The Best Gear and Software of 2025: My 7 Highlights of the Year
Stellar releases from Roland, Arturia, Native Instruments, and more.
It was a great year for synthesizers and drum machines. Here are my picks for the best gear and software of 2025.
Best Gear and Software of 2025
Another year come and gone. As a music technology journalist, I got to spend every day of it steeped in new releases. Synthesizers, both hard and soft, drum machines, effects units. You name it, I covered it. And while there were many, many good releases this year, some especially stood out. These are the ones that quickened my pulse, put a smile on my face, and made me happy to have the job that I do.
This is my list of the best gear and software of 2025, presented in no particular order.
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Roland TR-1000
I had heard mention of a new TR drum machine a few years back, but nothing could prepare me for what Roland delivered in the TR-1000. Analog recreations of sounds from the TR-808 and TR-909, VA emulations ported from the TR-8S, and the SP-404MKII sampling engine all combined into one solidly hefty package. Oh my, yes.
The TR-1000 is not just a return to form from a company that had spent many years emulating itself, but an announcement of bold new things to come. At least, I hope. With proper 808 and 909 voices finally out of the way, has this set the stage for a new line of analog synthesizers? One can dream. Bring on 2026!
- Roland TR-1000 product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Arturia Pigments 7
Arturia’s Pigments is, for my money, the best soft synth on the market today. Now up to version 7, it’s got pretty much everything you could ask for in a VST: virtual analog, wavetable, granular, physical modeling, and harmonic sound engines, a gazillion filters, intuitive modulation, and more effects than an ILM demo reel. It also sounds gorgeous, as you might expect from a company that’s built its reputation on recreating the best synthesizers ever made.
Pigments 7 is a free upgrade for owners, so if you already have it, update it already. If you have yet to input the credit card numbers, now really is a fantastic time, thanks to the new filter and effects types, snappier envelopes, and revamped Play screen. Grab it while it’s still on sale.
- Arturia Pigments 7 product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Native Instruments Absynth 6
Another great soft synth with a new update, file this one under, “Once again back is the incredible.” Native Instruments finally did what everyone wanted (no, it’s not a faster new Maschine model, sorry) and brought back the much-beloved Absynth, a classic from the early days of VSTi releases.
Version 6 updates it for 2025 with a lovely new GUI and AI-powered preset browser, but the heart and soul of Absynth remains the same: VA, granular, FM, and wavetable synthesis, weird and bizarre effects, 68-point envelopes, and so much more. Absynth is from the days when soft synths were new, and programmers were trying out wild new ideas. In these sometimes stale days of remakes and re-imaginings, a healthy dose of experimentation is just what the synth doctor ordered, and a shining example of the best gear and software of 2025.
- Native Instruments Absynth 6 product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M
Write it down in your diary: 2025 was the year that Groove Synthesis brought its 3rd Wave to the masses with the much more affordable 3rd Wave 8M. The beautiful wavetable synth, which starts as a PPG Wave recreation and then takes things into the 21st century with modern wavetables, VA, FM, and sample playback, gets squeezed down into a tabletop form factor that reduces the voices to a (still very usable) eight but keeps the rest of the architecture intact. Honestly, you won’t even notice the loss of knobs thanks to the massive screen, which makes synthesis a joy.
It helps if you love gritty old wavetables, but with its other synth engines onboard, the 8M is so much more than just a Wave clone. Your ears will love you for it.
- Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Stylophone CPM DF-8
This was my surprise of the year. I’m including the Stylophone CPM DF-8 on my list of the best gear and software of 2025 for the sheer joy it brought me.
Is it a dual filter desktop effects box? A Eurorack module? An experimental noise machine? Yes to all of that and a lot more. With two filter paths, you can run it in stereo, making it great for mix bus processing a la Daft Punk, or even DJing, while the VCAs and envelopes mean it can add value to your Eurorack rig. But mostly it’s just tons of fun to play with – and isn’t that what this whole business is all about?
- Stylophone CPM DF-8 product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Korg multi/poly native
I have a confession to make: I’m including the Korg multi/poly native soft synth in this list of the best gear and software of 2025 without ever having touched the hardware version it was adapted from. But honestly, seeing as this is a one-to-one port, trying out the hardware is really not even necessary. Everything I need is right here in ones and zeroes, and in my DAW too.
A virtual analog synth that uses the structure of the classic Mono/Poly as a launchpad, multi/poly native gives you four layers of polyphonic synth lushness with a Kaoss Physics-infused modulation section to throw it all into confusion. It’s a beauty of an instrument that lends itself to pads and chords, but it can do pretty much anything you need it to. As an ambient musician, this synth is perfect for me – and maybe you too.
- Korg multi/poly native product page
Best Gear and Software of 2025: Cherry Audio Mercury-8
If you haven’t checked in on Cherry Audio lately, it’s time to rectify that. The developer has gone from strength to strength, with 2025 seeing them put out something like six releases. The latest – and best – is Mercury-8, an emulation of Roland’s legendary Jupiter-8 and a real winner of a soft synth.
I’ve never touched a Jupiter-8, so I can’t vouch for how “real” Mercury-8 sounds. I can say, though, that it sounds incredible for what it is, with a full and rich tone that made me go, “This is a plugin?” Along with the expected synthesis stuff, you also get a selection of excellent effects, which go a long way towards transforming the sound. It may even be my favorite Jupiter-8 emulation to date. And that price!
- Cherry Audio Mercury-8 product page
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