Best Looking Hardware Synth Poll

  • Hi Everyone,
    Just for fun, let's hear what you all think are the best looking hardware synths, any era, and why. For me, the aesthetic appeal of a keyboard is a major factor in my opinion of it which may be a little superficial, but that's the way it is! :D

    I'll start:
    #1. Waldorf Q, Phoenix Edition. Absolutely gorgeous! All that black, lots of knobs and LED's, perfectly laid out. A real breath taker.
    #2. Access Virus TI2. Modern and sophisticated, those walnut endcaps add just the right amount of warmth to an uber-cool board. Number 2 only because of all that unused space on the top cover. A good place to set your Blofeld desktop?!
    #3. Dave Smith's Prophet 12. Best looking new product, layout emulating the Q somewhat. Ribbon controllers a tad too "bio" for me.

    #4. Dave Smith's Poly Evolver. Also very nice!! And those backlit mod and pitch wheels! Unfortunately its 4-voice polyphony is just absurd no matter how they try to justify it.

    #5. Roland D-50. Very sleek! If they're going to do away with knobs for the 80's digital look, this is the way to go!


    So there's five. Feel free to comment! Maybe next we'll do a poll on the ugliest synths out there. There's plenty of 'em! ;)
    Cheers!

  • I agree its a very superficial :)


    Here's my list...


    1. Nord Modular G2x. Because it's sexy as f*ck.
    2. Moog Voyager XL. It was printed directly from a designer's dream.
    3. Access Virus TI2 (whiteout edition). Innocent and pure.
    4. Arturia Matrixbrute. "LOOK. AT. ME."
    5. DSI Prophet Rev2, classy. Could be pretty much any DSI synth here.
    6. Korg Minikorg. A musical tank with knobs, faders and an oscilloscope.
    7. StudioLogic Sledge v2.0. We all have that one punk friend.


    I wouldn't say the virus (normal edition) is particularly appealing when it comes to looks...I have it for it's beefy sound :) Though it's usually my first choice of inspiration...

    • Virus Darkstar: Form follows function meets great industry design
    • Korg Wavestation: Clean and elegant - it's a bit like a sports car, you have to see it in person to fully appreciate how nice its 3D appearance is.
    • Moog Voyager: Form follows function without a fuzz.

    Bass Player and Synthesist.
    Virus TI2 Darkstar | Virus TI2 Desktop | Sub 37 | Voyager RME | Machinedrum | Analog Four | Digitone | MPC Live | NI Maschine+
    Mac OS 13.5.1 (Ventura) | Cubase Pro 11.0 | Ableton Live 9.6 | Logic 10.4 | MainStage 3.4 | NI Komplete Ultimate 13 | RME Fireface UFX+

    • Waldorf Microwave XT
    • Access Virus P0lar
    • Alesis Andromeda A6
    • Clavia Nord Modular G2

    -Windows 10 Pro 64bit DAW (Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero + i9-9900)

    -Steinberg Cubase 10 + Steinberg CC121 Controller
    -Steinberg MR816 CSX + Behringer ADA8200
    -iConnectivity MIO10
    -Virus TI2 P0lar
    -Waldorf Pulse (1)
    -Waldorf Blofeld

    -Yamaha AN1x
    -Yamaha Reface DX
    -Clavia Nord Modular G1 Expanded

    -Moog Minitaur
    -Maschine MK3

    -Elektron Octatrack MKII

    -Adam A7X
    https://soundcloud.com/daksha