Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Superbooth 2025
Synths 12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
Superbooth live
Synths Superbooth 2025: all the latest synth news from Berlin, as it happened
Thomann Synth Days
Synths Calling all synth heads, Thomann just dropped the sale of the year with up to 80% off models from Moog, Behringer, Arturia and more
moog synth
Synths "True to the Moog legacy and innovative spirit of Dr. Robert Moog": Moog unveils new $899 analogue monosynth, Messenger
moog
Tech Moog teases new Messenger synth with freaky Severance-inspired video
Arturia AstroLab
Synths Arturia’s new 88 key AstroLab finally realises the full potential of the ‘avant-garde’ stage keyboard
Behringer Model D
Soft Synths 10 producers share the studio gear they can’t live without
  1. Tech
  2. Synths
  3. Analogue Synths

NAMM 2014: the best new hardware synths

News
By Ben Rogerson ( Future Music ) published 24 January 2014

The big releases from Moog, Korg, Roland and Nord

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Analogue, digital, keytar and DIY instruments

Analogue, digital, keytar and DIY instruments

NAMM 2014: Hardware synths are part and parcel of the NAMM Show experience. You can launch a plugin instrument online, but if you want to create a bit of buzz and give people a chance to get their hands on your new keyboard or module, a trade show unveiling is still the way to go.

Here, we've rounded up the best synths to have come out of NAMM so far. We'll keep adding to the list as the show goes on, leaving you with a complete overview of what's new.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Moog Sub 37

Moog Sub 37

Based on the Sub Phatty engine, the Sub 37 has an expanded keyboard and a Duo mode that enables you to play Oscillators 1 and 2 independently (it's 2-note paraphonic, in other words).

This is a limited edition model, so if you want one, you'll need to get in quick.

Find out more about the Moog Sub 37

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Korg MS-20 kit

Korg MS-20 kit

Not so much a new synth as a relaunch of a relaunch, the MS-20 kit takes its lead from last year's MS-20 mini but is full-sized and needs to be self-assembled. The kit comes complete with both the early and later incarnations of the original MS-20's filter circuit and, once built, users can switch between the two.

Find out more about the Korg MS-20 kit

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Clavia Nord Lead A1

Clavia Nord Lead A1

There will be some who turn their nose up at the A1 on the grounds that it's not 'proper analogue', but Clavia is bullish in its claim that it's "a true synthesizer powerhouse that goes far beyond the current trend for limited capability analogue reissues".

Designed for fast programming and to encourage experimentation, the Nord Lead A1 includes a "unique" oscillator configuration that enables you to use shortcuts to speed up your tweaking, a comprehensive filter section, multiple modulation options, effects. and performance features.

Find out more about the Clavia Nord Lead A1

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Roland FA-08 and FA-06

Roland FA-08 and FA-06

Every year we wonder if the workstation keyboard concept might be dying a death, and every year we see evidence that this isn't the case.

Roland's FA-08 (pictured) and FA-06 are this NAMM Show's exhibits. 88- and 61-note models respectively, both feature a built-in audio interface, DAW integration, and more than 2000 sounds from the Integra-7 sound module. Each keyboard comes with a 16-track sequencer, and each of the 16 available parts can access its own effects engine, which sports 67 effect types.

Find out more about the Roland FA-08 and FA-06

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Korg RK-100S

Korg RK-100S

Once something of a pariah among keyboard players, the keytar has been making a stealthy but concerted comeback for several years now.

The RK-100S sees Korg acknowledging this - it's a revamped version of the RK-100 that was originally released in 1984. It has a curvaceous wooden body, a slim 37-note keyboard and two ribbon controllers. Sounds come courtesy of Korg's MMT engine, which provides 200 analogue-modelled programs.

Find out more about Korg RK-100S

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Moog Theremini

Moog Theremini

Everyone likes to think that they can play the Theremin, but few people actually can.

Moog's Theremini solves the problem by offering assistive pitch correction. Set this to maximum and every note in your selected scale will be played perfectly in tune (you can't go wrong, in other words), but you can dial this down so that you have more or, at the lowest setting, full control over the pitch.

Sounds are generated from an engine derived from Moog's Animoog iOS synth, and you get a built-in speaker.

Find out more about the Moog Theremini

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. image
All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more.
Get the latest issue now!
More Info
Read more
Superbooth 2025
12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
Superbooth live
Superbooth 2025: all the latest synth news from Berlin, as it happened
Thomann Synth Days
Calling all synth heads, Thomann just dropped the sale of the year with up to 80% off models from Moog, Behringer, Arturia and more
moog synth
"True to the Moog legacy and innovative spirit of Dr. Robert Moog": Moog unveils new $899 analogue monosynth, Messenger
moog
Moog teases new Messenger synth with freaky Severance-inspired video
Arturia AstroLab
Arturia’s new 88 key AstroLab finally realises the full potential of the ‘avant-garde’ stage keyboard
Latest in Analogue Synths
Moog Messenger
“A worthy addition to Moog’s long history of analogue synths”: Moog Messenger review
Synth
“There’s a freedom of thought that doesn’t exist elsewhere”: How and why California became the heart of the synthesizer world
Superbooth 2025
12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
Frap Tools Magnolia
Frap Tools’ debut polysynth Magnolia might be the most exciting new instrument of 2025
moog synth
"True to the Moog legacy and innovative spirit of Dr. Robert Moog": Moog unveils new $899 analogue monosynth, Messenger
PWM Mantis
“A synthesizer that is both easy to use and fun to play whilst maintaining a decent degree of programming depth and flexibility”: PWM Mantis review
Latest in News
PRS SE NF 53: the super-versatile bolt-on electric gets a long-awaited SE release, and here all three finish options – White Dog Hair, Black Dog Hair and Pearl White – are photographed in front of a pair of PRS half-stacks.
PRS remixes its NF 53 for the SE line – and it's a serious workhorse electric for under a grand
Billy Joel and Jon Small
How Billy Joel ended up joining the ‘60s band that gave him his break as a recording artist
Olivia Rodrigo
“It's easy to get lost in the sauce”: Olivia Rodrigo put her entire Guts touring crew into therapy
microbrute
"The same pocket-sized powerhouse that earned a cult following, recast for deep-space missions": Arturia's MicroBrute returns from the cosmos in limited-edition UFO version
Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes live onstage with the Allman Brothers Band in 1992. Haynes wears a patterned shit and plays his Les Paul Standard.
Warren Haynes on what Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts told him when he joined the Allman Brothers Band
Danny L Harle and PinkPantheress
Producer Danny L Harle enlists “dream collaborator” PinkPantheress for new song Starlight

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...