Behringer DeepMind 12 Sound Demo

This video, via SOS, a features some of the first in-depth sound demos for the upcoming Behringer DeepMind 12 polyphonic analog synthesizer.

Here’s what they have to say about the video:

Behringer’s DeepMind 12 analogue polyphonic synthesizer is in prototype and we got hold of one to play with. With a surprisingly low price of $999, the DeepMind 12 from Behringer really is affordable analogue. Will, our News & Video Features Editor, plays a few sounds.

If you want to get your hands on the Behringer DeepMind 12 then get yourself to Synthfest UK on October 1st in Sheffield. Keep your eyes peeled for the SOS review coming soon!

Pricing and Availability

The Behringer DeepMind 12 is priced at about $1,000 and is expected to be available in late 2016.

67 thoughts on “Behringer DeepMind 12 Sound Demo”

  2. Best demo yet! Anyone who still says this thing sounds like a Juno is completely out to lunch. Switchable 12/24 dB filter, mod matrix, second DCO, decent onboard effects, unison detune, mod sequencer – all are put to very good use here.

    1. Probably £999. My reasoning: The Minilogue is about $499 usd and £499gbp

      The stated USD price for this is without taxes, at $999. Which would be about 780 gbp. Then add 20% VAT (£156) and you are looking at £936. Then slap on the “you are stuck on an island and you really want this so watcha gonna do but suck it up?” tax of £63, and there you have it. £999

    2. The x32 desk is available from sweetwater for 2300 and from thomann for 1835. Including VAT. Keeping the same ratio would put $1000 at £800.

      It largely depends on the individual company and their distribution network for how much they enjoy molesting europeans. Korg and Roland are pretty notorious for taking a $==£ attitude, but you can get waldorfs and viruses here for less than the exchange rate sometimes.

  5. I think this one will do very well indeed, looks good, sounds good, affordable by analogue polysynth standards. I might just eat a bowl of rice pudding now.

    1. No one said anything against it before your comment.
      In my opinion it sounds OK, but not great. Especially the lower end didn’t stand out. Perhaps it was a problem of a weak ADC but perhaps there’s something which could be done better in the synth – like summing. With fx everhything sounded great of course. But no one would do a bassline with reverb on it.
      Seems to me it could be great for pads and maybe some leads, but for my next synth I probably wouldn’t buy it. I’d rather pay 3 times as much for Prophet 6, because it sounds nicer to my ears. Different people have different needs! And if this synth tries to be a universal synth, then obviously it is not (too bad!).

      1. Haha please buy your Prophet 😉 More units for us 😛 😛 😛 Its so amazing that you here the bad low freq via youtube 😛 😛 😛 😛 😛

      3. Yeah this demo isn’t convincing me. Too many effects… We know what TC digital effects sound like.

        Its a 12 voice ANALOGUE SYNTH. We need to hear the raw oscillators, filter etc.

        Also the effects, arp and sequencer seem dependent on menu diving.

        I think the name should have been deepdive or deepmenu

        I’m growing more concerned and less interested with each demo.

  7. The oscillators sound a bit weird to me. Kind of dull sounding (not sharp). Maybe it’s just the fx or vcf drowning the tone out a bit though.

        1. What I mean is, the demo sounds veiled, but in real, the synth sounds clearer. It’s not a powerful Oberheim type sound….it’s closer to a Juno 106 – polite, slick and smooth DCOs. I would have preferred VCOs with balls and grit, but I guess DCOs allow them to sell for under $1000. I’d gladly pay $500 more if it was gutsy VCOs. That’s ok, I’m sure Korg will have an 8+ voice VCO soon.

          1. Well this answers my questions and validates the concerns I had. Will wait for my parents to die so I can spend my inheritance on an Oberheim and prophet 6.

            I hope korg DO come out with something like a modern PolySix, something with character. A poly12! With original architecture that would kick butt.

  11. Many similarities in sound to the Juno 106. Very versatile. 4 octaves is a drag tho. Certainly a more “hifi” and polite 106/Alpha Juno Roland sound rather than an “in your face” Oberheim sound. Putting this thru an original Juno chorus would be amazing.

  12. hmm, a good demo, but Im not so impressed. It has character, but its all metallic and hollow, not phat and warm. Maybe its the fault of the reverb. analog or not, its not that pleasing for my ear. The interface also seems to be a mixed bag. The sliders offer a great overview, but then you have to dive in the menus of the display to change some parameters of the sound. My advice would be: If you want a really cheap analog synth, buy a minilogue, if you want something polyphonic and meaty, save your money until you can afford a dsi. this one sits just inbetween chairs. Well behringer will sell a lot of them anyway … but its not my cup of tea

    1. Well, the sliders aren’t going to match anything once you start editing, with so many parameters and voices.

      But I agree, it doesn’t have much presence or voice of it’s own. Guess that can help it sit in mix more easily.

  13. All the demos I’ve seen lead me to believe it will be exactly what I want… a nice poly to complement my sub 37.

    And everyone riffing on the digital effects…… let me see your 24 track reel-to-reel. Don’t act all high and mighty like you’re not digitizing your signal in a daw (and prob using waves vsts) anyway.

    1. Who’s complaining about digital effects. We all use digital effects.

      The demos shouldn’t show every sound drenched in them.

    1. Yes there are analog outs as on any synth, but the question is if you can bypass the a/d+d/a. Not too worried about the d/a, but a/d is a lot more expensive to get good.

  15. The synth sounds good to me only when it is 6-voice unison or 12-voice unision. It is like Korg’s minilogue. They claim they are polyphonic analog synth, but they sound thin when they at full polyphonic, and only sound good when their analog path layer together. And that’s why both synth shipped with some on-board effect, so that the synth can seems better when lots of reverb and delay is added to the sound.

    Given their price tag you can’t complain anything. All I just say Deepmind12 or minilogue sound fits their price tag.

  16. Seems like it will be a programmers heaven with that mod matrix, and an admittedly large feature set.

    I mean: chord mode->variable filter tracking->aftertouch to VCF->lfo to resonance->variable phase on those lfos-> loopable mod envelope to lfo rate. Maybe mix that harmonizer to taste with a Tri lfo..already sweating

    This thing gonna be the tits.

  17. Those tones sound quite nice. It is difficult to understand some complaints about the oscillators. Not fat (thin)? Add some bottom with your EQ to taste. Don’t make all of us have too much low end because you like it that way. Not clear? Open the filter.

    I was pleased to hear the LFOs go way up. Would have liked to hear how snappy the envelopes are, but yet again, that doesn’t seem to be on those demo people’s radar.

  18. Wow, this synth has an impressive range of tones! Looking forward to some more raw sounds in future demos. Although I really like what I hear already! I wonder what Behringer will go with for their next synth? I hope an analog groovebox and a hardware sampler are on the list!

    1. From the videos it can be seen that in some cases the range was over 200 steps, so its probably not CC. Perhaps its NRPN. It will have iPad editor so it must be something.

  21. Not very impressed. Design is way too focused on menu diving despite all the sliders. Nothing elegant about the interface at all – almost gives me workstation vibes… Starts sounding rather good from about 5:03 onward. Somebody said it sounded like a softsynth. Could be the person doing the demo, though, and the recording. Want to hear more.

  23. Prototype or not. This synth has lots of potential no doubt and at a decent price point.

    It needs a few very experienced synth programmers to really let it shine.

    Cheers

  24. Thanks for the demo! I can not wait to test this synth myself…
    One thing I do criticize are the 4 octaves on a polysynth… why? Would have an extra octave made this synth way more expensive?
    I’d rather trade in the built in effects for one more octave (especially if I were to use it live or also as a master keyboard in the studio).

  26. Sounds like a late eighties DCO poly on steroids. Interesting but well behaved sounds. Hope they make something like an 8 voice dual discrete VCO poly next.

  27. I am curious – what is a Midas Filter? Is it an OTA based filter like the JUNO-106, or something else? It sounds a bit fuzzier than a JUNO-106, but that could be the effects.

    1. The company they partnered with is Midas, so I’m guessing the Midas filter is just their design– not something that we should associate with something specific.

  28. Does it have a mono or stereo audio in? Seems a shame to have all those features and not be able to run some externals through it.

    Also, how do the sliders “catch” the preset settings? If I load a preset and reach for the slider, will it catch the value on the first movement? Or will it wait until I pass the set value?

  29. If Behringer sends a DeepMind 12 synth to me for free, I will check it out. They can then use me to endorse the synth, for a nominal fee.*

    * $225,000 and 55% of the company.

  31. What’s with the anemic level of amplitude on this demo??? They could have at least normalized the synth demo. For a magazine named Sound on Sound, why present a video with such sucky sound? Kind of a credibility hit.

  33. I too am disappointed with the sounds in this demo, but I will reserve final judgement until I can play it for myself. As an owner of a collection of vintage and modern poly synths (including DCO based MKS-70, Juno-106, Alpha Juno 2 and Oberheim Matrix-1000), I am let down by what I hear. I hope it can actually sound better that was is on offer here, because on paper, it is a winner…

  35. I like that it has it’s own character and is what it is. It’s clearly above the minimum bar quality-wise, so if you can’t make great music with this instrument… the problem is you. Seriously, it represents a ton more sonic potential than the Minilogue, and people when nuts for that.

    At this price point, I expect it to outsell every other synth (other than the Volca line) by a huge margin. Furthermore, every other synth manufacturer will have a competing product at $999 within a year.

  37. Sure this wasn’t designed by Roland?
    It’s full of odd design choices.
    12-voices, yet 4-octave keyboard.
    Shouldn’t need a display.
    Should have dedicated sliders for each envelope.
    DCO’s?
    $1000 for an incomplete, dull sounding instrument is still money wasted.
    If it’s going to sell by the shit loads, then 2nd hand prices will plummet.
    Good luck trying to sell it once you’re bored with it.
    They have hyped it up way too much.

  39. So with 12 “voices” does that mean that I could configure it to have 3 “parts” with 4 voices each? Like bass, chords, and lead all on unique midi channels? I.e. Multi-timbral?

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