Mine's been here for about a week now.
IS it all that and a bag of chips?
OK...let me explain that I've got a LOT of background where I've used versions of the original. When I posted a review on Sweetwater's site, I'd thought that the B.2600 would be the seventh one I'd used. But I was wrong...it's the EIGHTH. Of those, three were Tonus-logo rev.2s, two were G-clef-logo rev.3s, and two were the "Orange" rev.4s. And one of those "Oranges" was only about two years old when I used it (right around the time ARP closed up shop, in fact), but I definitely remember it, how it behaved, sounded, and such.
And shock of shocks, Uli has now given us the synth that, for all intents and purposes, is the REAL, BONAFIDE, NO-FOOLIN' REV.5! Yeah, screw Korg and their vapor2600s...Behringer, with the assistance of Rob Keeble, has knocked this thing out of the park...and the parking lot beyond...and busted out the front window of the Carl's Jr. on the other side of the expressway!
How can I say that? I mean...Uli's pretty much not a nice guy, and buying anything with that ear logo on it STILL makes me cringe. But dammit...
OK, OK...the upshot is that, if you were to compare a NIB Behringer 2600 with a pretty-much-new "Orange", as long as you had the BARP in the x1 time constants on the EGs and the 4072 VCF in use, you would have a very difficult time telling them apart. As in, REALLY difficult. So why are all the purists saying that this doesn't sound like a "real" 2600?
Well, it DOES sound like one...that's not 40-50 years old, with 40-50 years of component deterioration, 40-50 years of use and abuse, 40-50 years of drifting out of factory spec, and so on. And therein is the problem: none of these BARPs are 40-50 years old. These guys are so busy A-B-ing these in their heads that I'm pretty sure that they're comparing the BARP to an old, vintage unit that they've got access to now.
And that's NOT the right thing to compare it to! It's sort of like comparing a 1956 Chevy Bel Air to a 2021 Hyundai Sonata -- yes, they both have four wheels. They both run on gasoline. They have decent interiors. Annnnnnd...that's where things start diverging. Put that Chevy out on the interstate and punch it up to 90...and before long, that thing'll throw a rod or something equally horrible, whereas the Hyundai takes it in stride. This is the problem here, translated into aging electronic components.
For a more in-depth look at this, I'd suggest looking at my review over on Sweetwater's listing for the "Xmas Tree" 2600, which is what I got. The sole flaw...and it's a nitpicky one, but important IMHO...is that Behringer doesn't include any OEM 3.5mm cables or dummy plugs with the synth. The latter are ESPECIALLY important, as what they are are 3.5mm plugs with no connection inside, which lets you break connections such as, say, VCO2's Keyboard CV while keeping VCO1 under CV, then feeding these through the ring mod. But beyond that, I have zero buyer's remorse. It IS what Korg promised...and then didn't/wouldn't deliver on, or plans to deliver on "someday" with a "crippleware" version, neither being ultimately acceptable as long as Uli's version can be obtained for far less and with far greater ease than either.
And again, by no means is this an endorsement of Uli and his behavior. I 100% think the Music Tribe needs to find a way to curb his juvenile antics, as they DO cost them quite a bit of business...to say nothing of doing little to overcome Behringer's rep for IP theft. Instead, if they can shut him up (thorazine is useful), products such as the new 2600 would be more than capable of demonstrating what they're capable of and could well be a way to build a very different and more positive public image. It's that good. No lie.
