Behringer Polyeight: the eight-voice Polysix is ready
Behringer lists the Polyeight: eight analog voices based on the Korg Polysix, SSM2044 filter, BBD effects and a 49-key poly aftertouch keyboard.
Behringer has published the product page for the Polyeight, its analog polysynth based on Korg’s 1981 Polysix. First shown as a prototype in April 2021, the instrument is now presented as finished, with a full user manual, as Synth Anatomy noted on October 23. Price and release date are still to be announced.
An eight-voice Polysix with a poly aftertouch keyboard
Korg’s original Polysix had six voices, one oscillator per voice and an SSM2044 filter. The Polyeight follows the same recipe with two extra voices. According to Behringer’s official page and the user manual, each voice has:
- a discrete analog oscillator (VCO) with saw, square and pulse waves, plus pulse width modulation (PWM) driven by a dedicated LFO;
- a sub-oscillator reaching two octaves below the played note;
- a global noise generator inspired by the Korg MS-20;
- the four-pole SSM2044 low-pass filter (24 dB per octave), with resonance, key tracking and positive or negative envelope amount;
- a VCA driven by the envelope or in gate mode.
The SSM2044 is the filter chip of the original Polysix, and a big part of its rounded character. Like the original, the Polyeight has a single envelope shared by filter and amplifier; its four stages are covered in our ADSR envelope guide.
Voice modes and effects
Three voice assign modes: poly (eight single-VCO voices), double (four voices with two VCOs each) and unison (up to all eight VCOs on one note, for basses and leads). The difference between true voices and paraphony is explained in our article on polyphonic, paraphonic and monophonic synths. On top of that:
- a BBD effects section (chorus, phaser, ensemble): BBDs are the capacitor-based analog delay lines behind 1980s chorus units;
- an arpeggiator with up, down and up-down modes, latch and external sync;
- chord memory, which replays a stored chord from a single key;
- polyphonic portamento and a three-waveform LFO with delay, routed to pitch, filter or level.
Specifications
| Item | Polyeight (Behringer) |
|---|---|
| Voices | 8, one VCO per voice, plus sub-oscillator |
| Filter | SSM2044 low-pass, 4-pole, 24 dB/oct |
| Memory | 256 user programs, “compare and match” function |
| Keyboard | 49 semi-weighted keys, velocity and polyphonic aftertouch |
| Display | 2 × 16 character LCD, encoder |
| MIDI | DIN in, out and thru; USB type B; NRPN and CC for every parameter |
| Audio outputs | 1 mono main output on 1/4″ jack, 1 headphone output |
| Control inputs | sustain, expression, chord memory, arpeggiator sync, filter CV (−5 to +5 V) |
| Power | internal, 100 to 240 V, 36 W max |
| Size, weight | 82.5 × 26 × 12 cm, 7.5 kg |
Polyphonic aftertouch senses the pressure on each key separately rather than across the whole keyboard, so a single note of a chord can open its own filter. That is rare at this end of the market, and it goes beyond the Polysix, which had no velocity at all. The “compare and match” function helps line up the physical knobs with the values stored in a program.
Who it is for, what it costs, what it competes with
Who it is for. Keyboard players who want an analog polysynth with keys, for pads, chords and 1980s-style chorused strings, in the studio or on stage. Chord memory and the arpeggiator target quick songwriting. Not for anyone who needs stereo or multitimbral playback: the main output is mono and the instrument plays one sound at a time, outside double mode.
What it costs. Price not announced: Behringer lists neither a price nor a release date on the product page, so no store can ship it yet.
What it competes with. Among affordable analog polysynths with keys, the benchmarks are the Sequential Take 5 (five voices with two VCOs each, 44 keys) and the Korg minilogue xd (four voices, 37 keys). The Polyeight beats both on voice count and with poly aftertouch, but has one VCO and one envelope per voice where they have two. Within Behringer’s own range, the Pro-800 offers eight two-VCO voices without a keyboard. For other recent reissues, see the Roland Jupiter-08 and the ACME Synthworks XP60, and our polyphonic synths section.
No official sound demo has been released yet, so it is too early to judge how close it gets to the Polysix. Product page and manual: Polyeight on behringer.com.
