After announcing the release of products based on the PPG Wave, Roland Jupiter-8 and LinnDrum this month, Behringer has turned to the modern era for its inspiration, releasing a mini-synth that has a remarkably similar set of features to the Korg Volca Keys.
Today, Behringer has introduced the Phara-O Mini, a knockoff of the Korg Volca Mini, with Egyptian styling and hieroglyphics.
It’s the latest in their line of Mini synths, which like the Volcas, pair basic synth engines with a capacitive touch keyboard in a compact package.
The official intro video:
Phara-O Mini is an analogue synth with three oscillators, each equipped with saw and square waveforms. It’s paraphonic, meaning that multiple notes can be played simultaneously, but its voices share envelopes and filters and can’t be shaped independently.
Like the Volca Keys, the synth’s oscillators run through a 12dB/oct analogue filter based on the MiniKorg 700S, a quirky analogue monosynth from the ’70s. A single ADSR envelope is joined by a single LFO equipped with three waveforms and adjustable rate, that can be used to modulate the pitch and filter cutoff.
Phara-O Mini also features a multi-mode ring modulator that can be applied to its square waves to create unusual metallic tones, and there’s a basic delay effect onboard too. The synth’s six play modes include poly, unison, octaves, fifths, ring unison and ring poly.
Below the main panel, is a 27-key touch-sensitive keyboard similar to the one found on other instruments in Behringer’s Mini range. This can be used to program its 16-step sequencer, which can be used to record parameter changes as well as melodic sequences, and can store up to 10 patterns. In the connectivity department, you’ve got USB-C, MIDI in, sync in/out and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Features:
Portable analog polyphonic and programmable synthesizer
Analog signal path based on VCO, VCF and VCA designs
27 touch-sensitive keys
3 VCOs with saw or square waveforms
Low-pass filter based on Mini-700S synthesizer from the 70s
Multi-mode ring modulator on square waves for metallic sound effects
16-step motion sequencer with 10 memory slots and recording of knob movements
Delay effect
Extensive play modes featuring poly, unison, octaves, fifths, ring unison and ring poly
LFO with 3 waveforms and sync for pitch and filter cutoff
Envelope generator to modulate VCA, pitch and filter cutoff modulation
USB Type C allows powering via smartphone, power bank or computer
Sync Input and Output to synchronize with your other synthesizers or drum machines
MIDI implementation (including NRPN/CC control of all parameters and bulk load/save)
The Behringer Phara-O Mini is shipping now, priced at $99.
*Note: It typically takes a month or two for Behringer gear to be available at its retail partners after it starts shipping.
Developer Wilfred Pover has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of the Dtronics DT-DX, a hardware synth, created in collaboration with the developer of MiniDexed, that puts the power of 8 Yamaha DX7 synths into a single module.
The DT-DX is a compact hardware unit, based upon the Github project MiniDexed. It runs on a Raspberry Pi 2 Zero, which runs a version of Dexed, which emulates the Yamaha DX7.
A demo of DT-DX in action
Production of the Dtronics DT-DX is being funded via a Kickstarter project. It’s available to project backers for €299, about $313.
*Note: Crowdfunded projects can involve risk. See the project site for details.
