The Studio Electronics Boomstar – A ‘Very Tasty’ Desktop Synth

In his latest Sonic Studio video, Nick Batt takes a look at the ‘very tasty’ Studio Electronics Boomstar synthesizers.

The Boomstar line is a series of six synthesizer that share the same basic architecture, but each features a different iconic synth filter. 

The Six Boomstar Models:

  • SE80—the legendary, creamy, multi-mode Yamaha CS-80
  • 700—innovative MiniKORG
  • 5089—classic Moog 24dB ladder
  • 4075—powerfully resonant ARP 2600
  • SEM—the original Oberheim 12dB
  • 3003—the chirpy, acidic, bouncy Roland TB-303.

The Boomstar synths are priced at about $970 each. See the SE site for more info.

via sonicstate

14 thoughts on “The Studio Electronics Boomstar – A ‘Very Tasty’ Desktop Synth

  1. sounds cool, but I see the build quality of the knobs are shaky and cheap – probably only plastic under the hood. Im feling pranked for a price of near 1000$ for that. sad.

  2. Um, not trying to diss the guys but for the build quality at that price I’d rather get a Slim Phatty (I own one, built to last for life) or Sub Phatty instead of the Moog clone. The latter has ringmod, noise and other niceties though, but so does the Phatty with all the CV ins and handy USB connection. I think it’s a tough sell on that basis. Ad for the other models, those are probably more unique.

    1. I’ve owned all the phattys and the boomstars sound way bigger and offer a lot more – closer to a voyager (but not equal to be clear) in my opinion.

  3. I got one of the first 4075s, it is a good synth, has it’s own sound and can do quite a lot. In fact, I need to just noodle with it this weekend.

  4. Man, I want one. I stumbled upon those Boomstar YouTube videos where they demo a particular Boomstar over video footage of the desert. So good!

  5. These look great, but I’d love to have seen them make an ‘xl’ version that let you switch between multiple filter types.

    I understand that there is more in the way of differences between these synthesizers than just the filters. But the bulk of these is the same, so having a switch that would toggle between various filters would be over the top.

    Still – awesome new boxes, when we’re debating details of SIX NEW ANALOG SYNTHS, you know that we’ve got it pretty good these days!

  6. I had the opportunity to compare them at Schneidersbuero a few days ago. They are amazing. For me 5089 and SEM were the most attractive ones. 5089 has a massive sound and the filter on SEM is unique. The great thing about the series is the LFO wave shapes. The overdrive is awesome. I played on Moog Sub 37 the same day, but wasn’t that impressed.

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