Gear Of The Year: Best hardware synth of 2021
‘Legend’ is a term too often thrown around, but with this synth, it’s certainly warranted.

WINNER: Sequential Prophet-10 Rev4
Price: £3,648
Contact: Sequential
Given the stature of Sequential’s Prophet-5 and -10 synths, coming back with a fourth revision was a task which its creators didn’t take lightly. It’s all the more impressive then, that the Prophet-10 stays well-deserving of its status as a legendary synth over 50 years on from its introduction.
The key was in keeping things classic where it should and introducing new tricks that make sense in 2021. Two standout features we loved were a toggle switch to move the Prophet-10 between filter behaviours of older versions, a well as the Vintage dial, which meanders between the super-stable tuning of the Rev4’s oscillators to the unpredictable pitch-tracking of Revs 3, 2 and 1.
Also nominated:
- Korg Modwave
- IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro
- Erica Synths Syntrx
- Moog Sound Studio: Subharmonicon & DFAM
- Analogue Solutions Leipzig V3
- UDO Super 6 Desktop
- ASM Hydrasynth Explorer
- Korg Opsix
To check out other GOTY categories, click here.