It might be just a PCB at the moment, but Behringer has dropped a strong hint that it’s working on a clone of Roland’s CR-78 drum machine - as used by Phil Collins on his 1981 mega-hit In The Air Tonight.
A Facebook post reveals just a couple of barebones images, with Behringer encouraging its followers to “guess the product”. The clue - “in the air tonight” - pretty much gives the game away as far as we’re concerned, which is probably the whole point.
Released in 1978, the CR-78 used analogue synthesis to generate its 14 delicate sounds, and was used by a number of drummers - including Phil Collins - alongside their real kits. It came with a number of preset rhythms; programming of your own was possible, but required additional, inconvenient hardware. We’re assuming Behringer’s version won’t follow this blueprint.
The CR-78 has never enjoyed the high-profile and popularity of some of Roland’s other drum machines, but it’s certainly got its fans. As usual with Behringer, we have no idea when this clone - if that’s what it is - will be released or how much it’ll cost, but we’re assuming we’ll find out more in due course.
