Arturia is a renowned French company that specializes in music software and hardware, delivering innovative solutions for musicians, producers, and sound designers worldwide. With a commitment to creativity and technology, Arturia provides...
Elektron Music Machines is a Gothenburg company that was founded in 1998 and builds electronic instruments around sequencing and hands-on performance. It also has subsidiaries in Los Angeles and Berlin. Its drum...
Erica Synths is a synthesizer company from Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 2014 by Ģirts Ozoliņš, a former science and mathematics teacher who had spent two decades in advertising. The company...
Nord is the brand of Clavia Digital Musical Instruments AB, a Swedish company from Stockholm. It was founded in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson, first with digital drum pads. Since...
Novation is a renowned brand in the music technology industry, known for its innovative electronic instruments and performance tools, catering to musicians, producers, and DJs. With a commitment to quality and creativity,...
Waldorf Music is a German synthesizer maker based in Remagen. Its history goes back to 1989, when it launched the Microwave, a wavetable synthesizer that revived the spirit of the PPG Wave...
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Submit SuggestionEuropean synthesizer brands include Swedish drum machine and synth specialists, German wavetable pioneers, a French maker with hardware and software and a Latvian Eurorack company. This page lists six manufacturers: Elektron (Gothenburg), Nord (Stockholm), Waldorf (Remagen), Arturia (Grenoble), Novation (United Kingdom) and Erica Synths (Riga).
| Brand | Base | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Elektron | Gothenburg | Digitone II, Digitakt II, Syntakt |
| Nord | Stockholm | Nord Lead, Nord Wave, Stage and Piano keyboards |
| Waldorf | Remagen | Wavetable synths: Quantum, Iridium, Protein |
| Arturia | Grenoble | MiniBrute, MicroFreak, Pigments |
| Novation | United Kingdom | Peak and Summit synthesizers, part of Focusrite |
| Erica Synths | Riga | Eurorack modules and desktop instruments |
None of the six brands is marked with a non-European parent. Elektron has had a majority owner since April 2026, the Swedish investment firm Bonnier Capital, and Novation belongs to the London-listed Focusrite group. Arturia is led by its founder and managers after a management-sponsored transaction.
Roland, Korg and Yamaha from Japan and Moog and Sequential from the USA are not European and are therefore not listed. If you also need software to record and sequence the instruments, see European music production software and audio interfaces.