I prefer external synth modules. The Ketron SD2 has the best General MIDI sound set I've heard (but I've only heard a dozen or so). It's no longer available in the US but I got one recently from Thomann in Germany shipped to the USA.

Here is what I like about hardware synth modules more than software synths
  • They don't become obsolete when the computer OS changes. I have synth modules I bought in the 1980s, when Windows 3.1 and Mac OS6 were current operating systems and they still work perfectly today
  • Software synths have to 'do the math' to create each and every sound on each and every note, so the programmers take short-cuts which compromise the tone while the hardware modules store everything in ROM so the sounds can be more nuanced and have more realistic tone
  • They don't tax the computer's CPU so they don't bog down your system
  • Since they don't bog down your system, there is virtually no latency (actually they average about 5 ms)
  • Since the latency is about the same for all synth modules you can mix and match taking the best sounds from many synth modules and use them in the same song


Disadvantages:
You need a separate amp/speaker instead of the one in your computer.

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