5 of the Greatest Synthesisers of All Time

A synthesiser is an electronic instrument, often played with a keyboard, that combines simple waveforms to produce more complex sounds, such as those of various other instruments. This is commonly used in electronic music as it creates complex sounds that sound good with the sub-genres within electronic music. In this post I'll be going through 5 of the greatest synths we've had in the music industry in my opinion and use my knowledge and understanding to explain why they were so successful and groundbreaking.

1. Roland JD 800- 1991

The Roland JD 800 was introduced in 1991 and was one of the first synths of the 90's but you wouldn't think it due to its 70's-80's sound; which unfortunately made it commercially dismal. It was a fairly easy to use synth offering sample based oscillators, a resonant filter and envelope generators; making it a standard synth to offer if it weren't for the big difference with this synth; which was the sliders that were used to control said parameters.

The synth itself was crammed full of high quality sounds, which was a USP as many other companies were trying to fit so many pre-loaded sounds into synths that they lacked quality; whereas Roland proved that fewer sounds and higher quality with loads of potential to change said sounds was the way to go from this point on; and was something that producers and DJ's loved. However this synth came before its time, as artists wanted the most up to date tech in a synth, and this synth offered analogue sounds; which means it would've been far more successful if it had been introduced in the 00's. However you can't take away the power of this synth and is why its still used today.

2. Yamaha DX7- 1983

In the 80's its surprising to think that in an age where analogue had taken over the synth industry, it was slowly dying out to make room for digital. This was where the DX7 shook the world, where Yamaha introduced the first digital synthesiser. The mono-timbral, 16 note polyphonic piece of kit is commonly associated with 80's pop music, where artists used the stock sounds built into the synth to give their tracks flavour; and these sounds gave the 80's such a cliche feel, especially with the emerging of dance music and new wave.

The synthesiser was FM based, with 6 sine wave operators per voice, allowing for excessive customisation of individual sounds; which could be stored on the 32 bit-RAM memory it carried. The DX7 is known for its 'struck' and 'plucked' sounds, such as bells and pianos; and the sounds are still commonly used in popular music today because of the clarity and tonality. Despite its hefty price tag of around £1,500, the DX7 is one of the best selling synths of all time and is why it stayed in production until 1989; proving it was the best synth of the decade, and is why its still prominent today.

3. Korg WaveStation- 1990

Vector synthesis, which provides movement in a sound by providing dynamic cross-fading between (usually) four sound sources, was the basis for the WaveStation, and is probably why it was so successful commercially, even if it was a bit of a FAD. However it was the perfect time for release, as analogue was dead and FM was facing the same fate, because this gave artists something new to play with for both recorded and live sound. The on-board samples were of a decidedly electronic nature, with none of the usual drum kits, pianos or nylon guitars. However these instruments could be stacked on top of each other to create fully unique sounds, which worked just as well with the impressive number of effects built into this synth.

Wave-sequencing was a huge USP for this synth, as it allowed users to combine any waveforms together in a row and with control over parameters such as pitch, volume and crossfade time. This synth in its day was one of the best next to the Roland JD 800, but was very expensive due to its niche technology, costing around £2,100. At present however, this synth is a collectors item and would cost a fair bit, which is why Korg produced a near spot on digital version of the synthesiser which is the most commonly used alternative.

4. Sequential Circuits Prophet-5- 1978

Produced between 1978- 84, the Prophet was one of the most popular synths among film composers and rock artists during the 80's, and cost a fortune because of this; setting you back between £3,000-£4,000. The USP of this synth however was the fact that it was the first analogue synthesiser with patch memory, allowing the artist to create complete unique sounds using the 5 voice polyphony and ADSR filters, and save them to the piece of kit for later use. The piece of kit was mono-timbral, and used subtractive and FM synthesis to generate sounds; as well as having a LFO which helped to give sounds a deeper pitch and a richer tone.

Artists most notably to have used the Prophet are Jean-Michel Jarre, Pet Shop Boys, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. The Prophet-5 was, in short, exactly what performing musicians were asking for and, though it was priced at a whopping four grand, it sold in the masses, making Dave Smith's Sequential Circuits an industry leader almost overnight and spawning legions of copycats from every corner of the globe.

5. Moog MiniMoog- 1970

The following information is sourced from the following link, and sums up perfectly just how powerful this synthesiser was and why its carried that presence in to the present day.

Source- http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/the-10-greatest-synthesizers-of-all-time-224433

Could it have been any other instrument? The Minimoog is the classic vintage synthesiser and with good reason. Its design is the template that influences synthesiser manufacturers to this day.

With a trio of oscillators (the third of which could be used as a modulation source), noise generator and quite possibly the best sounding filter ever created, the Mini put synthesisers within the reach of the gigging musician. Once they got their paws on the thing, those musicians injected the sound of electronic music into the mainstream.

Thanks to the Minimoog, electronic music was pulled down from its lofty academic perch and allowed to run free among the uncouth and unruly, and thank goodness for that. Maybe we should thank Bill Hemsath, the Moog employee who spent his lunch hours in the attic, kludging together the first Minimoog from bits and bobs from Moog's massive modular systems. He just wanted a portable instrument he could take home. He couldn't have known that he was creating a legend.

What makes the Mini so great? A number of things, actually. First, its relatively limited number of parameters make it pretty easy to use. Yet they were carefully chosen to offer sufficient flexibility to create a wide range of sounds.

Second, there is the sound. Though many instruments are said to be possessed of a special and elusive character, the Minimoog really has it, and then some. The oscillators are rich, and the envelopes are snappy, if simple. Its highs are piercing and crystal clear, and the bass has rightfully become the stuff of legend. It's big, ballsy and its nigh on impossible to make the thing sound bad!