I just want to do a quick look at what's currently readily available in Analog (VCO/DCO) Polyphonic Full Sized Keyboard Synths.

Sequential:
Prophet 5/10
Prophet Rev2
Prophet 6
Take 5
Trigon 6

Oberheim:
OB-X8
OB 6
TEO-5

Moog:
Muse
Moog One

Behringer:
Deepmind 6
Deepmind 12
UB-Xa

Arturia:
PolyBrute 12
PolyBrute 6


Am I missing any?

Only 5 brands and a total of 15 different models. A decent selection but really still somewhat limited.

We know that Behringer has a few new ones on the way, but who knows how long it will take before we see them. Any others on the horizon that we may have heard of?

There have been a few really nice new Analog Polyphonic modules that have been released, but they do not have keyboards. Any hint if any of these new modules may have a future release of a keyboard version?

Let's start up a little discussion regarding the future of Analog Polyphonic Keyboard synths!

Schmidt Synthesizer and Korg PS3300 are the only others in production that I can think of.

Of course if you include hybrids or modules the list is way longer, but VCO/DCO and with a full size keyboard I think this is it.

Also, the Delia is analog filters but modelled oscillators.

Is the Schmidt readily available or is it a special order directly from the factory?

The Korg PS3300 is also somewhat a special order synth as far as I understand. Is this correct?

Let us know.

OK. Should we remove it from the list?



EDIT: Just researched it a bit more and yes, the oscillators are "virtual analog modelling". I guess it will be best to remove it from the list.

Thanks!!

Up to you, but technically it does not meet your requirements. If you include the Delia, then the UDO instruments, the Summit and a bunch of other hybrids could be there too.

As for the Schmidt, it is in regular production, but the numbers are tiny - I think they have oinly made around 110 in the 10 years it has been out. So yeah, definitely boutique quantities.

The PS3300 is going to me made in much larger numbers, I am sure, if still very small compared to something like a PolyBrute.

As far as mass market instruments go, I can't think of any others besides what you listed. Maybe someone else can think of something - the numbers seems smaller than I would have expected... I guess there are more hybrids now than VCO polys.

Not sure if I should put the Korg PS3300 on the list or not. I don't see it actually for sale by any of the retailers yet. I also read somewhere that you need to register and be put on a list of possible new owners that will be able to purchase this. Plus, it's going to be really expensive!!

Yes, when I started looking at what was available I also thought the number was pretty small. That's another reason I wanted to start this thread so that we could discuss this situation.

GS Music Bree6

Nice synth, but I don't see the Keyboard version available yet. It does seem that they will be releasing the keyboard version soon and it will most definitely be a welcome addition to the list!!

Thanks!!

You said "readily available". Someone else said "in production". Several analog polys are pretty common (readily available) on the used market.

"Full Size" includes 44-49 key synths? In this day and age, probably. :(

How poly should a full size synth be? 5-6 voices? In this day and age, I guess. :(

Does Roland JD-XA keybed count as full size? Anyways, it can still be purchased from some stores, or at least it looks like they still have it available.

I would say "readily available" as that would be what's important if we want to buy one. If it's "in production" but you can't find one to buy, it really doesn't matter.

Yes, full polyphonic please. No paraphonics for this discussion.

Yes, I would say it's a full-sized keyboard. It may not be "readily available" however, as it does seem that Roland may have discontinued production. But as you said, it is still available in some stores.

I'm a bit confused if the analog part of the synth is actually polyphonic. If so how many voices? It says four analog "parts" but does that mean voices? Anyone can give some insight on this?

Korg PS3300 uses top octave generators and divide down circuitry. It's technically an analog synth but there is no active voltage control for the oscillators -- there are 12FFOs (fixed frequency oscillators).

Divide down =/= paraphonic, as paraphony is describing the articulation and filtering -- and the PS series had per-note articulation and filtering.

It doesn't fit our modern ideas of what an analog polysynth is (or should be) and back in its day it didn't fit the then-current ideas of what an analog polysynth was either.

I know its recently been discontinued, but it is still being sold (stocks left) so perhaps can be mentioned as a 'nearly' entry.

Korg Prologue 8 / 16

The Minilogue XD is still being made (I think), but has midi sized keys, so again, not quite.

Whether Korg decide to do another run, or something upgraded (Prologue Mk2?) remains to be seen.

So, it's a bit of an unusual beast. I think it will be best to keep it off this list for now.

Thanks!!

Yes, I did consider the Korg Prologue. It does fit the criteria of being an Analog Polyphonic Full Sized Keyboard Synth. But like you said it has been recently discontinued which will make it not so readily available. Still a good contender if you can find one.

The Minilogue does not have normal full-sized keys unfortunately.

Thanks!

That said, I guarantee some will fight you on that mainly because they have been historically lumped in with the more traditional poly analogs. Or some will fight you over it being 'currently available', 'available at retail' or any number of other metrics.

They need to do a Prologue 6 (or 8 XD), that is a Prologue 8 with all the sequencer features from the little XD.

It was a polyphony or sequencer choice between the 2 for many. They won't though.



What about the IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro Keys & the UDO synths (hybrid) ?

# edit (UNO is Paraphonic though)

Agreed. Point is that we are discussing it here and those that may be interested can make their own decision if it's what they want.

I'm looking at this discussion from the viewpoint of "I'm looking to buy a current Analog Polysynth with a regular keyboard. What's out there that I can buy right now"?

Yes, it would be great if Korg would bring back a proper Prologue with aftertouch and the sequencer.


Yes, it's basically a mono synth. But it's a great little mono synth!! I have one and I love it!

Four-note poly on one part or four parts mono. There's a dedicated button to switch.

OK. Thanks for the explanation. I just watched a video that also shows that. So, the JD-XA can be a 4-voice polyphonic analog synth. That's good to know.

Unfortunately, it seems that it may have been discontinued by Roland. Does anyone know for sure? I do see them still available at a few different stores.

Again, this is one of those "on the fence" synths. It's great that we are discussing it here so that if someone is interested, they will know it exists. But it's not really something that easily fulfills the criteria.

Thanks!

Is the Deepmind 6 that evidently passes the requisite criteria still in production?

Yes, all the Deepminds are in production. They are currently updating them all to the new "X" version. The synths are the same, but they have a new paint job.

...or they've been given a facelift to shift unsold inventory.

I don't think they would try to ship all unsold units back to the factory to get a new paintjob! You may have noticed that the Deepmind has been out of stock at many retailers for the past couple of months. I believe they are now simply starting up a new production run and are giving them a facelift for the 10-year anniversary.

https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2...h-anniversary/

Yeah, because that's how manufacturing works. When they release a facelift model of a car, they ship all the unsold ones back to the factory and replace the facelift bits.

Think with your brain. They completely dismantle a synth, sandblast the metal fascia and paint it again, put it back together and to the box and sell it as an upgraded model? That would require more resources and time than to just produce new ones. And cost more than to just scrap the old inventory. Which they are not doing either as they will still find their buyers as discounted older models.

I believe artisan is able to build it's polyphonic synth on demand now in small numbers, so technically it is in production although it might take a month to get it.. I'm not sure if that counts..

Well if you believing something is or isn't in production when you don't actually know is what decides what makes it on the list, rather than what you can buy new, and now, then about the only point to the whole exercise appears to be to keep the other-than-Behringer list as short as possible.

And no, by 'unsold inventory' I wasn't suggesting that 'all' (or any) unsold units would be being shipped back to the factory, but putting words in someone's mouth in this manner is a good way to attempt to make them look clueless in order to get others to dismiss the point(s) they're making.

I have considerable manufacturing experience across a diverse range of industries, and more besides.

Roland's global site shows 'Discontinued' for older models such as the FantomS - https://www.roland.com/global/products/fantom-s/

I don't see it for the JD-XA, but maybe my browser isn't displaying the page properly - https://www.roland.com/global/products/jd-xa/

At least one major retailer here has it listed, available to order - https://www.storedj.com.au/products/...er-synthesizer

You asked about the JD-XA, so I answered that question in case someone happens along and might want to know the answer about a synth they can still buy in at least some countries, including major markets like the U.S.

*I'm also a little annoyed that the CK61 I ordered Monday last week still hasn't shown up, and I'm fairly sure we'll be in hearty agreement about what a good thing that is.