Behringer Plans to “turn the synth world upside down” with a Desktop version of its UB-Xa
Looks like Behringer plans to “turn the synth world upside down” with a desktop version of its Oberheim-inspired UB-Xa. Downsized UB-Xa D ditches the 61-note keyboard.
Three months on from the keyboard version of the Behringer UB-Xa going on sale, Behringer says that it’s planning to “turn the synth world upside down” with the release of a desktop model.
Quite what this means we’re not sure – the only thing turned on its head so far is a photo of the new instrument – but for those who want a more compact and affordable emulation of the Oberheim OB-Xa synth, the release of the UB-Xa D (D standing for Desktop) could be welcome news.
Of course, this being Behringer, putting a date on that release is pretty much impossible – the company is known for teasing products on Facebook well ahead of their actual launches – but, given that the synth engine for this one is already in place, hopefully that it won’t be too long to be releases.
Although the UB-Xa D loses the UB-Xa’s 61-note aftertouch keyboard, we’re assuming that the majority of the synth’s other features, like VCOs and VCFs that are “heavily based” on the originals, 16 voices, 512 program memories, MIDI support and eight vintage modes – will remain. Given that the keyboard version costs $1,199, we’d expect the price to be less than $1,000, but this is still to be confirmed.
