Audiothingies P6
From €165 (full kit, no case) to €299 (pre-built unit), audiothingies.com
The P6 is probably the best option on our list for the hardcore DIYers. If you get excited by the smell of fresh solder, you can get yourself a real bargain here. The P6 offers a hugely comprehensive feature set: two oscillators, sub-oscillator, ring modulator, noise source, switchable 24dB low-pass or 12dB state-variable filter, three envelopes, three LFOs, an arpeggiator and a chorder, all of which can be employed in six-voice polyphonic, mono or unison modes. Where else can you find that kind of spec in a hardware synth costing just €165?
As long as you’re willing to get your hands dirty with some relatively basic soldering, the P6 is incredible value for money. Even if you buy the fully built version for just under €300, it’s still not bad. This is a real all-rounder of a synth. The programming interface isn’t the most intuitive, the whole unit has something of a DIY look to it, but overall you just can’t complain about the sound, which is truly versatile and on a par with fancier synths twice the price.
P6 designer elektrosamplist is currently working on a firmware update to add features including wavetable support and step sequencing. As always with DIY projects along these lines, you’re not getting the most slick, professional-looking product on the market, but if you’re on a budget it’s a great option.
09.50 PM
Ploytec is on the table behind the Bass Station 2… What do I win?
03.34 AM
Is that it behind his monitor controller??? or ai or whatev
05.56 PM
My next synth is definitly in that list!
12.21 AM
i think it not good the MICROGRANNY 2.1 . is supper
als the The Critter & Guitari Bolsa Bass is dupper
more supper synth,s on http://www.errorinstruments.com
04.50 AM
Was the Elektron Monomachine just too expensive to be included, or too old?
09.44 AM
@Clay – I’d personally say that’s it too old to make the list, the Monomachine MK2 came out 5-ish years ago now. That said, I just bought a new one from Elektron and it’s probably my favourite digital synth EVER (though the Machinedrum is probably parallel to that as well, yeh I’m a fanboy)
09.55 AM
We love the Monomachine but here we’re just focusing on more recent releases.
08.03 PM
I highly recommend the Audiothingies P6, it sounds more ‘analogue’ than modern analogue synths I’ve used, I’d take it over a load of more expensive synths any day.
Strong filter with lovely sqidgy resonance, snappy envelopes and a good mod matrix, this is a very flexible instrument with a very wide sweet spot.
Here’s a demo I made recently showing a wide range of sounds, I’ll be posting another one soon as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glZbjmJMHNU