Behringer ENIGMA, Buchla Music Easel Knockoff
Behringer has announced Enigma, designed to be an inexpensive, unofficial copy of the classic Buchla 208 Stored Program Sound Source.
The Buchla 208 is the voice of the Buchla Music Easel from 1972. The Music Easel, right, pairs the 208 with the 218 Touch Keyboard in a suitcase-style case.
Modern reissues of the 208 are available from Buchla USA
The Behringer Enigma is not a straight clone of the original 208. It scales the original design down to Eurorack-compatible format, trades the program card connector of the original for patch storage, and adds DIN & USB MIDI control.
Behringer say about the Enigma:
“We have stared to design an “Easel 208” inspired Eurorack version called Enigma. While the analog section is an authentic replica of the original synth, which also includes 14 optocouplers, we plan to add total recall functionality with an OLED display and CC control plus USB/Midi.”
Behringer is in the design stages for the Enigma, so no time frame for availability has been announced. Behringer expects to price the Enigma at $399.