You remember the early days of analog synths – those keyboards and modular units full of pesky components, moody functionality, and quirky tones. Roadies might look back on instruments like Yamaha's 200-pound CS-80 and shudder. But if you took a glance at the wish lists of the latest generation of music makers, you'd find that most would probably include an analog synth.
Trent Thompson, product marketing manager at Moog Music, puts it simply. "Over the last few years, we have enjoyed seeing the increase of analog synthesizers on stages and in studios all over the world," he says.
He's not alone in noticing the trend. An article on Forbes.com declared a present day analog renaissance, and the synth market in general is booming as a result. MI SalesTrak president Jim Hirschberg points to the past year's growth. "Synths have been among the fastest-growing MI product categories in the past year, with retail unit sales up 7.1 percent," he says. "Even better, 2013 dollar sales gained 18.3 percent."
All of the idiosyncrasies of pioneering instruments like the Minimoog or the Prophet-5 that made early adopters like Rick Wakeman, Devo, and Gary Numan famous are coming back with a vengeance. Industry stalwarts like Dave Smith Instruments are seeing impressive growth, while software companies like Arturia have added heft to their financials by getting in on the hardware game. After years on the sidelines, MI participants are taking note: the analog resurgence is in full swing, and that's good news for everyone in keyboards.
Breaking Out of the Box
Electronic music has never been bigger in the mainstream, and musicians at all levels are looking for more and more ways to get in on the action. Watch Hendrix ripping through a solo in "Purple Haze" and you might dream of Stratocasters. Hear an otherworldly Daft Punk synth line, though, and you might start hunting for their equipment on Google.
But there's something bigger at play: while much of the market has been focused on guitars for decades, a few generations have already grown up under digital keyboards. There were multi-voice models in the '80s, the advent of workstations in the '90s, and the steady development of laptop sequencers and "softsynths," which can be used on the same computers that many musicians are already running sequencing software like Ableton Live. It's all moved too fast to spend much time looking back.
Roland's U.S. director of channel management Robin Kelly says the resurgence is almost a matter of creative revolt. "There's a generation of musicians that grew up 'in the box,'' and they want to break out and add more tools to their music making," he says.
"When DAWs and PCs came out, it was like just discovering reverb for the first time, and everyone was using them… Then came softsynths and controllers and we gravitated further into 'the box.' There is a place in music production for working with these products, but they are simply a tool for the musician, and like many things in music, there is a cycle."
Others in the market note that there's a certain nostalgia to older models, something those in other segments would find familiar. For the mainstream synth market, that's a relatively new concept. Outside of very niche groups, a full return to earlier technology hadn't yet taken effect. Until recently.
Synth pioneer and "Father of MIDI" Dave Smith (who designed the original Prophet-5 for his company Sequential Circuits in 1977), agrees. "What we are seeing now is a phenomenon I went through personally after inventing the first professional softsynth (Reality) back in the mid-'90s," he says. "At some point, most musicians realize that software does not feel like a musical instrument. And making music on a computer is just not the same as playing a real instrument. So, the kids who started on the apps are migrating to hardware."
New Tricks for Old Dogs
Even with the renewed interest, one problem that always got in the way of analog synths really blowing up was the price – the machines were just too labor intensive to reach affordable price points for many musicians.
One advancement that's changed the playing field, though, is the advent of "surface-mount technology" (SMT), which is a far more efficient means of manufacturing circuit boards. In the old days, all work was done using "through-hole" connections – wires went from component to component and engineers soldered them into place in holes on the circuit board.
"The basic analog technology is virtually the same," says Smith. "We use Curtis filters that are the same design as those used in the Prophet-5. But surface-mount technology produces much smaller circuit boards, at a lower cost, with higher reliability, and with better electronic performance. Plus, to control the analog circuitry, we use microprocessors and DSP processors that are much faster and simply were not available back then."
Smith says that with the latest technology, analog synth makers can now offer the best of both worlds – vintage sounds you'd dig through eBay listings for along with the reliability and great price points of modern instruments.
"I like to call it 'vintage with a warranty.'"
Furthermore, new analog synths do have functional advantages over those lurking in Herbie Hancock's attic. "Now buyers expect an analog synthesizer to have seamless digital integration," says Moog's Thompson. "This means recall, DAW automation, plugin control, and more." These functions, which allow users to control synth sounds from a variety of controllers and sequencers (watch modern dance stars like Deadmau5 commanding racks of analog synths from his laptop, for example), require a balancing act, but the results have opened doors for both new tech suppliers and musicians.
Trailblazers
Smaller names in the MI industry have been involved in the analog resurgence for years, and it's paid off. French software specialist Arturia's reinvention as an in-demand hardware manufacturer has created a whirlwind of success for that company, while Dave Smith Instruments report a 35 percent increase in sales in the last year alone. Moog Music has grown into a brand beyond just manufacturing – its annual Moogfest (held the company's hometown of Asheville, N.C.), attracts tens of thousands and includes a diverse lineup of world-famous acts like Kraftwerk, M.I.A., Giorgio Moroder, and Bernie Worrell. That diversity itself is a testament to the wide reach of analog fandom.
Moog itself helped foster serious analog synth production with its 2002 Minimoog reboot called the Minimoog Voyager. A stream of new products carried the torch for analog synth enthusiasts, offering both throwback appeal and retooled abilities with each product.
Meanwhile, newcomers like Arturia have made waves. That company's Minibrute, a small, all-analog monosynth, was released at NAMM 2013 and reportedly sold out retailers across the U.S, garnering rave reviews everywhere. Vice president of product management Glen Darcey says that the company has had to shift factories in order to meet the product's demand (they introduced a new version this year – the MicroBrute).
Darcey says the recipe for the MiniBrute involved great sound, great hands-on experience, and an attractive price point. "With MicroBrute, we wanted a product that would allow singers, guitar players, and people new to synths to have a platform to learn on, play live easily, and to have a price that would break down the barrier to entry."
It should also be noted that a whole underworld of makers of boutique modular synths, designed to be run with patches in sequence with interchangeable units, have also increased in popularity. These companies, led in spirit by Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments, include brands like Doepfer, Plan B, and MacBeth and extend into a wide variety of niche contraptions.
Meanwhile, Dave Smith continues to pave his own way. "I can't say we really 'adapt' to any particular market," he says of his own company's efforts. "We design and build instruments that we feel have the sound, personality, and features that musicians will want when then try them out. In that sense, we have been responsible in a large way for the emergence of this market."
Heavy Hitters
As the buzz has grown about this trend, bigger companies like Korg and Roland have taken notice. Roland rolled out a much-hyped new AIRA line of products this year – instruments with distinct nods to legendary old Roland models like the TR-808 and 909 drum machines and the TB-303 bass generator. Roland employed a digital engine in these products – "Analog Circuit Behavior" ("ACB") – so they're not true analog, but the aesthetic is similar.
Kelly says there are advantages to that. "The experience [in these products] for the musician is analog," he says. "The sound and behavior is analog, but the underlying technology is digital, which allows us to provide functionality (like "Scatter") that would not exist without digital." Kelly says that Roland's "ACB" engine offered the chance to provide extensive functionality involved in these models – from synthesis to extensive hands-on sequencing and beyond.
Meanwhile, Korg has been on the ball for several years now wowing synth fans with classic reissues like 2010's Monotron, 2013's MS20 Mini, and simple crowd pleasers like the Volca line of rhythm and bass line synths. In what might be the biggest news yet, Korg announced the coming of a Fall 2014 reissue of the legendary ARP Odyssey, a compact synth like the Minimoog.
Korg's U.S. product manager, James Sejava, chalks up the company's success (and broad critical acclaim) to both affordability and Korg's ability to offer authentic connection to older models. "The new form factors, and Korg's ability to offer analog products at much more accessible price points, means that analog is now within reach of a much larger audience," he says. "Products such as our Volca series of portable true-analog synths would have probably been several times the size – and certainly the cost – back in the day."
Evaluating the Market
For those watching this demand grow from the shadows to the spotlight, there have been some encouraging signs. First and foremost is the used synth market, where prices have been steadily rising on vintage gear. Meanwhile, the cultural cache afforded to the sci-fi looks and chunky hands-on interfaces used by modern pop and dance stars signal to many that it's time to act.
Sejava recalls Korg's analysis of the sector. "The used synth market was a good data point," he says. "Sought-after vintage synths began retaining and certainly surpassing their original value. Another is the rising popularity of various forms of electronic and independent music and beyond, which end up looking to the kinds of sounds that analog products helped popularize in the first place."
So in a pure sense, the current explosion in analog synth development is a direct response to public opinion. That's a relationship that many sectors of the MI market would kill to be involved with (when was the last time we saw a significant demand on specific types of electric guitars?).
The attraction to analog is easy to see. "There are only so many people who can make a profession out of music, but there are plenty of people who come home from work and want to unwind by making some music," says Darcey. "These people do not want to navigate endless menus and read huge manuals. Actually, most musicians don't. They want to be inspired and to create. Analog gear allows for that in a way that workstations and limited user interface virtual analog synths don't do well."
Roland's Robin Kelly agrees, and forecasts an even better market as competition increases. "Manufacturers focusing on this area means more competition, which means more choice and innovation in the market. The most important part of the chain is the musician, and they will decide who and what is successful."
The Role of Retailers
So where does that leave retailers? Thompson notes that as analog interest has grown, Moog's customer base has become more and more diverse. Simply put, analog hardware gets retailers back in the game. Serious synth players and curious newcomers shopping for hardware again easily beats them browsing the web for new tablet apps and softsynths, which are almost always directly downloaded from the supplier.
Manufacturers say that, more than anything, service and experience are the key factors for any store looking to do well with new analog gear. After all, there's no better way to sell an instrument based on hands-on, tactile use than to get it right out in front of customers.
"The size of the dealer and reach of their distribution was not a priority for us when it came to the strategy," says Kelly. "The most important point for us was ensuring the musician received the best service and experience in the store. This can be online or within a physical retail location. We are constantly working with our retail partners to improve the customer experience when making a purchase and this will constantly evolve in an organic way based on customer feedback."
For Korg, it's a chance to reintroduce itself to new corners of the market. "It's a different dialogue, especially when approaching boutique retailers who may only know of our brand from other product categories they don't sell," says Sejava. Once we started creating low-priced analog synthesizers such as the Monotron, though, we saw plenty of adoption by both specialty and large-scale dealers. This universal acceptance was a great way to re-establish the perception of Korg as an analog synth maker."
Smith, repping his smaller company, notes that he doesn't employ an army of sales reps looking for business. "Most of our dealers have come to us based on requests from their customers," he says. "We of course would love to expand (slowly) into more brick-and-mortar shops, and we have a great product line with synths from $400 to $3,000 _ something for everyone"!
Toward a Stronger Keyboard Market
Finally, the best news may be that those in the industry don't see the growth of analog to come at the expense of digital.
"I think it all has value," says Smith. "Digital synths sound good, but different than analog. Softsynths are cheap and convenient if you want to 'stay in the box.' Plus, they can often do things that are not really possible in a hardware instrument. Musicians can use any or all of them. And they do!"
As Arturia is learning, the breadth of synth products from hardware to virtual synths has turned out to be complimentary. Meanwhile, Kelly asserts that growth in any segment of the market can only serve as a welcome boost to all. "There is customer overlap, and all these types of products might be used in the same recording or performing environment, but they are mission-specific – each with their own attributes and workflow," he says. "Certainly, the customer is not always exclusive to either digital or analog products.
"The short answer is: the trend is growing the market as a whole."
