Scott’s Synth Stuff Storms Sweetwater: 2025’s Top 20 Synths Get the Rave Bunker Treatment

Scott’s Synth Stuff kicks off with a brisk flight to Fort Wayne, Indiana, home to Sweetwater’s sprawling synth playground. The video wastes no time showing off the sheer scale of the showroom – a gearhead’s fever dream, with every major brand flexing their latest and greatest for 2025. Scott’s style is as direct as ever, skipping the fluff and getting straight to the good stuff: keyboards only, under two grand, and no patience for mini keys unless they absolutely earn their keep.

The vibe is pure synth pilgrimage, with Scott weaving through Sweetwater’s endless aisles, ready to put every contender through its paces. There’s a sense of anticipation in the air – will the new Moog Messenger live up to the hype? Can Behringer’s clones finally break free from the shadow of their ancestors? And will Korg’s latest digital tricks actually impress the analog diehards? This isn’t just a showroom stroll – it’s a synth street fight, and only the strongest will survive.

Scott doesn’t pull punches as he tears through his top 20 list, giving each synth a fair shake – and a reality check. The Moog Messenger gets called out for being overpriced and underwhelming, while Behringer’s UB-Xa is slammed for clinging to outdated presets and missing modern features. Korg’s Minilogue XD is praised for its flexibility but dinged for its aging design and broken showroom joysticks. The MicroKorg 2, despite its mini keys, sneaks onto the list thanks to a killer firmware update and surprising sonic muscle.

Oberheim’s TEO-5 and Sequential’s Take 5 go head-to-head, with Scott dissecting their near-identical specs and subtle sonic differences. Roland’s Juno-X and King Korg NEO get the side-eye for their price tags and lack of aftertouch, but the Sequential Fourm claws its way up the ranks with unexpected sound quality and polyphonic aftertouch – even if the mini keys are a hand-cramping nightmare. Behringer’s Wave is a heartbreak: great value if it works, but the demo unit is dead on arrival. Modal’s Cobalt8x and Roland’s Gaia 2 get high marks for playability and sound design, while the Phantom-06 is dubbed a reliable workhorse, if not a showstopper.

The Akai MPC Key 61 surprises with its DAW-in-a-box approach, and the Expressive E Osmose earns Scott’s open lust for its otherworldly MPE action. Korg’s Multi/Poly and ASM Hydrasynth are crowned as modern classics, with the Hydrasynth’s polyphonic aftertouch stealing the show. Yamaha’s MODX M rounds out the top, finally fixing the keybed sins of its predecessor and packing a punch that makes it a contender for best value in the synth world. Throughout, Scott’s brutal honesty and dry wit keep the list from ever feeling like a sales pitch – if a synth sucks, you’ll know about it.