Behringer SY-1 Pics and Tech Info

Here you hear all modes from A-F with the following modifications: noise modulator, filter resonance, Model D-style feedback. Towards the end you hear channel 2 hard-synced to channel 1. Mind your ears…

Here’s some noodling with a bit of delay:

Here’s some blind test style A/B with my glorious MSW SY-1:

And some really shank noisy realtime jam demoing overdrive and vco “hack”:

PCB Pictures

https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/m24256e-f.pdf

https://www.ti.com/product/TPA6139A2

Bit of an Assessment

The Beh-SY has some good point and is, AFAIK, the only Syncussion that sports tempcos at the VCO exponential converters for tuning stability. Mind you, I used to have an OG with CV mod, a Pharmasonic SY-Core (MK1 and MK2), still use the MSW SY-1, and designed my own Syncussion Eurorack VCOS (with added square wave and VCO sync) and never found any of these lacking in tuning stability. Well, better stable(er) than not 🙂 The fine tuning knob is cool (and needed when using Midi mode 2) – in my Eurorack “Model SY” VCO that proved to be a helpful addition as well.

The sound is good in most areas, since the essential circuitry can be very easily replaced with modern SMD circuitry (4069UB, dual matched transistors etc.). Behringer even went so far as to use tantal capacitors in the trigger and envelope circuits, which, to my knowledge, is a first for this company (though, if I saw correctly, they changed the cap value for the sweep envelope in order to have one value across the board –> lower bulk prices, I guess). Since my MSW and the Beh-Sy’s second VCOs were differently calibrated, there are some sound differences in modes B and E, which use VCO crossmod. Mode F is much louder on the Bhe, which deviated from the original in this regard. The envelopes seem to fall off more rapidly (slider values??) and there is a more pronounced click when triggered in comparison to the MSW. I assume the latter is also related to Behringer using their stock OPAs (074 and 4580) where MSW resorts to original SMD equivalents (1458, 4558). I find the MSW in general terms a tad mellower (but by no means with less sonic impact). Would need to check what swapping OPAs accomplishes (we know from Psycox modding that the OPA type used in the VCA can make quite a difference).

The biggest letdown on the Beh are (again) the electromechanical components. A sleeve of one of the switches nearly came off when I pulled the front (gently) out of the case, and those plasticky switches are far from what the original/MSW are. In cases like this I wish Beh would have used TD3/RD8 type switches, which, although they do not resemble those of the Pearl, are less flimsy (and you don’t flick them by accident). The illuminated sliders of the Beh are quite a different tactile experience in comparison to the Pearl/MSW, and (maybe in addition to the faster OPA for the tune section), especially the tune slider has areas that result in shoddy sounds when you move it fast. To be clear, this is not a slider defect where you get rustling or crackles – it’s just that when you bend a note by moving the slider, this can sound sh..t far more easily than on the Pearl/MSW. For decay, width, sweep sliders etc. this effect is not as pronounced, yet, here too, the pearl/MSW sliders are much nicer to grab and move. Mind you, the Beh sliders and switches have a dust cover inside, so they got that going for themselves.

Another thing that really annoys me is that in midi Mode B, your tune slider is kind of deactivated. I write kind of because it still has effect but on the next midi note the sound bounces back to the pitch set per midi. For me this is worst of both world – you can mess up your tuning accidentally but not adjust tune far enough when you activate the pitch envelope…

Speaking of the midi implementation: I never owned the Psycox SY-1M but that Mode 1/2 (including Midi CC numbers) looks like SY-1M exactly (the TRG button was also introduced by Psycox)… Paraphrasing Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: In the synth world nothing exists alone. Hence, though modding this was interesting, I definitely prefer the material quality of the MSW Syncusssion and can happily point anyone interested in non-commerical DIY mods to my corresponding page.