Behringer Reveal the Neptune-80 Juno 6/60 Clone
Behringer reveal the Neptune-80, their take on the Roland Juno 6/60 and the internet is divided!
That Was Then
We all remember when Behringer decided to enter the hardware synthesizer business. Their first attempt was the highly regarded Deep Mind. At the time, there was much excitement. Behringer had produced an original synth inspired by the Roland Juno 6/60. And for a moment, we thought Behringer might be on to something. I recall at its U.K. debut at SynthFest U.K. it was the busiest stand. They even had a VR editor prototype on show. Sadly, that add-on never materialised.
This Is Now
Fast forward a few years and we find ourselves in somewhat different times. Behringer have released many clones of classic synths at great prices. The pandemic had other ideas and for a long time, Behringer have been releasing teasers galore. A recent splurge of activity was added to today with the reveal of the Neptune-80. This prototype is billed as the greatest hits of the Juno 6/60 synths.
The Neptune-80 ‘Spec’
As always, Behringer do all of their talking via their social media channels. This is what they had to say about the Neptune-80…
“Here is the fully working prototype of our Neptune-80, an 8-voice polyphonic synth with original analog matrix, BBD chorus and modern user interface such as LCD Display, USB/Midi etc. We modeled [sic] it after the best sounding 6/60 version and we absolutely love the sound. Our product engineer Ben (a synth fanatic himself) couldn’t stop playing the Neptune, but we luckily managed to pull it out of his hands and get it in front of our camera.”
More Information
- Behringer Announcement
- More from Behringer
10 responses to “Behringer Reveal the Neptune-80 Juno 6/60 Clone”
It looks more than promising. But I hope the 49 key principle will be abandoned for at least 61.
From a manufacturing standpoint, that’s a pretty baked PPD unit- There’s lots of tooling involved and it’s unlikely to be expanded to a 61 this late in the design as that would be a pricey change.
WHY?!
The ugliness is real.. such poor sense of proportion again. I suspect their designers are blind
Yeah, it really misses the charm of the OG one, it looks strange and cheap with those big rubbery square buttons.
I can imagine those faders are no match also compared to the original one, both in looks and feel/durability.
I don’t really see the need for a lot of these recreations / knock off / inspired by synths.
Behringer’s own Deepmind 12 can do the “Juno” sound plus a whole lot more.
I have Korg’s ARP Odyssey because I secretly want to be Herbie Hancock and I just love the look and feel of that synth and can’t afford an original (plus they require a lot of maintenance). So I kind of understand the mindset of wanting to own something like that.
I just feel that ultimately you can get those sounds (and more) from nearly any modern synth and they are much easier to use.
These sort of synths seem cheap or inexpensive but they’re quite one dimensional. You wouldn’t have this as your only synth if your serious about music. You’d have to buy many of Behringer’s knock off / inspired by synths to get a balanced all around sound.
Or just buy there Deepmind, or another similar modern synth and have it all.
I believe the simplicity is the point. The one dimensionality of the originals is what a lot of people seek. and Behringer makes them cheap enough that you can buy as many as your nostalgia requires.
I absolutely love the DeepMind (I have the 12) but I’ve never really considered it as an alternative to the 106 I parted with decades ago. It’s so much more than this, and is a very worthy analogue synth in its own right – especially when you dial down the effects processing; that’s when you can really appreciate the DeepMind’s analogue lushness at a very reasonable price.
Having something which recreates the simplicity of the Juno’s without all the bells and whistles of the DeepMind, should be a winner I think for Behringer, if it’s around the £600 mark. Or preferably less!
But I Do not need a link to the Deepmind 12,I already have one and yes it is beautiful! I wish a link to the Pro 800 and the to Behringers Solina. Or a Neptun would be nice to have….
🥰
Audience here! I’ll take one!
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