Behringer has announced that their PRO-800 synthesizer, a knockoff off the Sequential Circuits Prophet-600, is now in production:
“PRO800 is on the way. We’re very excited to share that the highly anticipated PRO800 is now finally in production. The global chip shortage has challenged many companies, but we’re happy to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Thank you all for your immense support and patience. While it’ll take a while to get the synthesizer in your hands as we’re shipping from the factory, we hope that this beautiful instrument will make up for the long wait.”
The Behringer PRO-800 was originally introduced in 2020, and the company said it would available in Jan 2021, priced under $600. The global chip shortage interfered with their plans, though, and the company later said it was targeting an April 2023 release date.
The Behringer PRO-800 copies the architecture and look of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-600, but cuts costs by eliminating the keyboard, shrinking the interface to fit the Eurorack format and using modern mass-production build techniques.
It features some enhancements to the original design, though, upping the polyphony from 6 to 8 voices and incorporating the GliGli firmware mods, which expand on the original’s options.
Here’s Behringer’s official intro video:
Pricing and Availability
The Behringer PRO-800 synthesizer is expected to be available in April 2023, priced at $599 USD.
After getting used to my Prophet 6 desktop for almost a year, I have to say that as far as the audio quality goes, this Behringer is right up there. Also, with an additional two voices of polyphony, I’d speculate that it probably bests the Prophet by quite a distance. Given the constraints of YouTube audio, playing the video above through my studio monitors really shows it off. My wife happened to walk into the studio, and saw me fussing with the Prophet (trying to get similar sounds), and she asked “How much did you pay for that thing (the Prophet 6)?”. I replied, “Apparently too much!”. At a little more than a quarter of the price of a Prophet 6 desktop, this thing has got to be a no brainer for people more interested in sound than status. Now, if only they would release the Solina!
“At a little more than a quarter of the price of a Prophet 6 desktop, this thing has got to be a no brainer for people more interested in sound than status.”
That may be true if you don’t mind being limited to ’80s technology and sound. But $600 isn’t cheap for an extremely limited polysynth.
The Prophet 6 is a keyboard Dave Smith designed with an additional 40 years of experience, and it has better sound, way more synthesis options, effects, a step sequencer, etc, etc, etc.
Also – ‘the wife’ schtick is really painfully tired in the synth community. Real men take good care of their partners, and don’t need excuses for anything that they do.
OK, I’m not too sure what you are trying to say, but I do have a Prophet 6 desktop, and I’ve never used the onboard sequencer, because I have so many other options that are much easier to program. Also, the PRO800 also has a sequence, dose it not? Also, having a Prophet 6, I don’t see any way that this Behringer is more limited, in fact with the two additional voices one might make the argument that it is somewhat advanced. Also, the whole point of these “clones”, even those by Oberheim and Sequential) is to reproduce “80s technology”. Behringer just seems to do it better than the the original manufacturers (as far as sound faithfulness goes, at least). In your parlance, real men don’t buy clones of 80s synths to brag about the technology.
As for my wife’s comment (and my response), you don’t even make a cogent point. My wife kind of rules the nest when it comes to gear acquisition rules, and nobody made any excuses. My point was, that if I had known how good the Behringer clone was going to sound before I purchased the Prophet 6, I would have never purchased the Prophet. Personally, I purchase things for their usefulness and their sound, not because of the historic legacy of dead people and the overpriced nature of the status provided by modern synths that bear their company names, but little else.
Chiara,
this what we can hear from Pro800 is simply fantastic – sounds great!
Price/Performance ratio is also fantastic!
And that is what is relevant, what matters.
Thank you Dave Smith for inventing, thank you Uli Behringer who made this product,
with an affordable price for musicians.
Look at the Oberheim OB-X8 for example.
And look at the price afterwards. There is no doubt – a premium instrument, but also a premium price, right?
The Same with the Prophet 6. With all due respect.
It is not the price of the instrument that makes the sound…people are.
You’re not considering how far the 6 goes from the 5. The 800 doesn’t really go very far from the 600.
Isn’t that exactly the point of the synth?
Many shall appreciate the availability and sound flexibility of this
Regardless of the sound matching of the legacy, the cost option is a tasty win
Also the length of time between announcements and production should prove a good start point for many starting into getting their first or for others who appreciate the tones at hand
For having owned 2 P600 in my life, I have to say that this time, Behringer released a very seducing clone. 2 years ago, I bought a REV2, thinking that I would find the same grain as my P600, but it was a deception. This demo makes me want to buy the Pro800
Used a 600 in my live setup for a few years. Even though I hated the membranes back then I might pick this up… 10 percent nostalgia 90 percent price/programming audio fun.
These photos of products on production lines without people are really unsettling. I imagine some poor workers rushing at the end of their shift to make everything look spotless and then placing finished synths on the workbench just for a few social media pics.
That beautiful Poly-Mod-ing pad at 6:12 or so takes me back to my pair of P-600s. Its not the broadest sound-designer’s synth, but its a pad/string/organ beast, with some worthy lead powers. Points off if those are the same membrane pads on the programmer; points back on if they’re tougher, modern equivalents. It sounds like the original, with a cleaner edge. So far, so good…..
So many comments that read remarkably like the positive indeed reviews for the company in question. Interesting.
What is the width of this thing? Does it fit with the pro-1, k2 and neutron on the rack, or is it slimmer like the model D, cat, and wasp?
Please tell us what day it will be released in April 2023, how it will be handled in Japan, and the date of its release.
does anyone know how many octaves it plays?