The Best New Synths of 2026
Exciting new synthesizers from Behringer, ASM, KORG, and more!
It’s only February and it’s already an amazing year for synthesizers. Here are the best new synths of 2026 – with analog, digital and hybrid instruments representing. There’s even an acoustic one!
The Best New Synths of 2026
Synthesizers are a unique kind of instrument. Part traditional musical instrument, part technology, they sit at the nexus between creative expression and cutting-edge advancements. As such, they’re incredibly exciting – and that’s just when it’s business as usual. When we get a whole bumper crop of wild new instruments all at once, like we have right now, it’s something else.
With NAMM and Buchla & Friends happening last month, and a number of new synths announced or released, this seemed like a good time to round up the best new synths of 2026.
The Best New Synths of 2026: ASM Leviasynth
Ashun Sound Machines’ long-awaited follow-up to its Hydrasynth arrived just before NAMM this year, and when I saw the first demo video, I said, “That’s it. That’s synth of the year.” In much the same way that the Hydrasynth reimagined wavetables, the new Leviasynth does the same thing with FM, expanding its potential in ways that Yamaha never dreamed of – and making it sound beautifully organic in the process.
Available in both keyboard and desktop models (and probably more in the future, given ASM’s track record), Leviasynth is a 16-voice (whoa, Nelly!), eight-oscillator algorithmic synthesizer with analog filters. The algorithmic part means it’s FM, but rather than just working with sine waves, you have over 300 waveforms to frequency modulate each other. It’s more than just that, too, with all of these synthesis types on board: Phase Modulation, Linear Frequency Modulation, Pulse Width Modulation, HTE Sync, and three types of Phase Distortion. You can even morph between algorithms.
But wait, there’s more. You get a digital filter with 18 types, a 4-pole analog resonant filter with drive, 13 envelopes, five LFOs, a 32-point mod matrix, effects, and much more. It’s as deep as its name implies and just as much of a beast. And I haven’t even mentioned the MPE and Polytouch polyphonic aftertouch keyboard.
The Best New Synths of 2026: KORG phase8
When KORG announced that it was launching a new R&D department in Berlin to be headed by Minilogue creator Tatsuya Takahashi, I knew we were in for something special. Tats (as he’s known) has been responsible for some of the most popular synths of the 21st century, and on his own time has developed some pretty unique and experimental instruments as well. The fruit of his and his team’s labor is finally here, and while it might not be what you were expecting, it is nonetheless pretty exciting.
phase8 is being billed as an acoustic synthesizer, and that’s exactly what it is. Sort of like an electrified kalimba, it uses tuned resonators that you strike electromechanically, with additional control over envelope shape and wavefolding, plus a sequencer with motion recording for playing with the eight voices. Of course, you can also play it like a piano, with onboard buttons for keys and MIDI compatibility.
Being electromechanical, it invites physical interaction. Touching and otherwise hindering the vibration of the resonators changes the sound, and you can even swap the notes out for others (you get 13 to work with and can manually adjust tuning as well).
phase8 is not cheap and it won’t appeal to everyone. But kudos to KORG and Tats for trying something new and taking synthesis in a new and (dare I say it?) electrical direction.
The Best New Synths of 2026: Frap Tools Magnolia
If Leviasynth hadn’t already come out, I would probably give the award of best new synth of 2026 to Magnolia from Frap Tools. And coincidentally, it’s also an FM synth. Plot twist, though: it’s an analog Through Zero FM one!
Frap Tools is best known for its West Coast-style Eurorack modules, and it’s brought all that it knows and loves about Buchla-style synthesis to Magnolia. However, this is very much a traditional synthesizer, just with a few quirks in the synthesis section. As such, it’s an eight-voice polyphonic and bi-timbral synth with two oscillators per voice, a low- and highpass filter, plus a modulation section with three envelopes and LFOs.
So far, so trad. But take a closer look: each voice has two oscillators, an East Coast one with PWM and a West Coast one with linear TZFM (that’s Through Zero Frequency Modulation), wavefolder and flip sync. Use the East Coast oscillator to modulate the frequency of the West Coast one for beautifully clangorous sounds.
This is just scratching the surface of what Magnolia can do. It’s also got a Fatar keybed with polyphonic aftertouch, global analog distortion, digital effects algorithms, and the Polymove, which introduces randomization into the notes for unusual sound variations. And oh my God if this thing isn’t drop-dead gorgeous.
- Frap Tools Magnolia homepage
- More about Frap Tools
The Best New Synths of 2026: UDO DMNO
UDO has done it again. The UK company’s latest hybrid synth is the eight-voice DMNO, which gives you two independent polyphonic synths with their own controls, plus a number of different Play modes for how you interact with them. These range from single and dual modes, splits and layers, and various cycling play modes.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First are the oscillators, digital FPGA oscillators to be exact. That’s two oscillators per synth for a total of four. These then move through the new Dynamic Multi-Core Stereo filters, which offer a reconfigurable voltage-controlled topology with multiple modes and routing options. You also get an LFO and two envelopes per synth section, plus digital effects and a binaural analog signal path, among many other features.
Where UDO’s other synths tend towards the big and poly-beautiful, DMNO seems much more suited to sound design, especially in the low-end department. I can see it becoming a secret weapon for bass music producers and other dance music types. It’s available in both white and black models.
The Best New Synths of 2026: Behringer JN-80
Well, what have we here? After however many years of waiting, we finally have Behringer’s take on the Roland Juno-60 ready to go. Called the JN-80, it retains everything that made the original so beloved, and throws in a few extras, like two additional voices for a total of eight, an LCD screen and 200 presets.
The Juno-60 is popular largely because its signal path is simple and easy to understand. This is likely due to Roland trying to get the synth in at an affordable price point (it was pitched as a cheaper alternative to the Jupiter series), but it resulted in it being an extremely immediate instrument with a very wide sweet spot. The JN-80 retains this, with a single DCO with sawtooth, square wave, and sub oscillator settings, the 3109-style lowpass filter and non-resonant highpass filter, analog VCA, single envelope and LFO, and famous BBD chorus circuit. Throw in an arpeggiator and performance controls and you have a very playable and fun synth.
Compared to the other instruments on this list of the best new synths of 2026, it’s certainly on the simple side. But that’s no criticism. Sometimes the very thing you need is a basic analog poly with great sound and easy programming. And that’s the JN-80 all over. Definitely one of the best new synths of 2026.
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