Behringer Solina String Ensemble

The Lounge Other Gear
#23

As an aside I started to plan a clone of my Godwin and with the exception of the TOG it isn’t beyond doing. Lots of CMOS chips and the keying could be done but required an analogue switch per key which added to the chip count considerably. And it only needs a single two way switch per note but it’s an integral part of the EG so needs a set of volt free contacts per note, hence the analogue switches.

Tom at Electric Druid has been working on the TOG problem and ended up attacking it from a different direction. Rather than generating the frequencies on one chip he coded a set of 12 PIC chips, one for each note with dividers on the chip. You’re still left with the issue of keying/gating though.

Maybe B have adopted this approach but I can’t see it. An FPGA would prob cover TOG duties. Dividers might still be off chip? Tbh I don’t know enough about FPGA’s to know how much you can get out of them? My digital knowledge is firmly in the fuzzy logic camp!

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#24

Also worth pointing out a lot of stringers didn’t technically use the TOG to directly produce the required frequencies. The tog outputs switched banks of analogue switches. They would then use a simple PWM generator and feed that to the switch inputs. For a slow attack the pulses are narrow and as the attack phase progresses the pulses get wider. Same for the release of the note but the other way around. Clever stuff.

#25

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A bit odd as a Eurorack module.

Notice it has CV ! It has connections to the phaser input and output in CV for instance.
It is still under development, the firmware is being done and the picture is of a prototype, so setting up for manufacture is still in process too.

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Superbooth 2020
#26

:nauseated_face:
It’s got a way to go yet.

#27

i guess they decided to leak their upcoming products in a few days or weeks because it seems that everything from SB 20 is kind of under the radar.

as I‘ve read it’s a Home Edition I thought the company’s would blow out in-depth but high quality trailers or something more like a big reveal and such…

it looks like the best stuff is coming post SB

#28

Latest update. Behringer is following through with this, wasn’t sure they would.

Is it important to anyone that this is Eurorack ?

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The Behringer Gear-in-progress Thread
The Behringer Gear-in-progress Thread
#29

I’m pretty sure it’s not, but I like string synths and don’t need another so-so keyboard, so I’m on board with the module/desktop aspect.

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#30

Hats off to the dude doing these videos. I appreciate someone who’s familiar with how the synths operate explaining it to us. Comes across better than when you have someone just reading a script as if we all know what they’re on about. I do prefer the modules over their keybed units. Cheaper, smaller, and I think most of us have far superior keybeds already.

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#31

It occurs to me, at least one reason why they are using a Eurorack format. It saves Behringer money, given that, i think, this is the same base used with some of their other synths, is it 70 HP, and the volume production spreads cost.

I think the CV interface just gives this a little extra value too.

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#32

I had serious doubts that they’d follow through on this as well, but as a lover of all-things-1970s I’m 100% on board. After my RD-8 experience I vowed never to pick up any more Behringer gear again but this sounds really, really good.

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#33

“Recreating a synth like that is way more difficult than making a new design”

So Behringer are innovators after all!!! :smiley:

Jokes, I have a TD-3 and it’s great :slight_smile: :slight_smile: This looks cool

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#34

i bet they’ve teardowned every single piece of kit on the market in their range, for sure

#35

very close in the high registers but the bottom is not up to par with the original…

#36

I caught that too, and was like, “whatttt”. I can kind of see what they’re saying as with original gear there aren’t any expectations about it sounding just like some beloved kit from decades ago. Although original gear will most certainly be reviewed in great rariety by people, its not as intensive as remaking classic gear by some who still have the gear its replicating. Or maybe it’s them just trying to justify their workings to those who are critical and calling for originality. Eh who knows.

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#37

They’ll have to factor in reducing the working voltages from prob +/- 15 volt rails for the analogue side and 15v for the logic down to 5v but I’d guess the main piece of work would be copying the response of the filters. They’re usually grouped by octave and each octave has a different fixed cut off frequency too. I’m not au fait with the Solina but I’ve a fair few other string synths of that period and TOG and ensemble apart most of the components are pretty common.

Maybe Eminent used a pile of 3080’s or some other obsolete part? I guess the point he’s making is that with a new design you can just spec what you like as long as it works… whereas for the clones they’d need to do some experimentation to get as close to the OG as they want to get with modern components…all of which takes time.

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#38

Jean Michel Jarre in a box.

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#40

if i i didn’t already have the Solina plugin on MPC One, would definitely pick up

#41

Dammit. I’m definitely getting that.

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#42

Me too

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#43

It will be interesting to hear comparisons side by side… but when I checked it out on the MPC it wasn’t very convincing. But in a mix? Maybe. (The Streichfett is also a digital recreation and can sound pretty legit with other instruments.)

The OG stringers sound the way they do because of their organ divide-down circuits, and of course real analog phaser/ensemble fx. I had a Lambda for awhile and I can’t imagine any digital facsimile doing it justice.