BEHRINGER 'Neutron' - Analog Semi-Modular Synthesizer

Sounding much better here, sounds like it could actually be worth the $300. Skip to a minute in to get past the blabber.

A semi-modular for sub $300.....dang. Is pretty vanilla, but what a way to dip your toe for the first time. Looks grim tho.

I guess it is up for direct comparison with the Moog Mother which comes in at over twice the price.

IIRC the Mother 32 only has one oscillator (I've never messed with one but I play with a guy who has one, he just doesn't use it in our project) which is a big plus for this.  I can't think of any recent modular or semimodular, standalone analog synths anywhere near this price range that have two oscillators, even in kit form that's a tough one.  The Mutable Instruments Anushri is still available as a third party kit and it technically has a second oscillatory but it's a janky digital one meant to be used for sync an as an FM modulation source, and you hardly have any control over it directly.  Two oscillators is a big plus.

Fully expect to see a new Korg Volca/Monologuesque semi modular within the next couple of years. Would think Elektron would look to get into the game as well. 

  On 2/14/2018 at 4:43 PM, RSP said:

IIRC the Mother 32 only has one oscillator (I've never messed with one but I play with a guy who has one, he just doesn't use it in our project) which is a big plus for this.  I can't think of any recent modular or semimodular, standalone analog synths anywhere near this price range that have two oscillators, even in kit form that's a tough one.  The Mutable Instruments Anushri is still available as a third party kit and it technically has a second oscillatory but it's a janky digital one meant to be used for sync an as an FM modulation source, and you hardly have any control over it directly.  Two oscillators is a big plus.

True, the Mother has only one oscillator......a Moog oscillator. Nuff said (not that I'm a Moog fanboy, but there's pedigree in them there circuits).

Still, at half the price, Behringer seem to be on to  something

I wouldn't be surprised if the Behringer had a Moog oscillator too, TBH.  They're public domain.

I've used some new and old Moogs over the years and for me the most impressive thing about their oscillators is the sync sound, which is why I never ended up with a Mother32.  They do sound nice, though.  My neighbor has a Mother32 that was the starting point for his Eurorack system (that has grown to a three row rack plus a half full two row rack and a skiff) and it sounds really good but it's also one of the more plain sounding things in his system and he's planning on pulling it out and keeping it around for when he needs something more portable for shows.  It's definitely a classy sounding synth and the price is pretty reasonable (although you're definitely paying for the name, these things aren't very expensive to make anymore - it's all machine-placed SMT components and board mounted potentiometers, nothing fancy although the pots are pretty decent) - but whatever "magic" it has is in the design, no reason Behringer couldn't make something just as good.

  On 2/22/2018 at 4:57 PM, RSP said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the Behringer had a Moog oscillator too, TBH.  They're public domain.

 

 

 

They're clones of the CEM3340, patent has expired.  One of the reasons why I'm potentially interested in the Neutron, although Doug Curtis' widow isn't particularly happy with Behringer.  There's quite a few single and dual oscillator modules using the CEM3340 that have either come to market in the past year or are about to, but for a dual oscillator you're not going to pay much less than the $300 for the Neutron.

MemoryMoog, OB8, Sh101, Prophet 5rev3, 600, Pro One, SH101, Voyetra 8 all used the 3340.  I have an SSM 2040 filter clone (Synthtech E440) which I use more than any other module and I suspect the Neutron will pair nicely with this. 

Oh right, I actually read that earlier in the thread. I hope the generation of CEM chips from the Matrix series gets cloned eventually, if you combined those with modern digital modulation sources they'd be amazing. How many distinct filter types did the Matrix 12 squeeze out of a single chip? It was over 20 for sure, all kinds of weird combs and formats and stuff.

I quite like the sound of the voice chips in the Matrix series in general, and DCO synth are finally starting to get the respect they deserve for having their own particular character (phase coherency between all notes regardless of timing!) and the CEM in the Matrix series is notable because it's a fully modular architecture that was mainly limited by the limited processor speed of the day, since the modulation sources and routing were handled externally in firmware. So much untapped potential left there.

Kinda bored with the idea of more CEM's. I have synths with them already. i'd like someone to develop their own sound rather than pandering to nerds. I love vintage synths more than anything (bar family ha) but I wish someone would move things along a bit more.

I mean, the real reason I hope they reissue the Matrix-series CEM chips is so I can stock up on some affordable backups.  I've got a few but I'm sure most of them are counterfeit because counterfeits are the rule rather than the exception at this point.

  On 2/24/2018 at 10:22 AM, Chesney said:

Kinda bored with the idea of more CEM's. I have synths with them already. i'd like someone to develop their own sound rather than pandering to nerds. I love vintage synths more than anything (bar family ha) but I wish someone would move things along a bit more.

Agreed, Dave Smith nailed it with the Prophet 6 and Obi 6, time to move on.

  On 2/26/2018 at 12:54 AM, Xyloglotte said:

 

  On 2/24/2018 at 10:22 AM, Chesney said:

Kinda bored with the idea of more CEM's. I have synths with them already. i'd like someone to develop their own sound rather than pandering to nerds. I love vintage synths more than anything (bar family ha) but I wish someone would move things along a bit more.

Agreed, Dave Smith nailed it with the Prophet 6 and Obi 6, time to move on.

 

Totally different chips and sound from the Matrix series, but I do agree the synth-on-a-chip thing can get pretty samey no matter what chips we're talking about.

I'd just love access to all of the advanced filters and modulation architecture of the Matrix 12 that was stripped out of the 6/1000 so they could use a cheaper CPU (the 6/1000 only have 10 modulation slots available in a patch, which is not much compared to the 12, and all of the filters are gone).

My concern with the new generation of affordable analog synths is that service is going to be difficult to impossible as they age, so they're kind of disposable in the long run.

The Deepmind 12 is a great example - they made a big point i the marketing about it not using any proprietary ICs but it has a 4 layer multilayed PCB full of tiny, inaccessible SMT components so from a service and repair standpoint the entire synth might as well be one huge, proprietary IC.  If components start failing in a decade it's going to take a lot more than soaking voice boards in solvent to save them.

very true, I have been looking into the deckards dream FB group just to gauge what work is involved in making one. It's not too bad but some SMT work and I don't think I could be arsed with it. I was never going to buy one in reality, just intrigued. I'd say that is a simple setup but it's a kit so it's meant to be, more compact and jam packed factory built synths are going to be far more fiddly for people.

Yeah, I've got all the boards for a CrOwBX four voice but I've been putting it off because it has about 4 surface mount capacitors or diodes or something (I forget which part it is that they used surface mount for, it's one value of one component type, the rest of it is through hole) and I hardly ever do surface mount to I'd rather get some more practice in first. But nothing else I want to make in the next year uses any surface mount.

I assume the Paraphonic mode is just 2 notes at once - is that right?

  On 11/23/2018 at 2:07 PM, Stickfigger said:

 

  On 2/14/2018 at 4:45 PM, Alan Ord said:

Fully expect to see a new Korg Volca/Monologuesque semi modular within the next couple of years. Would think Elektron would look to get into the game as well.

Would rather Elektron went down a Nord modular path

An Elektron machine dependent upon software integration might be one the worst ideas I've heard in a while, m9. 

If they could make the hardware alone deeper to get into fully 'modular' style territory, then that's different of course, that could be crazy. :)

  On 11/23/2018 at 1:51 PM, TheBro said:

I assume the Paraphonic mode is just 2 notes at once - is that right?

h t t p s : / / w w w . g o o g l e . c o m

Anyone got one? I'm personally digging the look of Neutron. I think the demos have been kinda poor and I'm hearing mixed reviews but they just brought out a VST editor for it which I'm guessing means you can recall patches and send midi cc to a DAW. I'm a right in my assumptions?

I think because it has a physical patch bay, it's not 100% possible to recall a patch through midi (and somehow I doubt that the knobs are digital too, though might be wrong there). I think if you're looking for 100% control from a DAW, you should try the Waldorf Blofeld.

The editor is only for the "hidden" functions (disable osc tuning knobs, midi channel, several lfo settings, etc.)

No patch storage or anything, pretty sure thawkins is right in saying there's no digital control of the pots.

I really like mine, don't really have much to say about it except that it seems quite easy to make solid sounds with it that seem to have a sort of thick, goopy rubber quality to them. I'm pretty new to patching, can't offer much technical insight here.

Haven't checked out much demos so not able to comment on how well they represent the sound of the neutron, Nick Batt's review is solid as always.

Tried it out at the music store. It was alright. Definitely not bad but didn't blow me away either. Nothing that made it stand out except the size, which is pretty good for a desktop unit.

I've bagged one of these in a ebay sale, got it for £220 including carriage.  Its ex-demo and never left a shop so I am happy with that.

I am going to plasma cut a new faceplate in steel and acid etch it so it goes rusty, then lacquer it.  Also, replace the knobs.

I wanted a project and I can make this look sexy as fuck pretty easily.

I want it to look like these beauts that a guy called Crochambeau makes:-

mine's noisy and it's getting a bit annoying.

A couple of reviews said that its wired quite "hot" and you have to be careful with the overdrive...

Sounds ideal for my needs though