There's a dimension to analog synthesis that's absent in the soft synths I've used

The only other decent analog synths available for less than this price are the korg volca series synths, which look and feel like Happy meal toys

But monophonic synths are useful for baselines or syncopated sequences, and the tones of the MicroBrute are rich and full

I got into synthesizers using the the soft synths in Logic Pro

The Microbrute by Aeturia is one of the coolest synths out there

If you want proof of how well these new, smaller synths can be used, take a look at Burg's youtube channel (where he goes by the name ollilaboratories) or some of the stuff by Sequentonal

There's nothing predictable or linear to the tones like with soft synths

One of the best sounding synths I've used

This is my first hardware synth (I've used soft synths for the past year or so), so I don't know much about any other offerings, but I think that this is a stellar product

The Akai Rhythm Wolf, which has a good build, is affordable, but people don't like t for it's synth, only it's drum sounds.