Behringer Wasp

the wasp on the imagine seems also quite the same as the one that was on Wasp Synths logo…but i could be mistaken

I think they have just been using their logo colors for all these announcements. Also, Crave looks orange to me, not close to this yellow.

Look at Behringer though, pulling the Steve Jobs trick. They’re on a roll right now, it seems.

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I think they’d already posted something about the Wasp earlier on as a clone interest. Either on Gearslutz or their own social media.

I bet they also looked at https://www.jaspersynth.co.uk/ when building the BOM.

What if they start spelling and it’s just W… is it going to be WING all over?

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This sounds like honey to my ears but it probably has a sting in the tail. (sorry)

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Behringer cloning the Wasp was posted at Elektronauts in December 2017.

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BWASP
BASP
WASBP
BBBBP

The name possbilities are endless!

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mod edit: moved to appropriate sub forum, as this is not Elektron News.

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I should think if true then this will be Behringers most accurate “tribute” to date, the original is a very simple (yet ingenious) synth, based mostly around standard CMOS chips, so provided they stick to those then there is little that could go wrong.

Also the build quality of the original EDP Wasp was lets just say a bit flimsy, so hopefully they won’t clone that aspect of it.

Great sounding synth though, designed by Chris Hugget who also did the Oxford Oscar and I believe went on to Novation.

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Fair enough, but also you don’t have any idea how accurate their previous clones have been as a point of comparison. You don’t own any of them, and haven’t done any analysis. They’ve publicly made a statement that their TD should be able to sound identical to the original as long as the user is sound-matching and not knob position matching. I’m sure their Wasp will be very accurate to the original.

Chris was one of the lead designers on the Peak for Novation.

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True I don’t own any of them, but as I said before they definitely get closer on some of them than others, the RD-8 probably the worst in this regard, and the Pro One probably the best, I’m basing my assessments on the various shootout demos people have made. Regardless of what I think of them as a company, if you are making clones then you need to get them sounding correct else there is little point IMHO. That said of course I don’t expect everyone to feel the same way about it as I do, and luckily for Behringer many don’t, but then those same people tend to want to brand me as some kind of elitist, but the point to remember in all this is if you are making clones or tributes then people will always compare to the original and critique or praise them accordingly, based on their own criteria of what they want from a clone.

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Good points for sure. I suppose I just can’t see why you are personally bothering to make statements about the accuracy of their clones when you don’t have any first hand evidence one way or the other, and you also have no interest in owning their products. Those shootouts are pretty poorly done almost as a rule, I’ve never seen them try and match sounds. They just approximate the control positions, “Alright here we are at half resonance” and play a few notes on one and then the other. I think they could do much better. I’m not saying there are no differences, but those shootouts are pretty poor evidence one way or the other.

Really my comment was just because the Wasp doesn’t rely on any custom chips, and they seem to be teasing a clone of it, so not really much can go wrong.

True on the knob position thing, although given the resources and the fact that it would not impact cost, I find it a little strange that they didn’t get knob ranges right, yet copied things that are actual limitations (for example the 303 pattern bank limitation, seemingly) which no-one cares about and would prefer to be improved, this is implying to me not knowing enough about the instrument and its use, etc.

Also on the RD-8 its clear that the envelopes are wrong and it sounds very dull and lifeless compared to an original TR-808 too, possibly because of the filter, I don’t know.

Anyway, I should bow out now, as I’m getting into it again.

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Not sure if I agree with that. Almost every demo and comparison I’ve heard of the RD8 and OG 808 has been quite impressive

Fair enough, some guy who was very pro-Behringer though even pointed it out and was showing scope shots (not that they were needed as it can be heard) But as I said for plenty of people they won’t care and it will be good enough, and thats fine too, it is probably much less apparent in a mix, and depending on the users needs and expectations and not to mention the price these things should be taken in balance. Its all relative and there are many variables to consider, personally I don’t lust after an original 808 or a RD-8, I’m happy with the TR-08 but plenty of people don’t like those. I don’t care though it fits my needs and I actually prefer it to the TR-808 I used to have, midi with cc control, audio over USB, more voices and wider range of sounds are more important to me these days.

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I’ve not got a TR808 but nor do I own any of the other clones/re issues/modern instruments. I did have a TR 8 here for a few weeks, sans the oddball psu so didn’t get a chance to use it.

Cards on the table I love the sound of my RD 8 but I am looking forward to taking it with me next time I visit family down south as my uncles got an owner from new 808, unmolested in every way🙂. Would love to do some side by side comparisons between two random instruments.

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That is all that matters in this context.

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Agreed. I’d just be interested for myself in seeing how close they are without YouTube compression etc etc.

Maybe they’re just having a bit of fun with the wasp, it being one of the symbols of Manchester…

In all seriousness I wonder if they’ll Euro rack it in the same way as the Boog, Neutron etc or will they maybe go the MicroFreak route with a capacitive touch keybed keeping it more akin to the original. Perhaps they’ll put it into the same form factor as the crave?

Another thought… over the past 10 years or so the availability of a lo5 of CMOS chips has fallen as many of them have been rendered obsolete, especially in PDIP format. Some live on in the SMD realm so I wonder if they’d have use an FPGA for some/all of it? Just thinking aloud…

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Preorders open at Sweetwater…

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