tiny synthesizers on the market now, but the S-1 may be the best.
The Best Affordable Synthesizers: Behringer MS-1 MKII
If you’re on the hunt for one of the best affordable synthesizers, Behringer really should be on your list. The company has released a ridiculous number of remakes of classic synths over the last five years or so, with most (if not all) within reach of even the skintest of producers. My pick, though, is the MS-1 MKII.
Based on the ever-popular Roland SH-101 (yes, another one), the MS-1 MKII is a single-oscillator monosynth that punches way above its weight class. Part of its charm lies in the beautiful filter. Another part is in its ability to do acid basslines with almost as much panache as the 303. Which leads me to the third point: the onboard sequencer.
There’s no shortage of 101 clones on the market, but this one comes up trumps because of the price – and those full-size keys.
The Best Affordable Synthesizers: Korg Minilogue
The silver machine. A modern classic. Korg’s Minilogue helped kick off the modern analogue synthesizer rebirth, and it’s still worth considering now.
It’s hard to find four voices of analogue polyphony at this price point, and that’s the Minilogue’s greatest asset. That’s not all it has, though. Each of the two oscillators has a wave shaper. That’s something you tend to see on West Coast Buchla-type synths and modules, and it can add harmonics to the sound.
There are plenty of other parameters to help shape your sounds, including a dirty tape-style digital delay. With its one-knob-per-function layout, the Minilogue makes a great first synth, too.
The Best Affordable Synthesizers: Arturia MiniFreak
Well, hello there, MiniFreak. One of the most exciting synths out, Arturia‘s MiniFreak is a six-voice digital powerhouse.
It’s got two digital sound engines, each with 22 selectable oscillator modes ranging from virtual analogue to 2-op FM. Layering them together can result in all kinds of incredible tones and textures. As well, you can even use them to process external audio.
The highlights don’t stop there. There’s also an analogue SEM-style multimode filter to smooth out the digital excess—or accentuate it if that’s your thing.
If you already have some analogues and want something digital to add contrast to your productions, this is the one. Need a few more keys? The MiniFreak 49 is the one for you. It’s also got aluminum pitch and mod wheels, more controls, a pressure-sensitive XYZ touch matrix, and a few sound engine additions.
The Best Affordable Synthesizers: Moog Messenger
And so we reach the high-end of the budget list. Surprised to see a Moog here? And with keys, even? That’s the Messenger for you, a Moog through and through, but with a price point even us peasants can afford.
A monosynth with 32 keys, the Messenger has two oscillators and the famous Moog transistor Ladder filter, but much of the rest of it is decidedly non-traditional, at least in terms of Moogyness. To start with, it’s got Buchla-style wavefolders. The filter also has resonance compensation so you don’t lose your low end when cranking the emphasis. It also sports loopable ASDSR envelopes. Your grandfather’s Moog, this is not.
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4 responses to “5 of the Best Affordable Synthesizers – For Every Budget”
I think the Behringer DeepMind 6 would be a worthy contender (or better still, the 12 if budgets permit). It’s analogue, it has effects, it’s 6 note polyphonic, has all the sliders you need, loads of storage space for your own patches, and has a comparatively large LCD for a budget synth – not one of those postage-stamp sized OLED things! Not to mention excellent modulation routing. All for around five hundred quid new, or less second hand.
Behringer Deepmind and UB-Xa, seriously, polyphonic analogs for really little money!!
M audio venom has big bang for the buck
You can find them for $300 used
Errr no Sequential Forum?