It looks like the launch of Behringer’s Wing digital mixer might come with a sting in the tail. If the rumours are true - and there’s certainly plenty of buzz around them - it’s working on a clone of the classic EDP Wasp synth.
Just a day after the Wing’s announcement, Behringer took to Facebook again to borrow (clone?) the late Steve Jobs’ famous “Oh, and one more thing…” phrase, featuring it on image that also contains a small picture of - unless we’re very much mistaken - a wasp.
There’s another clue, too: the caption accompanying the image features the words “Uli BEEringer”, another none-too-subtle allusion to a hymenopterous insect.
The original Wasp was a British synth that was launched in 1978, and featured a striking black and yellow colour scheme. It was a dual-oscillator instrument with dual envelopes and a switchable filter.
EDP was co-founded by synth designer Chris Huggett, who has since gone on to work for Novation, taking inspiration from the Wasp for that company’s Bass Station II synth. However, a direct hardware emulation of the Wasp has never been forthcoming.
That looks set to change, though, with the word being that Behringer’s clone will be of the Wasp Deluxe, a later version of the synth that featured a proper keyboard (the original’s used flat conductive copper plates).
If its existence is confirmed, it’ll be the latest in a long line of synth and drum machines revivals from Behringer, the most recent being the TD-3, a reboot of Roland’s TB-303 bass synth.
