Behringer VCS 3 Synthesizer Update

Behringer today shared an update on their upcoming Synthi VCS 3 copy, which was originally announced six years ago when the company announced plans to create a line of vintage synth knockoffs, including the Wasp, ARP 2600, Roland SH-101 and Korg MS-20.

In addition to these images, they gave this status update on the Behringer VCS 3:

“In our previous update, we shared our mechanical challenges with the pin matrix, which have now been resolved. We’re very pleased to report that it has passed a stringent 100,000 lifecycle test.

We’re now shipping units to our beta testers for final testing and comparison with the original synthesizer. Once passed, we will start manufacturing.

We know this synth has taken much longer than we thought, but we’re sure the wait is worth it.”

 The Behringer VCS 3 is designed to be an inexpensive, unofficial copy of the original EMS Synthi VCS3. The original is still in production, but with boutique prices and limited availability.

Like its other vintage synth copies, Behringer has added basic MIDI control, so you can play the synth using standard control keyboards.

Features (Preliminary):

  • Analog synthesizer with triple VCO design
  • Reproduction of original “VCS3” circuitry
  • Analog signal path with VCO, VCF and VCA
  • VCOs featuring multi-turn knobs for precise frequency control
  • Variable oscillator shapes with variable pulse widths
  • 24 dB low pass filter with resonance
  • 16 x 16 pin patch bay serves as signal routing matrix by inserting pins into holes
  • Ring modulator adds insane spice and edge to your sounds
  • Dedicated and fully analog triangle/square wave LFO
  • Noise generator dramatically expands waveform generation
  • Two-axis joystick serves as performance controller
  • 42 controls give you direct and real-time access to all important parameters
  • External audio inputs for processing external sound sources
  • MIDI implementation with MIDI channel and Voice Priority selection
  • 3-Year Warranty Program

Details on pricing and availability are still to be announced.

54 thoughts on “Behringer VCS 3 Synthesizer Update”

  2. Yeah right¿how long’s it gonna take for this clone clown knockoff tooo come anywhere near fruition¿if u were going tooo wait in vain for the foolish frugality that’s evidently is practice at
    be-ear-ringer¿it might be another exercise in futility but I guess everybody’s used tooo it at this point¿or don’t care; uh that’d be me, emphatically in the latter folks

    1. I really don’t understand the haters! I mean what’s NOT to like about having the opportunity to own an all-time “Classic” synth like the VCS3 ( -at a fraction of it’s original cost! ). I own several Behringer clones and am amazed at how authentic they sound. Uli, send me one of your VCS3’s and I’ll give it some on-screen time in “The Synthesist” ( https://locallegendfilms.jimdo.com/the-synthesist/ ) -a sci-fi movie I’m currently working on. Keep those great sounding clones coming! Even if they take longer than expected to materialize.They’re well worth the wait!

      1. Exactly. I wonder how much time people who own classic vintage synths actually spend making music with them. I get the feeling most are collectors.. . Musicians hardly ever have the income to afford originals, so personally I think what they’re doing is a godsend. To me they’re tools. They sound great & do the job & we use them everyday & couldn’t give a fuck about the snob value

        1. Liam & Tomm

          The entitled, elitist whinging is just sad and clueless.

          “I wonder how much time people who own classic vintage synths actually spend making music with them. I get the feeling most are collectors!!!!!”

          Your comments indicate that you think you’re entitled to own these synths, and that you think everybody that actually owns these instruments are loser ‘collectors’. Do you even realize how elitist you sound?

          Most people that own vintage synths are musicians that bought them years ago and have played them for decades. The reason you don’t see musicians performing with these instruments is because they are EXPENSIVE VINTAGE SYNTHS. The owners aren’t clueless.

          Comments like yours make clear that Behringer fans aren’t in love with affordable gear, they’re in love with the illusion that they’re getting a bargain and that they’re smarter than ‘collectors’. Thus all the elitist comments they leave, whenever there’s Behringer news. Sad!

          1. No Fucking Way! getting defensive on a cheesy synth fan site. The two times I’ve seen them first hand was in a friends home studio and he didn’t let most people use it cause he was afraid they would “overuse it” and the other is on a repair table in the owners garage that hasn’t fully worked in forty years. Making things affordable means accessibility for EVERYONE and for some reason this threatens the high cloud you live on and sparks the need to comment on this page.

          2. No Fucking Way! getting defensive on a cheesy synth fan site. The two times I’ve seen them first hand was in a friends home studio and he didn’t let most people use it cause he was afraid they would “overuse it” and the other is on a repair table in the owners garage that hasn’t fully worked in forty years. Making things affordable means accessibility for EVERYONE and for some reason this threatens the high cloud you live on and sparks the need to comment on this page.

            1. pingpongjingjong & Mr. Marx

              Thanks for making it obvious that the pro-Behringer comments on this site are astroturfing at its finest!

              Pro Tip: When you’re pretending to be multiple people, it’s more convincing when you post different comments.

  5. Still faster than waiting for a new build one from Robin! Plus I imagine a few thousand cheaper.

    The bits that will be the most difficult are replicating the ring mod top hat components and the instability of the matrix. The VCS was very “alive” due to the somewhat cheap parts and lack of CV buffers.

    I got 80% of the way through a clone kit and threw the towel in as the matrix was so costly

    1. Not sure why the term ‘knockoff’ triggers Behringer fanboys.

      Knockoffs are what Behringer does! It’s crazy to pretend that’s not what Behringer is all about.

      And if you look at their Facebook page, the only thing people ask them for is more cheap copies, which they do because it’s more stuff to sell, and to fix their software, which they don’t do, because it just costs them money.

      1. According to Music Tribe, they are a not-for profit organization that makes extremely cheap synths in a massive Chinese factory with the aim of making the world a better place. Their new VCS3 is simply another step in wrestling ownership of music technology from the snobbish elites who hoard all the nice stuff for themselves, leaving youth with nothing but the occasional roadworn Korg volca and a fading dream.

    1. It’s not hate, some don’t want to support beringer and they have many good reasons.
      And some simply don’t care and wants to buy cheap stuff no matter the ramifications. 
      Did you notice it’s always the people who already have something from them that defend them? I guess this is how they deal with their guilt…

    2. I like the weird remakes like this one (should it ever come out), but I think they’ve earned their reputation by a combination of junky products, vaporware, terrible support, and creating a range of predatory products to compete with small brands people like. Plus their owner’s a bit of a *******. I don’t wish them out of business, but would like to see them use their engineering and parts sourcing might on more interesting products.

      Admin: Personal attack deleted (name-calling).

      Keep comments on topic and constructive.

  8. Interesting in a way but if a software company makes a software clone of a synthesizer nobody accuses them of making knockoffs, which is what they are doing but in digital form.

    1. The only way software would be a knockoff would be if it’s a unofficial copy of another software program.

      You could say Microsoft Excel was a knockoff of Lotus 1-2-3, but only an idiot would argue that Excel was a knockoff of a physical accounting spreadsheet.

  9. 24db filter? Boy, is that wrong! The original VCS3 had a rather interesting dynamic diode filter with a 12db/octave slope for the first octave above cutoff, which then increased to an 18db/octave slope for the following octaves. It’s part of what gave it such an interesting sound

    1. there is a switch, clearly labelled that goes between the original 18db diode ladder filter, and the revised 24db that EMS used in the late 70s to compete with moog’s 24db filter. including both topologies is actually a very handy.

  10. Just to understand this part correctly:
    “We’re very pleased to report that it has passed a stringent 100,000 lifecycle test.”

    What happend after you passed the 100,000, example 100,001?

  12. A patch bay that utilizes pins is a problem waiting to happen. Screw nostalgia; make it electronic so it has a better chance of a decent lifespan. The VCS3 has been more of an effects synth than a keyboard anyway. A remake deserves all the help it can get.

  15. As someone who doesn’t have 25k to spend on the original…much less the budget to maintain it. I’m personally excited about this “clone”. The workflow of the VCS3 has always intrigued me. I applaud the company’s effort to bring modern versions of these classics to the masses.

    1. I also don’t have thousand to spend on the original but its not an issue since i don’t need to copy some old farts sounds from the 70’s

  18. id like to thank you Behringer for showing the way forward, we can’t live with out your solidarity
    for the synth community. As time goes by its clear that Uli Behringer has become a icon of forward thinking workflow towards the general synth user.

    2. this is not a good take and it’s probably bait but I’ll bite. Behringer has been historically toxic towards other contributors to the community and industry and their habit of cloning gear that is currently in production doesn’t help that image. there’s the lawsuits and Peter Kirn stuff as well. I’m not sure what you mean by “forward thinking workflow” and would love to hear you elaborate on that, as their original designs to my knowledge haven’t been particularly adventurous and most of what they make straight up steals the workflow from whatever product they’re copying with no attempt to streamline or improve.

  19. This was my dream synth and when I first heard they were making this I was buzzing.

    After the way they’ve acted in the last couple of years, I’ll never buy anything from them again.

    They’re an absolute disgrace.

  23. Stating that the original is still in production is such a misrepresentation, for years and years and years people have been added to the list and every now and again a handful of units are delivered. If you haven’t managed to produce these in adequate numbers in 20 years, say, 100-150 year, if the demand is there, you are not producing but just stringing people along.
    I f-cking hate Behringer for only bringing out clones, even though they have the brightest of engineers there, and to me this is down to short sightedness of the man himself.
    But they do do it well, and there is a market for it, happy user of the barp2600 myself. It just would be nice to have them really make a mark and do something original.

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