I’d like to know how they both compare. The knob per function on the pro one is hard to resist, but I’m wondering what’s better sonically speaking as the AS1 sounds so rich
I have both and they both sound good. The Behringer Pro-1 doesn’t sound better or rawer or more “analogue” in any meaningful way to me.
I feel that the AS-1 is the more interesting synth since it’s has a more flexible architecture, because it also includes a resonant high-pass filter, and because it has pretty damn good effects.
On the other hand, the Pro-1 really is a pleasure to use just because it has such a well-designed control layout and everything is right there allowing you to quickly dial in a new patch, or tweak stuff.
Not that the AS-1 is hard to program; the menu system on the AS-1 is really well set-up and having separate parameter and value encoders either side of the display really help. The AS-1 also has some pretty good preset patches.
You do need a tuner or really good ears with the Pro-1 when you want to record with other instruments, or when you quickly want to set up a sound with a fifth or seventh between the oscs.
Finally, depending on your setup, you might also want to take U-He’s Repro for a spin since it sounds just as good as these hardware variants.
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Yep, I love my AS-1, and I agree, it isn’t exactly hard to program from the front panel or tweak as there are knobs for most of the most-used tweaking controls, plus the programmable touch strip… But I must say I do usually end up using the Soundtower editor to work with it a lot of the time. If a revision came out with a more knobby interface (maybe ditching the mini keyboard so as to not make it too much bigger) I’d snap it up in a heartbeat. Fat chance of that though I think!
I bailed on the Bro-1 mostly because I was told it won’t get here for several weeks, and saw that the AS-1 was selling for just AU$500, that’s €310 or U$345.
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Me too. I take screenshots of the Prophet 6 patches and recreate them in the AS-1 editor. They’re virtually identical.
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Thanks very much for the detailed response. I think the lesson to be learnt is not to sell the AS1. The ability to save patches is another major plus. would like to try out the pro one to see if it can sound more versatile then the current sound demos suggest
I would imagine the Bro 1 ‘should’ get close to the Pro One on terms of flexibility given its architecture if it is the same as the Pro One inside (cool audio’ re-manufactured CEM oscillator, filter and amp chips).
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tbh i don’t know very much about either the OG or Bro 1, i assumed rightly or wrongly, despite sharing some similarities, the AS1 is a different beast.
Pro One was essentially one voice of the Prophet 5 so it has CEM3340 VCOs 3320 VCF and 3310 VCA. CoolAudio/Behringer have re-fabbed those chips. Interestingly the Prophet 6 uses discrete oscillators so I assume the AS shares them. I think DSI have been using their own sourced CEM related/derived filter chips since the Prophet 08 and as the P6 claimed to have a VCF “inspired by the Prophet 5” I’d guess the AS shares the same.
I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong…and then I’ll learn something 
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I don’t know about the sound of the Behringer, but the AS-1 is fat as f#$%.
Yes, not many functions to edit with dedicated knobs, but having good effects and preset memory is a production/workflow plus for me.
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tuning’s super stable too
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I got one today after auditioning in the store for about 30 mins… It sounds really awesome and it makes a great companion for the digitone. They sit together in a mix very nicely imo. A big upgrade from the korg monologue I had been using in a similar way, the as-1 is on another level!
I had come across this thread and others praising it’s sound… If not for that I probably wouldn’t have given this unit a second thought when I saw it on the used rack… Now I’m going to use this on everything!
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I did the same thing. If it wasn’t for the bro-1 and the comparison videos, I’d know nothing of the existence of the as1.
I bought one used on reverb for 300usd. I hope it lives up to the hype!
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Does it have Osc phase reset? Thanks a lot!!
I keep thinking about the AS-1, for me the Bro1 with its one knob per function panel is great, but I don’t like Behringer and besides it has no midi cc control or memories which is important for me, I never really got on with DSI editing so I think this has deterred me from buying an AS-1. I’d be interested to know how editing compares to the Evolver which was pretty tedious, anyone who has had both care to comment?
The editing is tedious but I’ve got used it. I’ll definitely use the editor to create patches and once they’re made I can tweak the rest for performance happily from the front panel as long as its only a few parameters. There’s nothing else like it sonically. Very musical and feels like a work of art…one big sweet spot.
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I’ve had both. I don’t mind the Evolver (desktop) editing, but I get you.
The AS-1 editing isn’t bad, if you hold shift while turning the parameter select knob, it jumps through parameter groups (filter, oscillator, etc). The only thing that’s really bad is programming the internal sequencer. But since that’s buggy (changing patches loses sync) and I prefer the Engine sequencer by far, it wasn’t a problem for me.
I was pretty hyped to grab a Bro 1 but I’ve been thinking about getting the AS-1 back instead. Patch memory is quite nice. Then again, I realllllly don’t need another mono.
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Is Pioneer even supporting the AS-1? Last firmware update was a few years ago last time I checked. Could be wrong though, but it feels left behind the newer units.
I don’t think there will ever be updates to fix it losing sync when you change presets- they’ve known about that bug forever and haven’t fixed it. Apart from that though it’s pretty solid.
I just ordered an Analog Four MK1 after about a year away from Elektron stuff and happened to see this thread.
I absolutely love the sound of the AS-1 but I’ll be out of desk space once the A4 arrives, and I think the AS-1 will get more love if I let it go.
Give me a shout if you’re interested in picking one up - I can definitely beat what they’re going for on Reverb.