Best Experimental Synths in 2024!
Our Top-10 picks to make things weird and fun!
In the synth world, there are many manufacturers that look at things through a completely different perspective and try to create instruments that push the boundaries of conventional synths. Thinking out of the box is always the starting point of creating something new, exciting, or even absurd but that’s the road to innovation. The recent release of a brand new Omnichord by Suzuki reminded me that sometimes weird designs and quirky ideas just work and we decided to gather our favorite weird and experimental synthesizers for you!
10. Suzuki Omnichord OM-108
The Omnichord is a legendary piece of gear for sure. Released back in 1981, the Omnichord is an auto-hard where you set a chord by using its buttons and you can then strum or tap on its touch plate to play them. It also has auto-bassline functionality and some preset rhythms. Last year, people lost their minds when they realized that the whole beat of Gorrilaz’s major hit “Clint Eastwood“ was actually a preset on the Omnichord so the excitement about this old instrument was back. Suzuki decided to reissue the original Omnichord and presented it in NAMM 2024 only to see that the “new“ Omnichord is a faithful recreation of the original one and it costs - wait for it - 799$!
A few additions were made to the newest version like extra timbres, new chord types, and a note-repeater/ arpeggiator but I can’t help but notice that the new Omnichord feels more dated than ever. Listening to an old, ‘80s Omnichord had its charm, and no one could blame it for sounding old and quirky but for a 2024 instrument that costs that much, it just sounds a bit cringy to my ears. I truly feel that this is just an attempt to capitalize on the nostalgia and love the original Omnichord has and such a huge missed opportunity to create a really cool instrument that can still be relevant in 2024.
9. SOMA Laboratory Lyra 8
This article could just be a tribute to SOMA. SOMA is a company that wants nothing to do with conventional and “standard“ synths and they keep releasing the most experimental and innovative instruments every time. One of their first instruments and probably one of their most famous ones, the Lyra-8, is an incredible drone synthesizer with some of the most raw and beautiful analog oscillators and an amazing delay and drive section that creates rich and massive sounding pads and leads.
We’ve made a full hands-on review of Lyra-8 last year which you can find here! Lyra-8 is an organismic synthesizer that tries to say that all the oscillators can interact with each other just like a living organism. It has 8 separate oscillators, divided into groups in a tree structure and you can use the touch plates on the bottom to trigger each oscillator. Lyra 8 is not an instrument you can just sit down and play your standard melodies and chords. It’s an instrument that each time forces you to experiment with it and come up with something new that you probably won’t be able to recreate again. It’s a meditative instrument that’s unique and sounds marvelous but certainly not for everyone since you have to spend time and commit to its process.
8. Modern Sounds - Pluto
Pluto is a relatively new release and it certainly got me excited! It’s a semi-modular synthesizer with two digital oscillators that can be modulated by 5 sources - Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra - all named for the moons orbiting Pluto (such a cool little touch there). The modulation sources produce clock pulses and polyrhythms that can modulate parts of the oscillators or the two sequencers. The fun and quirky thing in Pluto is that the two sequencers are quite unique. Sequencer 1 is controlled by the touch plates on the bottom while Sequencer 2 adds randomness and directional flips to create intertwining melodies. There is also a Scale knob to make things musical and cohesive and an effects section with an analog-style delay and a delay/ reverb combo.
Pluto’s experimental character lies in the sequencing and modulation options it provides. As a semi-modular synth you can, of course, patch it any way you want and also use external gear for extra modulation. It’s a generative synthesizer that will use your scale input and controls to generate melodies and sequences that you can then manipulate at will and it sounds really lush while looks fun to use.
7. Neutral Labs - Elmyra 2
Elmyra 2 is another drone desktop synthesizer. It looks like the little brother of Lyra 8 since it has 4 voices that can also be controlled by very similar to Lyra’s touch plates, it also has a delay, and you can control each oscillator on its own. But, in reality, it has more differences to Lyra 8 than similarities. Yes, the concept (and even the name) looks the same but Elmyra 2 is a semi-modular synth that you can also take out and mount in a Eurorack case, it has a Filter circuit, Scales, and a couple of LFOs with multiple modulation destinations.
While Lyra 8 is an esoteric synth that lacks quality-of-life features and focuses on its process and amazing sound, Elmyra looks like it’s more user-friendly and easy to use.
6. Make Noise - Strega
Strega is a mysterious and definitely weird little synth. Strega was made by Make Noise in collaboration with the legend Alessandro Cortini and it’s something that is breaking every rule on what a synth should be like. It’s in the same form factor as the 0-Coast and it’s of course semi-modular and can also be mounted in a Eurorack case. Strega can be used for melodic stuff, drones, and textures, and it also doubles up as an effects processor for noisy and chaotic delays.
Strega is noisy, unconventional, and crazy and it requires to be mastered to make it sing. It can work standalone but I feel it shines when you use it in the context of a full modular setup that allows you to experiment even more.
5. Gamechanger Audio - Motor Synth MKII
Gamechanger Audio always tries to blend the physical world into the electronic one with its designs. A great example is the Light Pedal that we reviewed last year - you can read the full review here. In 2023, they released the MKII version of the Motor Synth. Motor Synth is a one-of-a-kind synthesizer that uses spinning motors to generate its tone. The 8 motors spin and the interference they create is used to produce sounds (or something like this, I’m no scientist). The result is a synth that sounds so beefy and raw while it’s giving you all the tools to harness its power. It has two analog oscillators that take advantage of the motors and a third digital oscillator, 2 Filters, 3 LFOs, and a sequencer & arpeggiator.
The thing you’ll first notice is that once you turn it on and the motors start spinning it gets loud! You can almost feel the vibration the motors are creating and that’s an experience on its own. The sounds coming out of the Motor Synth MKII are, on the other hand, very rich and full-sounding. While it’s an expensive instrument, it is truly unique and groundbreaking since it’s the first actual product that uses motors to create sound while sounding amazing!
4. Elta Music - Solar 42
We’re going back into space to check out Elta’s new synth - Solar 42. Solar 42 is the little brother of the over-the-top Solar 50 that had 50!! oscillators inside of it. Solar 42 is a more modest 8-voice analog synth that focuses on drones and melodic playing using its touch plates as a keyboard. Solar 42 has another cool feature for its effects section. It has a Cartridge slot where you can swap cartridges with different effects that you can buy separately. By the way, Solar 42 has probably the most knobs per square inch ever on a synth. You can go ahead and tweak every little thing on your sound and modulate at taste.
I think calling Solar 42 a drone synth is an understatement. It’s definitely not just for massive, evolving drones. You can create any type of sound with this synth and from my very short experience with it, it’s one of the most beautiful-sounding synthesizers I’ve ever played. Yes, it takes some practice to get familiar with it but overall it’s pretty straightforward. It’s just a lot (in a good way). Not a cheap synth by all means, but in this case, you do get a ton of synth for your money and a majestic-sounding one for sure!
3. Onde Magnetique - OM-1 Cassette Synthesizer
Now let’s get even weirder. The OM-1 is one of the coolest little devices I’ve come across. When you buy one, you get a pedal-like controller and a portable cassette player. The original inspiration came from the Mellotron which used tape recordings to produce sounds every time you pressed a key. OM-1 takes that idea and uses the cassette player as a source of sound and you can then play the keyboard to change the pitch of the tape recording. I’m not sure if it can even be called a synth since it’s more of a sampler but it’s certainly a strange one.
Its sound is of course relative to your recordings. You can just record a single note on the cassette and re-pitch it, or go wild and record busier parts and dismantle them afterward. As we’re talking about a small cassette recorder, the sound will always have that cassette saturation and vibe in its purest form.
2. Ciat Lonbarde - Plumbutter 2
This wouldn’t be a weird gear list without Ciat Lonbarde. Plumbutter 2 is a lot of things. In principle, it’s an analog drum machine but I much prefer the term they use - Drama Machine! It comes in a stunning wooden case full of knobs and patch connections that are quite cryptic and explorative. It has 5 sections of sound generation, each with its own different characteristics, and with banana cables you can create patches and rhythms like on no other device.
Plumbutter is, hands down, the most bleeps & bloops device in the world. But in a weird way, it just makes sense and the sounds and patterns coming out of it sound raw and organic. It’s a thing of its own and has its own temperament and feel, and when you get cozy with it, you can get some extraordinary results you wouldn’t be able to accomplish with anything else.
1. SOMA Laboratory - Terra
I’ve said it before, SOMA is the king of experimental synths that actually make sense and are totally usable. Staying to the wooden theme, Terra is a solid piece of wood that has 12 touch sensors for notes, a few knobs, and a few touch-controlled buttons for controlling parameters. Terra is a fully digital synth with a whooping 32 different synthesis algorithms such as subtractive, additive, FM, and more. It even has 96 presets - not expected for a piece of wood, right?
Besides being one of the most beautiful things you’ll have in your studio, Terra is an instrument that may sound like a standard synthesizer but what’s different is the way you, as a player, interact with it. Its shape, note distribution, and controls are something you probably have never used before and it invites you to explore sound in a new, more natural way.
Conclusion
These are just a few weirder and more experimental synths that you can get right now. Now that making gear has become even more accessible, more and more people are taking their crazy ideas and bringing them to life which is the only way to push things forward and explore uncharted territories. And it’s not just in terms of the sound itself. What I feel is even more important is HOW we interact with gear and the new ways to create sounds. Making gear that is inviting, explorative, and quirky will allow us to get more experimental and go nuts with it finding new sounds and rhythms. So don’t be afraid to get your hands on things that make you uncomfortable at first glance. That’s just the first step!
PS: Today we learned that Touch Plates and Touch Surfaces are this era's “weird“ way to go. What do you think will be the next one??
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