Behringer Pro-16: official feature set with 16 voices, multi-mode filters, and more

Update

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Behringer previews the feature set of the Pro-16 (Prophet-5 replica) Synthesizer, including 16 analog voices, multi-timbrality & more.

That takes longer. In May 2022, Behringer announced that the Pro-16 (a Prophet-5 clone with more voices) was ready for production. Two years later, the Pro-16 is still not on the market. 

There were probably delays in development. Now, after two years, there is a sign of life and an update with the official features. 

Behringer Pro-16

As already previewed and as the name suggests, the upcoming Behringer Pro-16 Synthesizer will have 16 analog voices. Behringer has provided a picture of the 8-layer printed circuit board where the chips sit. It uses the V3340 oscillator and V3320 (4-pole) VCF chips from Cool Audio, Music Tribe’s own chip factory.

The replica is not based on a Prophet 5 revision but will, like the new Sequential version, allow users to switch between revisions, confirmed Behringer in the FB comments section.

Unlike the original, Behringer’s version will feature multimode filters, providing a wider range of tonal possibilities. There will also be 8-mode atrophy settings for extensive modulation and sound-shaping capabilities.

And like the UB-Xa (Oberheim OB-Xa clone), it will also host a polyphonic aftertouch keybed 

It is still unclear when the Pro-16 will be delivered. Behringer has not announced anything about it yet.

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 Update From May 15, 2022

 Behringer today announced that its Prophet-5 replica/clone with 16 analog voices is ready for production. But as with the other announcements, there are still not enough chips, which means it will take longer to actually go into production.

Behringer Pro-16 production

Article August 2, 2021

Last weekend Behringer showed the first pictures of the Pro-16, a clone/replica/remake of the legendary Sequential Prophet-5 polyphonic analog Synthesizer.

Today, Behringer published a post on Facebook where they preview the feature set of the Pro-16. It looks like it will be more than just a 1 to 1 Prophet-5 replica.

Behringer Pro-16

Behringer Pro-16 Preview

According to Behringer, the Pro-16 will use over 6000 components and will be based on the circuits of all 3 Prophet-5 revisions.  The picture clearly shows that the PCBs are made with SMD technology. The Behringer developers are not only building the Prophet-5 as it was, they are expanding it also with new features.

“we also added many features such as 16 voices, multi-timbrality, LCD display and a lot more. We started the ideation of this project around 5 years ago and it has since grown into an incredibly powerful flagship synth”

Behringer Pro-16 multi-timbrality

The multi-timbrality is certainly a nice add-on next to the 6 extra voices. One that Dave Smith never offered in the original Prophet-5, not even in the new reissue from 2020. How this function will be implemented is not yet known. Hopefully, you can play two patches of 8 voices each, which would be very nice.

Behringer says that it will take a few more months for the synth to be finished. Mainly to finalize the firmware. But it should go faster than with the UB-Xa. A release in 2021, rather unlikely.

We started the ideation of this project around 5 years ago and it has since grown into an incredibly powerful flagship synth. We still need many more months to finalize the firmware, but we’re confident that it’ll be much faster than the UB-Xa. We’re hoping to share some sounds with you in the near future.
Stay tuned for more details.

More information here: Behringer 

Hardware Synthesizer News

17 Comments

  1. A multi-timbral analogue synth? … surely not.
    Hopefully it will be configurable too: 16 mono, 8 bi, 4 x 4 timbrality etc. Like the Andromeda. We shall see.

  2. Unbelievable boooooring! Behringer unable to do anything new, just lame
    half arsed copies.

    • What new you idiot , there is no new to invent , everything is a copy to the originals , even the terrible virtual analog
      Very bad sound nord , terrible sound !!
      Something new 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  3. The GS Music e7 is a 7 voice analog polysynth with 4 channel multitimbral and MPE. That’s more MPE voices than any other analog synth!

  4. Het, stop asking us about shipping times, we dont have chips. Leave us alone…..
    hey, hey, here is a teaser for our new synths we cant ship, dont ask about the chips again.
    2 days later….
    hey, here is another synth… dont ask… not shipping…chips. Leave us alone about it.
    5 days later, rinse/repeat.
    They are so sloppy.

    • Before, no new ideas.
      Now, not even cloned ideas.

      All they have is their marketing machine.

      • People complaining about Behringer announcements are amazingly petty and near sighted. It’s low-effort trolling. History has already proved you wrong. It’s simple… Lots of companies take years to release something. The difference? Behringer often shows the entire process. This is common knowledge at this point. The only ones complaining are the detractors.

        Just because they have a physical synth doesn’t mean it’s ready to print. Surely you’ve noticed the pandemic right? And the war? Educate yourselves about the chip shortage so you don’t embarrass yourselves next time.

        • agreed. when I did hardware development (I hate it when it sounds like that, lol); it always came out to about 5 years from architectural concept to first customer ship. even longer on the research side. but much of this is product in pre-production state, which is usually viable hardware with firmware development to finish up. it’s a view into product development you rarely see elsewhere. I see it as a good thing.

  5. All these online tears are delightful. Cry more. You are going to buy them all like pokemons.

  6. Giving these creeps money (coverage is bad enough) with all the stories on the web about this company is just completely soulless. Uli is a poisonous tick on the backside of the music industry (in my personal view, which may do a disservice to ticks), with no sense of decency.

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