Behringer MS-1

The Behringer MS-1 is a modified copy of the Roland SH-101 32-key monophonic synthesizer that was introduced in 1982. It was easy to operate and had no memory for presets, which won the love of future stars of the dance scene in the face of the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and Crystal Method. A distinctive feature of the original was its ability to always sound powerful and "fat", breaking through any wall of sound. The simplicity of the tool also played an important role in the success - here's a simple oscillator with 4 frills, here's a filter, here's a couple of envelopes and a filter. In general, you don't get carried away much. But as you know, restrictions give rise to creativity, and 5-7 years after its release, the original SH-101 became the most important part of the concerts of the same Prodigy. The think tank of the band, Liam Howlett, squeezed all the juice out of him with such rapture that even hardcore guitarists began to respect him.

Original oscillator on chip 3340

Like its forefather, the Behringer MS-1 has a 32-key keyboard with full-size keys. The centerpiece of the synthesizer is an oscillator based on the legendary 3340 chip, which features 4 mixable waveforms with adjustable pulse width. The built-in filter and FM modulator will help to expand the palette of timbres. As in the original version, the Behringer MS-1 has a 32 step sequencer with built-in storage that allows you to store up to 64 melodies and sequences in memory. In total, 57 knobs, faders and switches are provided to control the synthesizer. In addition, the instrument is equipped with a belt clip and a handle that transforms the MS-1 into a guitar/keyboard hybrid.

True to the spirit of the original

As with other Behringer replicas, the head of the company and the main pirate of the music industry, Uli Behringer, stated that their replica repeats 99.9% of the circuitry of the original version from Roland - the same field-effect transistors, precision resistors and polyphenylene sulfide capacitors are used, and the oscillator itself is based on the same Curtis CEM3340 chip. But just piracy is not in the spirit of the Swiss, so they finalized the original circuitry according to their vision. In particular, the synthesizer itself has become larger, which has increased ease of operation. The owners of the Roland SH-101 constantly kicked him for being too small. Instead of minijacks, full-fledged 6.3 "jacks" are now used, and the USB output is not as noisy as the original.