Behringer FB wrote:Synth like no other that stands on the shoulders of giants! From Rush's Geddy Lee, The Police, Prince to Van Halen's Jump, the UB-Xa's lineage is filled only with the greats and now you can make your own mark on history as well
List Price: $1,499 (stay tuned for a little surprise)
DGL. wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:32 pm
An update on the VCS3 clone,
the final stumbling block, the pin matrix, has passed the 100,000 lifecycle test and as such units are now going out to beta testers for final testing and comparison with the original.
Behringer FB wrote:We’d like to give you some exciting update about our VCS3.
In our previous update we shared our mechanical challenges with the pin matrix, which have now been resolved. We’re very pleased to report that it has passed a stringent 100,000 lifecycle test.
We’re now shipping units to our beta testers for final testing and comparison with the original synthesizer. Once passed, we will start manufacturing.
We know this synth has taken much longer than we thought, but we’re sure the wait is worth it.
Thanks for all your patience and support:-)
I don’t want updates, I want action, boxes in shops please.
Arpangel wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 7:52 am
I don’t want updates, I want action, boxes in shops please.
I hear what your saying dude and as your potential personal robot shopper - I know you like Moogs and can therefore offer you this purchasing opportunity...
N i g e l wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2023 8:56 pm
I hear what your saying dude and as your potential personal robot shopper - I know you like Moogs and can therefore offer you this purchasing opportunity...
Arpangel wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 7:52 am
I don’t want updates, I want action, boxes in shops please.
I hear what your saying dude and as your potential personal robot shopper - I know you like Moogs and can therefore offer you this purchasing opportunity...
Seems like a win-win in a lot of ways, we get a cheaper synthesizer and hopefully the charity gets a load of dosh.
Probably also helps with the claim by some people that Behringer is "evil", evil people generally don't like giving to charity.
Andertons and G4M have it up for £899, Thomann just over £1,100 (maybe they are airfreighting some in, hence the extra cost), even at the higher Thomann price the value you are getting is incredible, whoever thought you'd get a 16 voice VCO polysynth with polyphonic aftertouch for just over £1000, let alone just under £900!
DGL. wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 7:24 pmProbably also helps with the claim by some people that Behringer is "evil", evil people generally don't like giving to charity.
It's not such a wrench giving stuff away if you stole it in the first place.
DGL. wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 7:24 pm...whoever thought you'd get a 16 voice VCO polysynth with polyphonic aftertouch for just over £1000, let alone just under £900!
It is impressive pricing — although I gather they are actually selling at a technical loss at that price!
The 16 voice, poly-AT Hydrasynth Deluxe is around £1,400 for comparison and is a more versatile synth in many ways.
I guess much depends on how good the Behringer poly-AT keyboard is to play. The ASM one is really nice and consistently controllable. I've not played the Behringer alternative.
Technical Editor, Sound On Sound...
(But generally posting my own personal views and not necessarily those of SOS, the company or the magazine!)
In my world, things get less strange when I read the manual...
Hugh Robjohns wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 12:09 pm
I guess much depends on how good the Behringer poly-AT keyboard is to play. The ASM one is really nice and consistently controllable. I've not played the Behringer alternative.
Anyone with first hand experience?
It's on pre-order only at Andertons, stock expected 20th Jan 2024, so I doubt anyone has yet.
Hugh Robjohns wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 12:09 pm
The 16 voice, poly-AT Hydrasynth Deluxe is around £1,400 for comparison and is a more versatile synth in many ways.
That's very true, and I'm likely never to buy an analog synth again for that reason, but I've always wanted an Oberheim and it sure looks and sounds great! If I didn't already have a NI S61 controller I could probably talk myself into buying one as a master keyboard (I use the Hydra desktop with LinnStrument and still like a keyboard on occasion).
Having experienced how badly aftertouch can be implemented with the Behringer Poly D, both physically and musically (uneven response between keys, no control of vibrato and a broken USB MIDI feedback system), I am wary of how this new keyboard will feel.
This is one synth that I might have preferred in module form, so I could play it from my other poly AT options.
The Elf wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:04 pm
This is one synth that I might have preferred in module form, so I could play it from my other poly AT options.
A module has been shown in a completed prototype form so you might just have your wish.
The Elf wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:04 pm
This is one synth that I might have preferred in module form, so I could play it from my other poly AT options.
A module has been shown in a completed prototype form so you might just have your wish.
Yep, I've seen mock-ups, but I'm not holding my breath...
Not that it bothers me as I wont be buying one, but even I can tell the difference between these two, Behringer doesn’t seem to have made such a good job, compared to their other recreations, it's too big a difference, to even be signed off as finished.
Not that it bothers me as I wont be buying one, but even I can tell the difference between these two, Behringer doesn’t seem to have made such a good job, compared to their other recreations, it's too big a difference, to even be signed off as finished.
Note that (as far as I can tell) this isn't Behringer's presets being played on the UB-Xa, It's the chap's attempt to create OB-Xa preset sounds on the UB-Xa. Some are very close, some aren't so good. But most of the differences can probably be put down to how the Synthlegends chap programmed it. Tweak the UB-Xa a bit and I'm sure you can get nearer.
Plus that was a Beta version of the software and the description says further adjustments were made to get the sounds closer.
So maybe not the best video to show that compares the two. You really want a final release version.
Not that it bothers me as I wont be buying one, but even I can tell the difference between these two, Behringer doesn’t seem to have made such a good job, compared to their other recreations, it's too big a difference, to even be signed off as finished.
Note that (as far as I can tell) this isn't Behringer's presets being played on the UB-Xa, It's the chap's attempt to create OB-Xa preset sounds on the UB-Xa. Some are very close, some aren't so good. But most of the differences can probably be put down to how the Synthlegends chap programmed it. Tweak the UB-Xa a bit and I'm sure you can get nearer.
Plus that was a Beta version of the software and the description says further adjustments were made to get the sounds closer.
So maybe not the best video to show that compares the two. You really want a final release version.
There were a couple of sounds that I thought, hhmmm? that sounds interesting, one was a sort of smooth sine piano type sound, and the other a warbly pad sound, even though I'm not an OBE fan myself, they did sound good.
Don't confuse the factory presets with the synth's full capability. At least it hasn't got any built-in effects to go OTT with on the presets, but the presets probably aren't the best demonstrations of its abilities and range of sounds.
Also I wonder if it was in the right mode, basically there are different settings dependant on how you want it to sound which varies the "slop" of a whole host of parameters. Quite powerful I understand and seems to make a whole world of difference in the video I saw demonstrating it.
Naturally using modern components you are going to get something that is not as "unpredictable" as an original, even more so than a vintage unit that has had time to "age". Note this is not a through hole vs. SMD issue as there isn't one, look at datasheets for chips available in multiple packages and note that there is only one set of specifications that covers both the through hole and SMD variants.
A lot of air in there, modern SMD boards are certainly smaller! The staked main PCB looks to be only just over an octave and a half wide and a key length long.
Also going by a report fro one user the fan an be on, off or temperature dependant and it's not noticeable when on.
