The Best-Selling Electronic Gear of 2023

Near the end of each year, we like to pause as it draws to a close to take stock of the year’s best-selling music gear.

The lists below begin with an all-in view of the electronic gear market, featuring synths, drum machines, samplers, controllers, and more. This “overall” list includes items purchased across all conditions, whether brand new or used.

Because many regular readers of our annual best-sellers lists have asked for sales of new and used items to be broken out separately, we have done so here and in others being published this week: best-selling guitars, pedals and amps, and recording equipment.

As always, these lists exclude items that were exclusively for sale on Reverb, on sale for exclusive-to-Reverb prices, or otherwise benefitted from exclusive promotions on our site.

Note: All rankings are determined by total order count—that is, the actual number of items sold, not the total price of sold items.

Key takeaways

• Clinching the top spot once again, the OP-1 has now topped our best-selling electronic gear lists for five years straight. It’s perhaps an easier decision than ever to buy the tiny powerhouse. Thanks to the release of the new OP-1 Field and distance from peak-pandemic pricing, the OP-1’s average used price has dropped more than $200 since January 2022. (The OP-1 Field sneaks into the top 20 this year too.)
• It should be noted that a lot of folks bought Polyend Trackers this year. Back in August, Polyend cut prices on the full-sized versions, first in its official Reverb shop and then elsewhere, following the introduction of the Tracker Mini. Having not made the list at all last year, the Tracker ranks 19 in 2023—and that’s after excluding purchases made from the company’s Reverb shop.

Key takeaways

• A brand new entrant to this 2023 list is Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O. II. The sampler not only has easy-to-love specs and retro looks, but it has a retail price of just $299, making it an affordable new instrument from a company that has recently launched quite a few products on the other end of the price spectrum.
• Another new contender this year is Arturia’s MiniFreak. Launched in late 2022, it has come in on the new sales list at No. 8. If its staying power is anything like its older (yet smaller) sibling, the MiniFreak, it’ll be a feature of our best-sellers lists for years to come.
• Speaking of staying power, Blukac’s Endless Processor—an infinite sound sustainer—is the sole Eurorack module to crack this Top 20 list of new sales.

Key takeaways

• If you’re familiar with past years’ best-selling lists, you’ll see the top here has hit a bit of a stasis. The OP-1, Digitakt, MicroKorg—these are familiar faces. If you want a snapshot of what have been some of the most popular instruments this decade, look no further.
• One surprising addition to the list is the Casio SK-1. Released in 1986, it’s a vintage sampler at this point, but it’s having a bit of a moment, thanks to continued collector interest in the Pink variant and the everyday fun the $100 black version allows.