perhaps check out this thread for some ideas.
these days there are a plethora of synths, many small and portable.
really depends what you want, and (of course) budget.
1010blackbox, teenage engineering op1 or opz , sonicware elz_1, volcas, organelle, ipad (!)
more on the diy front : monome norns variant (e.g. diy shield/fates) , rPI (e.g zynthian)
I’ll say, though, Im not ‘into’ the whole iOS/iPad music scene, honestly for portability/flexibility/choice - its almost impossible to beat iOS . (iOS audio/midi handling is excellent).
(and you can find iPad’s at various budget levels - both new/used)
so much choice these days, for all different budgets, we are living in good times for this stuff.
when you say you want to use for ‘nomadic’ use, what criteria does this entail
I guess for me it would be:
- small
- battery / usb battery powered
- multi timbral (so you have multi track from one device)
- multi ‘engine’ , so synth, percussion, sample
- usb host (for pyramid, less things to carry)
that said, Im not sure how ‘portable’ a pyramid plus synth plus cables really is…
and many of the things with the above features, will also feature a sequencer that is ‘good enough’ for on-the-road.
also you mention recording… whats your requirements there? just an audio output?
if you really need to record audio on the fly/mobile, id look very seriously at something like an iPad, with things like audiobus its excellent for this.
but hey, we all have different needs / requirements.