Is This The Next Behringer Synth Clone (Roland SH-5)?

Behringer’s Michael Thorpe shared this quick look at their recently acquired Roland SH-5 synthesizer.

The Roland SH-5 is a classic one-knob-per-function analog monophonic synthesizer, originally introduced in 1976.

Behringer has not announced any plans for a Roland SH-5 clone, at this point, but they’ve previously shared vintage gear acquisitions and then followed up by introducing modern clones.

34 thoughts on “Is This The Next Behringer Synth Clone (Roland SH-5)?”

    1. yeah and please not “just” analog but a wicked hybrid. imagine an analog poly with wavetable and vector synthesis + lots of LFOs/modulation options(could be on the digital side aswell), digital and analog FX/Filters. HUGE sellpoint would be sample Rec and Playback with decent mangling.
      Behringer has to do it! Id pay good for it and am sure lots of people too.

  3. Gee that kind of sounds like the Casio XW-G1 Mr. Wesker. It’s not a perfect clone of the SH-05 but it checks a lot of the boxes even if there digital ones.

    1. Absolutely.
      This is a big selling point for many. I am hoping they add Midi, patch memory, and reduce the size a little.
      However, it wouldn’t really be a clone at that point, and more of an enhanced iteration of the SH-5. ?

  7. I had an SH-5 and a Minimoog and the bass on the Roland was not at all fat. But it did have a unique character using a combination of low pass and band pass filters. I wish I’d kept mine.

  8. Great to see more classic instruments coming out. This is a very good move by Behringer because it opens up today’s musicians to those classical instruments from the 1970s and 1980s without costing them a fortune and being a nightmare to maintain. Keep more coming. I’m particularly interested in their proposed Eurorack modules to allow a System 100M to be acquired – very cheap.

    I’m sure everyone on Synthtopia has a ‘wish list’, so here’s mine Behringer!

    Roland Jupiter 8 (for about $1500)
    Roland System 100 (original) for under $1000
    ARP 2600 (for about $1500)
    ARP Quadra – with a better keyboard – for under $1000
    Yamaha CS-30L or CS-40M ($500)
    Korg MS-50 and SQ-10 to match Korg MS-20 Mini ($300 each)
    Waldorf Q or Microwave XTk ($1000)
    Novation Supernova II keyboard ($1000)
    Hartmann Neuron ($1500)

    Surely all that couldn’t be too difficult?

      1. The Boutique module just is not the same. Tiny little controls for little hands (Trump might play this synth!) and digital rather than analogue. I’d much rather play a new synth that looks and sounds exactly like the original. I’ll wait to see if Behringer do one.

  9. I hate that I would have to buy this buuuut these guys go for 4 grand at this point (which is incredibly stupid). If they can bring this in for $500 or so (and the sound was there) how could you say no? Possibly Roland’s most underrated synth (or at least it used to be).

    1. Not only are they 4 grand but you can guarantee Roland have absolutely no intention of ever rebuilding the SH-5 or any other classic synth from their extensive catalogue.

  10. The Behringer folks are masters with the teasers. They keep you guessing, wondering, speculating. This tactic works beautifully. They steal the show from everyone. Hmmm? Why would Behringer announce that they have hunted down and purchased a 40+ year old rare synth and make a video clip showing that they have this synth? Are they going to just keep it in their “vintage museum” and do nothing else with it? Are they going to clone it? Are the going to make an improved “iteration” with more features than the original (as with the Odyssey)? One can only guess, wonder, speculate. In order to find answers, the many curious synth enthusiasts in the world have to periodically tune in somewhere to see what Behringer is up to, thereby keeping Behringer on the radar. Brilliant!

  11. SH5 is a major beast! great obscure choice! Kinda reminds me of the Moog Sonic Six with its features and that body shape. hmm

    i wonder if Behringer could decide a form-factor to be compatible with multiple new polysynth bodies, to have a module and keyboard?? kinda like they made the body template for model D, Neutron, and Pro-1 the same to save costs.
    There is surely some cohesion in design between various ‘shapes’ of synth, say groupings like:
    -prophet 5, polysix, junos
    -jupiter 6 and 8
    -jupiter 4, minikorg700, minitmoog, moog satelite.

    there seems to be so many ‘types’ of synth with an expected shape and sound and set of features almost. SH5 is definitely a unique find

  12. This was arguably the best of the Roland monosynths, right before the Jupiter-4 and -8 came out. Actually, the JP-4 was first and aimed at being placed on top of organs. With two oscillators and some other nice features, the SH5 is a good pick, but it needs a bit more beef. Even a little patch memory would be welcomed, but that could easily jack it up past the general Behringer price point. Giving it a delay you can cut out of the analog signal path would be a smart addition, though.

    1. speaking of digital delay… you just gave an idea… what about a Space Echo clone??? analog echo renaissance haha. That’s a whole other market, bigger than synths alone. guitarists and studio guys would buy a real space echo clone like crazy.

  14. I would be happier with an Alesis Andromeda clone for 999,-. Right now we have enough mono-synths.
    If they obtained the SH-5 now, maybe in two years their clone might be finished….

    BTW: where is my Behringer VCS-3 for 299,-  😉

  15. Ooo Ooo Oooo !!! Behringer guys – Do it. DO IT!

    I loved my SH-5. It was my primary, lead instrument for over 10 years. It was my voice. I miss it terribly. This was one of the best and most under-rated synthesizers ever made. It was so easy to create sounds and morph them “on-the-fly” with my own hands, just like a musical instrument should be. It was also one of the first synthesizers to offer TWO LFOs. So versatile. So immediate. So flexible and expressive. PLEASE bring it back!

  17. It’s ok, but a bit troubeling as well. As stated above, monosynths are – well monosynths. Then there’s the issue of patch memory. However- introducing memory may affect the sound. And even if a clone with memory is a better synth, it may fail the A/B test that the Model-D survived. So – if you agree to loose some authentisity, patch memory could be an option. If I’m not mistaken reduced MIDI funcionality on the Moog Minimoog reissue was related to sound (source: Gordon Ried review SOS).

    1. Oh – and personally I’d prefer a CS-80 clone to anything – provided it was equipped with the same playability and controls, i.e. Deckards Dream ++++++++. Even above a Moog One (which I think sounds a tad too much like a soft synth).

  18. Make them without keyboards, make them inexpensive, make them bankable to provide polyphony, and support single cable bidirectional VCA (?) to optionally allow the state/s of one machine to influence the composite nonlinear state of all or some of them – “quasi macro modular entanglement”?? Is/has there been anything like that out there at all or have I just had too much coffee dolloped with too much ignorance? Love the sound regardless.

  19. Behringer has one like that. its called the Deepmind 12. and they have Deepmind 6 and desktop version of 12 s well. but yes there is more focus on the mono and modular, as its now a trend. the hybrid which you told is actually the technology thats going on now. Roland has system 1, system 8, JD-Xa, JD-Xi etc etc

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