Behringer TD-3 bassline synth takes it “to a whole new level” with a devilish modded version
It is worth noting about Behringer’s recent activity. First it announced a ‘new’ MKII version of its RD-8 drum machine – itself an emulation of Roland TR-808, of course – and now we have the TD-3-MO, a modded-out edition of the company’s TD-3 bassline synth.
This revision has an even more curious backstory; it’s a second-generation version of the TD-3 (a reboot of Roland’s TB-303 bassline synth) that appears to be based on Robin Whittle’s tricked-out Devil Fish 303. So, you might say that it’s a revised clone that’s also inspired by a previous mod project.
You may recall that Behringer provoked Whittle’s ire in 2020 when it posted a mock-up of a ‘Murdered Out’ TD-3 that appeared to bear similarities to the Devil Fish design. Though the name and colour scheme have changed, the TD-3-MO looks pretty much the same.
What this means in practice is all-new circuitry, a sub-oscillator for extra grunt, additional parameter controls, patching capabilities, a MIDI CC-controllable cutoff filter and more.
Features:
- Analog signal path
- Sawtooth and square waveform VCO with transistor wave-shaping circuitry
- 4-pole low-pass resonant filter with cut-off, resonance, envelope, decay and accent controls
- 16-step sequencer with 7 tracks, each with 250 user patterns
- Filter frequency fully controllable via MIDI C/C
- Sub-harmonics oscillator with switchable output level
- Analog slide circuitry with external slide control
- Slide Time control allows for variable slide time (up to 6 times longer)
- Sweep Speed switch features 3 accent speed modes (slow, norm, fast)
- Accent Sweep switch features 3 sweep combinations with high resonance mode
- Filter FM control modulates frequency of the filter from the audio output of the VCA
- Muffler circuitry features post VCA distortion with full bass response
- Dedicated Accent push button to manually activate the accent
- Soft Attack control for wide range of attack times for non-accented notes
- Normal control for wide range of decay time for non-accented notes
- Accent control for wide range of decay time for accented notes
- Filter Tracking control for filter frequency tracking of the current note
- Overdrive control adds insane spice and edge to your sounds
- CV and Gate in/out connectivity
- 16-voice Poly Chain allows combining multiple synthesizers for up to 16-voice polyphony
- 15 controls and 33 switches
- MIDI and USB implementation with MIDI channel and Voice Priority selection
Check out the video above for more details on the new features, or head to the Behringer website.
The TD-3-MO will be available priced at $199, with two options:
Silver Edition – TD-3-MO-SR
Amber Edition – TD-3-MO-AM
It is said to be shipping now.
