The 7 Coolest Synths on Gear Exchange in December

Sweetwater’s Gear Exchange is chock-full of keyboards and synthesizers. You have equal opportunity to find iconic gear as to stumble across something you’ve never heard of before. And they’re all fantastic! This December, I surfed my way through Gear Exchange hunting for some of the coolest stuff I could find. Here’s what I found.

Skot Wiedmann Hyve Premium

The Skot Wiedmann Hyve Premium came to be as the result of a Kickstarter campaign. It’s a 60-oscillator touch synth that can play single notes, multiple notes, and chords — all at the same time. The notes and chords are controlled by a unique, gold-plated touch surface. Sliding vertically on the “keys” section will give you different octaves of each note. The vertical columns of pads can create chords or move up and down through various musical intervals. It’s the perfect executive desk toy and a great way to break out of your musical rut.

Novation Summit

The Novation Summit was created by combining a pair of their successful Peak rackmount synthesizers into a 61-note keyboard with 16 voices of polyphony, which can be played as a single synth, dual-layered, or split into left- and right-hand sounds. Each of those 16 notes are generated by three modern NCO New Oxford Oscillators per voice that offer subtractive, wavetable, and FM synthesis. Dual analog filters, analog amplifiers, and three stages of distortion then shape the voices for final processing with chorus, delay, and reverb effects. I own a Novation Summit, and I love its ability to play lots of always-stunning notes at once. Check out my demo to hear how it sounds!

Moog Subsequent 37

This is an excellent way to own a Moog synthesizer that’s easy to carry, easy to program, and easy to tweak while you’re playing. It’s the Moog Subsequent 37. This two-oscillator, all-analog synthesizer features monophony and dual simultaneous notes. A clever 64-step sequencer allows you to manipulate the groove in real time and transpose the sequence using the velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keys. The excellent-sounding Moog analog oscillators and filter can re-create classic Moog timbres as well as modern sonic soundscapes. Check out my full demo below.

Companion Model 211 Orcoa & Kent Mini Air Organ

Here’s a special one-two punch! A Companion Model 211 Orcoa and a Kent Mini Air Organ! These two keyboards from the ’60s and ’70s use an internal fan to blow air through pitched reeds (like a harmonica or melodica). The very first keyboard I learned on in 1967 was like these two keyboards. The chord buttons to the left allow you to trigger major and minor chords while you play a melody. There are lots of used music books online with popular songs that use the numbers on the keys and the chords on the buttons. These keyboards are great for someone wanting to relive those early years or for musicians looking for a truly different kind of sound.

Roland JD-Xi

This amazing powerhouse of a synth offers an analog synthesizer for leads and basses, PCM drum kits, and a digital SuperNATURAL synthesizer for keyboards, pads, strings, brass, and more. A total of 129 voices of polyphony means that all three sound engines can be going at once without worrying about voice stealing. A vocoder/voice processor, arpeggiator, pattern sequencer, and four simultaneous effects all combine for countless groove and song possibilities. And when you buy the Roland JD-Xi on Gear Exchange, you get it for a great price.

Korg Prologue

Korg’s Prologue is simply a gorgeous 16-voice, all-analog synthesizer that is easy to play and ridiculously fun to tweak while you’re playing. The front panel is sonically powerful but simple enough to encourage you to explore your whims. Check out my demo below to see what this baby can really do.

Yamaha TX816

You love the wide range of unique sounds offered by the famous Yamaha DX7 FM synthesizer; now imagine what you could do if you had eight DX7s each with 16 notes of polyphony crunched down into a single rackmountable module. That’s the Yamaha TX816! New sounds can be programmed into the unit via a third-party editor or a real DX7 through MIDI. Each of the eight modules has its own audio output and MIDI I/O that let you layer or multitrack your FM sounds.

Gear Exchange Is the Best Place to Buy Used Synths

There you have it, my list of seven incredible synths and keyboards currently on Gear Exchange! When you shop Gear Exchange, you can snag gear you’ve always wanted or offload some of your equipment that doesn’t get the love it deserves. Throw in zero seller fees and the chance to get a Sweetwater Gift Card as your payout to turn old gear into new gear, and Gear Exchange is hands-down the best place to buy used synths, keyboards, organs, and more. And if you need help deciding what you want, reach out to your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 for personalized assistance.
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