Behringer UB-Xa Synthesizer (OB-Xa clone)

[kritikon]

All Obies sound a bit mushy to me. It's one of the things I don't like, but UBXa seems to have enough other stuff to sound useful. If it sounds different to a standard old Obie then that's a big plus IMO - I wouldn't buy it if it was exactly like an OBXa.

[ghettosynth]

I was too far down the wait-list for Sweetwater's first batch.
Hope I make the next.

Tim Shoebridge mentioned the build quality was pretty good.

Now that Behringer has the infrastructure, I wonder what else they'll clone or come up with.
I'd like to see a new design that takes an advanced 3-Oscillator 16+ voice analog synth... and pairs that with some more modern features (poly-aftertouch, programmable, onboard DSP/FX, etc).
Kind of like the Moog One... but with much better sounding effects... and no intonation problems.

Exactly, and don't cheap out on the EG controls. If you have three envelopes, put all of the controls on the front panel. Really I'm happy with the most common stuff having dedicated controls and less common stuff being on encoders with a matrix 12 like parameter display.

[lfm]

A couple if Tim Shoebridge vids
from jan 30th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwdbHBgTrWc

from feb 19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E82Zx0Et9tY

[kritikon]

I hadn't seen that last TS vid yet. Very useful - I knew it could split but not layer up and I can see that being incredibly useful. I can already think of a load of ways I can use that creatively. Obvs it can make mega pads that way, but for me I'm thinking things like double arpeggios at different speeds/patches or wibbles that open/close filters in opposite directions. Everything I learn about UBXa makes me like it more. I'm also thinking - if Behringer load all this kind of stuff up into their Jupiter then it's going to be mega. Tim mentioned balance doesn't get saved in a patch but that's what the left hand is for - playing performance mode. Now I reckon if I can make all kinds of doubled patches with individually voiced atrophy settings on a 16-voice SuperJupiter then my left hand is going to be doing something entirely different...

[Aliens]

Onya mate, as the locals say.
I'm waiting on the jp16, pro16 an ds 80. Not buying one at a time as they're released, it's all or nothing, famine then flood for me... Not unless it's end of life, final orders, which will force my hand somewhat.
By the time they're all available in the shops for sale, the ubx and xa versions will be ridiculously cheap and it would be rude not to lol

[egbert101]

Although Tim Shoebridge makes some excellent sounds in those videos, it should be pointed out that he's still putting the UB-XA through a Lexicon reverb. Although they work together really well, I would say that put other instruments through the same reverb and you might also get some excellent sounds.

[bmanic]

Anybody found more info on the desktop version of this?

[CoolColJ]

You get what you pay for

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/c ... ubxa_as_a/

Today is day two of owning the UBXa. These are my initial impressions of the unit. I also posted near identical text to GS, if anyone suddenly recognises it.
TL;DR

Keybed: Disappointment
Interface: Mixed bag
Build quality: Mixed bag
Sound: Presets are dreadful. Erase everything and program your own instead. It's much better that way.

Interface

Probably the best knobs Behringer have ever used. They're all smooth and consistent in feel.
The select encoder is the only exception. It's sooooo cheap feeling. I hate using it.
Any knob which corresponds to a digital value on the display is frustrating to use.
Switches are a disappointment. They look like the mechanical switches on my Prophet 5. They're not, they're all tact switches. Unfortunately, they're not like the tact switches on the RD8 which pivot; they're straight up-and-down action and they feel very light and cheap.
Without any exaggeration the WORST display panel I have ever seen in my life. It is truly, truly awful. You need direct line of sight directly above it. Any deviation from straight ahead and the display is illegible.
The pitch bender, paddle, thing, feels excellent! It's such a shame that this level of build quality has been put on terrible Oberheim style paddles.

Keys

"Semi-weighted" is a joke. This isn't weighted at all. It's as light as a damn feather.
Sadly suffers from the same issue (design flaw?) as the Deepmind 12 I used to own. When aftertouch is engaged on the white keys the pivot point moves forward, and it just feels tacky.
After touch is so f*cking sensitive, holy crap. The most gentle of presses and it's going full blast. I went into the globals and turned it off. I'd rather have no aftertouch than bad aftertouch.
Black keys feel a little off, weight wise, compared to the white keys.
At least it's quiet and very well dampened. That's about the only good thing I can say.

Build Quality

Metal chassis is like a TANK. It's just as good as their Odyssey. Really thick steel.
Wood trim is a joke. Looks cheap, feels cheap and hollow. Ruins the aesthetic. If I was a gig musician I'd replace it with something more hearty for better bump and knock protection, too (as that's what it's for, remember).
All the TRS jacks wobble... substantially. It's clear there's not a lot of structural support. Everything else I own, be it the RD8, D50 or Linndrum, has SOLID jacks. Someone posted an interior shot of the output board on GS and the only thing holding the jacks to the board are the positive and negative terminals! I'm keeping my soldering iron handy.
The fan is off by default and is supposed to trigger when the temperature gets high. I noticed the metal case around the LCD and between the Noise and Filter Attack dials was getting noticeably warm! If the case is warm it means the internals must be very warm if not hot to the touch! I set the fan to be permanently on. It's not intrusive than the Deepmind 12 so it's fine to leave on in a quiet room.

Sound
By the presets alone it sounds pretty bad. My Deepmind 12 was the same; the presets were awful and did the synthesizer a huge disservice, but on initial impression Behringer REALLY need better sound designers, or give their existing sound designers more time, or only populate the first 16 to 32 sounds with something special and leave the entire rest of memory completely empty.

I programmed a couple sounds from scratch and it can sound excellent, but it's thinner than you expect. This synth needs a little tickle of external effects, but once those effects are applied it has a great tone that pairs well with my Prophet 5 and can compliment all my digital synths.

Anything else?

Documentation in the box might as well not exist. Utterly useless.
The best packaging Behringer has used to date. Good amount of foam support and very sturdy.
User Interface isn't great. Behringer has never been good at this. For EG: I press shift, press Aftertouch, change the Aftertouch Filter to 0 using the rotary encoder. I back out of the shift menu and the aftertouch setting stays on screen, even as a I twiddle other controls. There's also no Yes/No or Confirm/Deny.
Noise floor is very, very low! No hissing, humming or other artifacts from the main outputs.
The operating system is buggy as all hell.
The best sequencer Behringer have ever produced. It's so simple to program I didn't need to reference the manual even once.

Verdict

It's not a show stopper of a synthesizer. It's a GOOD synthesizer, but it's flawed. If the keys were better I'd have been tempted to replace my Roland D-50 as my primary controller, but as it stands the D-50 has significantly better weighting and action. Behringer need to hire more experienced firmware designers and software testers because they are TERRIBLE at software; it's the Tesla of synthesizers where they'll "fix" it later, whenever that may be.

I like the overall tone and high voice count for the money, and so I'll be keeping it. I am warming to it quite nicely as I explore it's sound engine, but if you're not completely excited by the sound when you pull it out the box I would entirely understand if you packed it up and either returned it for a refund or flipped it given the case the synth is wrapped in is such a wild mixed bag.

[ghettosynth]

You get what you pay for

Keybed: Disappointment

Thanks for this. I was concerned about this. I think that I'm over the idea of buying a synth for my main keyboard and I'm just going to buy an NI Kontrol 3 or the like. I feel you on using the D50. Keyboards were better back in the day. It seems to be an area where more and more corners are cut.

[Uncle E]

Yup, sad. The poly AT was one of the most appealing parts of it.

[Constructed Identity]

You get what you pay for

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/c ... ubxa_as_a/

Today is day two of owning the UBXa. These are my initial impressions of the unit. I also posted near identical text to GS, if anyone suddenly recognises it.
TL;DR

Keybed: Disappointment
Interface: Mixed bag
Build quality: Mixed bag
Sound: Presets are dreadful. Erase everything and program your own instead. It's much better that way.

Interface

Probably the best knobs Behringer have ever used. They're all smooth and consistent in feel.
The select encoder is the only exception. It's sooooo cheap feeling. I hate using it.
Any knob which corresponds to a digital value on the display is frustrating to use.
Switches are a disappointment. They look like the mechanical switches on my Prophet 5. They're not, they're all tact switches. Unfortunately, they're not like the tact switches on the RD8 which pivot; they're straight up-and-down action and they feel very light and cheap.
Without any exaggeration the WORST display panel I have ever seen in my life. It is truly, truly awful. You need direct line of sight directly above it. Any deviation from straight ahead and the display is illegible.
The pitch bender, paddle, thing, feels excellent! It's such a shame that this level of build quality has been put on terrible Oberheim style paddles.

Keys

"Semi-weighted" is a joke. This isn't weighted at all. It's as light as a damn feather.
Sadly suffers from the same issue (design flaw?) as the Deepmind 12 I used to own. When aftertouch is engaged on the white keys the pivot point moves forward, and it just feels tacky.
After touch is so f*cking sensitive, holy crap. The most gentle of presses and it's going full blast. I went into the globals and turned it off. I'd rather have no aftertouch than bad aftertouch.
Black keys feel a little off, weight wise, compared to the white keys.
At least it's quiet and very well dampened. That's about the only good thing I can say.

Build Quality

Metal chassis is like a TANK. It's just as good as their Odyssey. Really thick steel.
Wood trim is a joke. Looks cheap, feels cheap and hollow. Ruins the aesthetic. If I was a gig musician I'd replace it with something more hearty for better bump and knock protection, too (as that's what it's for, remember).
All the TRS jacks wobble... substantially. It's clear there's not a lot of structural support. Everything else I own, be it the RD8, D50 or Linndrum, has SOLID jacks. Someone posted an interior shot of the output board on GS and the only thing holding the jacks to the board are the positive and negative terminals! I'm keeping my soldering iron handy.
The fan is off by default and is supposed to trigger when the temperature gets high. I noticed the metal case around the LCD and between the Noise and Filter Attack dials was getting noticeably warm! If the case is warm it means the internals must be very warm if not hot to the touch! I set the fan to be permanently on. It's not intrusive than the Deepmind 12 so it's fine to leave on in a quiet room.

Sound
By the presets alone it sounds pretty bad. My Deepmind 12 was the same; the presets were awful and did the synthesizer a huge disservice, but on initial impression Behringer REALLY need better sound designers, or give their existing sound designers more time, or only populate the first 16 to 32 sounds with something special and leave the entire rest of memory completely empty.

I programmed a couple sounds from scratch and it can sound excellent, but it's thinner than you expect. This synth needs a little tickle of external effects, but once those effects are applied it has a great tone that pairs well with my Prophet 5 and can compliment all my digital synths.

Anything else?

Documentation in the box might as well not exist. Utterly useless.
The best packaging Behringer has used to date. Good amount of foam support and very sturdy.
User Interface isn't great. Behringer has never been good at this. For EG: I press shift, press Aftertouch, change the Aftertouch Filter to 0 using the rotary encoder. I back out of the shift menu and the aftertouch setting stays on screen, even as a I twiddle other controls. There's also no Yes/No or Confirm/Deny.
Noise floor is very, very low! No hissing, humming or other artifacts from the main outputs.
The operating system is buggy as all hell.
The best sequencer Behringer have ever produced. It's so simple to program I didn't need to reference the manual even once.

Verdict

It's not a show stopper of a synthesizer. It's a GOOD synthesizer, but it's flawed. If the keys were better I'd have been tempted to replace my Roland D-50 as my primary controller, but as it stands the D-50 has significantly better weighting and action. Behringer need to hire more experienced firmware designers and software testers because they are TERRIBLE at software; it's the Tesla of synthesizers where they'll "fix" it later, whenever that may be.

I like the overall tone and high voice count for the money, and so I'll be keeping it. I am warming to it quite nicely as I explore it's sound engine, but if you're not completely excited by the sound when you pull it out the box I would entirely understand if you packed it up and either returned it for a refund or flipped it given the case the synth is wrapped in is such a wild mixed bag.

Echos a the other review I saw of it with regard to the display. A shame really, but I am no longer in the market for it with all the stuff I have going on ATM. I am sure people will program some great sounds with this synth though.

[lfm]

Echos a the other review I saw of it with regard to the display.

If you think of Shoebridge review, the display in his vid had protective plastic still.
- he was complaining about seeing from an angle
- removing that certainly improve things
- but maybe he did not decide if to keep it or not

Just something I noted.

About the spot display is placed, not in the middle
- I agree with his remark

And other remarks on AT, Shoebridge pointed out that loads of settings for it, if it was 5 or so.
- time until AT activates after key down
- and many more

[Jim Roseberry]

Still haven't gotten the call from Sweetwater.
My number should be coming up soon.

Guess I'm not surprised by the recent reviews.
At $1200, there's no way it's going to be manufactured like a $5000 synth.
Will say it's curbed my enthusiasm a little

[egbert101]

For me, it's no good if it doesn't sound identical. I may as well use a plugin. Other people may have different standards and that's fine. I am far more interested in the polysource as a kind of cheap Trigon-6 or Mirror alternative, but the wait is just so frustrating.

[kritikon]

I pretty well don't use aftertouch so no issue for me personally. Weighted/non-weighted not an issue for me either, not being a piano player. Presets - not likely to use them anyway and I'd think most buyers would be into programming, surely?

I'm a bit worried to hear of the cheapish jacks etc, which is a bit unusual for Behringer IMO, as my other Behringers are mostly built way better than I could expect for the price. The display sounds like quite a big oversight too - Shoebridge mentioned that and for sure it will affect how easy it is to use.

Documentation - yeah, I dunno why Behringer even bother, for all the use any of their manuals are. Their manuals are pretty well all on the level of "Freq knob - adjusts frequency. Res knob - adjusts resonance". Fortunately most of their synths don't have much in the way of cryptic menu diving. If they ever release pure digital synths with deep menus...we're f**ked.