Behringer Pro VS First impressions
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ค. 2024
- In todays Mad Gear, Greg manages to get his hands on one of the first new mini synths from Behringer. Introducing the Pro VS Mini.
In this episode, we're gonna imagine it's 1986 and have a look at a new form of synthesis/synth. The Vector synth but this time from Behringer and not Sequential Circuits.
What's it like? What does it sound like? Is it any good? Let's go find out!!!
You can also see my review of the Behringer JT-4000 Micro here
• behringer JT-4000 Micr...
00:00 Introduction
00:23 The new synth
01:11 Rundown of episode
01:21 Unboxing
02:06 First impressions
04:00 Run through of synth functions and basic operation
10:12 First preset sounds
11:50 Exploring sounds further
12:08 Let's go back to the 80's
13:07 First sound impressions
13:44 Introducing the analogue filter
14:33 The Arp
15:17 The Analogue chorus effect
17:05 Some more program examples
17:34 An init patch
18:36 Waveform sounds
19:49 Creating a patch
21:15 Does it do Vector?
21:39 More sound examples
22:39 Final thoughts and conclusion
#behringer #Provsmini #synth
@behringer
The sound reminds me of 80's horror movies and mortal combat. Pretty cool to have this sound available for modern music for such a low price. Surprises me how many edit functions and parameters are there... i think they did an excellent job
mortal kombat yeah
An youtuber named witchdoctorwise made a downloadable pack with sounds inspired by John Carpenter's music.
I got mine today and horror music is one of my love for main reasons why I bought it. 😁
@@danielhanssen8664 i dont watch horror movies, dont like them too. But watched really most of the classics from 70's / 80's / 90's during my childhood. In the 80's those soundtracks were always pretty good. Love these haunting atmospheres. Scary music is fun, but im not that much into killings and everything twisted. So, no horror movies for me
Phwoar, that bass sounds pretty sick with the analogue filter and analogue chorus. This would do nice 80's style bass for a micro synthwave set up... volca sample 2 for drums, a roland J6 for the juno chords and the Pro VS mini for the basslines. *checks wallet*
Great minds think alike...as soon as I heard that bass, I said, "okay...we have a contender." The Volca and the J6 are in my arsenal, this is looking juicy.
Nice video and introduction to the Pro VS. (FYI, the heat from your little candle is making the picture shimmer slightly).
Thanks for your feedback. Glad you liked the video. 😊
Thanks for the video ! Whats with the lack of real time tweaking of the sounds ? Is it an option you can activate ?
Within the manual, it says there are CC numbers for most controls so automation shouldn’t be an issue.
Nice video, looking forward to a comparison with the SY22.
Coming as soon as I can fit it around other studio projects. Watch this space.
Hoh the Sy 22 is a total different thing . There are no filters and total other waves
An interesting product. I'd like to know how controllable it would be using my Roland AE-30 wind synth (the CCs in the manual look promising) and it's cheap enough that I can buy it and find out for myself!
That sounds fun
I just got one plus a JT 4000. It's all by use of USB through a computer DAW. I'm more of a MIDI Person, used to hardware. I'm just getting into use of USB-MIDI with these two units. I'm using USB hubs to add in to a chain.
Hi ! I didn't see in the manual : what are parameters that LFO 1 and 2 modulate ?
Did you ever figure out if it has a 'hold' setting for the keys?
John Carpenter used a Sequential Circuits - Prophet 10 Mk1 .. only one in existence since Dave Smith called them back due to heating issues of the SSM chips.
Did you work out what the ‘Mix’ controls do ? The ones on mine don’t appear to do anything :-( I would’ve thought these were levels for the 4 oscillators.
Same here, not sure what they do
@@petro5 Interesting - a bug / glitch then - like the oscillator tune requiring a note press to hear the difference. FW fix hopefully :-)
If I’m not mistaken it’s the time it takes for each phase of the morph to happen. You set the values for what mix of waveforms you want to happen in the mix envelope point section and the envelope works as a time control for each part of it
My advice is to read the sequential manual. Think about the mix envelope as a "robotic hand" that moves the joystick automatically. The envelope has several points that can be programmed using the joystick in the MIX ENV Menu, the 4 Mix controls VRs, define the speed at which the envelope runs between the points, the lower the value, the less time it takes to travel from one point to the other. The line between points is called a "vector". Then you have many options how the vectors are executed, can repeat some for a number of time, loop etc. This is a super powerful synthesis as the sound evolves over time, worth to spend a few days to learn it as it opens a world of sound design.
Great explanation -once I’ve worked out how it works , it’s opened up a new world of sounds
Thank goodness for the brave souls who put up these videos...I'm chuffed with my VS, just as I was with my Modal Craft, but why oh why don't manufacturers make clear instructions for players to follow, and as someone else has said, legable (SIZE), so far I've spent more time finding out about how to use it than I have actual creating...but to be fair it packs a punch, and it will be part of a live setup...thanks for a concise overview...
I gotta say this, your the first to show how to use this thing, I got it a couple of weeks ago but not being a reading man all them tiny books with extra small print kind of left me saying stick this for a game of soldiers, and left it alone till I watch your vid, and paused it when I needed to, thanks bud my eyes are opening wider, me being old school I'm sure you understand,
good job, wished I could save this video, I'll have too find a free video downloader software so I can play it as many times as I need, cheers
just bookmark it!
@@ImmaculateEric it will be taken down after a while, so best to download it
How is the resolution of the frequency knob , is it in semitones only or full range resolution ?
It offers semi tone and fine pitch control. Fine tune only goes up in cents so to detune an wave you would have to drop it a semitone and then fine tune up. Bit convoluted but gets the job done.
great, I tune all my instruments in a=446 so fine tuning up will work for me i guess, thank you very much for the answer i am waiting for it from thomann so i got a little anxious seeing in your video the freq knob change in semitones @@madgear303
Is there anything out there about chaining two units to get OG 8 voice poly?
Not that I've seen but to be honest i haven't looked. To be fair the poly chain feature is something I've yet to look in to. Is it a real benefit?
@@madgear303 it's a benefit if you play with two hands or play chords with a long release, yes
Where did you order yours from? I preordered in the states and mine had yet to arrive or ship. For the price, this sounds amazing.
I’m in the UK and Andertons have them in stock. It will be worth the wait 😉
@@madgear303 awesome. Thanks.
Seems nice but Monotron can filter external sources so..
Is it just me or am I missing something here? If I select patch 13 (Drum) it consists of A+B+C being Sine waves, with only D being a Noise wave. This means if I move the joystick to B (opposite to D) then there should be no noise playing when I hit the keys. Yet every time, no matter where I place the joystick, I can hear the noise coming through. Anyone else?
This is normal behaviour, because the final mix position is a blend of the vector envelope output + joystick position.
@@music-ic6tg Okay, this is hte first vector-style synth I've used so I'm unfamiliar with these things.
So placing the joystick at any extreme will never truly eliminate the voice/sound from the other side? Is that right?
@@cfytcf You would need also to program the vector envelope to center, this way joystick alone should have full authority
@@music-ic6tg Thanks, I tried that and it didn't make a difference. I can also turn of the vector envelope entirely, and it still doesn't stop the Noise wave (D) from playing, even at position B.
@@music-ic6tgwhat does the mix envelope do?
I notice a PO unit in the frame there, have you attempted to sync them??
The SY-22 was made by Yamaha after Dave Smith explained the whole idea to them when they were taken over. Dave Smith and his team designed the Wavestation for Korg/Yamaha and the first time they saw the SY-22 was at the NAMM show. They had nothing to do with the development of the SY-22.
They did in a way by introducing Yamaha to the concept of Vector Synthesis. Having the FM aspect with waves is an interesting concept though.
what happened they went in a room at Yamaha and explained in detail what they wanted to develop. They called it the "re-synthesizer" because the idea was that users could use their own waveforms. Yamaha just listened and did nothing. Let me quote Dave Smith on this (he wrote this): 'The first NAMM show, when we showed the Wavestation, I remember an old friend came up and said, ‘How’s it feel having two new products at the show?’ and I said, ‘Two? We only have one, just the Wavestation.’ He said, ‘Yamaha have this SY22-you must have had something to do with that.’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘It’s a combination vector synthesis machine, it has FM and samples.’ I thought, Oh, that sounds familiar.
“But basically, what Yamaha did is, they took notes from my meeting and they went ahead and designed it by themselves and never even asked me about it, even though it was my idea. And then also around the same time there was an audio magazine that printed new patents. And I remember reading this one new patent from Yamaha and I realized that when I first explained how wave sequencing worked, they went out and patented it, even though they were telling me it wouldn’t work. This was after the Wavestation was already out. So it was kind of interesting how they worked. The funny thing is, it was all their property, you know-they owned anything I did at[…]'
@@madgear303
@@TheTerracidelink me (I wanna read it all, very interesting.....I just picked up a Wavestation a few days ago for $238.
I also got this yesterday. My first impression is that the user interface is quite cumbersome, and the sequencer's memory is linked to different sounds, which is frustrating. When you place it on an angled stand, the vector joystick moves downward, which is odd. There are various other bugs as well. Since the sequencer isn't great, I've connected TD-3's MIDI OUT to MIDI IN and am tweaking the sounds using TD-3's sequence. Surprisingly, it seems to produce some rather unique sounds. It might actually be a decent synth in some ways. Anyway, I hope they fix the bugs and improve the usability with a firmware update. Considering it's only £90, it's undoubtedly quite impressive quality when you think about it calmly.
Yes. The joystick is awful. Loose and floppy. Tilt the unit in any direction and the joystick falls with it. Its impossible to keep centered. I ended up stuffing a bit of cardboard down the side to stiffen it up.
That's a good idea, so I cut the PARACETAMOL 💊🤣cardboard to a height of 2.5 cm and pressed it into side A. (Any shorter, and there's a risk it might get stuck inside and become difficult to remove.) It works perfectly! Thank you! It doesn't look great, but one problem has been solved.@@RedmondBarry256
I am using it since yesterday, and the joystick operation is similar to my Original Prophet VS, The joystick on theses vector synth is not spring loaded and so it moves freely. Software wise did not find any bug until now, on my side, all working as expected. Wonderful unit and Sounds amazing. Well done to Behringer.
I’m impressed and I love the sound of the filter.
Using it here and no bugs, the sequencer is standard comparable to what a Volca has for example. The sequencer memory allows to save the patch number it has to be played with which a good feature, as in live session it recalls your pattern with the correct sound.
Have you figured out what the mix part of the Adsr does?
I actually just wrapped my head around it now
Are you going to share the info? @@petro5
It defines the rate (aka the speed) at which the envelopes runs between points of the vectors. Smaller, value the less time it takes to go from point to point
My first one had problems the joy stick was very loose with no resident's. Not all the key's played all the time, the lower part of the key bed that's the FGAB played all the time, the rest played intermittent.
All Sharp's or flat keys played ok.
I sent it back for a replacement.
When I received the replacement the joy stick was still to loose all key's played ok.
I think the Manuel is to small it's hard for me to read even with reading glasses on.
I would have to scan the book to enlarge the writing.
you mention keyboard action being not very sensitive but failed to remove the protective cover from it....
I did think that but there definitely is one key that needed a firmer press than the others. Unfortunately it’s still the same with the cover removed. 😔
I'm definitely interested in this cool little device, especially with all them lovely waveforms, all for under 100 quid too!
early depeche mode into a box
Hahah why did you wrote this.. now i hear all the songs when i hear a similar preset 😂
:)))) hopefully is not a bad thing for you. DM really used PPG a lot till late 80's and Pro VS was very much inspired by that synth @@gokhan9395
Please don't make me buy one, I already pre ordered the JT-4000. I am going to a Depeche Mode concert in less than a week.
Thanks I too received mine yesterday glad I'm not the only one disappointed with joystick resistance. Can't figure out how to sequence the instructions are tiny. So, loved the video and would appreciate a how to sequence one soon! Thanks
Read the instructions through your phone camera
nice - just ordered. My hardware setup has incorporated the Volca Keys for a long time and I was looking for something just as small but able to be a bit more punchy in the mix. Although both together playing the same notes might be nice. The oscillator testing sounded almost Stereolabesque.
For the $ it is fantastic, sounds great and plenty of flexibility in sound adjustment. The manual is terrible and tiny but playing with it for 30 mins results in figuring out most things (must have play activated to use the ARP and must select ARP vs Seq from the menu, for example). Agree with others, connect it to a midi keyboard. My joystick isn't as sensitive as others, it will stay in position on an angle, but it isn't the device's strong point. The design is cool looking and functional; personally prefer it to other brick shaped devices like Volcas or Airas. Updates firmware very easily using the downloaded software, which is a bonus. For the cost, it is a fun synth, solid sounds, and well worth it. Appreciate the video!
Behringer, please make a Rhodes/Wurlitzer model. I will buy one.
I’ll tell ya! I was in Walmart and they had those Onn 3W speakers $5 so I picked up 5 of them, so when I want to test it or go somewhere else, those are perfect for this type of scenario! Good video, have the Eurorack version on order. There is many anti Behringer online, I am not one them! If it weren’t for Behringer I would never have owned a 2600 or 100 series! And now with the Eurorack four series and the VS every time I see it in text I think pro verses, whatever! lol I own a lot of Behringer,it’s never broken or crapped out or cost too much! I wouldn’t dedicate a channel to them, but having a problem with a company cloning😮 what everybody is cloning and costing so much less is awesome in my opinion! They continue great updates and don’t forget after the opening sale. The only product they make that I’m aware of is the KeyStep, I bought one anyway because it was $65! Have a great new year!
Hi Greg, very informative video about the Pro VS. Thanks for it. The video is very slightly out of focus, just wanted to let you know. It's not because of the monitor.
I think when I first uploaded the video it was in SD. I checked focus peaking when I set up the camera. I appreciate the focus is shifting at the edges of the screen. Thanks for the feedback.
@@madgear303 anyway, it´s great to see it in action. In Germany we cannot buy it yet. It is available in 3-4 weeks.
Good introduction, I got more out of your video than trying to read the microscopic and incomprehensible manual. I know it's a cheap product but the manual is inexcusably bad. Any chance you can do an in depth tutorial?
I got mine Tuesday and I’m loving it. Can’t do any recording with it yet unless I use my laptop as I have mislaid my camera connection kit for my iPad in my recent move. Got the JT 4000 today, haven’t had time to do too much with that yet.
What are you loving more so far? The pro vs mini or the JT4000?
@@AlbertoArgentiero the pro vs mini, it has a lot more scope for sound design. And I haven’t managed to update the JT4000 yet, my laptop keeps crashing when I try to do the firmware update.
Dang, I didn't even get a usb cord with mine. You must be a special kind of guy.
Uli typing out an email to the marketing team watching this 😂
10.45 min 'Alligator 427" Hubert-Felix Thiéfaine
👍
Just got mine! I like the sounds, they have character! theres something in the sound when you get to the low freq! the build quality surprised me! feels better than the Korg stuff! I must say the big knob feels a bit cheap ad pretty loose but works well! has a nice Chorus! the knobs feel solid enough! the keys are not easy to deal with so I would say hook it up to a midi keyboard! is it worth getting? right now, I would say YES!! you can make music with this! and got a wonderful price tag! and just incase I get attacked by any synth snobs who want to say 'you can't afford a Moog! this unit is a toy' etc. I actually own a Moog! and I LOVE everything synth! got a real soft spot for these little baby synths
Behringer got it right with this form factor + 5 PIN MIDI in
I've manually poly-chained 5 Behringer modules and controlled them with my Seaboard Rise 49 for a 5 voice analog synth with independent pitch slide.
th-cam.com/video/PQK_taiqe1o/w-d-xo.html
I've tried Behringer's chain setup but voice stealing/unison glitching always pops up.
The OG Prophet VS had 8 voices, and the problem for me of the Roland Boutiques like their versions of the Jupiter 8 and Juno 106, was the 4 voice poly. You could chain them for 8, and if you played 5 notes, it would spill to the second unit after the first 4 held notes, but if you let go, and played again, it would steal the first 4 voices rather than start with the remaining 3 of the second unit.
It would be great if Behringer not only could chain units, but if they would alternate every incoming midi note to the two chained units. These mini synths don't have Midi In and Thru like their Eurorack clones but there has to be some way for them to do it...
Dave Smith really knew how to do poly chaining compared to the rest.
@@fortheloveofnoise For sure Smith and Tom Oberheim really new how dynamic voice allocation was beneficial to limited voice count of analog gear. Nowadays, we're used to workstations with 192 voice poly. LOL. The Six Trak was great with it's voice control. One voice doing a bass sequence with one preset, another pair of voices for a simple chord/pad tone, and the remaining voices for the user to play a melody over (all with different preset patch sounds) made it sound huge for only 6 voice poly.
All the Gary Numan fans lost it at 15:18.
Not to be confused with bad ⚙️ gear
this is behringers first digital synth isnt it?
Only got mine yesterday, yet to try it as I'm working until Saturday...but Sundays free so more time.
Looking and sounding great so far and be interesting to hear it through speakers and maybe through some effect units. 🤔👍
The built in chorus sounds lovely. Will definitely be putting it though my Oto BAM and Bastl Instruments Thyme. Watch this space.
Floridaman you grow a brit accent. nice synth, review.
2 questions.....
- Does it charge via USB or does it need to be plugged into a power source at all times?
- Can I send midi out of the VSmini?
Ok first of all there is no internal battery on the Pro VS or the JT 4000 so require usb power at all times to work say from a power bank or computer. Secondly the Pro VS will send midi out via the usb c connector. Hope that helps.
@@madgear303 - Awesome. Thanks!!!
Is possible to send audio out via usb or only via output jack?
@@agwmusic the USB port is for power and midi only I’m afraid.
hiding the filter knobs within that group of knobs was an oversight imo
can we see what the little red botton does? maD gear
Just got mine out of the box and quickly had a go and yep sounds great -I mean it’s only £85??? And pretty impressive for that price Yep joystick is floppy but hey it works - manual is terrible! Plus it will play nicely with my Roland s-1 tweak and for Volca owners,will sit well with them
The joystick is possibly too small but then again it is a mini unit. It sounds great though.
@@madgear303 actually after playing with it more, I quite like the accuracy of the joy stick -cool feature
Want !! It will give me a good reason to assemble the volca /arturia gang , just whack a keystep in & away we go 😎
I do think the VS will integrate well with others and I love its sound. Share what you can get out of your set up 🙂
@madgear303 I've got a few short videos on my TH-cam channel,, not a serious channel , just an easy. Way to watch on TV 😎
I like thats in the key of F instead of C
Sounds a bit as the old Ensoniq SQ80
At that price, there's no way the chorus is an analog circuit too.
It's way cool for the price of a software synth, less than some.
A good point made.
Play it
Never understand why any rhythmic sound with any kind of tone to it is now called 'bass'.
That limp joystick is a real turn-off...good video though.
When using it, it feels fine. It's basically like an unsprung playstation 2 controller joystick. I guess size restrictions implemented this option.
@@madgear303 sorry, I just couldn't resist a bad pun;) It's not exactly a pretty instrument but it really does sound quality.
Thanks for going right on the questioning subject. For me the question is Musical sound. So I heard some limitations and very good things. My goal buying this little thing is mobile small portative immediate playing everywhere studio. But that have to stand to be a Musical studio, not a toy place. So, what sound I want to play, Musical exigence, keyboard modulation as After touch, palet of Musical sounds without effects, Analog or not. Poly or not. So I will listen this instrument in Musician expert hands, more than technical quality. I regret it is in metal, that's a big mistake from Behringer, and mostly All manufacturers. They want to comply with radiowaves rules but we know alumini and plastic cases can do the same, and are less heavy, durable and not sensible to Sun'flare's induction, corrosion. For me out of Musical domain, that's the reason why I will not buy it. I have already hard time to rebuild my synths with plastic or wood front panels, will see in future, but no longer buy synths with metal front (back and case is not so a problem, integrating them in wood racks). An other thing is that connections are on back panel, that's why we ask Behringer to build the same synth as a rack module, with everything on front, and for Sure, mdf, ABS, or Wood. That designing the future!. However what matters also is Musical Sound Quality, and What Music you can practice with that.
I have rarely read such nonsense!
Please don't forget to put on your aluminum hat when you go out.🤪
Um...
Cool story bro?
A TH-cam channel called “Mad Gear” where the reviewer describes the synth as “Ticking all the boxes” hmmmmm… Kinda appropriate that it’s a Behringer review #KnockOff
really?
Nice video thanks. But easy pass for me, great for kids maybe
Thanks. Why do you suggest for kids? Having spent a bit more time with it, it’s definitely a capable tool in its own right and will find a place in some of my future commercial work.
@@madgear303 Just the size, I wouldn’t have the patience. Sound wise, it’s probably good, I’ve not heard enough. But given this, I’d probably opt for a vst in this situation. But I can see dawless desk guys swallowing them up, great with Volca’s.
@@vaiman7777 In my opinion VST cannot compete soundwise as this has a real analog filter, a great one in addition. While VSTs have the usual limitations of the audio hardware.
I really rather hear with effects. No one uses any synth ever without effects. No one would listen to it. LOL.
Why not spend a couple of days before rushing to the internet with your i-wonders and I -dont-knows? A bloody waste of time m
This is like a grotty parody of Bad Gear, guy even uses his lines, awful
Hey thanks for your feedback. Maybe check some of my other videos. You’ll find I tend to rave about gear rather than slag it off. Far less memes too. Let me know when Bad Gear reviews 50s tube preamps from Japan, 80s home keyboards, effect pedals, etc like I have before you slag off my content.
copy of bad gear
Have you checked my other videos? I don’t ever remember Bad Gear turning an Atari Lynx into a synth or comparing a 50s tube preamp from Japan with a modern usb one.
Wait Bad Pun...you aren't German. Das not gut! Does Beringer really need you or me or anyone? Terrible marketing and business practices downright thieves if you ask me. I wouldn't purchase more than a SF 300 on sale frrom Sweetwater from them. Truly a cringe worthy business.
@theinnermostsanctum yet here you are. Sharing info and experience of a new product is informative. Yes you can perceive this as marketing but it’s not intended for that purpose.
Translation: I'm huge hypocrite but I like the feeling of hating on products/companies I have no interest in so here I am hating. I also don't understand what thieving is. Derp. 🙃
Tatty bye then