Korg recently released fm synth (Opsix) looks cool but I wonder where innovation in synthesis is nowdays? Interesting products like ASM hydrasynth have fantastic sound design possibilities but it still could be somewhat done in a DAW. The semimodular stuff can offer things for experimentation, I wish there were more digital semimodular affordable synths like Microfreak that would offer versatility and invite to experimentation.
For me, the key aspect of the ASM Hydrasynth is polyphonic aftertouch/MPE support. Polyphonic aftertouch sadly died (for the most part) in the 1990s, but MPE is becoming more popular and I expect to see innovation in terms of MPE controllers and synths, with associated improvements in expressive performance capabilities.
Physical modeling dates back decades but still hasn't really hit the mainstream. I expect to see it in more keyboard synthesizers.
There are a lot of interesting apps and plugins that feature things like physical modeling, granular synthesis, various kinds of waveshaping and wave folding, etc..
There has been a huge modular synthesis revival with Eurorack and digital modular, as well as a commensurate explosion in available modules that go well beyond traditional modulars.
One major innovation in the past few years has been the rise of FPGAs and programmable oscillators such as those on the Korg Prologue; DSP synths have existed for a while, but it's remarkable to have FPGA hardware oscillators and effects that you can modify by downloading new bitfiles. Companies like Sinevibes have managed to add a variety of new oscillators (e.g. FM, resonator, waveshaping and effects (e.g. granular reverb, random repeater) to the Prologue.
New synthesis techniques don’t really pop out of the woodwork. As far as I can tell, what we’re seeing is old techniques repackaged with new user interfaces. There’s a ton of room for innovation in user interfaces.
