Hardware synths
I spoke to a producer not to long ago, he ghosts produces for some DJs here in Dallas and when I went to his studio he had a ton of synths in there. So I bought a synth off of ebay yesterday cause they look fun to mess with! What have yalls experiences with hardware synths been and what methods do yall use to manipulate the sounds the synths make? Do yall think its better to use hardware synths than VSTs on a computer? Helpful and generous ideas are welcomed 
The way I see it, the only reason to use outboard synths is if they are real analogue. Any digital synth out there can be replaced by a plug for a fraction of the price and controlled by a midi controller. I’m not saying that analogue is better, just that it is different. I use the crap out NI plugs like massive and reaktor and I’m not ashamed to admit I love the sound of some of the stock Logic synths.
That said, I’m currently rocking the MS-20 mini and that thing can make sounds that I would be really pressed to make in digital. The way the filters distort at high resonance almost sound like an electric guitar. I also got the Moog Minitaur which basically does one thing really well - sub bass. There are definitely plugs that do good sub bass but that thing just has this silky musical feeling that to my ears is really hard to reproduce in digital.
I’m all about hardware synths and especially modular synths. Check out muffwiggler.com (the forum and the new store) but questions this general won’t get you anywhere over there. There’s a goldmine of information there, and more every few minutes, but there is a lot of great stuff just in the stickies for newbies.
Though not analog purist, I am unlikely to buy something purely digital unless it’s really special and could not be easily replaced by something on the computer. An example of this would be digital or hybrid modules from Make Noise or The Harvestman.
Control voltage is really powerful because it’s completely analogue, continuous, and therefore latency-free.
My new company will be debuting our first modules sometime this year, but there are lots of really good places to start in Eurorack, including full systems from multiple manufacturers, and some really powerful stuff can be done with just one or two modules like a complete synth voice and a hardware sequencer.
Analog or digital the advantage of hardware is it just does what it does. You don’t have to sweat audio drop outs, soundcard settings, maxed out CPUs, or any of that other shit. I’ve got computers, drum machines, and real synths - they offer their own advantages regardless of if it’s digital or not. It’s nice being able to get a good chunk of something done and the load meter on ableton is only at 7.
Ignore digital vs analog bullshit, if you’re looking for a great first synth most bang for your buck, check out the waldorf blofeld.