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Behringer today announced that they are dropping prices on many of their synths, with price reductions of up to 60%.

The company says it’s responding to improvements to the global supply chain issues that, over the last three years, have driven a production slowdown and price increases across the industry.

They note:

“As semiconductors become more available and prices come down, we’re able to ramp up production. In line with our promise to share our savings with you, we’re really excited to lower our pricing by up to 60%.”

Many of the price drops are small, like a $10 price cut on the $149 Brains module. But some of the price reductions are substantial, including:

• Behringer System 55 – $1400 price cut to $1,599
• Behringer System 35 – $1500 price cut to $999
• Behringer System 15 – $900 price cut to $799
• Behringer Poly D – $210 price cut to $599
• Behringer DeepMind 12 – $130 price cut to $799
• Behringer 2600 – $200 price cut to $499
• Behringer MonoPoly – $210 price cut to $599
• Behringer Wasp – $80 price cut to $149
• Behringer Cat – $150 price cut to $199
• Behringer TD-3 – $30 price cut to $129

In these instances, the price cuts are big enough that they will significantly disrupt the market for used Behringer synths. For example, every used Poly D on Reverb is currently priced substantially higher than the price to buy it new:

Behringer says that prices should be updated at their ‘Superpartner’ websites, including Amazon and others.

What do you think about Behringer’s price cuts? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Behringer today officially announced the Polyeight, an enhanced of the classic Korg Polysix, by offering an additional two voices.

However, Behringer’s prototype photo indicates that its new Polyeight  synth loses something in comparison to the PolySix as well: it has a 4-octave keyboard rather than a 5-octave one. Swings and roundabouts, then.

The Polyeight will have modern niceties such as MIDI and USB connectivity, as well as what Behringer is calling a “much improved” user interface.

The original Korg Polysix was one of the budget polys of its day, with six single-oscillator/vcf/vca voices. It hass earned its place as a classic, though, because it offers great sound and an easy-to-use knobby interface.

Here’s what Behringer has to say about the Polyeight:

“The first Polyeight has come alive:-)

While this is still an early prototype, the firmware is all based on our new ARM platform, which will certainly speed up the development and time to market.

As you can see, the Polyeight is not a pure clone. We have retained the analog section, but added 2 more voices and especially a much improved user interface with very useful functions.”

There is no price or release date, but Behringer is saying that, because the firmware is based on its new ARM platform, development time will be speeded up and the synth should come to market sooner.

The Behringer DEEPMIND 12 features 49-key, 12-Voice Polyphonic Synthesizer with 4 FX Engines, 2 OSCs and 2 LFOs per Voice, 3 ADSR Generators, Unison Detune, 8-Channel Modulation Matrix, 32-Step Control Sequencer, Tablet Remote Control and Built-In Wi-Fi.

OSC1 allow manual, envelope or LFO control of the square waves’ pulse-width and OSC2 offers similar options for modulating the Tone. Both have independently selectable octave ranges and pitch modulation. One advantage of the DeepMind 12 plentiful polyphony can be found in the Poly section. This is the home of the synthesizer unison modes that stack voices in a variety of modes – from simple doubling to a monumental 12 voices. Given the relatively pitch-stable DCOs, the Detune parameter plays an important role in fattening everything up by shifting the pitch of combined voices up to the centre. This section is also home to the parameters that allow DeepMind to be a little more like its less linear forebears by applying ‘drift’ to oscillator tuning. Drift Rate, provided by a randomized ramp generator, is also available to tweak.

In addition, the filter section offers both 24dB and 12dB/octave flavours. In both guises the filter can be pushed into self-resonance without an oscillator signal present and can therefore be pressed into service as a pitch-stable third oscillator. Front panel access is also provided for Envelope Depth and LFO modulation. The source for this, velocity control over envelope depth, and other modulation settings are accessible via the VCF Parameter Menu. There are four effect slots that can be placed together in an insert or FX send configuration. The quality of effects, and the scope for editing, is also high. The two LFOs are also very well-equipped, with each capable of generating one of seven waveforms. The Arpeggiator has all the features including Swing, but also adds a pattern sequencer that automates velocity and gate time for each step independently of the current ARP pattern. The Mod Matrix offers a wide range of control destinations – with eight user configurable slots where 22 modulation sources can be routed to nearly 130 destinations including individual envelope stage times, levels and curves, panning, drift, high-pass filter cut-off frequency, effects parameters and the mod depth of other modulation slots. This section is comprehensive, very powerful and better than many soft synths.

The DeepMind 12 is an impressive first entry into the synth arena for Behringer. The Behringer DeepMind 12 is certainly flexible, interactive and powerful.

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