Modal CRAFTsynth 2.0 is a gorgeous portable monophonic synth with knobs on

Time was a really good synth would need to be lifted into your house on a crane. Today, they’re small enough to lose down the back of the sofa. Modal has form here, having unleashed the Modal CRAFTsynth on Kickstarter two years back. But whereas that synth’s retro stylings made it resemble a museum piece, CRAFTsynth 2.0 (£119) has the sort of sleek lines that would make Jony Ive drool. It’s packed with features to make synth nuts coo, too: eight oscillators; 40 morphable waveforms; 16 oscillator modifiers; two LFOs; three envelope generators; a programmable sequenced arp. If none of that means anything to you, be assured: despite its diminutive form, this synth can make some properly ear-smashing noise. Perfect when you’ve designs on becoming the next Kraftwerk, standing stock still behind your home computer, beaming yourself into the future.