Yeah...I know a couple of folks with 5-figure $US synth collections who can't actually play. They futz around with the knobs and press a couple of keys and call it 'ambient' or 'trance' or somesuch.
I'd ask that you define what "playing" a synthesizer entails. A lot of that comes down to designing sounds, especially given the fact that you have so many different kinds of oscillators interacting with each other.
Someone can play a keyboard, perhaps, but that's only one of many interfaces to interact with synthesizers.
It's not really the same as a guitar, where your fingers are directly responsible for the vibrations coming out of the strings.
I've been playing piano my whole life. Recently I bought some synths and it's a whole different world. Piano skill comes in handy sometimes, but other times its' mostly irrelevant. And sound design of course is a completely different skill, which on many synths you can do live as you play.
I've seen people on youtube making great music on a stack of modular gear, without a keyboard in sight, and I can't look down on them because at the rate I'm going it'll be years before I can do what they do.
Yeah...they had to quit fondling their $400 oxygen free silver plated kevlar coated audiophile USB cable[1] long enough to lecture us on the nature of music.
I meant it mostly in jest. Most of the rich synth kids I've met have been rich kids in the rave/burner scene that got so into the music that they wanted to make it but didn't know how to play any instruments, but I'm sure there's plenty of synth hoarders at the fancy schools.
If I had the money I'd probably be one myself. I love blinkenlights and analog electronics and electronic music, but have zero musical talent.
Ehhh, some guitar hoarders just like the different variations. Some actually understand the differences between guitars and have different ones for different sounds. Most studios have at least five different electric guitars not to show off, but because they need them in order to create different soundscapes. The way you can tell who a shiny hoarder is, is that they go for the extremely expensive stuff when a real player would know the cheapest possible option. I've got six guitars, each one has a specific role when recording, and I've never paid more than $200 for a guitar. I've got a friend who has nine guitars, costing between $500 and $2,000, and they can't play anything they didn't learn from a chord chart off Ultimate Guitar.
The same thing applies to synths. Everyone wants a $5,000 Juno-60 when you can get the same functionality out of a cheap $450 CS Reface. Or to go even cheaper, a $100 pre-amp, $100 used PSR keyboard, and access to VST4Free.
There is a type of guitar collector who is actually a hoarder though and doesn't play. Sometimes derogatorily called "Blues Lawyers" after the stereotype of a lawyer who has all the money in the world to buy guitars, but no time to play them because of their profession. Same thing goes in synth communities.
Personally I like these people because they keep my local music shop in business.
Hah, I supposed I'd like 'em too. There's more guitars than people to buy them, and the people who buy for wall hangers usually ended up selling them for a third of their original price after a few years, giving new players access to quality equipment.
I'm obviously not talking about people with multiple instruments because they're looking for a particular effect. I'm talking about people who have 2 Juno-60s they can't really play because it's just money and "I'm a musician...you should see my studio" is a pickup line that worked that one time.