Everyone seems to love Top Ten lists, so here’s my personal choice for the Top Ten

coolest synthesizers ever made.

#10.  Oberheim OB-1 :  An Oberheim

monosynth with patch memory!

#9.  Yamaha DX-7 : State-of-the-art

FM synthesis that was THE keyboard

to have in the 1980’s.

#8.  Yamaha CS-80, the massive

prog rock beast that everyone wanted

but virtually no one actually had.

#7.  Fairlight CMI, the tremendously

expensive sample-playback instrument

that turned heads everywhere.

#6.  Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 :

Pace-setting analog polysynth.

#5.  ARP 2600 : The definitive semi-

modular analog synth heard on lots of

big records in the 70’s.  Not for us

mortals.

#4.  ARP Odyssey : Didn’t sound like a

Minimoog, didn’t cost as much as a

Minimoog, and was much more simple

to intuitively program.

#3.  Roland Jupiter 8 : The mother of

all 80’s analog polysynths that was as

incredible to look at as it was to play.

#2.  Moog Voyager : What’s not to love

about a Minimoog with full MIDI

implementation, patch memory, and

backlit controls?

#1.  Access Virus TI : State-of-the-art

polyphonic VA synth that sounds

gorgeous, is 16-part multitimbral with

dedicated effects and arpeggiators

for each part.  An amazingly versatile

synthesizer.

You’re welcome to disagree, and I’m sure you will.  Like most people, I’ve haven’t played

every synthesizer ever made.  This list is solely my personal opinion for entertainment and

discussion purposes only!