Monomachine SFX-6

Back in 2004, this synth pioneered a wild fusion of five distinct digital engines in one box, letting you stack SID chip nostalgia, formant voices, FM grit, analog-modeled SuperWave warmth, and wavetable weirdness—all without a single analog oscillator in sight.

Its 6-track heart pumps polyphonic patches up to 6 voices or multitimbral mono mayhem across dedicated outputs, powered by a velocity-sensitive 37-note keyboard and that sturdy 4-way steel joystick for expressive sweeps. Three envelopes, 18 tempo-synced interlaced LFOs, and a deep mod matrix feed into per-step parameter locks on the 64-step sequencer, where you can twist everything from the 24dB multimode filter to track effects like tape delay, EQ, sample rate reduction, and distortion. Dual DSP handles the chaos, with 2 audio ins for external processing, 6 mono outs, stereo headphones, full MIDI I/O, and 128 patterns plus 32 songs in memory—all in a sleek 975 x 176 x 55mm metal chassis weighing 7kg.

Over two decades, players cherish its sequencer for glitchy grooves and sound design that still crushes modern setups, though some note the interface demands time to master and wish for more poly voices. It's a cult Elektron classic that rewards deep dives into digital frontiers.