Do Analog Synths Belong In Trance Music?

When folks jump on Facebook or Reddit to ask about the best synths to use for Trance, it often seems like there’s only 3 or 4 names that ever come up. Spire. Sylenth1. Virus TI (or OsTIrus, now). JP-8000 (or JE-8086, as of December 2025). The occasional mention of Diva. Lots of digital polyphonic VST plugins with some version of a SuperSaw baked into the architecture somewhere in the signal path.

And following that same thread, an almost equal number of Trance fans (especially the older ones) complain that everything sounds the same, and the life has gone out of modern Trance. While I fundamentally disagree with that premise, I do think there is something to the idea that Sameness has taken over the sound. Some folks would say the genre has become trapped in its own tropes and experimentation and deviation from the standard SuperSaws & Arpeggios ends in apathy or punishment from the scene, but I also don’t agree with that premise.

A lot of great tunes from the 90s on to the mid-2010s did not use those sounds, or they weren’t the primary focus, and those sounds had a lot of character.

And with the massive explosion in interest of analog synths that has happened since the 2010s, I think now is the perfect time for Trance artists to veer away from the typical SuperSaw sound, and start incorporating a little analog character and unpredictability into their mixes.

It’s true that most Trance producers avoid Analog synths. Many are monophonic, and the ones that aren’t, tend to be expensive, and have limited polyphony compared to their plugin cousins.

But there are still many places where Analog synths can serve useful secondary, and even central roles in big Trance anthems.

Where Analog Fits In The Mix

The most obvious example is what most folks associate Analog synths with… bassline duties. And Analog is great for basslines. Sometimes too great.

Take for example, these 2 songs. On Heaven, Wavetraxx and I used the Prophet Rev2 for a midrange bass layer, to add extra character to the low end. The rest of the song is digital, but DCO Analog sound still occupies a supporting role in the mix, and lends the character extra depth. The bass sound didn’t get used for the entire sub + midrange layer because the saturation baked into the sound was too heavy for the mix, and without lopassing to cut the lows and some lo-mids out of the sound, it would have clashed with the kick. But hipassed and notched tastefully, it sat tidily on top of the sub bass, and added an extra dimension to the music that makes it feel more organic.

Midrange Bass: Sequential Prophet Rev2

And below in Cascade Highway, the Prophet Rev2 is fully on bassline duties, in both the sub bass and the midrange bass. I used the Virus TI2’s Rate Reducer FX to give the midbass a kind of ‘talking’ evolving character. But the weight and punchiness of the DCO Analog sound in the lows (with added Osc Slop to the oscillator tuning to add classic analog behavior flavor) gives the tune a round warm character. And the nice part of the Prophet is its Panning capabilities, making it possible to create bouncing midrange basses that widen the song without needing any special technical tricks.

Sub Bass & Midrange Bass: Sequential Prophet Rev2

Lead The WaY

But for less obvious uses, Analog synths work great for Trance Leads. As you can hear in the playlist below, most of the synths use some forms of Pulse and Sawtooth waves, with some added FX to liven them up. Except for Empire of Hearts, every other song uses sounds that can easily be made on any analog synth with 1-2 LFOs and some basic Pulse Width and Pitch modulation capabilities (which is basically all of them). The Empire of Hearts lead could be made on any analog synth with 3 or more voices, and anything with a sub oscillator alongside 2 regular oscillators. The songs in the demos (we think, anyway) mostly use VA synths like the Virus, or Supernova or Q. But the waves the sounds are based on can be found on everything from a classic Minimoog to a Sequential Fourm or OB-6.

Indeed, modern analogs like the Prophet Rev2, Teo-5, Fourm, OB-6, and OB-X8 can even do quasi-SuperSaws, with the Teo-5 and Fourm sounding the best of the bunch (according to our Superbooth 2026 live tests). You can make digital-style sounds on Analog synths very capably, and in the case of the Teo-5, sound even better than the original sound you were trying to mimic.

More Than Meets The Ear

There is a lot of underutilized Trance potential in the many Moog, Sequential, Oberheim, Korg, Arturia, Behringer, and countless boutique Analog synths made by smaller companies, just waiting to be tapped into. With little more than a couple octave-spread square waves, a fast LFO on the pitch at a low setting, and a touch of white noise, you can make a buzzy biting lead synth straight out of late 2000s epic and progressive trance that would cut through any modern mix and add a certain je ne sais quoi to your music that listeners may not know is specifically analog, but will recognize as unique and pleasing, and subtly set you apart from everyone else.

Get Plucky

The same logic applies to plucks as well. Mono synths can be tricky for plucks, but if you’re willing to write riffs that are not just racing 16th note arpeggios with the notes all clustered together, or big stacked chords, you can make an analog mono synth sound every bit as big and majestic in a mix as any Virus or Diva pluck. And small touches like pitch drift, or analog filter variations in VCO synths lend a more organic quality to the sound that will feel more natural, without the need to apply special settings in a plugin to achieve it. And with Moogs, their baked-in low-mid saturation makes upper register plucks sound super round and rich.

Opening pluck: PL Skylark (from Skylarking by BT)

Although Analog poly synths sound very rich for plucks too. The Prophets all have their own individual character, and because they’re all polyphonic to different degrees, you can play some super nice epic chords with them. Some synths lend themselves better to warmer gentler sounds, others to brighter snappier sounds, but synths like the Rev2 can handle both very nicely (although it tends more toward bright by default).

Pluck: PL Everytime (from Everytime You Need Me by Fragma ft Maria Rubia)

And because every synth manufacturer uses different parts for their gear, sometimes even different parts between different synths in their inventory, even things as basic as Square and Saw waves don’t sound alike between instruments.

The timbral differences between different Moogs

So if every producer is using different instruments, be they budget or flagship, they will all sound subtly different from one another, and Trance will gradually begin to regain its lost feeling of variety. There have been a growing number of artists doing this, Giuseppe Ottaviani being one of the most notable examples, and it shows in his music. Arguments that folks can’t hear the difference in a mix are missing the point. It’s not that they’re hearing Analog specifically. What they’re hearing are variations in tone, timbre, and the differences in workflows that guide the production and mixing decisions for each artist, based on their instrument choices. When everyone is using the same easily-pirated VST plugins, everyone starts from the exact same place, and room for variation is narrower.

When everyone starts from different places, even when they’re all making the same genres, they’re all going to sound a little different.

Thanks to companies like Behringer making full on budget gear, Korg making mid-priced synths like the Minilogue and Monologue (and even the oft-ignored Prologue) and companies like Sequential creating entry-level analog poly synths (to say nothing of their older discontinued units like the Mopho and the Tetra), and discontinued Moog synths like the Slim Phatty and Subsequent 25 commanding more reasonable prices than the super expensive new gear on the market, there has never been a better time to explore all the options out there and start incorporating less-conventional synths and synth sounds into Trance.

So, Do Analog Synths Belong In Trance?

Absolutely. Does everyone need the most expensive, feature-loaded piece of flagship kit from the biggest prestige manufacturers? No. Will an Analog synth magically make your music world-class the moment you turn it on? Again, no.

But like with most anything else, if you know what you want your music to sound like, and you understand some basics about sound design and music composition, you can turn even the most basic and cheap analog module into the centerpiece of your next monster Luminosity anthem. It’s like Murderface says in Metalocalypse: “It’s a very dangerous weapon to know what you’re doing”.

And in a world where every Uplifting Trance 2026 Mix sounds like the same 3 Spire SuperSaw presets, we all owe it to our listeners to do something different, even if it’s so subtle they might not notice it immediately. The music world’s homogenized a lot in the last decade. Let’s mix things up a little.

What To Know Before Buying Hardware Synths

What was your first glimpse into the world of hardware synthesizers? Was it a producer's masterclass, and their wall of modulars that caught your eye? A Bad Gear episode? Does your favorite artist use hardware? Did you wander through a music store, and play around on a display synth, and decide you just had to have one?

No doubt you may be prowling through Sweetwater's or Reverb's offerings, and feeling a little overwhelmed. Maybe you want one, but aren't sure if hardware is for you.

In today's article, I'll break down some hardware basics, things to know, and how to help you decide what, if any, pieces of gear you should get.

1. Know Why You're Getting Gear

Let's get the big question out of the way first: what do you want hardware for? Do you have a specific need for hardware, that VSTs and samples can't provide?

Hardware synths aren't cheap (not good ones, anyway). There's no two ways about it. Beyond the actual synth itself, you are also looking at TS cables, MIDI/ MIDI-USB cables, patch cables (if you're going modular), and possibly a newer/ bigger audio interface to accommodate the synth. Before you get a synth, you need to ask yourself if you're willing to take on those extra costs.

Hardware isn't a magic bullet that will immediately make you sound instantly better. If you're not writing good music without hardware, you still won't write good music with it. It certainly helps if you've been producing for a few years, and have a few songs/ remixes out on a record label or two, before you start browsing for gear. Otherwise you're wasting time and money on equipment you likely don't need.

If you've been at it a while though, and feel like gear is the next natural step for your tunes, it's time to decide what type of synth you want.

Which brings us to...

2. Analog vs Digital

Just to clear the air here: I don't hold Analog on any magic pedestal compared to Digital. They both serve their purpose and have their own special characteristics that will suit different needs at different times.

The only reason we're covering it here now, is because there are certain aspects of analog synthesis you need to be prepared for before buying one.

Namely:

Analog synths frequently tend to be a lot more expensive than digital synths. Especially polyphonic analogs (more on that in a bit). They also tend to be much more limited with effects, voicing, and waveform options.

Analog synths, especially Moogs, often require extensive warmup times before they're properly in tune, and can be used for music that requires stable tone.

You may not be able to store patches and presets on slightly older Analog synths, so making and storing patches requires more time and a photographic memory to do.

However, Analog synths have certain timbral characteristics that make them desirable for music production. The analag signal generation and filters can lend a certain warmth and personality to a sound that a fully digital signal might not. This is because of the inherently imperfect nature of generating an audio signal from a voltage-controller oscillator. There are slight and subtle imperfections in the sound that give analog its warmer, "fatter" character. The filters, being analog, often sound smoother than digital filters, so you can make sweeps and sounds with much

That said, digital has more pros than cons - especially these days.

More built-in FX, more waveform options (including wavetables, and Super/HyperSaws), more routing and modulation options, much higher voicing, and higher likelihood of proper integration with your DAW via USB (or at least a VST interface controlled by MIDI data).

And so we go on to...

3. Monophonic vs Polyphonic

When you come from the VST world, it's easy to forget that there was once a time when synthesizers could only play one note at a time, due to the limitations of the oscillators. That time is long past, but Monophonic, Duophonic, and Polyphonic synths are all still around, still being made, and will likely be around forever. So how to choose?

First and foremost, a monophonic synth can only play one note at a time. No chords, or lush harmonic strings or pads will be (easily) gotten from a mono synth. They tend to be analog synths, and so thick basslines and distorted leads are what mono synths are most commonly used for.

A duophonic (sometimes called paraphonic) synth can only play two notes at a time. They're not super common, but they pop up occasionally.

A polyphonic synth can, as its name denotes, play many notes at once. A poly synth will typically range from 4-100+ voices, depending on the complexity of the patch. With a few exceptions, poly synths tend to be digital, and as such can create sounds and timbres no analog synth can generate. You can also write lush choir and string and pad sections, create sounds with long release tails, and layer chords in ways no mono synth is capable. As an added bonus, most poly synths have a Mono feature enabled, allowing you to turn the poly synth into a mono synth for specific sounds.

And due to the generally digital nature of poly synths, patch storage and recall is a feature of all poly synths, allowing you to store and bring back up presets and sounds you made, for future use.

4. Effects

Effects are a somewhat divisive issue in the synth community. Some love them in their synths, others prefer you only play and record synths dry (then use outboard effects).

Again, it largely boils down to personal preference, and the type of gear you're looking at. Analog synths tend to be more minimal on effects. You might get a Distortion effect, maybe a Chorus, and perhaps a Delay effect, if it's slightly newer. Moogs are famously minimalist in this department. Digital synths usually come with a full battery of effects ranging from Distortion, to Delay, Reverb, Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, possibly Saturation, and multiple types of distortion. Digital synths with lots of effects tend to be more expensive, but in most cases, the effects tend to be quite good (the Virus TI2 has some of the best onboard effects on the market).

When considering buying hardware, considering the onboard effects as well as the filters and oscillators will also be worth investigating.

5. Finally...

Do your homework. There are hundreds of synths out there, each with their own special timbral characteristics and features, and it would be impossible to try and list them all here.

As a general rule of thumb though, based on genres, these are features you'll need to look for to find a good synth you'll get lots of use out of:

Trance: Polyphonic, with 5-100 voices. Some kind of Unisono Spread/ SuperSaw detune feature to create wide, complex trance synths. Good onboard reverb and delay are nice but not necessary. A good Chorus effect will serve you well. The more modulation options, the better.

House: Depending on the subgenre of house, a Monophonic or Duo/Paraphonic synth will serve you well, although a Polyphonic synth for bigroom house producers will do you a lot of good. Fat Analog warmth for basslines and leads is helpful, as is decent distortion capabilities. Analog filters will definitely be a plus.

Dubstep/ Riddim: Polyphonic Digital, for sounds requiring wavetables and lots of modulation, as well as high enough voicing counts to handle complex wavetable modulation. Onboard reverb/ delay not quite as essential, but solid distortion is a must. The more modulation options the better.

Drum & Bass: Depending on the style of DnB, a good Mono or Para synth will serve you well for Reese basses, deep sub basslines, and intense leads. Either Analog or Digital will work equally well, although the added warmth from Analog distortion might add a nice touch to the basslines.

Techno: Largely depends on style of Techno, but an Analog Mono or Duophonic synth will sound just right for techno. All the warm fat low end and oddball lead sounds will be done quite nicely by an Analog Mono. A Digital Poly or Paraphonic synth will also do super nicely, but the extra voicing and tons of added features are a bit on the overkill side.

With this guide in hand, I hope you can go forward and make a better, more informed hardware purchase.

Play on!

Dawnchaser is a Pacific Northwest-based electronic music producer, mountaineer, documenter of all things adventure, mountain, and travel-related, and manager of Kulshan Recordings. If he’s not in the studio writing music about adventures, he’s out on one.

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