Behringer Wants To Make Budget ARP 2600, OSCar Clones

Behringer’s plans for synth world domination keep growing.

The company recently announced plans for a complete line os synths, starting at $49 and a $400 Minimoog clone.

Now founder Uli Behringer says that he’s interested in cloning the classic ARP 2600 and Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar synthesizers.

On a forum post at Gearslutz, he says:

Aside from the Oscar synth, I can confirm that the 2600 is high on our priority list as it is a truly remarkable synth; I always wanted one for myself:-)

We are currently trying to acquire an original unit for benchmark purposes.

We hope we will be able to show you a first design draft within the next few weeks, while we’re studying the circuit diagrams to provide you with an estimated retail price.

Once ready we will reach out to you to see if there is enough interest.

The ARP 2600 has been available in clone form for several years via the TTSH project. But the TTSH (Two Thousand Six Hundred) is an ambitious DIY project.

Behringer has signaled that he’s interested primarily interested in the budget mainstream audience and plans to use automation to drive production costs as low as possible. Behringer does not have any estimate on pricing on either of the synths at this point, but is instead at the early planning stages.

via Andreas

116 thoughts on “Behringer Wants To Make Budget ARP 2600, OSCar Clones”

  4. The 2600 and the OSCar are both excellent choices for resurrection. They are highly sought after and change hands for stupid money! So I would say yes to both. As long as Uli is at it… VCS3/Synthi?

    1. Seriously, I’m sick of him using Gearslutz to do product research while slagging Moog, etc as “overpriced”.

      The posters in his threads there act so rude and entitled and he seems to like it, it reflects poorly on his company (along with the BLATANT design ripoffs.)

      If you want to grow the brand, act like adults and curate a customer base that isn’t I WANT CHEAP GIVE ME CHEAP. You can still make things cheap without the garage sale crowd/fanboy rabble.

      1. Get over yourself. How else is he supposed to quickly and effectively contact so many synth enthusiasts at once. It’s arguably one of the largest music tech forums there is. Stop putting words in other people’s mouths. The word “overpriced” was never used. The word “affordable” was used alright but you weren’t going to say that because that wouldn’t make Behringer look shit. Right? True there are rude people on GS but how that reflects poorly on Behringer doesn’t even make sense. The entire eurorack modular industry is based off “blatant ripoff” designs. I suppose you think all those are shit too ?

      2. DM12 costs 1200. That is not cheap, it’s a decent amount. It’s cheap compared to other synths capable of similar things, but it isn’t cheap!
        (I love my cheapest synths the most)

        1. the DM12 seems to be the outlier when compared to their future plans. Also, the price is $999, which is dirt cheap for a 12 voice analog poly.

          1. Don’t forget to say “Thank you Mr Behringer” and “Thank you, Arturia”, without you Mr Dave Smith will continue to sell his synths twice the price they cost. But ONLY because of serious price dropping started exactly by Behringer, REV2 costs 30% less than Prophet `08 10 years ago. Don’t also forget the $$$ potential now and then.

            1. Both Behringer and Arturia instruments are made in China. You’re forgetting that Dave Smith (and Moog) pay their employees 10X what Chinese workers make. They also use American companies to make cases and mechanical parts.

              Uli Behringer stated that they had spent $2 million on a “large team over 2 years” to develop the Deepmind 12. That most likely meant a handful of British engineers doing circuit design and coding (let’s say 5 people at $100K each… $1 million over 2 years) plus a small army of Chinese workers doing the mechanical design, EMI testing and DFM work.

              If you do your work primarily in North America or Europe, your costs are going to be significantly higher. Dave Smith isn’t making billions, he’s simply producing high quality products in the USA using Americans.

              1. Not completely true…
                The DSI keybeds are made in China and probably lots of other parts too.
                The quality of the keybeds is appalling.

              2. Moog keybeds are Fatar- high quality, but an outsourced sub-assembly. Behringer actually makes their own keybeds to control outside cost factors.

                1. I’ve found my sub37 keybed to be subpar. It shipped to me with 2 slightly loose keys.

                  The rest of the thing is built like a tank, though..

            2. 10 years is actually a long time in terms of tech and manufacturing. Of course it got cheaper to make. the p08 was pretty unique when it was introduced. I think it’s a little inaccurate to say all dsi synths are priced twice their cost…unless you work in their accounting dept, how would you know?

              1. I am big fan of DSI… And you are right. Anyway, their synths cost twice the price. I will not explain, but I can, be sure. You will probably be surpised, but Deepmind 12 cost is also 50% of its price. Do not tell me stories that Mr Dave Smith pays Americans thats why his synths *can* cost much more than Behringer’s devices made by Chinese people. Chinese people want to eat something too.
                P.S. By the way, DSI synths are not so high quality, just solid partly hand-made. Much lower technological level than big Japanese trio provides with their products from the same price category.
                Once again, I truly love DSI. But we must be fair, we all love them not for the quality or technologies, but the sound&soul.

                1. dave smith can afford to live in SF. he’s doing fine. he’s not greedy either, and he is generous with what he offers. i say he’s doing well.
                  Uli has improved his products over the years. can’t believe i paid less than a hundred bucks for a Virtualizer. its quite nice! we are all concerned about slavery and quality and stuff like that. i watch everyone’s strategies with interest and hope for the best.

    2. It seems so reckless to keep saying, “We want to do this” so far in advance – they don’t even have an original 2600 yet!!

    3. I am totally agree:
      this marketing campaign is nauseating.

      He thinks payng people posting and writing everywhere will be positive and remunerative.
      It is the opposite.
      Synthesizer comunity it is not composed by empy heads.
      It looks like Mr. Behringer have discovered the warm water with Synthesizers.
      He acts like Hiundai declare every five minutes they want to clone vintage Maserati Merak, then Ferrari GTO.
      This make laugh and show how the abovementioned Mr. thinks about the Synthesizer users:
      a bounch of poor idiots seeking for cheap gear.

      If you are low budget you can do a Hit with laptop only and cracked VST,
      like many did…
      you don’t need cheap rubbish hardware.

      Do you go to your friend proud of ownong a Ferrari Gto Behringer Clone?!
      This sound cheap, and ridicolous.
      You can not afford a vintage one?
      Please go to work, make money and get the real.

      Remember: THE REAL IS THE REAL, CLONES ARE JUST CLONES: No Allure

      He produced cheap mixers, but everyone know the difference between a Behringer and a Neve.
      Buyng a Behringer is like throw money in the rubbish: tomorrow the value will be zero.
      Buing a vintage synth today it is an investment for tomorrow.

      He just saw Roland and Korg did money with reissues,
      and he want be part of the game.

      Cheap Synthesizer 4 all?! So democratic!

      But he is too rude with this agressive troll campaign,
      and he just feeding the disgust for his cheap initiatives,
      taking the pulse of the synth comunity with this PNL troll survey.

  9. I think both the 2600 and the OSCar are a great idea, but how about a resurrected Elka Synthex or a Synton Syrinx? I think they’d sell like mad. 🙂

  10. If they hadn’t announced that stupid d clone, everyone would be united with excitement over these. Marketing misstep, Uli. It would be funny if Korg beat them to market with a Karp 2600, but I’m not going to hold my breath over that one. My honest reaction was, “Meh. Should have announced these first, troll.”

    1. He definitely should have announced this first. There’s much less controversy here. And while Korg has, maybe, a reason to be worried re the 2600, an OSCar clone should have been made years ago. Thank GOD someone is finally doing this

  11. I love analogue synths, but I suspect that much of the current analogue synth vogue is based on a commodification of scarcity. Having these machines available at a decent price could go two ways: 1.) an explosion of great new synth music as new groups of people gain access 2.) nobody buys the cheap synths OR the expensive synths because the scarcity is gone and they are no longer a fetish commodity causing widespread collapse in the synth market as the elitists go somewhere else. I hope it’s the first one.

    1. The analog “vogue” has been going strong for at least 15 years now and that’s just counting new designs and early Eurorack. The inflation of prices for vintage gear started in 1994 -95 ish.

      It is a permanent fixture in synths and not going anywhere.

    2. I disagree. While I do think the market is getting saturated, well designed analogue is still the only sound many people (like myself) will work with. After a couple of decades of that FM digital wavetable crap, analogue is still a much more HANDS ON instrument. I don’t think that will ever die.

      I hope it expands, I want to see subtractive synthesis, I want to see synths where with a ribbon or bow you could jiggle micro elements to create textures within textures…. there’s so much more to explore.

    1. Yes a VCS3/Putney and a Synthi would be great. Given the number of people waiting around for them, I would think there would be a good market for these iconic synths.

    2. I hope not. I think there is an argument to be made for cloning the old stuff, but companies like Make Noise and Mutable are still getting started. They have both really pushed the creative envelope (no pun intended) and made synthesis better. That creativity ought to be nurtured. I think companies like that deserve our direct support whenever possible.

    3. Translation: I don’t care if the huge corporation squashes the innovative little guy. I only care about myself.

      You do realize how small MN and Mutable are, don’t you? I hope you’re just a troll, because this comment is really disappointing.

  15. Haha! They don’t want to stop! Good! Competition is good for market. I only hope that is not only a tease! I will definetely try “Behrimoog” and probably Behriarp and Behriscar too 🙂

  17. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Behringer to come up with an innovative synth design.

    That’s not what they do and that’s not what they’ve ever done.

    They innovate in the areas of things like business processes and manufacturing, and specialize in targeting established categories with cheap knockoffs. They’ve got complete lines that are knockoffs – their pedals, mixers, monitors, etc.

    Uli is not talking about doing innovative or original synth designs at all. Not one word about this.He’s clearly indicated that he’s interested in targeting a mass audience – basically the same people that would be buying strat clones if they were guitarist.

    And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Who hasn’t started with a cheap Behringer mixer or amp? And the synth market probably needs a kick in the pants to force companies to up their games.

    It’s a little depressing that they’re ratcheting up so much hype with talk of cloning 40-year old designs, though. I’m a lot more interested to see what Arturia and Novation and Moog and Korg will come up with in terms of new synth designs – and frankly there are a lot more interesting things happening on the iPad, too.

  19. I actually had Korg ARP Odyssey on my wishlist for long time. It just seems like behringer stole 1 customer from Korg if Korg dont lower their price 😀

    Why should i buy a Odyssey if i can get a ARP 2600 cheaper? :S

    1. If you’re a player, Odyssey has its value. Also Odyssey is much faster than 2600 to do many things. And Karp has 3 filters. I have Karp and I also want a 2600, they have their own merits.

  20. Build quality Moog, ARP, etc clones? Easier said than done. The DM-12 is a cheap synth packed with features and a forgettable sound. Uli, take the time and put quality tone first!

  21. Go Behringer!!! Do it, man. At the right price I would go for one of these, ESPECIALLY if Behringer would expand the ARP 2600 by adding a couple of extra LFOs and Envelope Generators. I know that would technically make it something other than an actual 2600 clone. But hey, you cannot make an instrument that would be exactly he same …AND… superior. The past was great. But the future can be better.

  22. rehashing, rehashing, rehashing, rehashing, rehashing, rehashing, rehashing, rehashing. That’s all it is today folks. NO MOTHA%$KING ORIGINALITY LEFT.

  24. Well I’ve been waiting for this for some time….someone to bring back the Arp2600. Since I have the Deepmind n loving it, I’m in to buying one of these. Behringer has my interest n my vote to make them.

    Nothing is ever the same when any product is re-introduced…I’m not jaded on having to have an original. For those having an original and working Arp2600, hats off to you. I know you wouldn’t trade up for a clone, like I wouldn’t, and buying an original Arp2600 these days used is risky business….n costly.

    Btw ….and while your at it talk to EMS n see if they’d work with you on keeping the VCS3 alive!!! Now there lies a possible darn good arrangement.

    Let’s do it Behringer!!!

  25. New guitars are made every day,same style for years and yet people still find innovative ways to make great music. Thanks to Korg’s rehashing I now have an Ms 20 (mini) with MIDI and USB. Moog still makes quality products and I doubt anyone who wants the real deal will settle for a knock off. The rest of us poor slobs are just happy to realize our dream of having a decent and affordable choice, even if it’s not quite a Rolls Royce.

  28. I want a cloned Sequential Circuits – Pro-One
    – semi-modular / patchable

    Or any of the above mentioned synths, with extensive MIDI CC function.

  29. I wonder if they’ll knock off the Mother-32 next for $25. Possibly even knockoff other knockoffs? Their reputation with other products worked out so well, I can’t wait to see what cheap crap they churn out next. I mean it’s 2017, who needs hand-built synths manifested into existence by skilled artisans with decades of hard work to their name?

  31. Please quit the monophonic synths already!

    OBXa, Jupiter 8, LAMM MemoryMoog, Octave Plateau Voyetra 8, Prophet…

    There is so much to be gained here.

  33. With the Behrimoog i thought this will be cool & interesting, now i´m scared! Will they clone the whole classic synth world?

  37. What Behringer is proving, at the very least, is how big companies like Moog and Roland have been ripping off its end users for decades, going by how much it must actually cost to build these machines.

    1. Moog is a small company owned by its employees. Behringer is a big company that became big by copying designs from other companies and building them cheaply. Perhaps the Behringer Minimoog clone will sound similar enough but that doesn’t mean Moog is ripping off people. Moogs are built by hand in the USA, not made by child labourers in a Chinese factory. Moog orders parts to spec in small numbers. Quality control is also done by hand and extremely thorough. These differences drive up the cost of manufacturing but ensure a Moog is what people expect it to be.
      Look at it this way: Chinese car manufacturer Geely can probably build a very cheap car that looks nearly identical to a Rolls Royce; does that mean that Rolls Royce is ripping off its customers?

    2. Korg and Roland have not ripped people off. It costs obscene amounts of money to make promote support and design innovative products and keep these companies afloat. Behringer is going safe by making stuff others have pioneered and taken the costs for and Behringer uses very low cost labour.

    4. They aren’t ripping anybody off. It’s not like they wait down some dark alley for you to walk buy, they grab your money and hand you a synth. Each and every purchaser CHOOSE to buy their product. If you think it costs too much, buy something else. They have every right to set the costing model how they see fit since it is there product and this isn’t something, like medication, that your life depends upon.

  38. After losing my job, changes in award rates for hospitality (in Australia) and a bleak economy outlook, rises in food cost, petrol cost , my rent has been hiked up,, the Australian dollar meaning everything cost so much more, no pay increases for people in my industry for 5 years ., housing is completely unaffordable …. I’ve been priced out of this game maybe behringer might be the only way to keep me involved with the thing that keeps me sane.

    1. Aww “fiddlesticks” maybe you should sell some of your Eurorack hoard?

      If you can’t buy food and cover rent then you should probably get your priorities straight before spending even $300 on a Behringer junk synth.

  41. OK Uli here’s the improved plan: Combine the MiniMoog, the OSCar and the ARP2600 into one synth.

    Legal / moral crisis averted and Retro synth enthusiast glee is tripled, at least

  46. The arp would be way cool but also – $50 realistic MG-1 make it happen! budget buchla! if korg won’t do it – make a volca inspired analog groovebox (analog drums/synth/bass with proper outs and USB sync) or analog versions of the electribes (add usb and battery)! cmon man do it!!!

    3. Think you have a point there.
      Looks like he’s going to kick a moribund elitist few into touch here, and offer a new hope for the common man who isn’t impressed with big dollar price tags.
      Maybe corporation tax laws will change in the uSA and manufacturers won’t be forced into offshoring production.
      GO ULI MAKE SYNTHS GREAT AGAIN.

  53. If this is true, I would be VERY interested in a 2600 and a POLYVOX. And a JUPITER 8.

    But I agree with other comments, being rude about competitors is poor professional behaviour.

    And I find it hard to believe you’ll get production going very fast on a 2600 if you don’t even have one yet. You MUST ensure all three filters are switchable in it to get this product right.

  54. The ARP 2600 is a beast, and it deserves to be resurrected properly or not at all. You can cut the speakers and reverb, but don’t skimp on the sound and build quality. And don’t make it too small! 6U makes sense as a minimum size, and that only with some creative tweaking of the design. See CMS 2607.

    Your move, Korg.

  55. Chris Hugget, Creator of the Wasp and OSCar, is actually working in synth development for Novation. This bit of promo from Novation highlights some of his work: https://global.novationmusic.com/novation-heritage . I guess what I’m saying is, you could also invest in a piece of gear by the original creator of the OSCar, who keeps on developing and potentially originating new features.

  57. Ahhh man… I was getting all excited to play Adventure and Yars Revenge on a brand new 2600… then I read it again and he’s just talking about another damn synth!!!

  58. Like they say… There’s more than one side to a story!
    All the Aldi/Lidl, cheap and nasty unoriginal copy/clone comments directed at Behringer are only one way of looking at the situation. Since Behringers inception it would seem that they have had a very clear concept with regard to what kind of consumer they are focusing their business on… consumers who can’t afford to pay the high prices that a lot of manufacturers are asking and like Aldi/Lidl they offer slightly inferior product at a much lower cost – and I do mean slightly when compared to normal and not premium product. Lot’s of people would never have been able to experience the joy of mixing had it not been for Behringers consoles, something that they could get their feet wet with before going on to bigger and better things. My engineer still uses his Behringer Mackie clone:) So! To all those turning the conversation from apples to oranges… Behringer make cheaper product for a certain target group much like many other companies, they have never – as far as I know – pretended to be anything other than what they are, they use social media – in this particular case GS – to gauge where they are in the marketplace as do millions of others and I for one am really looking forward to an affordable 2600 clone.
    Bottom line… who cares if it’s cheaper or not innovative as long as it sounds good.
    This purist dogma is getting old.

  60. With all the different 2600 versions, Uli should acquire more than one unit to fully understand the character of this synth!

    1. Agreed. All the different filters are vital, the behaviour of the spring reverb is highly variable, also I would like a choice of ALL BLACK or BLUE MEANIE.

  61. So, Mr. Berlinger, by all means please resurrect the classic synths of yore, or innovate to produce your own (fsr1 with knobs, anyone?), but kindly leave current models alone. Remember, a lot of ‘gear’ fanboys screaming for clones of their favourite machines couldn’t afford a styleophone, let alone a Moog.

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