36 thoughts on “The 10 Most Popular Synths Of 2017”

1. The trouble with this list is that it’s meaningless. It’s not a ranking of the number of new units sold, it’s a list of the number of instruments that changed hands (both new and used).

   It’s entirely possible that some people dumped their instruments into the used market because they were awful.

   1. “It’s entirely possible that some people dumped their instruments into the used market because they were awful.”

      If that were the case, these instruments wouldn’t be top sellers and wouldn’t retain their value, would they?

      Crap gear is going to be dumped, nobody will want to buy it, and it will have a low resale value. Because these rankings combine new and used sales, they won’t be biased towards hyped gear, but towards gear that retains its value.

      The ranking is also valuable because manufacturers don’t share their sales data, so this is only sources for understanding what synths are really popular.

   2. Sorry, but your comment makes no sense.

      If a used synth shows up as a top-seller, it’s got to be a synth that a lot of people want to buy. If the synth was awful, nobody would be buying it.

      Case in point: the top ranking Euro module is the Expert Sleepers Disting MK3. Obviously a lot of people we selling theirs because the MK4 version came out. But also, obviously, the MK3 version is still a great module, because people still wanted to buy it even when the MK4 version is an option.

2. Most of these are low cost budget synths. It’s no surprise that more of the low cost units will sell than more expensive gear.

   1. Interesting to me that 7 of the top 10 sellers are made by Korg. Korg makes a lot of gear that offers a lot of bang for the buck. Amazing that the microKorg is still selling so well, though it’s 15 years old.

      Also kind of interesting that Behringer is nowhere to be found on the list, in spite of the hype.

      1. “Also kind of interesting that Behringer is nowhere to be found on the list, in spite of the hype.”

         I think there are still a lot of people that associate Behringer with shoddy products and unethical business practices. They are not getting my money.

         1. How can a business be ethical, by the way? Or, better, why business should have moral connotations?

         2. Behringer have great products. if not ask why “Whisky a Go Go” has a Behringer mixer. The synth are also great.
            Lots of brands make clones. And lots of good brands like Roland make bad products too.

3. Really surprising to see the teenage engineering OP-1 ranked so high.

   Everybody bitched and moaned when it came out about it being an expensive toy, but it looks like people underestimate it.

   1. OP-1 is a great synth – but it’s incredibly limited by the the four-track recorder – and that makes me think it’s true that many of these are changing hands as people try them, get tired of them and re-sell (maybe after 2 years, as in my case).

      1. “OP-1 is a great synth – but it’s incredibly limited by the the four-track recorder”

         None of my synths have audio recorders on them at all – so it seems strange to call that a limitation for the OP-1.

         Though I’d agree that more = better, if four tracks was enough for The Beatles, we should be able to do something useful with four tracks, too.

      2. The Digitakts at #2 are definitely not hitting the second hand market. When I wanted mine in Sept/Oct they were out of stock everywhere and only a few listings available on Reverb/Ebay at more than retail.

      3. I’ve had an op-1 since a year after it was released. Would never sell it. The only machine I can sit in front of and just make a track so fluidly. No plugging into a DAW, no external sequencers/FX. Just right in the box. With some clever use, four tracks turn into an endless amount of tracks with overdubbing that doesn’t degrade the audio quality so much if you know what your doing. 4 tracks without overdubbing is a limitation but still 4 tracks with a drum machine, sampler, synthesizer with multiple synth engines.

         Blows my mind when someone calls it a toy or limited. Compared to what, a computer. The Haas 5000? The universe?

   2. surprised as well but also doubtful.

4. Holy Tats!

5. It would be interesting to see Amazon’s list, or Musician’s Friend. There would be some similarities, but the type of person that buys on Reverb is someone that is shopping for gear pretty regularly, while there are plenty of “regular folks” buying a synthesizer here or there from a broader seller.

6. One product sticks out massively…. Digitakt!
   Sales volume for synths is exponential. A $300 synth sells 10x more than a $600 synth which sells 10x more than a $1200 synth etc… This is an oversimplification, but if you look at sales figures it’s a good estimate. The Digitakt hasn’t been out a year ‘and’ is an expensive product. If they really sold that many that’s a huge home run and Elektron is healthy.

7. am i the only one who was interested to read the list but didn’t take it personally lol
   who cares. jeepers

8. Akai Timbre Wolf didnt even make the cut?!?! Now you know that shit is biased

   1. The timbre wolf received a lot of negative reviews and while the synthesis abilities are pretty limited The polyphony makes it a nice Lofi synth for 200 bucks

9. I’ve always been drawn to Korg’s sound (and GUI) esthetic. It grabs my ear more fully than anything else. Over time, I’ve owned a hardware MonoPoly and now, the Legacy version, plus a lot in-between. I’ve enjoyed playing gear from different makers, of course; everybody finds their own path through the patchcords. Still, I always had a Triton as my foundation synth, everything else slaved to it, until I went 95% Logic. I sampled the hell out of my two workstations and also took up the Legacy Wavestation. I should have a Korg logo tattooed on me.

10. Goodon Make Noise getting in there with the big boys. Is it just me or has “Korg” become kind of a dirty word in the synth realm…..

    1. Korg is making a great deal of great stuff. Maybe a few duds, but ….

11. Does it all really matter? I bought a Monologue at a decent price used. I should be able to sell it when I get bored at not much more than a 2-3% loss. The biggest risk I guess is being an early adopter of the newest releases. I think most unit lose their value at an appropriate rate. THERE ARE HOWEVER SOME EXCEPTIONS. We are absolutely spoiled with the diversity and selection of product we can buy. Take advantage of it. The more the rich guys buy and get bored with, the more that will be available on the second hand market.

    JUST ONE GUYS OPINION

    1. I always think it’s ironic how some people get so angry over pictures of ‘rich guy’ studios, like Deadmau5 or Hans Zimmer’s studios.

       You know that people like that – who buy one of everything – have to make it possible for a some of the tinier companies to stay in business and make gear that the rest of us buy.

    2. I love the Monologue though! >_<
       Quick and to the point. =)

12. Monologue is getting sold a lot on the used market because a lot of people can’t appreciate it for what it is. To me it is bu far the best monosynth in its price range amd being alble to picl up a used one for 240-260 that is basically brand new is amazing.

13. Interesting that a FM synth is the overall best selling due to that most people hate to program FM 😀

14. “Overall Best Selling Synthesizers”….not a single Roland one hahaha! I hope this is a wakeup call for you. Korg is eating you for breakfast. Now remake all your little digital toys in analog and maybe you will be in the running next year

15. What I got out of this list was an indication of which companies are doing well right now. Of course Nord doesn’t appear anywhere so yes I am not sure how useful these lists are.

16. Got to say I love Korg Volca FM, it gives a lot of bang for the buck. And Korg did do a great job of making programming fm sounds fun! Not like the old days. I said People that hate to program sounds are just plain lazy, that’s right I said it.

    Note to Korg in your Volca series you need to put in program changes. What the chicken Korg you cheap out on 5 lines of code that is very useful for us sound makers.

17. Regardless if a synth is good, how many hands it’s went through…. but since when is the uzeus or happy ending kit a eurorack module?

18. Just picked a monologue up and I’d say it deserves it’s place on this list. Its pretty incredible at that price point. Sounds good, feels good to play, looks good. 10/10

19. Yeah but maybe popular isn’t always better? My favorite synth purchase of 2017 is my ET-4.2 from Therevox followed closely by a few Mannequins modules. I’m not surprised either is on the list and it’s kind of better that way anywho.

20. You read it wrong.

    It could be ” TOP NOT WANTED/FAIL/SOLD LIST OF 2017″ . 9 of 10 under $500. (disposables) and Korg low cost stuff is clearly leading that. 🙂 Note: it shows the top-selling individual products across all new and USED sales on Reverb. You can explain the list in many ways, so not much value in that.

21. for me the best gear 2016-17
    1.Novation Peak
    2.Arturia Matrix Brute
    3.Roland SE-02
    4.Jomox Alpha base but is too much better version is Tanzbar
    Arturia Drumbrute
    Elektron Analog Heath