Synthesizer

The world's largest music gear expo is set to open its doors next week, and Yamaha has popped up early with a groove machine called the Seqtrak that could have jumped straight out of Teenage Engineering's design playbook.

Brit musical instrument maker Dubreq has released a number of key upgrades to its iconic pocket synth over the years, but the Stylophone CPM DS-2 is something of a departure from the usual playbook.

The physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen may not be a household name, but the eerie sounds of the synthesizer he invented are instantly recognizable. Now Dubreq is inviting music makers to wave their arms about for its own take on the Theremin.

Back in 2015, Sweden's Teenage Engineering launched a bunch of pocket-friendly synths and samplers called, appropriately enough, the Pocket Operators. Now the team has announced a higher-end, almost pro-level version called the EP-133 KO II.

The Woovebox micro music workstation rocks a stripped-back design reminiscent of Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operators, but has more to offer the mobile groove creator – packing in a synthesizer, sequencer, sampler and beat maker.

Back in the late 1960s, creating music anywhere was made much easier with a now iconic toy-like pocket synth called the Stylophone. Now Dubreq is aiming to do the same for beat makers with a portable drum machine.

Back in 2019, Artiphon launched a Kickstarter for a battery-powered handheld music-creation tool called the Orba. Now the company has returned to the platform with Chorda, a portable synth, looper and MIDI controller shaped like a short guitar neck.

Roland has announced the FP-E50, a portable piano and creativity workstation that's designed as an easy intro for beginners while including enough advanced features to keep the pros happy, including Roland's flagship synthesis engine.

Synth wizards Critter & Guitari have launched a successor to the company's first product – the Pocket Piano – in the shape of a portable music box called the 201, which sports six sound engines, a built-in speaker and a bunch of funky wooden keys.

Following a small pilot production run back in 2016, Moog Music has announced the return to full production of the mighty Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer, which helped shape modern music from the 1970s onwards.

The first project from Teenage Engineering was a 2007 art installation comprising 22 wooden dolls that formed a singing ensemble. The absolut choir has now inspired the creation of a smaller collection that can voice a bunch of classic songs.

Canada's this.is.Noise has launched an interesting MIDI controller on Indiegogo called the MIDI Blaster, which brings a new level of gesture control to music creation while also adding a visual element.