It looks like Behringer may release a $400 clone of the Minimoog

It’s fair to say that Moog’s reissue of the classic Minimoog Model D synth has been pretty well received, but for most of us, there’s just one problem. This is an instrument that costs well over three grand, which means that it’s also an instrument that the majority of musicians will never be able to afford.

Now it appears that Behringer could be stepping into the breach with its own Minimoog clone: the so-called Behringer D. This is a desktop module that’s also Eurorack compatible.

This is still a concept at the moment - company founder Uli Behringer says that he’s revealing his plans now to gauge feedback so that he can decide whether to move forward to the prototype stage. If he does bring it to market, Behringer says that his target price is around $400.

That’s certainly cheap in comparison to Moog’s Minimoog, but there are plenty of other affordable hardware synths out there that the Behringer D would be competing with. However, the prospect of owning a synth that has the look and feel of Bob Moog’s classic might be too much for many to resist - assuming the sound is right, obviously.

The specs, released on the Gearslutz forum, are below. There’s no word on a potential release date at this stage.
 

 Behringer D proposed specs

  • Analogue synthesizer with triple VCO design
  • Reproduction of original “D Type” with matched transistors and JFETs
  • 0.1% Thin Film resistors and Polyphenyline Sulphide capacitors for frequency stability
  • Analogue signal path based on authentic VCO, VCF and VCA designs
  • 5 variable oscillator shapes with pulse width variation
  • Classic 24dB ladder filter with resonance
  • Fully analogue triangle/square wave LFO
  • Switchable low/high pass filter mode
  • 16-voice MIDI Poly Chain allows combining multiple synthesizers for up to 16-voice polyphony
  • Overdrive circuit
  • Noise generator
  • Complete Eurorack solution – main module can be transferred to a standard Eurorack case
  • 46 controls for real-time access of all important parameters
  • External audio input for processing external sound sources
  • Low and high level outputs
  • Comprehensive MIDI implementation with MIDI channel and Voice Priority selection
  • 3-Year Warranty Program
Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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