Behringer DeepMind 12 49-key 12-voice Analog Synthesizer

I admit was on the fence about purchasing the DeepMind 12. I have to say I'm becoming impressed, and the instrument has grown on me quickly. After only a few days, I feel very comfortable with basic modulation, syncing, button layout, menus, modifying effects, etc.There is a small learning curve to get started, and as others have mentioned, the stock patches are only examples, and many of them have thick FX added on. That encouraged me to figure out how to shape the envelopes and modify FX quickly.Adding Juno 106 sounds and another bank of custom patches was simple through the PC/USB connection. I found that there isn't much deep "menu diving", most common functions require only one button press to access the appropriate menu and the button layout seems very intuitive... I can't really speak to any other polysynths in this price range or above -- so far the sounds, deep features, ease of use, and easy (MIDI/USB) connectivity seem like solid reasons to own this budget synth.

Love love love this synth!! As they name implies, it's a deep synth. Lots of capabilities available, make sure to have a look at the various instructional Youtubes that are posted on this. Sound quality is top rate, I think the build quality is equally good. Amazing range of sonic goodness that this synth can produce. The IOS app that you can use with this is really well constructed, very usable...would highly recommend since it provide a second good visual view at a glance of all the settings. Additionally, much easier to tweak the effects from the app. Speaking of...the effects are definitely high quality. Not a surprise since Behringer owns those companies. Super high quality effects marry well with the already high quality sound generation abilities of this synth.Not a Behringer employee, just a very pleased customer. I don't think there is anything on the market that can touch this synth on price. Lots (like 1000) of excellent presets to get you started and see some of the capabilities. Easy to update the firmware.Obviously, I'm a big fan. Highly recommend this synth. Enjoy!

Pros: Price is reasonable, easy to use, works flawlessly, plenty of options/presets, input/output options are greatCons: No manual (even the online manual is not very good), materials are not super high quality

A very high quality, well built, and sophisticated synth for the money. Strong sound engine and quality keys. Sound tweaking comes from a combination of surface controls and menu diving. Each section of the synth has an edit button that opens an edit screen allowing you to edit the applicable parameters for more extensive sound shaping. Oodles of effects that can be accessed and modified from the edit menu. The synth also includes a computer app for editing but I actually find the onboard menu screen easier to work with.Others have mentioned the tremendous amount of presets (over 1,000). They actually may have gone a bit overboard here especially since the presets are not organized by type. The presets are spread between multiple banks but each bank contains all types of sounds. The presets in the first bank are mostly duplicates of presets found in other banks. Luckily you do have the ability to tag presets into a favorites folder but you will spend a lot of time browsing through all of the preset banks in order to select your favorites.I'm relatively new to synthesizers (only a couple of years). I wouldn't call this a beginner synth as it's a pretty sophisticated machine where you are mostly working with preset sounds and an occasionally bewildering number of surface and menu parameters to adjust. As an affordable upgrade, it's a terrific buy.

This instrument combines the best of multiple eras in a fairly compact and well-built package. And it’s especially impressive given the price point.The basis of the Deepmind 12 is a 12-voice analog signal path, a sincere homage to the classic sound of analog polyphonic synthesizers popularized in the 80’s. It sounds really pleasant and has a lot of character. Then the signal path can be routed through a flexible digital effects system, which contains quality reverbs, delays, eqs, compressors, and more. The cherry on top is having a modulation matrix, which can route signals all over the place, including effects parameters. There’s a bunch of ways to connect other devices to the instrument, including WiFi midi and a special pc/mobile app that’s essentially a 2nd display with extra features.I purchased this for the price and flexibility, but I didn’t have high expectations. In reality those expectations were far surpassed. I can tell this was an earnest effort to make a unique and well-crafted machine. There is just no end of the sonic possibilities, and many of the factory patches don’t really do it justice. Very excited for it to be a part of my sound for years to come.

I love my DM12. It really does sound fantastic and has a lot of bells and whistles that I’ll keep exploring for a long time.But…-There are a few things you should know…Mine has a high frequency noise that won’t go away. 2k and up with overtones. It may be leaking from a power supply design issue. Even with the volume knob down. Seems to be a common issue. Also make sure to turn the fan speed down below 30 in settings.-Forget about the iPad apps unless you have an old iPad. There is no update for current iOS and doesn’t look hopeful. But a usb works great for MIDI and the desktop app on Mac.-For stereo sounds the DM12 randomly pans the voices left and right depending on which voice it uses. So it makes the stereo patches sound like glitchy panning. This is fixable as a setting. Set amp panning width to zero in settings ash’s it will center the sound but fx will still be stereo.I use mine in the studio and it is very playable, expressive, and sounds great in mix. Tons of useful ambient pads! I am now buying the Pro-1 and Model D with my eyes on the Odyssey or 2600 next :-)Enjoy!