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Any recommendations for a starter synth? Something polyphonic, and has the ability to mess around to create new sounds (so analogue controls, but it could still be digital behind the scenes). I'd like some presets, but not be limited to them. What is on the market at a reasonable price point (under or around $500) that fits this profile?

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There's a lot of affordable choices depending on what you want, but everything has tradeoffs. I love my Microfreak, but it only has 4 voices of polyphony, a weird keybed and no onboard effects. That said it makes amazing sounds and has a very discoverable set of controls, and since I play guitar I have external effect pedals at home anyway.

If you're not committed to hardware, a nice midi controller and a software synth will let you learn without spending big bucks. And even then the midi controller is optional.

Hydrasynth Explorer

Minifreak

buying used off of ebay / reverb is fine

Or get a Arturia MiniLab 3, it comes with a synth package and can control anything on your computer.

Good free synths:

- Dexed

- Vital

- Odin

- Pianobook / Decent Sampler

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