Behringer Plans 40 Eurorack Modules In The Next 2 Years, Priced at $49-99

Uli Behringer today shared an update on his company’s plans for a new line of inexpensive Eurorack modules – and they are bigger than what they have previously revealed.

Early in the year, Behringer shared his company’s plans for a line of 13 Eurorack modules, based on classic Roland System 100M designs. Now, Behringer says that they have 8 modules in the works and close to 40 planned:

We have now completed the prototype of the first Module, the 110 VCO, VCF, VCA and there are 5 more in the immediate pipeline.

We’re currently doing the testing and will hopefully be able to release them for production soon.

We’re planning to launch close to 40 modules over the next 2 years at a suggested retail price between US$ 49 and 99 each.

Wouldn’t it be great to see lots of people get into Eurorack and enjoy modular synthesis?

Fun stuff!

Uli

Behringer shared images of the VCO prototype, below:

The company has only announced plans for its first 13 modules:

  1. SYSTEM 100 174 PARAMETRIC EQ
  2. SYSTEM 100 173 QUAD SIGNAL GATE/ PATCH BAY
  3. SYSTEM 100 172 PHASE SHIFTER/AUDIO DELAY/GATE DELAY/LFO
  4. SYSTEM 100 165 DUAL PORTAMENTO CONTROLLER
  5. SYSTEM 100 150 RING MOD/NOISE/ S&H/LFO
  6. SYSTEM 100 132 DUAL CV/AUDIO MIXER & CV GENERATOR
  7. SYSTEM 100 131 MIXER/OSCILLATOR/ HEADPHONE AMP
  8. SYSTEM 100 130 DUAL VCA
  9. SYSTEM 100 121 DUAL VCF
  10. SYSTEM 100 112 DUAL VCO
  11. SYSTEM 100 182 ANALOG SEQUENCER
  12. SYSTEM 100 140 DUAL ENVELOPE/LFO
  13. SYSTEM 100 110 VCO/VCF/VCA

Behringer describe the panel renderings as initial drafts.

98 thoughts on “Behringer Plans 40 Eurorack Modules In The Next 2 Years, Priced at $49-99”

  1. The X32 is as an example of Behringer’s recent commitment to quality engineering. I’ve had my board for more than 3 years. Never an issue. Looking forward to several of the coming vintage reproductions! I started synth’s in late 70’s with a PAIA rack synth made from published schematics, TV parts, and some catalog IC’s built on an Erector Set kit.This Eurorack line will be the signal to finally get into the messy world of euro-wire-nuttiness!

    1. I was thinking exactly the same thing. I’ve got the Moog Mother-32 and a couple of the Roland Aira modules. But I’ve been staying away from modular because I don’t have buckets of free cash. This changes all that. At that price range I can build a reasonable rig for a reasonable price.

      Put another way: gateway drug.

  4. Sheez,. I have been building my own modules for a few years now. With these prices, why should I bother? As an example, I spent about $90 to build a dual VCA, even though I have a bench full of electronic parts. Works fine. The “130 Dual VCA” that is pictured has at least 3x the functionality.

    1. Anyone considering these probably also wants to ask, have i used their pedals?
      Also that kinda price tag isn’t new, Doepfer is very affordable.

      1. Yeaaaaaa the pedals are a giant stack of crap. Even tho the price is very nice on their stuff, I’m waiting to see if they last more than a year before spending any money. If these are the same quality as their desktop mixers, maybe.

        1. depends on the pedal, i love the super fuzz, it is probably my favorite fuzz pedal outside of my muff and i have like 12+ fuzz pedals.

      3. I find that a very 2003 opinion. Back then, they had good gear; BCR/BCF, and their midi foot pedal. That was about it.

        These last several several years they have been making really high quality gear, actually. Yes, it’s partly 1970s synth designs with modern components, but they’re really holding up well. Especially for the price.

        you don’t have to believe me, of course. Just, try turning a knob on the Model D next time you see it in a store. That’s all I ask.

  7. For a super-low-cost modular that is already available (super-compact, eurorack-integratable and significantly lower priced than Behringers announcement, take also a look at tangible waves’ AE modular. Great to see that modular stuff getting affordable for more people now!

  9. I own quite a bit of Behringer gear n I’m fine with it!
    I own quite a bit of Eurorack gear as well. Spent a fair bit of money on that!!
    I’ll definately be investing in some of Behringers modular, especially the utility modules.

  12. This is tricky to comment on fairly and not sound bitter or over excited.

    Of course I wanted a system 100m as a lad. Of course it’s annoying it’s Behringer. Of course this will be impossible to ignore at pocket money prices.

    Does this mean Euro rock has jumped the shark or should I just get over myself? I do feel for a chunk of Euro manufacturers – greatly

      2. I understand that. Remembering we are on a website that talks about new synthesiser bits including very expensive instruments (as they have every right to be), this makes me think there is some self selection going on. The relative pricing of this gear to the units they are “inspired” by is amazing.

        I don’t have a working tv, I do see beyond it. I live and work is a fairly deprived area with a mix of poor and relatively affluent. I can get over these differences and don’t take offence with there being things around I can’t afford (that I “should” be able to) and I enjoy being able to afford other things now that I couldn’t when I was a lad.

  13. Great for people who are into so called “east coast” synthesis….The most interesting modules in euro in my opinion are inspired by buchla or surge synths.I don’t think Behringer in really going to hurt the eurorack community.But it will probably get a lot of people started with a rack they may never “finish”.

  14. Obviously the parts are very cheap to hit this price point but one slight problem is the panel states some inputs default to keyboard bus but the power connector is 10pin…but it is keyed. I hope the cost includes some precision parts or it will put off newbies to modular. But why clone so exactly to piss Roland off when you could do a Uli analog modular synth or even go digital…that’s what his engineering team want to do..

    1. The parts on the board – i.e. SMD resistors/caps/op amps, etc. are extremely cheap in bulk, and most likely the exact same quality as the SMD parts on any other modern synth (it’s not as if other manufacturers are using super precision parts, and certainly vintage instruments didn’t). The only legit concern would be mechanical components, i.e. pots and switches. Though I was blown away by how authentic their Minimoog sounded, I was also pretty underwhelmed by the cheapness of the controls. That said, many Euro modules use cheap controls, so not much loss there, and it’s not completely unrealistic that you could swap these out with nicer pots and switches if you’re handy.

      Overall I’m sure these will be great and market-changing (unfortunately for a lot of smaller makers). The surprising thing is that they just copied old Roland modules verbatim.

      1. I agree with everything you’ve said. I DIY’ed most of my modules and of the ones I’ve bought, these all look like similar parts. Although I’m not a big fan of those tall trimmer pots, they aren’t too bad in use. The only concern I really have are the jacks. I’ve never used any of those types. I hope they keep the cables plugged in.

      2. I think Behringer simply wanted to get eurorack staples to the market as quickly as possible, while still getting their production workflow in order. Best way to come to market like that is with these evergreen 1970s designs; lord knows tons of eurorack manufacturers started that way. ( have you seen how many ladder filter modules there are? It’s actually nuts)

        I feel the build quality of the Model D is miles ahead of other synths in the price range, maybe that’s just me?

  15. I think a lot of people will just have 1 or 2 modules they’re willing to cheap out on. I certainly want some expensive granular modules but I’ll be happy to skimp on a ring mod or delay for under $100.

  16. Pretty close to this price point are many of noise reap’s modules. I have an lfo and a vca from them and i’m quite happy with them!

    Not really interested in buying berhinger modules, but i am looking forward to them bringing the price down a bit.

    1. Do you really think it will bring the prices down all that much? I feel like it will end up being similar to the guitar pedal market. A few major companies will sell cheaper modules, while everyone else will sell the more exotic boutique modules.

      1. You’re right, I don’t think the presence of ultra cheap modules is going to drive the price of everything down – I do think bringing down the entry price for eurorack will bring more people into the market, and i think _that_ will bring the price down a bit.

  20. I’m not sure Behringer needs to enter the Eurorack market too – seems like that’s covered adequately at all price points already. I’d rather seem them make some interesting affordable stuff that fills existing gaps.

  21. I could see these working well in conjunction with their Neutron synth. Love the Neutron but want to add a few more LFOs or ENVs? Pop a Neutron and a few of these into the Arturia case and you have a cheerful and inexpensive system you can take around pretty easily and even attach to a Minibrute 2 or 2s as a controller/sequencer.

    1. Don’t know about factory worker poisoning, so you have a link? Do know B products are cheap because they are made in the people’s republic of red China. No thanks.

  25. Those into modular must have a LOT of free time on their hands. Most of us work and have families and responsibilities. Don’t quite get how modular is popular.

    2. We all make choices in life, Trent. Also, it’s fun to teach the kids math with a modular, or just to play “guess which knob i’m turning.” Lord, man, you don’t even have time for a hobby? Maybe if you had a sweet modular setup, the wife would come back and help out because you are so cool now. Thanks, Uli, now I don’t need to starve the kids and live off the dole to get my spacejazz on. lololol

    3. And some of us can manage work, families, responsibilities AND modular. It’s toughest with a young family but that doesn’t last forever. At some point the kids leave the nest and you’ll likely have a lot more time on your hands. Some might choose to spend their time watching sports or TV. Others will spend their time with modular. It’s not for everyone but many of us get a lot of enjoyment out of it, even if we only carve out an hour or two each week.

  27. This is great news. I’ve always wanted an original System 100, complete – but they are as rare as hen’s teeth and hellishly expensive. I was never that taken with the 100M which replaced the 100, but given that price point, I could take another look at a Behringer 100M system, which could be expanded over time. Now, if Behringer would also market appropriate racks that looked like the original Roland rack cases for the 100M, I’d definitely put it on my ‘to buy’ list.

  28. Indeed this is a treat!

    They are similar priced to their guitar effects pedals

    This sounds like a total blast from the future (present) past

  32. One will need to spend additional $$$ for a case and power. Assuming these to be 14hp each, this could easily be $600+ to house the 13 originally announced modules. All 40 could be more than $2k on case and power.

    1. I am certain B’s coming out with a cheap case. Poster above mentioned Tangible Waves and I googled, they have a cheap case and cheap power that I was not aware of a few months ago when I started. Crapped out $90 for the Moog case and already filled it.

      Between Tangible Waves, EMW and Noise Reap, this year I’m adding a module every paycheck 🙂

      1. Caveat emptor, Tangible Waves modules are NOT Eurorack format and their cases will not fit Eurorack modules. TW went off the rails and made their own modular format.

  33. I was looking at the 110 Oscillator, Filter, Amp. but I wondered about the size of the faders.

    Check out this quick image I made to roughly calculate the size of those faders, they are the WIDTH of an SD card. 2.3cm . (Less than an inch !) Uh folks, that’s a little small for me. Pull out an SD card and look at the width of it. so, so small!

    https://i.imgur.com/veYHPmS.jpg

      1. That’s correct, it is exactly the size of the faders on the Roland 540, which to me are very workable. Would longer-throw faders be nice, sure, but this is a perennial complaint about the entire Eurorack format — that it is too small. I’m not personally going to buy Behringer modules, having a full System 500 already, (which I adore) but this looks like they’ll be great fun for some folks.

  34. If anyone is looking for a robust cheap powered case – Mine was the result of much research > The total was £235 ($299 / €262) for a powered case with 168 HP in 2 rows of 84HP and a single row beneath for 1 u tiles. I used a desktop mixer case from Thomann (£85) two 84HP synthracks frames(2x £40). A power supply from Tiptop (£70). It fits into airline carry-on regs and is robust and relatively cheap. The case is a Thon Rack Case 8U 12 RA

  35. Behringer or not, thats a terrible module design. Patch points at the top AND bottom? How the hell are are you supposed to be able to patch that? No matter what you do, the module is going to be majority blocked by its own cables. In my 12u, there is not a single other module manufacturer who makes this design choice, because its awful and unusable.

    Also, if I want £50-£100 modules, I can already get them by Doepfer, and many others with a much better reputation.

    1. Behringer simply copied the Roland System 100m module layout. Roland designed theirs with patch jacks on the top and the bottom, someone at Behringer mindlessly copied the design.

    2. Obviously, nobody is forcing you to buy one of these. If you prefer Doepfer, that is fine. Just wondering, assuming that the Behringer 13.SYSTEM 100 110 VCO/VCF/VCA will cost $99USD- what is the equivalent Doepfer model? I would prefer buying the Doepfer, rather than wait for the Behringer.

    1. Also, since they’re branching out into individual modules it’s probably safe to assume they’re planning to offer cases and power supplies at typical Behringer prices.

  37. Race to the bottom. Eurorack manufacturers can’t compete with slave labor from China. Oh well. It was a fun and innovative and dynamic scene while it lasted.

    1. Do you have an iPhone or iPod? How about a blu-ray player? Where are your shoes made? Do you shop at any big box store? How about Costco or Sam’s Club? All exist as a result of “slave labor” from China.

      1. The factory that produced the Neutron exposed workers to poison gas and all Uli had to say was a weird tantrum and then shifted the conversation about “it’s ok we make clone devices!”

        Yes, the bar is low on mass manufactured goods. Somehow Berhinger managed to fall below it. There are plenty of other gear manufacturers that don’t.

        1. WHOA! Do you have documentation that “the factory that produced the Neutron exposed workers to poison gas”? Is there a news article from a reputable source that will back up this claim? Because if it is true, it should be broadcast. On the other hand, it sounds like fake news.

            1. Thank you for linking to these articles. I was not aware of this. However, I do not know what to believe. I helped to set up a factory in China, and have been there about 6 or 8 times. One problem in China is that the “fake news” is generated by the state. Although they welcome foreign investment, they do not really like foreign owned entities. If you believe that the story is legit, I do not blame you for boycotting Behringer products. On the other hand, this same logic would apply to worker’s condition throughout the world, including American migrant workers,

        2. ‘Poison gas’? Now that sounds dramatic… You surely know how to twist words to make your point.

          What really strikes me is that nobody took up Uli’s invitation to come by and investigate. Based on the heated debates in forums, one would think that people really want to know this. So you would get a lot of attention with research like that. Instead nothing happens, and post after post all we get in the comment section is people talking about Midifan or Glassdoor or their cartoon-like interpretation of the case against DSI.

          But I know, the bar is low on being well informed in forums like these. Anything that confirms your bias will do.

  38. I have an X32 mixer and really like it. Some great work by Behringer’s engineers. I feel sorry for those same engineers now ‘though, being forced to do nothing interesting or new, just stuck copying ancient designs stolen from someone else.

    For those of you who think this sort of thing is somehow good, think for a moment how you would feel if your designs were essentially stolen. “Hey, I really like that song you wrote and published. I’m going to steal it and give it to all of my friends because then they’ll get a chance to hear your music and maybe buy more of it.” If you believe that, I have some swampland I’d like to sell you.

    1. Fixed that for you…

      “Hey, I really like that song you wrote and published ages ago (your copyright even has expired). You don’t want to release it anymore, even though everybody wants to listen to it. If people want to listen to it, they have to pay a small fortune to get the original recording. You know what I’ll do… I’ll record it again, to make it sound like the original and make it available to the whole world for a low price, so everybody can finally listen to that song.”

      So you can keep your swampland and bad metaphors. And I think those engineers are actually having a blast, learning from the masters, and building up a treasure trove of expertise.

  39. Uli –
    I suggest a more refined color scheme for the faceplates. Grey is so uninspiring. Please reconsider a color scheme that sets these apart a bit more. If we’re coloring the faceplates then let’s really make something beautiful too. Neutron does that and it stands out from the pack with its red design. Good move. Design really matters here.

    If color is out of the question then perhaps colored knobs might be added to a white faceplate with black printing.
    Please let’s spice this shit up a little. It will lend more identity to the product and make it even more extraordinary.

    1. A white panel with gray labels or black panels with white labels would be much better. There is nothing nice about this gray when used as an overall color.

    2. Hi CFB,

      I think you’re overlooking that these are supposed to tap in to nostalgia and desire for the original Roland System 100m modules, which had a dark gray front panel and basic white text. Every single other aspect of the layout is virtually exactly like the Roland upon which these are based (within the constrains of the smaller format). It’s the same as using a replica font and color scheme on the Odyssey or the Vocoder – it is about helping folks feel as though they are buying a “classic” instrument which is too expensive or in limited supply for them to actually be able to afford. I believe that is why you’ll likely see the grey and white color scheme remain, at least for the modules that are clearly reproducing the System 100m. Just my perspective….

  41. Remember how behringer threatened MidiFan and DSI forum posters for calling their gear “clones”? Uli is nothing but a vulture to the music industry, and eurorack is one of the few places where an independent, DIY market is still thriving. He can keep his modules.

    1. Nope, don’t remember that. Maybe try again when you get the details right.

      Behringer will kill all the small Eurorack manufacturers that bring nothing special to the table. There will probably be a couple of big names left and then some small manufacturers doing really weird stuff. Which is fine, because Eurorack is just saturated right now. Independent and DIY… nice…but not if that means you’re just adding the umpteenth ladder filter to what’s out there.

    2. Nope, don’t remember. Maybe try again when you get the details right.

      Behringer will probably kill all the small Eurorack manufacturers that don’t bring anything special to the table. Which is fine with me, Eurorack is just saturated nowadays. With Behringer taking care of a lot of bread and butter modules, you either have to be able to invest in expensive R&D to come up with something really deep (like MakeNoise and Intellijel), or you have to have some really weird idea. This is what you see with guitar pedals as well. So in a couple of years there will probably be a few big names and then some small manufacturers doing really weird stuff.

  43. what’s next?
    envelope follower +usb audio in, digital noise, filter bank, wavemultiply/waveshaper, sample osc, wavetable osc, fx?
    ?

      1. oh la la
        modul 160 Computer Interface
        and
        170 Pitch/Voltage Converter, Envelope Follower, and Audio Amp
        would be have half of my wishes ?

  45. Looks like I’ll be waiting to buy a second filter, well, in this case a second and third. I’m glad its got some features to make it stand on its own, looks very versatile. I really hope these pieces sound great. Also, hope they stick with the initial design. Looks like they are going to be entering competition with Doepfer! Love it! (nothing against Doepfer, his stuff is fantastic and affordable)

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