Behringer Chaos and Surges are new modules clones/replicas of the Mutable Instruments Marbles modulator and Ripples analog filter.
Emilie Gillet of Mutable Instruments is a modern-day Synthesizer pioneer. Her designs are fresh, innovative, and playful. Unfortunately, the developer went out of business last year. Due to the open-source nature of the modules, they remain with us. The open source has also attracted many other companies to copy and throw the modules on the market, even when the original modules were available.
It was only a matter of time before Behringer wanted to get involved in this business. They started with the Brains, a clone of the Mutable Instruments Plaits macro oscillator. However, with the last Brains reloaded update, they have shown they want to develop it further. Better than just copying. Today Behringer showed two more modules from their Mutable “Berification ” module lineup: Chaos and Surges.
Behringer Chaos and Surge
Chaos is a clone of the Marbles, a very crazy but fully CV-controllable chaos modulator module by Mutable Instruments. It is not known whether Behringer will change anything in the code. So far, I’m assuming it’s a straight clone of the original. As with the Brains, the module will be launched in a black finish. For the different modes, there will be colored accents.
Emilie Gillet described it in these words:
Marbles is a source of random gates and voltages, which offers an extensive amount of (voltage) control on all the different flavors of randomness it produces. The module gives the musician many different ways of imposing structure on the random events generated by the module: synchronization to external clocks, control of the repetition or novelty of the generated material, quantization of the voltages, or randomization of gates or voltages generated by traditional sequencers.
Then, Surges is a clone of the Ripples “liquid” analog filter. It’s a bit pity that the design isn’t brought into the stereo field like After Later Audio did in its “Popples” module.
Mutable Instruments says about the module:
3 filter modes are available: 2-pole band-pass, 2-pole low-pass, and 4-pole low-pass. Plus self-oscillation and a built-in VCA. . The resonance loudness compensation circuit brings a slight tone coloration reminiscent of the Roland SH/Jupiter filters, with a very round and “liquid” resonance.
First Impression
The two modules will probably be very affordable. I’m sure. The only question is how many Marbles and Ripples clones we still need. I hope Behringer will add other modes to his Chaos module to offer more than the other 50 Marbles Clone. Otherwise, it becomes the Clone Wars.
Behringer Chaos and Surge availability and price TBA.
More information here: Behringer
Available at my partner
Behringer needs some new artist! Its a mix between Erica Synths and a toilet bowl with lights.
Those slippery knobs have no place in modular. 🙂 I love my Ripples 2. So, a Surges might be in my future.
silliest post award.
Looks nasty, what an embarrassment to have in your eurorack. Glad Emilie got out of the game before having to watch her hard work reduced to this spam.
not happy they changed the design; they reassigned the colors to the functions. it’s hard enough for color blind people to use these without dealing with variations in brands color assignments. color LED’s are bad design, and changing a bad design without fixing it is even worse.
the ripple clone looks fine, except the numeral – should have changed that font. black is the best!
Cool, I hope they clone everything of MI…so Emilie can be happy, that somebody keeps her development alive! They look even really good and I’m pretty sure they will have big success because of good value for money. Good sound- and build-quality is guaranteed…Thanks Behringer!
Sorry, but that’s one of the reasons why Emilie went out of business because tons of companies cloned the modules. The open-source idea was to give new developers the chance to take over the code and develop something new out of it. Their open-source concept was never made for banal cloning. That’s the icing on the cake of stuff Emilie didn’t want to see.