People who love synths rarely stop at one. The best gift is a box that does something their setup can't yet: a squelchy bassline, a different filter, a sequencer that ties everything together, or an effect for big ambient sounds. Every pick comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price. Prices for the whole market are in how much a synthesizer costs.
Gifts for synth lovers under $300
Behringer TD-3-SR, $110
A fully analog bassline synth in the spirit of the classic acid box: one oscillator, a resonant 4-pole filter and a step sequencer. The highest-ranked synth module we track: #2 of 146 sound modules.
Behringer Pro-1, $197
An analog desktop synth with two oscillators and a 24 dB filter, modeled on a famous early-1980s mono synth. #12 of 146 sound modules.
Korg SQ-64, $248
A step sequencer with three polyphonic melody tracks and a 16-part drum track, to drive several synths and drum machines at once. #2 of 81 synthesizer peripherals.
Dreadbox Darkness, $284
A stereo shimmer reverb with pitch shift and a freeze function, made for long pads and drones. #1 of 81 synthesizer peripherals.
Gifts for synth lovers under $700
Waldorf Blofeld, $556
A compact digital desktop synth with up to 25 voices, three oscillators per voice and two filters, a deep sound-design box. #1 of 146 sound modules.
Moog Messenger, $621
An analog mono synth with 32 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch, two oscillators with a wavefolder and Moog's filter. #9 of 209 general synthesizers.
Moog Mother-32, $641
A semi-modular analog desktop synth with a Moog ladder filter and a 32-step sequencer, and patch points that work with Eurorack. #3 of 146 sound modules.
Questions
What is a good gift for someone who loves synthesizers?
A box that adds a new sound, like the Behringer TD-3-SR ($110) for acid basslines, or a sequencer like the Korg SQ-64 to run their gear together.
What is the best Moog for a gift?
The Mother-32 for a desktop or Eurorack setup, the Messenger for someone who wants keys.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand; specs from Thomann's product data. Prices are converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
Share this story
Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
All stories by Denis Kataev →
