Behringer UBXA

[Gerry Havinga]

Well, to reply to a lot of comments about so called vapourware, my Behringer Model D arrived today. Works fine, seems solidly built and most importantly, it sounds fantastic.
Roll on the UBX-a.

Vinny, where did you order your Behringer Model D from? It seems there is still some more waiting time here in the Netherlands .....

[LoboLives]

Let's all be honest here.

As nice as the OB6 is. It's the OBXa that a lot of us REALLY wanted Dave and Tom to do. We wanted 5 octaves, we wanted bi timbrality, we wanted the synth that was used by Van Halen, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, The Terminator soundtrack etc and if Behringer can deliver this to the synth world at a decent price...then I'd say good on them. This is sort of why I never gravitated towards an OB6...it's missing so much of what made the OBXa THE definitive polyphonic Oberheim. Yes the sound is very important but the OBXa was Curtis filter based not SEM based...so the REV2 is actually much closer to it.

[vinnyburns1@mac.com]

Well, to reply to a lot of comments about so called vapourware, my Behringer Model D arrived today. Works fine, seems solidly built and most importantly, it sounds fantastic.
Roll on the UBX-a.

Vinny, where did you order your Behringer Model D from? It seems there is still some more waiting time here in the Netherlands .....

I ordered it from Gear4Musuc last Wednesday I think. Arrived yesterday (Monday) and was strangely shipped from Sweden :-)

[vinnyburns1@mac.com]

Let's all be honest here.

As nice as the OB6 is. It's the OBXa that a lot of us REALLY wanted Dave and Tom to do. We wanted 5 octaves, we wanted bi timbrality, we wanted the synth that was used by Van Halen, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, The Terminator soundtrack etc and if Behringer can deliver this to the synth world at a decent price...then I'd say good on them. This is sort of why I never gravitated towards an OB6...it's missing so much of what made the OBXa THE definitive polyphonic Oberheim. Yes the sound is very important but the OBXa was Curtis filter based not SEM based...so the REV2 is actually much closer to it.

Yes, that’s the whole reason I skipped on the OB6 too. Was so excited when they announced it too, then.....meh.
It promised only a small part of the dream of a new classic Oberheim poly.
The fact that due to the 6 voices and missing octave, you could not play most of the stuff that made the classic Oberheim polys famous, that was quite an oversight. All that compromise just to stuff it into an exsisting enclosure (Pro6).
Really hope Behringer nail this. Someone needs too.   
I am already prepared for there to be a massive fly in the ointment though. There always is.

[LoboLives]

Let's all be honest here.

As nice as the OB6 is. It's the OBXa that a lot of us REALLY wanted Dave and Tom to do. We wanted 5 octaves, we wanted bi timbrality, we wanted the synth that was used by Van Halen, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, The Terminator soundtrack etc and if Behringer can deliver this to the synth world at a decent price...then I'd say good on them. This is sort of why I never gravitated towards an OB6...it's missing so much of what made the OBXa THE definitive polyphonic Oberheim. Yes the sound is very important but the OBXa was Curtis filter based not SEM based...so the REV2 is actually much closer to it.

Yes, that’s the whole reason I skipped on the OB6 too. Was so excited when they announced it too, then.....meh.
It promised only a small part of the dream of a new classic Oberheim poly.
The fact that due to the 6 voices and missing octave, you could not play most of the stuff that made the classic Oberheim polys famous, that was quite an oversight. All that compromise just to stuff it into an exsisting enclosure (Pro6).
Really hope Behringer nail this. Someone needs too.   
I am already prepared for there to be a massive fly in the ointment though. There always is.

Yeah like I already got my Prophet 6 and was exceedingly happy with it. Probably my favorite synth of all time...then the OB6 was announced...my mind raced....8 voices? 10 voices? bi timbral? five octaves? Oh....it's just a Prophet 6 with SEM innards. That's neat I guess...but it would be redundant in my sett up.

Would I get an UBXa? Nah, I have my sets on the Prophet REV2 and I'd want to avoid getting another synth that does the same as the REV2. Now should Behringer do a DX7 type clone (Which honestly...they really should) then that would find itself right next to my analog gear.

[Paul Dither]

Let's all be honest here.

As nice as the OB6 is. It's the OBXa that a lot of us REALLY wanted Dave and Tom to do. We wanted 5 octaves, we wanted bi timbrality, we wanted the synth that was used by Van Halen, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, The Terminator soundtrack etc and if Behringer can deliver this to the synth world at a decent price...then I'd say good on them. This is sort of why I never gravitated towards an OB6...it's missing so much of what made the OBXa THE definitive polyphonic Oberheim. Yes the sound is very important but the OBXa was Curtis filter based not SEM based...so the REV2 is actually much closer to it.

Well, before the OB-6 was announced there was actually very little discussion about an Oberheim poly synth reissue. Some people were still bummed by the shelved Son of Four Voice project and there was always a wish for a return of the Oberheim sound in the shape and form of a poly synth, but no-one expected DSI to take care of that, let alone anyone predicted or foresaw a collaboration between Dave and Tom. So the above-mentioned disappointment works only in retrospect. What might have triggered it, may be the OB-Xa color scheme that Dave and Tom decided upon, while the OB-6 should have probably looked more like an OB-X, which is indeed the only Oberheim synth the OB-6 is related to, not only because it's SEM-based, but also because of features like X-Mod. In a sense, the OB-6 was as much of a direct response to the Prophet-6, as the OB-X was to the Prophet-5. So that part might have caused a misconception for some, although Dave always said, "it's like 1979 again," which clearly refers to the OB-X. But no matter how you look at it, the poly synth that Dave and Tom worked upon would have always been an SEM-based machine, since that's the engine Tom considers to be sonically superior to all the other Oberheim synths.

[LoboLives]

Let's all be honest here.

As nice as the OB6 is. It's the OBXa that a lot of us REALLY wanted Dave and Tom to do. We wanted 5 octaves, we wanted bi timbrality, we wanted the synth that was used by Van Halen, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, The Terminator soundtrack etc and if Behringer can deliver this to the synth world at a decent price...then I'd say good on them. This is sort of why I never gravitated towards an OB6...it's missing so much of what made the OBXa THE definitive polyphonic Oberheim. Yes the sound is very important but the OBXa was Curtis filter based not SEM based...so the REV2 is actually much closer to it.

Well, before the OB-6 was announced there was actually very little discussion about an Oberheim poly synth reissue. Some people were still bummed by the shelved Son of Four Voice project and there was always a wish for a return of the Oberheim sound in the shape and form of a poly synth, but no-one expected DSI to take care of that, let alone anyone predicted or foresaw a collaboration between Dave and Tom. So the above-mentioned disappointment works only in retrospect. What might have triggered it, may be the OB-Xa color scheme that Dave and Tom decided upon, while the OB-6 should have probably looked more like an OB-X, which is indeed the only Oberheim synth the OB-6 is related to, not only because it's SEM-based, but also because of features like X-Mod. In a sense, the OB-6 was as much of a direct response to the Prophet-6, as the OB-X was to the Prophet-5. So that part might have caused a misconception for some, although Dave always said, "it's like 1979 again," which clearly refers to the OB-X. But no matter how you look at it, the poly synth that Dave and Tom worked upon would have always been an SEM-based machine, since that's the engine Tom considers to be sonically superior to all the other Oberheim synths.

I guess that's true and the OBX was only monotimbral if I remember correctly? I think it only got bi timbral with the OBXa.

Regardless the OB-6 is nice and it sounds great...which really should be the main selling point I just wish it wasn't so redundant to the Prophet 6 but then I guess the OBX was redundant to the Prophet-5 in a sense as well.  Would have been so amazing if they included the original Oberheim bender so you could bend each VCO individually.

[vinnyburns1@mac.com]

Would I get an UBXa? Nah, I have my sets on the Prophet REV2 and I'd want to avoid getting another synth that does the same as the REV2. Now should Behringer do a DX7 type clone (Which honestly...they really should) then that would find itself right next to my analog gear.

Well, I have a Pro 08 and an OB8. While there are a few little areas where they can sound similar, there are just so many sounds on the Oberheim that my Pro08 cannot get near to at all. I know they both use Curtis chips but both synths do have a different sound that each are good at and the Pro 08 has much more sound shaping options. Saying that, the Oberheim just sounds great and I find it so much quicker to get a sound on.
So, if Behringer nail this one, I will be having one and keeping the Pro 08 too (also have a DX5 and a TX816 for all those FM sounds).

[Paul Dither]

I guess that's true and the OBX was only monotimbral if I remember correctly? I think it only got bi timbral with the OBXa.

Regardless the OB-6 is nice and it sounds great...which really should be the main selling point I just wish it wasn't so redundant to the Prophet 6 but then I guess the OBX was redundant to the Prophet-5 in a sense as well.  Would have been so amazing if they included the original Oberheim bender so you could bend each VCO individually.

That's true, the OB-X was monotimbral, but it also added features on top of what the Prophet-5 was capable of. Amongst those were more voices, a stereo output, and voice panning.

What if the OB-6 looked like this?

[LoboLives]

I guess that's true and the OBX was only monotimbral if I remember correctly? I think it only got bi timbral with the OBXa.

Regardless the OB-6 is nice and it sounds great...which really should be the main selling point I just wish it wasn't so redundant to the Prophet 6 but then I guess the OBX was redundant to the Prophet-5 in a sense as well.  Would have been so amazing if they included the original Oberheim bender so you could bend each VCO individually.

That's true, the OB-X was monotimbral, but it also added features on top of what the Prophet-5 was capable of. Amongst those were more voices, a stereo output, and voice panning.

What if the OB-6 looked like this?

Put those Oberheim benders on there and I’d get it in a heartbeat.

[Gerry Havinga]

Well, to reply to a lot of comments about so called vapourware, my Behringer Model D arrived today. Works fine, seems solidly built and most importantly, it sounds fantastic.
Roll on the UBX-a.

Vinny, where did you order your Behringer Model D from? It seems there is still some more waiting time here in the Netherlands .....

I ordered it from Gear4Musuc last Wednesday I think. Arrived yesterday (Monday) and was strangely shipped from Sweden :-)

Thanks Vinny, not available yet until beginning of March in Dutch webshops. We seem to be very low down in the pecking order .... Next week I'll be in Munich, I stop by a music store I know over there and have a fiddle if they have it in stock. It goes for about 340 Euros, bit higher than the 299 I saw advertised a while ago.

[Sacred Synthesis]

Behringer Model D:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BehringerD--behringer-model-d-analog-synthesizer

[megamarkd]

I've been watching and occasionally commenting on all this Behringer clone discussion across the web and it wasn't until this thread someone mentioning that the UBXA won't become a 'classic' the way the original did that I remembered the Realistic Concertmate MG1.  Those still show up on the 2nd market every so often and still command a rather high price for a Realistic synth.  Admittedly it's not a clone of any Moog in particular, but it's interesting to see Peter Gabriel on the list of users considering he was also a Fairlight owner.  I've heard one in real life and they kicked arse for what they were.

Realistic did heaps of 'clones' of Casiotones in the 80's, albeit with the blessings of Casio.  In that way there is a little bit of a difference there to what Behringer is doing now, but those Casiotones they reproduced were pretty much beginners keyboards and are hardly 80's classics now (if indeed they are still running).  That said, I really do miss my old Realistic sampling keyboard and still curse that person who poured water over it to stop her kids annoy her with it (you could have just taken the batteries out!).

Another consideration is, if they are all circuitry and the are going to be (relatively) cheap, there will most definitely be mods being propose for it from day one.  Interesting times.

[DavidDever]

I've been watching and occasionally commenting on all this Behringer clone discussion across the web and it wasn't until this thread someone mentioning that the UBXA won't become a 'classic' the way the original did that I remembered the Realistic Concertmate MG1.  Those still show up on the 2nd market every so often and still command a rather high price for a Realistic synth.  Admittedly it's not a clone of any Moog in particular, but it's interesting to see Peter Gabriel on the list of users considering he was also a Fairlight owner.  I've heard one in real life and they kicked arse for what they were.

Realistic did heaps of 'clones' of Casiotones in the 80's, albeit with the blessings of Casio.  In that way there is a little bit of a difference there to what Behringer is doing now, but those Casiotones they reproduced were pretty much beginners keyboards and are hardly 80's classics now (if indeed they are still running).  That said, I really do miss my old Realistic sampling keyboard and still curse that person who poured water over it to stop her kids annoy her with it (you could have just taken the batteries out!).

Another consideration is, if they are all circuitry and the are going to be (relatively) cheap, there will most definitely be mods being propose for it from day one.  Interesting times.

The Concertmate MG-1 was manufactured by Moog, and was an actual Bob Moog design sketch:



so certainly not a clone.

[LoboLives]

It begins....

[LoboLives]

Honestly....if they can pull off the sound....they nailed everything else and even put 5 octaves on the thing to ensure that JUMP is the first patch you play.

[vinnyburns1@mac.com]

Honestly....if they can pull off the sound....they nailed everything else and even put 5 octaves on the thing to ensure that JUMP is the first patch you play.

Well, I will definitely be having one of these now. So great they listened to everyone about the 5 octave keyboard. Brilliant.

[LoboLives]

Honestly....if they can pull off the sound....they nailed everything else and even put 5 octaves on the thing to ensure that JUMP is the first patch you play.

Well, I will definitely be having one of these now. So great they listened to everyone about the 5 octave keyboard. Brilliant.

Well it's bi-timbral. I think Four octaves is fine for monotimbrality but once you start getting into splits and layers you need 5.

[LoboLives]

The fact they got the Oberheim benders is also a huge selling point for me

[LoboLives]

I think if they were smart they would go for Jupiter 8 and DX7 clones next. I would think there's more of a demand for those than the OBXa to be honest.