Behringer Synth Prices Jump In US, Following New Tariffs

It looks like new US tariff taxes are starting to impact synth prices, with some prices jumping close to 70%.

The Trump administration recently announced a wide range of tax increases on goods imported into the US. The new tariffs promise to hit instrument prices hard, unfortunately, since almost all synths and electronic music gear is now either made in China, or made with Chinese parts.

People are reporting that pricing on Behringer gear spiked significantly overnight at some retailers. Here are a few examples:

  • Behringer Poly D Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer – was $569, now $629
  • Behringer Wave – was $599, now $689
  • Behringer Swing USB MIDI Keyboard Controller – was $99, now $169
  • Behringer Pro VS Mini Hybrid Vector Synthesizer – was $99, now $119
  • Behringer JT-4000 Micro Hybrid Modeling Synthesizer – was $49, now $70.90
  • Behringer UB-Xa 16-voice Bi-timbral Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer – was $1199, now $1299
  • Behringer System 55 Eurorack Modular Synthesizer – was $1,599, now $1,899

It’s not clear yet how broadly tariffs will impact pricing across the music gear industry, but this is probably a taste of what’s to come.

What do you think about the new taxes and their impact on music gear prices in the US? A necessary evil? Bad economic policy? Opportunistic price gouging? Share your thoughts in the comments!

 

Update: We revised the post to show the UB-XA was previously $1199 vs $999. Our understanding is that the official price was still $1199, though it was available at many retailers for less. We think that the revised list better reflects the impact of the price increases.

114 thoughts on “Behringer Synth Prices Jump In US, Following New Tariffs”

    1. What should be done? What is your alternative economic policy?
      It doesn’t seem like this will break the bank for those who were considering buying one of these synths.

      1. It’s not just the synthesizer, it’s just about everything you could possibly purchase is getting ready to turn like this. Price of wood is going to go through the roof, so if you need to repair your deck, or fix a deck, what might have cost $20,000 is now going to cost you $27,000 or maybe even more once all is said and done. This also goes for car parts, because a good majority of them are manufactured overseas, which means the price of old cars are going to go through the roof. Everything is about to get really expensive here in the US. And I agree with the original poster statement LOL

          1. If I may suggest an alternative policy, the billions in new revenue that the US will be collecting in tariffs should 100% be applied to tax cuts for the low- and middle-income taxpayers most affected by the higher prices. Then nobody would have a reason to complain about the tariffs.

            I say this is an “alternative policy” because it’s clearly not the plan.

      2. Biden inherited a shit show, but ended his presidency with record low unemployment, stable inflation and soaring stock market.

        Trump has already turned the economy into a shit show again, with prices soaring, unemployement jumping and the stock market tanking.

        The key is not to have a complete idiot at the lead. Expect to pay more for everything for the next four years, not just synths.

        1. LOL. Biden and the Biden years were a sh*t show.
          What reality did you live in.
          Why do you think Trump won the popular vote, the Electoral College Points and all seven swing states.

          1. “Why do you think Trump won the popular vote, the Electoral College Points and all seven swing states.”

            Because Fox News amplifies Trump’s lies, and it’s the most popular ‘news’ source in America. Simple as that.

                2. Admin: Comment deleted – misinformation stated as fact, name-calling, and you’re using multiple identities to spam the site.

          2. In the real reality, check your 401k and the $ vs other currencies. Maybe you don’t have any $ or 401k which then your opinion makes sense and doesn’t matter.

      3. alternative economic policy?

        Do not start an unnecessary trade war with the rest of the world.
        dont cut down on education and medicine.
        all of this hurts your own people & economy.

        you dont need to be Einstein to figure this out. greetings from Europe 😉

      4. It puts some of the synths out of yolo purchase territory. Tho honestly I’d just try to delay my purchase until prices go back down.

          2. They will, all you have to do is not buy the Chiense products. Be glad I am not in there, I would ban all Chinese made goods until they became a democratic nation.

            I would rather super high tarrifs but anyone making under 150k a year paid no taxes full stop, and all “whole foods” like apples, beef, milk, eggs, carrots, etc would be completely tax free for everyone and unhealthy chemical processed junk would have a 500% tax.

    3. If you were teaching a 5th grade class about William McKinley and asked one of the students how his economic policies might be employed in the modern day, and say a slow student just skimmed the text and came up with a quick essay, I would imagine they might write something like the current “policy”. I guess nobody told Trump how that presidency ended.

    2. Trump didn’t win a majority. He had .15% more votes than Harris, but not a majority.

      Rupublicans haven’t won a majority of the popular vote for decades. They target rural areas very strategically, so that they can win the electoral college, even with an unpopular leader and platform.

      1. LOL. Trump won the popular vote, the Electoral College points and all seven swing states. That IS a statement and a mandate from the majority of US citizens.

        1. Trump won 49.8% of the popular vote. So … almost, but not quite a majority of US citizens.

          As for swing states, he did not win in New Mexico. But “swing states” is really a subjective term.

    3. Hilarious. People have been hating on Behringer and slamming them, and when the president slaps on a tariff that hurts Behringer, all of a sudden, people are sticking up for Behringer and slamming the President of the United States. Unbelievable! It seems that hate knows no bounds.

    4. If you want to talk about the majority, the majority of people in the US do not vote because the political system is rigged to present them with two choices of which neither represents meaningful improvement to their material interests.

    1. You’d pay VAT on a synth in the UK, no matter where it is made, even if made in the UK.

      (Subject to the retailer being liable for VAT, which in the UK is if the retailed has a taxable turnover of greater than ÂŁ90k. Some small, boutique retailers, such as, maunfacturers sellign direct, might not charge VAT.)

    2. VAT is a consumption tax, not an import tariff. You pay VAT on all goods, whether they’re made in the UK or abroad. Tariffs are additional.

      The USA also has consumption tax in the form of state sales tax. It varies from zero percent in Alaska to 7.25% in California.

      2. Frodo, it is embarrassing that you would have to even explain this to a fellow Brit, that they cannot nor never have seemingly understood what the VAT is and how it works. Thank you nevertheless.

        1. Why should or would a consumer be expected to know how vat works? From a consumer’s perspective it is mandatory if it is due. One has to pay whatever price is offered and whether that contains vat or not is irrelevant except to the extent that one can incentivise the seller not to charge vat but even then the fact that it’s a value added tax is irrelevant.

  6. Seeing how the original prices could never be maintained without a workforce essentially willing to work long hours for “room and board” like some kind of turn of the century sweat shop, I can’t say I’m sad.

    1. Not trying to be argumentative, I am genuinely interested.
      Do you have a source for that?
      Can you link to an article or anything please?
      Thanks in advance.

    2. I think you’ve replaced facts with your imagination. All the really tedious work that a synth used to involve (soldering hundreds to thousands of tiny components) is now done by machine. Humans do assembly and QA, and the work conditions are far from a ‘sweatshop’. Assembly work isn’t glamorous or thrilling but nor is it horribly soul or health destroying, I’ve done the same sort of work right here in the USA.

    3. Unfortunately Behringer’s employees aren’t going to be paid more with this price hike. This is to meet their tax obligations for doing business in the USA.

      They import their own products into the USA, meaning the USA’s government is hitting them with tariffs. The cost of manufacturing hasn’t gone up.

      If they used a 3rd party to import into the USA, it’d be the same thing just with an announcement by a different company.

      If/when they need to pay more to their employees expect another hike.

    4. Isn’t that the opportunity that Trump is bringing to us? The chance to stand in an assembly line…until a robot takes your job?

    1. I did too – I went through my list of things that I had been putting off and picked up the ones that seemed like they would go up under the tariffs that I had the pocket cash for and grabbed them – so got a few behringer synths I had been putting off – a couple of Chinese made guitars. All of them are more expensive now

    1. Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!! Next time, maybe the Democrats will run a candidate who can answer questions and do press conferences, a candidate who doesn’t stink.

      1. Answer questions, you mean that guy whom literally cannot explain the economy without the visual aid of tictac? Or the one that could not read Yosemite? Stop hiding behind your racist and sexist views to simply tout someone not qualified to run a convenient store, let alone a once venerable nation. I would say you are embarrassing yourself, then again somethings are built in.

        2. Let’s focus here. It’s not a comparison but a point made that the dem candidate was a train wreck. Let’s focus again and buy a synth made in the USA. Moog just dropped prices on sub 25. And if you want to talk about racism, we can just talk about Behringer themselves

      3. TimS, look at the USA’s economy. It’s starting to tank. The reason why it’s crashing is because things were good, now they are turning bad. Billionaires and partisan fools are making that happen.

        The Dow Jones has dropped over 500 points in a day because of chaotic & stupid financial choices are being made on the fly without actual policy & strategy.

        You can’t blame the political opposition for that, the collapse started after the new government was sworn in. This bad choice has affected the whole world.

        Just look at reality & how those Bernie Sanders town halls are going. The reality is a strong middle class benefits everyone. Look at the USA’s economy post WW2, that boosted the economy by ensuring everyone had jobs and those jobs were paid OK.

        1. Things were good. LOL. With all due respect, what world do you live in? Starting to tank? Collapse? LOL. No one can time the market. Dow Jones dips don’t negate the sh*t show that was the last four years. Why do you think the current president won the popular vote, Electoral College points, and all seven swing states. Because the majority of US citizens (and LEGAL immigrants) could clearly see what your ideology blinds you to. Bernie Sanders? Really? Socialism is the answer for the USA (Bernie is closer to Communism)? To quote Margaret Thatcher, “Socialism only works until you run out of other people’s money.” Look at the financial situation of many European countries that are espousing their Socialist ideology and programs, fiscal trainwrecks (and all with much lower populations/people to support than the USA). You have two choices: You can either support the government that US citizens have elected and see how things go and support your country, or you can whine and crybaby and beach and moan for the next four years. Do you want even more products to be made in China and elsewhere overseas? Do you want more US companies moving to other countries? Do you want non-US companies buying more US companies? Do you want the US to foot the largest part of the NATO bill while EU countries pay comparatively little? Do you want a bigger, bloated government that costs taxpayers trillions? Do you want the possibility/better likelihood that synths will be made in the USA!!!

      4. @TimS – before attempting to misdirect your way out of bad rhetoric, have a read of this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/14/trump-egg-prices-denmark-greenland

        The USA’s current administration is trying to buy eggs off Denmark- the same country they’re attempting to bully into giving up Greenland. All because the claim the POTUS made about being able to reduce egg prices hasn’t come through.

        Rather than attempting to work with local egg producers & assisting domestic production, they’re attempting to buy foreign eggs from a nation that’ll probably find a nice way to say ‘we don’t want to do business with you, fix your mess yourself.’

      5. TimS: The president suffers from phonemic paraphasia, fixates, frequently repeats simple phrases and often loses his train of thought mid-sentence. These are hallmarks of dementia, not strong leadership.

      6. Yeah…the Don can only really speak gibberish with some kind of strange sign language. Let me guess… all the hand motions are a secret language explaining all his genius economic plans that only his followers can understand.

        …the dude bankrupted a casino. Yes, a casino.. Pretty sure he can manage to bankrupt a country.

    3. I wish this [Fill In ANY Assortment of expletives ] (SYNTHHEAD PLEASE DO NOT BAN MY COMMENTS, I don’t want Atomic Shadow to think I was attacking him) was an actual clown, yet clowns, professional clowns train for years, they have talent and grit, intelligence and humanity, grace and wit, artistic flare and precise timing, in short, all the things the person masquerading as a human has never had, nor ever will.

      I am watching this from afar and yet I cannot believe that Americans chose this. However old and past his prime, President Biden brought dignity, competence, and order to America and the world at large. What an absolute disgrace to allow this individual back into the corridors of power.

    2. Oh yes any way you slice it Behringer synths will always be relatively cheap. As in a Minimoog clone for $299 or $1299 depending on how dumb your government’s trade war is. Nothing to worry about.

  15. Thing is, the tariffs will go to the Feds and then Elon and Donald will write Federal contracts directing those extra funds to their companies, ex-girlfriends, and ex-wife so no one in the music business, vendor or consumer win in this case

  16. Bullshit – I bought my Ubxa for $1,199.00 on 12/04/2023 from Sweetwater and I have the invoice to prove it.
    Way to puff up those numbers to fit your agenda.
    You might want to bring this website into modern times as well…. scaling on a phone looks bad.

    1. Billy – thanks for the feedback.

      The UB-Xa has been listed at prices down to $999 at many retailers. Our understanding is that Sweetwater is a Behringer ‘super partner’ and officially sticks to the list price. Sorry you did not get a better deal.

      We updated the post to clarify this.

      Regarding a mobile version of the site – we used to maintain a mobile-friendly version of the site and it didn’t pay for itself, so this has not been a priority for us. We don’t want to pimp mobile apps and affiliate junk to justify the investment. We’ll revisit this if it makes economic sense.

      1. Personally I like this site the way it is. On my moble, my iPad and my PC. So called mobile friendly sites have a tendency to look bad on all other platforms than mobiles. It’s easy to zoom in, and scroll on Synthopia. No need for change.

    2. What are you arguing about? The original post:
      “Behringer UB-Xa 16-voice Bi-timbral Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer – was $1199, now $1299”

      You post:
      “I bought my Ubxa for $1,199.00 on 12/04/2023 from Sweetwater and I have the invoice to prove it.”

      OK, so you bought your synth 15 months ago at the price it used to be sold at, as stated in the article. Now it has gone up following the tariff increase.

      What is your talk of ‘bullshit’ and ‘agenda’ about? Did you misread the numbers or something?

  17. lol I said this was going to happen as soon as he was elected and got called an idiot for saying people should have bought last year before the tariffs kick in. I guess those same people that shouted me down can make some new argument about how higher prices are actually lower prices because of some right wing talking point

  18. It’s time for a new president that has brains with what he promised to the public. Not necessarily republican nor democrat. Someone who knows what they are doing. Get rid of
    DOGE (doggie), Elon is destroying this country fast!! People are losing jobs and soon it will be
    beyond repair, no more USA, it will not be great anymore. Thomas Jefferson once said the people shall revolt about every 200 years…it’s past due. I’m not saying to destroy it’s time to rebuild within the ranks of the laid off, furlough and the already poor. The fight has no race. It has more intelligence than the crooks that have placed in office by T rump. As the old song by the Chamber Brothers, Time….Time as come today.
    Time to wave the freak flag again! This is not a message for the “left”, liberals, it’s a message for all for…….ALL LIVES MATTER! It is time GOD to help all.

  20. “What do you think about the new taxes and their impact on music gear prices in the US? A necessary evil? Bad economic policy? Opportunistic price gouging? Share your thoughts in the comments!” why, it’s none of those things, it’s a demented old narcissist and a techno-nazi dismantling the government so a christo-fascist white male power movement called project 2025 can rip the rights away from everyone else and pursue their cherished religious oppression. don’t believe what you read in the news papers, their owned by the ruling oligarchy.

  21. Remember, politicians are the vampire class, regardless of party affiliation. We’re not allowed to drag them into sunlight and kill them outright. The only alternative is to drink until they get soused and pass out. When the fangs come out, you can more easily get at them with a hammer. Or pliers, if you’re feeling frisky. Whoever pulls the biggest ones gets to go bow hunting with Ted Nugent.

    People who create software instruments are likely to enjoy at least a small surge in business if hardware gets too pricey for too long.

    1. Have you heard about techno-feudalism yet?

      Sadly it’s not a genre made with that TE sampler. It’s living in a rent-based economy where we don’t own shit, we pay for access durations like Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft 365, Roland Cloud etc. Companies pay-wall us into their version of enshittification.

      They’ve learned- why bother making something good we pay for once when they can half-bake it & get us to pay every month/year? If we stick around for a few pay cycles they’ll end up earning more than a single purchase.

      As we’ve seen with the relaunched Lemur app, subscription models can be beaten when the owner is small. But large companies are a different problem requiring massive levels of rejection.

      When the vampires are also business mafioso, corruption is inevitable.

  22. This is about the tariffs on Chinese stuff. So – if I am not mistaken ASHUN (Hydrasynths) should also be affected by this?

    1. Correct. Also it will affect anyone using components manufactured in China, which will hit a lot of other companies to a lesser degree.

      1. I can buy Chinese semiconductors and other electronic components, assemble them on a PCB and build everything into a synthesizer in Vietnam.

        As long as 51% of the process occurs there, I can label it “Made in Vietnam” and import it into the US without tariffs.

        1. You’re probably onto something there, Vietnam’s working hard to not get hit (they’re another country with a trade surplus to the USA).

          https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-reviewing-duties-us-lng-high-tech-products-pm-says-2025-03-14/

          Saw an article recently on DW or France 24 or similar about Chinese clothing factories moving relocating to Laos & Cambodia partly for the cheaper labour and partly to avoid the inevitable USA trade war with China. Can’t find the link though.

  23. If Behringer shift their manufacturing to Malaysia, which is what they are doing with their new factory 5.0, will they avoid US tariffs? Well maybe, depends if the US impose tariffs soon and whether synths are included within the proposed tariffs on semiconductors.
    US made synths will go up in price unless they source components exclusively from the US, which probably means reengineering them or hoping more fab moves onshore.

  24. Apologies if this is a double post, tried responding to Frodo earlier on this topic but it looks like the post was lost to the ether.

    @Rob Keeble- you’re probably right on the money about the new Malaysia factory as a workaround. Wonder how much of a synth can be made in China, exported to a 3rd country, completed then shipped to the USA?

    The Vietnamese are aware of this loophole as well, there’s been a shift of Chinese clothes manufacturers relocating to places like Laos & Vietnam for cheaper labour (and political foresight): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-reviewing-duties-us-lng-high-tech-products-pm-says-2025-03-14/

    1. Billionaires like cheap labor because it increases profit. That’s why massive American companies have spent several decades shifting production to the cheapest possible corners of the planet. China, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam.

      Liberalism and conservatism have nothing to do with it. Just follow the money.

  26. Thankfully I pre ordered mine and locked in the old price. I told myself that after this, I will no longer buy made in China things if it can be avoided (especially new, more wiggle room for used). The only exception will be things only made in China or things that cost more than triple the made in China version (such as through hole components)

  28. What evidence do you have that the Biden years were so bad and that Trump is a stable genius? Only what Trump, Fox News, OAN, and your right-wing lying blogs and Facebook posts?
    We live in the reality that Larud outlined, one in which Biden inherited a shit show, but ended his presidency with record low unemployment, stable inflation and soaring stock market.
    Are you not aware of the Wisconsin Foxconn plant that Trump broke ground on that never happened. All of his big blustery “this will be the eighth wonder of the world” BS. And then Biden came in and actually did get a big plant built on the same site?
    Trump is only talk, no success. Do you recall the amazing prefect Trump health plan in January 2017? He went on TV and said he would announce it in two weeks. Then it was another two weeks, and so on, then it became I’ll announce it in months… By August he just stopped talking about it, and you forgot about it.
    Trump would even show up at plant openings claiming credit when they were actually put into motion by Obama.
    Biden got an amazing bi-partisan infrastructure bill passed that will continue to create jobs. He passed the Chips act to get microchip manufacturing back into the US for national security reasons, so another pandemic doesn’t bring our other industries to their knees. Biden would have passed a fully bipartisan immigration bill if the GOP weren’t so cowardly and afraid of Trump threatening to primary them if they didn’t reject the bill and that was solely because Trump didn’t want Biden to have the win.
    Trump is a petty child and a bully, a criminal who absolutely was not exonerated for the Russia scandal (read the report) , a generally low intelligence moron who uses the vocabulary of a 3td grader.

  29. Yay! Backwards time again. Higher prices are actually good, and soon everything will be made in America. Just give it a few years.

  30. Why are all these Trump/Biden things not considered off topic and removed by a moderator?
    Trump being in power is screwing a lot already in the world. Let’s keep synthopia free of politics.
    Greetings from Amsterdam

  32. “The Dumbest Trade War in History”

    Quote from conservative newspaper The Wall Street Journal owned by Rupert Murdock about trumps Tariffs

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