Following three decades of digital interfaces and sampler dominance, a new generation of musicians who desire a return to warm, pure sounds are fueling a resurgence in analog synthesizer retail sales.
In the past five years alone, Moog, Korg USA, WMD and other brands that are presenting their synths and electronic products at the NAMM Show next month have helped drive the analog synth market to 19.9-percent growth in total retail sales.
The data, provided by the 2016 NAMM Global Report, underscores a reemergence of players who are captivated by the tactile playing experience of analog control surfaces. Clearly, many musicians favor working knobs, faders and other features in lieu of digital displays and computer interfaces.
“Players are realizing that an analog synth is much more of a real, honest-to-goodness musical instrument,” Dave Smith, Founder of Dave Smith Instruments, stated. Nate Tschetter, Manager of Music Product Marketing at Yamaha, added, “Many are choosing analog because it’s immediate. And, although analog is definitely ‘in,’ it’s more about the ability to create unique sound and having it sound good.”
With professional-grade analog synths ranging from the low hundreds to several thousand dollars, Korg and several other makers of electronic instruments are continuing to meet the increased demand by releasing new and redesigned synths at price points that are accessible to a variety of musicians. “The power-to-affordability ratio is phenomenally favorable to the synth enthusiast,” James Sajeva, Director of Technology Brands at Korg, declared. “In the case of a reissue synth, you can get the sound and workflow for a fraction of what an original—in even remotely good condition—would fetch.”
Overall, electronic music products were one of the strongest-performing music products segments in 2015, posting near double-digit retail growth of 9.9 percent. The electronic music products category, composed of keyboard synthesizers, controller keyboards, electronic pianos, rhythm machines and electronic drums, touted a retail value of $238.3 million in 2015. For 2016, the category had already reached more than $155 million through the third quarter. Additionally, digital pianos are enjoying a renaissance, and they’re up 24.38 percent in retail sales and 13.1 percent in units sold over the past 10 years.