Who knows whether the Behringer UB-Xa will win any awards for its performance, but we’d like to give it some kind of prize right now for being the synth with the longest time between announcement and release. Believe it not, we wrote our first story about this Oberheim OB-Xa clone back in January 2018 - that’s almost six years ago - but only now is it finally ready to come to market.
Behringer reckons that it’s been worth the wait, though; as well as emulating the OB-Xa, the UB-Xa also adds modern niceties such as a 61-note keyboard that’s sensitive to velocity and aftertouch, 512 program memories and comprehensive MIDI support. You can switch between eight vintage modes, too, each of which offers a different kind of sonic character.
All of the factory patches from the OB-Xa have been recreated, and the VCOs and VCFs are said to be “heavily based” on the originals. You get 16 voices, and the keyboard can be split so that you can play two sounds at the same time.
Other features include an 8-channel modulation matrix, 26 rotary controls and preset recall switches that enable you to quickly dart between your favourite sounds during a live performance.
It looks like the UB-Xa should be available pretty soon at a price of $1,499. That said, none of the ‘Buy Now’ retailer links on the Behringer website are currently working, so perhaps we still have a little while to wait.
If you’ve already waited six years, though, what’s a few more days/weeks/months? (Delete as applicable.)
