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Will the upcoming Behringer UB-Xa be the first truly great knockoff synth?

That is the question raised by this video demo by Bernd Brüning, aka The Synth King.

Previous demos of the UB-Xa left many unimpressed, with some readers saying it sounded ‘boring‘ and other saying it sounds ‘bland and uninspired‘. But Bernd Brüning has been part of the beta tester team for the Behringer UB-Xa, and has had time to understand the capabilities of the synth and create his own custom presets.

Brüning notes that “The sounds were recorded without any effects, dynamic processing or whatsoever straight into the audio interface. For the performances in split mode, I’ve added a slight touch of reverb.”

The results speak for themselves. His video demonstrates an instrument that sounds lush, biting, expressive and capable.

Behringer has pioneered the category of knockoff synths – inexpensive, unofficial copies of popular instruments – and they have gotten very good at it.

With most of their instruments, though, the key selling point is that its a cheap copy of a collectable vintage synth. It’s often obvious where design changes and compromises have been made to make the copies cheaper to manufacturer, whether it’s shrinking the instrument, using tiny controls, chopping an octave of the keybed or forcing the design into a stock form-factor. These changes help make Behringer’s copies really affordable.

The Synth King’s demo suggest that the Behringer UB-Xa is something different.

It  is still obviously a knockoff, copying the Oberheim OB-Xa’s name, architecture, styling and sound.

But, unlike many of Behringer’s synths, the UB-Xa does not have obvious design changes and compromises to make it cheap to manufacture. With an expected price tag of $1,500, many won’t consider it inexpensive. The Behringer UB-Xa is a big instrument, with a full-size keyboard. And it has features that promise to move the UB-Xa design significantly forward, including polyphonic aftertouch and 16-voice polyphony.

Watch the video demo. Does the UB-Xa take Behringer’s knockoffs to the next level?

Most importantly, based on this demo, the Behringer UB-Xa sounds good and like a capable, powerful instrument. H2

Universal Audio brings the sound of Motown to UAD Spark and Apollo users. Motown sound is one of the most recognisable in music production history.

Say hello to the Hitsville EQ Collection

Universal Audio’s new Hitsville EQ Collection might just put you on the fast-track to getting it. Released as part of UAD Software 10.1 – and also included in the UAD Spark plugin subscription service – this features the only plugin EQ emulations that are officially licensed by the Hitsville USA Studio.

The package includes both an all-purpose graphic EQ and a rare mid/side disk mastering EQ, both of which were used on records by some of Motown’s greatest artists. The emulations model the entire electronic path, including transformers, makeup amplifiers, EQ band interactions, and internal clipped filter distortion.

The Hitsville EQ Collection includes UA artist presets from the likes of Bob Olhsson and Michael Brauer. It’s available for purchase priced at $299, or included in the $20/month Spark subscription.

Find out more on the Universal Audio website.

Roland has updated its free Zenbeats music creation app to version 3.0, adding a new drum sampler and tones from the TR-808 and TR-909 in the process.

Record or import sounds onto a pad-based interface

New ZR1 is a pad-based sampler – sounds can be recorded or imported and placed directly onto the pads, and there are advanced editing features, too. Additionally, there’s a step sequencer with accents, per-step automation and more.

Zenbeats UI have been enhanced, with a new browser promising to make it easy to find, tag and filter sounds. You can add more sounds via the Zenbeats Store, which also contains loops and other creative tools.

New in Zenbeats 3.0:

• ZR1 Drum Sampler
  • Sample and import right into Drum Pads
  • Slice Editing
  • Mixer Integration
• Sound Browser and Discovery Enhancements
  • Album Art
  • Favorites feature
• Group Tracks with nested folders
• New dynamic UI along with dozens of additional enhancements

Official video intro:

Zenbeats is a free download with In-App purchases, including:

• Platform Unlock includes over 2,500 presets, loops, and sounds (2.5 GB), ZR1 Drum Sampler with sampling/editing, ZC1 Synthesizer with 90 built-in MFX, full SampleVerse modular synthesizer with editor, VST/AU/AUv3 support, and unlimited mixing and export capabilities.
• Max Unlock ($149.99): Get all features, instruments, effects, and store packs on all platforms and devices. Max Unlock includes over 14,000 presets, loops, and sounds (over 8 GB), ZR1 Drum Sampler with sampling/editing, ZC1 Synthesizer with 90 built-in MFX, SampleVerse modular synthesizer with editor, VST/AU/AUv3 support, and unlimited mixing and export capabilities.
• Roland Cloud Membership (starting at $2.99/month or $29.99/year): All Roland Cloud membership tiers include Zenbeats Max Unlock. Roland Cloud is a Mac and Windows service featuring an ever-evolving collection of legendary Roland software synthesizers, sounds, samples, loops, and access to the wider world of ZEN-Core. With this flexible workflow, you can use the same tones in ZC1, ZENOLOGY, and compatible ZEN-Core hardware.

Zenbeats is available on most devices including Chrome OS systems supporting Android apps, Android 8.0+, iOS 11+, macOS 10.11+, and Windows PCs running Windows 8/10, with 2GB of RAM, and 2GB of available storage.

Find out more on the Roland website.