Behringer Poly D

Slaps like a

This unit packs a lot of punch, especially for the price.

I would love to have an original Model D just a much as you, but I don't have a third kidney to auction off - so to be able to get a sensible modern take on a classic is a fortunate opportunity.

Sonically, it really hits the spot and when driven through the external input it's a meaty experience. Chorus is a nice feature, however on 2 there is an overt warble , maybe a bit too much. For leads and bass it clears the floor, and fits for many different genres and playing styles.

As with any analogue synth it does sound best after warming up for half an hour to a couple of hours . For some real fun, turn the Glide all the way up, and switch to Unison mode; then just as you turn the synth on, just a few chords and riffs will provide instant hilarity and have you saying 'Portamento Gosh!'. Lead lines at such a time sound similar to a Big Room EDM monster slowly being toppled, and who doesn't wanna know what that sounds like?

As has been documented, the Poly mode is not truly polyphonic, and it's a bit dodgy all in all in this department, notes here there and everywhere and I stay away from it altogether.

Generally, the sequencer is a positive extra touch, it's a bit fiddly to get to grips with, but once done it's a fantastic feature.

Behringer's Synth Tool is a must to calibrate the Poly D, some of the default settings will not be to taste for everyone.

As default, the Poly D is set to be the Master Clock of a MIDI chain, and not to receive clock signal from other devices (drum machine/sequencer) via MIDI. However, after plunging it into Synth Tool I was able to change that quickly. I haven't quite worked out how to write sequences using synth tool yet, and although the sequencer could use a little update so one might be able to edit with a bit more intricacy.

Overall, you can't go wrong with this unit.


P.S -- Uli, if you're reading this, please can you make patch sheets/maybe an online thing like 20 Patch (For the MS-20), but for the Poly D? Thx

A great sounding instrument with a few quality issues.

Pros:
- The classic MiniMoog sound is all there.
- Solid metal and wood case.
- Nice sounding Juno chorus addition.
- Feels like an actual instrument. The whole structure and the tilting panel make it very accessible to the user.
- Paraphony.
- No patch memory (yes I consider that a feature).

Cons:
- The Oscillator waveform and octave switch caps rotate for quite a few millimeters before the switch actually starts moving beneath that. Feels quite off and unreliable.
- The black keys require a noticeable amount of extra pressure to act the same way the white keys are. Too noticeable when using velocity.
- Velocity response seems to always affect the cutoff frequency in a way that sounds like an extra envelope making playing notes with filter resonance impossible. I managed to deactivate through the app but was still there when played from a daw and had to bring velocity response to 0.
- The power button on the front panel is a really bad move and can easily switch the instrument off accidentally.
- Absence of a 440Hz tone switch for tunning. Thankfully I have my model d to tune poly d too however it'd be so much better to replace the power switch with the A440 and place the power switch somewhere in the back panel.
- The overdrive circuit feels rather useless as it doesn't suit the rest of the instrument sound.
- All in all, it feels like Behringer has little idea about how to design a functional front panel layout from an actual musician's perspective.

Overall I would recommend this to any musician looking for a classic analog instrument feel. I'm quite troubled by the build quality though. It makes it feel quite unreliable. I'm quite uncertain about whether I should return my copy or just relax and enjoy using it.

Essentially the Moog clone but with extra features, such as the Juno style Chorus, sequencer and distortion.
I've played the real thing and honestly unless you are nit picking about the exact shape of the filter or waveshapes (and I have seen youtube videos of people that have) you are going to be happy with this unit.
The first thing I did was change the pitch wheel down to a tone from it's default octave setting, and it was a breeze to interface the unit with the software, I had a quick look at the sequencing side with the software and that all looks great, though I don't really use it for that.
I wasn't expecting the distortion setting to sound that great, but actually it's pretty good for the unit. The chorus is a fairly faithful representation of the Juno 60 chorus (I have one and tested them against each other). It has the same character, but the stereo modulation is way more prominent in the Behringher, I feel like they overdid it a bit, perhaps on purpose I don't know.
The unit's midi in & out are all good, I noticed another user mentioned it not working, but that must be a one off or user error as that's all good.
Build quality feels great, the polyphonic glide is SO COOL.
If you have trouble keeping the oscillators in tune, yeah that happens with the moog as well. I honestly don't know why they didn't go a bit further and add a coarser tuning feature that would have been able to go up to a 5th, but I guess they are trying to keep it as close to the original as possible.
I'm using this thing ALL the time, a VST just doesn't come close to having a real unit like this!

I am a keyboard player in a prog rock band with an influence from ELP, early Genesis, Floyd, etc. Have been using digital synths so far, as the majority of the music is Hammond based anyway, despite I have always wanted to have a Minimoog Model D but that is way too expensive. Have been thinking of Behringer's Model D but then I have heard they bringing out the Poly D soon!

Man, it was worth the wait. This little synth just arrived yesterday and I am totally in love. I am still just scratching the surface of its capabilities and I am sure I will love it even more later with some experience.

Pros:
- unbelievably precise recreation of the original sound. Fat, juicy, analog sound as it has to be. The added CHORUS feature is AWESOME. I know some people are arguing that but it makes the classic fat sound even more brutal.
- price is a bargain compared to other synths in this cathegory
- it looks nice, the build quality is first class in this range
I cannot write much in the Cons section other than a more detailed user's manual would be ace (how to tune the oscillators, etc), and that the action of the keyboard is a little bit stiff compared to other synths I have. But I will get used to it I am sure.
Behringer did an outstanding job here, and I will be their enthusiastic supporter from now on.

I have to add, the guys at THOMANN did an amazing job again with the pro communication, and the ultra fast delivery. I will continue to be your faithful customer in the future!