Which 3 Behringer Synth Modules Would You Buy?

[kritikon]

A Behringer Synclavier might fit the bill?

[kritikon]

3 vcs3s.

Not sure if that's a VCS-squared or a VCS-cubed? The bastard's certainly making us wait for that one. We always have to wait for releases down-under long after the rest of the world has them, but I'd even consider a trip back home specifically to buy one of those when they come out. I checked out Andertons, as they say they deliver around the world...they fkn don't though. At least everywhere EXCEPT NZ.

I don't even know what I'd use a VCS3 for. I suspect all I'd end up doing is that Pink Floyd riff. . But I'd have fun doing it.

[egbert101]

Ian Dixon's Pink Floyd stuff on the Korg Modwave is pretty impressive, I don't even think a VCS3 is necessary.

https://youtu.be/4PE9g4wxbpA

[kritikon]

That surprises me TBH. I tend to expect more harsh digital sounds from any wavetable device. Nice programming. However...wash your mouth out. Of course a VCS3 is necessary. Fuctifino what for, but it just is. I could possibly be quite baffled by a Modwave, but nowhere near as clueless as on a proper VCS3.

[GaryG]

Is there any love for the Kobol out there? Seems pretty flexible with all the patch points and quite a bit cheaper than the others but...? Seems not mentioned much.

[kritikon]

There's a Starsky Carr demo link on one of the Kobol expander threads here that shows it's capable of some interesting stuff once you start patching and going for the FM type sounds (cross mod etc). Still sounded a bit too metallic to my ears though, just not my cuppa tea. Kobol doesn't seem to have any special character straight out of the box, and its capabilities lie in the deep dive stuff...not the sort of thing to appeal to the masses, I suppose. I wouldn't throw a Kobol out, but to me it's a pleasant-to-have bonus rather than a must-have synth. But there a so many other must-haves out there that Kobol is way down on the list. For me at least.

[Scotty]

Cheap is the innovation. I think some of us don’t appreciate the engineering involved in recreating these synths and then being able to push them out the door for very low relative price is remarkable.

.. much more interesting and innovative for me than anything from B.

well that's obvious, without even knowing the synth you're talking about
no one expects innovation from behringer, they expect cheap!

[ghettosynth]

Definitely get the CAT and Neutron

I agree. The Neutron has a great filter with some really unique features like simulations outputs from the current mode and the next mode, that change when you change the mode. I finally broke down and purchased a cat, because, well, I love the cat. I have an original with the 2040 and I didn't like all of what I was hearing in the filter of the B.cat. (bat?). However, after listening to a recently posted video, I decided that it was worth the asking price.

I don't know if I want the Kobol. At this point I already have more gear than I need. I am done paying 3k for synths for the most part. My next synth will be the Korg wavestate in a module. For the moment I will put it in Studio B along with my XYL's Yamaha e-piano that I have commandeered as my current wide keyboard. I don't know if I want another wide keyboard. I think that I'll get an osmose for studio A.

[ghettosynth]

.. much more interesting and innovative for me than anything from B.

well that's obvious, without even knowing the synth you're talking about
no one expects innovation from behringer, they expect cheap!

Speak for yourself. I expect innovation from Behringer and they deliver enough at the price point that I'm satisfied with it. The Norand is cool, but expensive and has a lot of features that I simply don't care about. I like the filter in the Norand, but I don't need yet another standalone tabletop unit. In addition to price, I like the innovation of the anti-innovation of a reasonbly uniform 3U form factor. For the first time I have integrated the old and the new into a compact rack based studio setup.

I agree with pdxindy that the controls are too small and close together on the Neutron. They are not on the Kobol, the Cat, the Pro-800, or the K2. They are also not too close on the Crave or the Edge. My take is that Behringer is finding a great balance of what works. In fact, one of the things that I love about the Behringer modules is that they aren't trying to cram too much in as few HP as possible. So, was cramming too much shit into a tiny panel so that you can DJ-pinky your performance on a modular that fits in your shirt pocket innovative? Ok, well you can have that then.

That said, they aren't that close together and they're much better than the Roland boutiques which I think is an apt comparison for the time of release. Bigger criticisms include the pain of bypassing the delay, too short envelopes and LFOs, among other small irritations.

Is the Neutron perfect? No. Is it a great start for a small modular? Yes. I have two that I snapped up at about $200 each when they were on some kind of fire sale a few years ago and I can fiddle for hours with the pair of them without getting annoyed that patch cables are getting in my way.

Other "innovations" that I hate on so much modern gear includes 3.5mm midi cables. It's one thing to put small unreliable connectors on analog signals where a glitch may not be noticeable, it's another thing altogether to put a serial protocol on them.

[revvy]

nm

[alienmachine]

Solina, Kobol Expander (both bought already), and, if someday it comes, VCS3. That would be for me. Everything else is in the box

[kritikon]

Behringers are in boxes too...lots of different boxes.

[discogsaddict]

Size difference is annoying for rack mounting. Moog Cat and Wasp all should have been the same size as The Neutron K2 Pro 1 and so on

Anyway OPs question.
PRO 800, Kobol and Neutron makes sense for 3 with different qualities and sound. All same size.
Could go 800, PRO 1 and K2

You'll probably end up with all of them eventually haha