We’re used to seeing Behringer prototyping clones of iconic synthesizers and drum machines, but it’s latest proposed reboot is of a drum synth so obscure that you might never have even heard of it.
The company has asked its Facebook audience if it would be interested in a new version of the Syncussion SY-1, a drum synth that was released by ‘real’ drum manufacturer Pearl in 1979, and the precursor to the Simmons SDSV.
Now, given that you’ve probably never even heard of the SY-1, you probably don’t yet know if you’re interested or not, but once you check out what it can do, you might be keen to find out more.
Each of the two channels on the SY-1 has an oscillator and envelope generator. The pitch of this can be swept positively or negatively, and there’s also an LFO, a noise generator and a sample/hold function. Channels can be triggered by anything with a gate output.
The result is a drum synth that’s more capable and flexible than you might think - it’s been used by everyone from ‘80s disco artists to Aphex Twin.
Whether Behringer’s Syncussion SY-1 makes it into production remains to be seen, but at the very least, it’s nice to see a light being shone on it.
