Behringer CAT

Its funny how many things you can do with this great little synth.

There's not much to say on what you should expect from an analog synth, but what the CAT does, is that with its design it allows more posibilities and ways to use each section.

Take the oscillators for example. You can feed them to each other, you can sync them, or use them to control the filter or use them as S+H source (VCO1). And keep in mind that each one has a sub oscillator and a waveform mixer. Or the envelopes, which can be fed to a number of sources simultaneously.

One thing that puzzles me however is the oscillator sync. It sounds a bit "broken" sometimes. I'm not sure if this is Behringer's fault, or the original design. Also one thing you should take in account with Behringer synths is the envelope curve steepness. You can't fine tune it easily for short lengths.

Overall, the synth maybe a bit complicated for a novice user, but I would recommend it nevertheless, because of the wide range of options it offers.

Considering the almost ridiculous price, the Behringer CAT is an absolute gem. It is one of those synthesizers that might look simple at first, but once you spend time with it, it becomes a deep and endless source of inspiration.

Among many instruments in my studio, this is honestly one of my favorites. The sound is wonderful: raw, present, sometimes unpredictable in the best possible way. It has character, attitude and a liveliness that makes every session interesting.

The duophonic architecture is extremely musical. You can create powerful bass and lead combinations, intervals, moving lines, or thick textures that feel far bigger than what you would expect from such a compact unit. It encourages performance and experimentation rather than static programming.

I also appreciate the build quality. Everything feels solid, knobs are reliable, and the layout is clear and immediate. You do not fight the instrument, you play it.

One of the highlights for me is the oscillator interaction and cross-modulation possibilities. People familiar with Eurorack will recognize that territory, but having this kind of behavior in a standalone synth at this size and price is remarkable. It can go from sweet to aggressive very quickly, and that range is incredibly inspiring.

For what it costs, this is a masterpiece. A small machine with a huge personality.

Great engineering here - they have all of the functionality (and the look and feel) of the original and although it is necessarily made on the cheap so the knobs and sliders don't feel great, it is nonetheless a powerful piece of kit. The controls are much smaller than on the original, which makes it fiddly to use in a keyboard rig (for me anyway), and the whole thing is rather lightweight so needs strapping down onto an appropriately angled surface - not easy. I don't think it's good for a live environment without some serious extra work. The analogue interfaces seem to work OK (3.5mm jacks though, so some bespoke cabling needed to connect up to the rest of the oldskool analogues) . Unit ships with the usual amateur wall-wart power supply (particularly annoying for UK customers is the clumsy and ill-fitting europlug adapter which is the ultimate in cheapskate shortcuts - it's the proverbial "ha'p'worth of tar".). For this price, though, it's a no-brainer to fatten things up on your existing monosynth, whatever it is.

De Behringer CAT is echt een fantastische synth voor iedereen die van unieke en rauwe geluiden houdt. Het analoge karakter is onmiskenbaar, met dikke, grommende tonen en scherpe leads die meteen opvallen. De dubbele oscillator en modulaire mogelijkheden geven je eindeloos veel ruimte om te experimenteren. Wat ik vooral gaaf vind, is hoe intuïtief het werkt, ondanks de enorme flexibiliteit. Hij voelt stevig aan, met knoppen en sliders die uitnodigen om aan te draaien en te schuiven. De vintage uitstraling is een echte eyecatcher in mijn studio. Het geluid heeft zoveel karakter dat het elke track een unieke vibe geeft. Ik kan me al niet meer voorstellen hoe ik zonder werkte!