The first truly portable analog synthesizer was released in 1971. Although it was rather pricey and could be temperamental, keyboard heavies of the era were quick to embrace it; and in the ensuing decades, its legendary sounds graced countless concerts, records, and film scores. We are excited to present to you Behringer’s homage to that iconic monosynth, and there are some exciting surprises waiting for all synthesists who have been aching to get their hands on one of these legendary synths. First off, the Behringer Poly D packs four voices of polyphony — instead of one — inside its classic, 37-key wood-trimmed chassis; and second — it is amazingly affordable! Otherwise, it packs all the features of the original — and then some.
Insanely fat sounds
The inspired synth tracks laid down in the 1970s and ’80s are inscribed in the annals of progressive rock, jazz fusion, new wave, and synth-pop forever, making them fully classic in every sense. The Poly D’s pure analog signal path with legendary VCO, VCF and VCA circuits, lets you recreate all that magic — or craft original, incurably obese sounds tol blaze your own musical path.
Your musical time machine
With the Behringer Poly D, you can quickly and easily whip up virtually any monophonic — or polyphonic — analog synth sound you can dream up. The all-analog signal path is based on authentic VCO, VCF, VCA, and ladder filter designs working in concert with four fully analog triangle/square wave VCOs (the original had three). Playing a Poly D is like firing up your own musical time machine, where you can go retro — or craft the future!
True to the original
Behringer meticulously crafted the Poly D, staying true to the original D-type circuitry with its matched transistors and JFETs, ultra-high-precision 0.1% thin film resistors, and polyphenylene sulfide capacitors. This painstaking attention to detail is what gives the Poly D its ultra-flexible sound-shaping capabilities, which cover the gamut from ultra-fat basses and searing lead tones, brilliant effects, classic prog rock organ sounds, all the way to the warped sounds of your deepest sonic dreams.
Three modes to choose from
With the Poly D, you have your choice of three modes: monophonic, polyphonic, or unison. With Mono, you have the characteristics of a classic monosynth like the original D, but with even fatter and more expressive bass lines, blistering solos, and swoopy portamentos. Flip the switch to Poly, and you can play up to four-note chords to produce luscious chord harmonies and pads that add soul and depth to your music. Unison Mode thickens your sound by layering all the Poly D’s four voices on top of each other, adding harmonic content for a richer sound.
Four versatile VCOs
The Poly D has four highly versatile Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) that deliver an incredible range of five waveforms for sculpting your blockbuster sounds. Options for oscillators 1, 2, and 3 include triangular, triangular/saw; saw, square, wide pulse, and narrow pulse; OSC 4 offers triangular, reverse saw, saw, square, wide pulse, and narrow pulse waves. What’s more, you can adjust all four VCOs across an extremely wide, six-octave range (LO, 32', 16', 8', 4' and 2'). This impressive flexibility gives you everything you need to be your creative best.
Legendary Ladder filter
At the very heart of the Poly D’s sound is its venerable, highly flexible 24dB Ladder Filter. Behringer’s implementation of this holy-grail vintage design lets you freely adjust Cutoff Frequency, Emphasis, and Contour to tweak your sound to perfection. For selecting the operating range of your choice, the Poly D’s Filter Mode switch can be set for either low- or highpass operation. You can also adjust the Attack, Decay, and Sustain controls to affect the cutoff frequency over time.
Beaucoup knobularity and connectivity
Poly D has a whopping total of 84 controls, all arranged in a classic, highly intuitive layout that injects joy into music-making and brings a smile to your face. In addition to the fourth oscillator, Behringer gave the Poly D even more features the original D could only dream of, such as aftertouch, BBD Stereo analog Chorus and Distortion units, an arpeggiator, and a 32-step Sequencer. Its ample connectivity includes MIDI In, Out, and Thru over USB/MIDI and DIN; After Pressure (aftertouch) and Velocity outputs with their own dedicated volume controls; internal and external V-Trig I/O; and external Loudness, Filter, OSC, and modulation source outputs.
Features:
- True to the original D-type circuitry
- Pure analog signal path
- Mono, Poly, and Unison modes
- Ultra-flexible sound-shaping capabilities
- 37 full-size keys with After Pressure
- 4 VCOs; LFO (Oscillator 4 set to Lo range)
- Classic Ladder Filter with lowpass, highpass modes
- BBD Stereo Chorus and Distortion units
- Onboard 32-step Sequencer and Arpeggiator