Best Synthesizers for Beginners 2023

That Pro One sounds amazing

I went for a minifreak for my first synth. It's been amazing and I have tons of fun with that thing. My son was also overwhelmed trying to learn piano but has fallen in love with the minifreak. He literally asks to play on it almost daily. That alone shows a lot about the usability of the minifreak. You can dig deep into sounds or you can just turn it on, pull up some fun presets and start playing

I Love synths , and I Love hardwear synths , softwear synths , here is why I Love a hardwear synth compared to softwear , I feel and hear at the same time ,, I dont have to stop and drag and patch ,,with a keybed when I tough it ,, I feel and hear pressure with my fingers and my ears hears sound its more alive to me Loved your video .I really dont care for CGI I like real things objects tangable real ,,and all at the same time start play finish stop Over ,,,done .,.everything at one time .

love my mininova ... fun factor is certainly there ... the sounds and arps are incredible and I like the knobs, button and lights ... really good for live jamming

The good with the minifreak, is that you can start easy, and get more complex with time. For the price it's a very good deal (vst for free...).

I' m a beginner with 2 volcas and after researching a lot, I'll go for a minifreak for its Polyphony, sequencer, ease of use and vst.
Good companion to learn synthesis and music creation.

☺♥♪Amazing sounds ☺♥♥love

Dreadbox Typhon! Sonically outclasses synths priced wayyyy more, super portable, easy to use, inspiring and fun!

Kinda silly to recommend semi-modular and keyboardless synths to beginners.

Thank You!

My first synth was the Alesis Ion, its finally dying. Im getting the Hydra next month:)

If you like since from the 80s, this is for you I would not recommend this for beginners plus a lot of the stuff that he has been displaying and talking about all sound similar. They all have the 80s sound talk why would I spend money on any of that

This video gives me g.a.s. The S-1 is top of my Christmas list.

As much as I love my Reface CS, it's got far tougher competition than when it launched. However "Reface" is still the alternative spelling for "mojo". The CS is not just for beginners; it is so quick and easy to dial up great sounds. The design choices for the interface were inspired - there are things it can't do but Yamaha managed to leave out the settings that give useless results. In an emergency, my Refaces are the synths I'd grab on my way out the door! ...and my MicroFreak! 😀

I wish I had the mini freak

In the video, the Bass Station is referred to as a monophonic synth. I guess Daniel forgot about the 2.5 firmware update that turns the BS2 into a two-voice paraphonic synth: "Bass Station II is now a paraphonic monosynth, because you can control the pitches of each of the two oscillators separately in its single-voice architecture. Play two notes at a time rather than just one and get interesting interactions through the Ring and Filter Mod."

How do you record the AIRA S-1 movements as MIDI?

Love the Minifreak for its mod matrix. Definitely punching above its weight class in terms of programming complexity!

The original Pro-1 was good enough that Vince Clarke used it extensively on the Yazoo albums. It also meant that the music store I was working at in London had serious problems getting enough stock, because the world and his wife seemed to want one.

Hydra for the win! That was my first synth when it came out and I'm still in love with it..

I started with Volcas before diving into a Hydra. Though the Volcas certainly have their place, I would skip them if I was starting over and go straight into the larger format synths like MiniFreak and Hydra Explorer.

Should use the Sweetwater logo instead of a piece of tape to mark the center of the camera for your recording.

I have a keyboard but it's nothing compared to the equipment you show on your videos even these I wouldn't know where to begin, I wished I had just a little bit of your knowledge and I would be happy. I truly think they don't make anything you could not operate. It makes me think about rethinking my guitar and my old keyboard and trying the leap for one of these.

Minikeys = don't .. just don't!
Buy an Ultranova, not a Mininova.
Buy second hand gear not new stuff.
Reface is the only product with good Minikeys. Korg Microkeys are acceptable, if you want to use your iPad as Synth via Bluetooth.

What about the Roland JD-XI?

I still think, from the perspective of someone who is a bit on the spectrum, the easiest and fun to operate synth is an uno synth. My second recommendation would be a grandmother. The instruction manual for even the microfreak almost makes me want to cry. I have a lot of synths. I think I am going to get the rolca s1 for the oscillator magic, but that would be a gnarly beginner synth. A beginner synth needs to be straightforward . The uno has everything right there and no mod matrix, but with many performance tweaks and most importantly, digital control so you can't get lost. Grandmother is hard to get lost because it is simple layout. From the video selection, I would recommend the reface or mininova for general performance recommendation and minilog/bass station for an analog beginner. The rest are either too complex or need more gear like controllers, modular understanding and patch cables.

I got a lot of really good information out of this video! Thanks for sharing 🤘

Beginner synth? IMHO a beginner synth is one with a relatively simple/straightforward voice architecture AND as close to knob per function interface as possible. Given that Pro One is the only one here I would recommend (I suspect the 800 will be as well once it is available on this side of the pond) especially if a goal is to learn synthesis. The BS2 is a great synth that would also get my vote if not for the Minibrute 2 or 2S which I personally think is a better long term and more versatile synth.

i’m glad everyone’s on the hydrasynth train now

good info!

I don't know about beginners synths, I would have listed as "entry" level due to pricing.
Explorer, Minifreak and Korg all can get fairly intricate, they especially the Freak can be fairly intimidating with so many options on board, ASM comes in a very close 2nd too.
I would probably say these are best value budget synths, especially when the ASM comes with PAT keybed and also the same engine as its more expensive and bigger siblings.

Still a good list and fwiw, my 1st synth was a BS2, great analogue, sold due to wanting something bigger.

Daniel I don't see the OB-X8

What's funny is that when I was first looking into buying a synth, I did a lot of research on these synths! I'm just waiting for Omnisphere to come out with a Hybrid Synth with an amazing keyboard controller with keys and full functionality of an Analog/digital synth, full software capabilities of Omnisphere and Keyscape!!! Come on Spectrasonics!!!

No Moog for beginners?

Out of those, the Minifreak and the Hydra (not that exact version maybe, though) are the ones I'd get for myself.

These Daniel videos are always so good, he makes me want to buy everything! I started with a used Microkorg, but if I could go back, I would recommend a Hydrasynth and either the Minifreak or Microfreak since they're so much easier to edit. The Deepminds are also a good place to start after the price cuts Behringer put out this year. Korg's Volca series also provide a fun entry point at a low price point.

My first synth was the MG-1 followed by the Pro-One and then thye Opus 3 AND i STILL HAVE THEM!!

A new Daniel movie!