Behringer lets the CAT out of the bag to round off 2019

Behringer told us it wasn’t finished with 2019 just yet. It’s had a huge year, keeping us on the edge of our seats anticipating which classic analogue synth will get the Behringer treatment next. With less than eight hours left until we move into 2020, a YouTube video lands on our homepage with the title “Introducing the CAT Synthesizer”. Behringer’s take on the Octave CAT has arrived.

Used by the likes of Chemical Brothers, Rod Argent, David Bedford and more, Octave CAT was released in the late 1970s and was accused of being a copy of the ARP Oddysey due to a long list of similarities. This caused ARP to threaten legal action toward Octave, with unsatisfying results for ARP.

Those with a keen eye and perhaps a good memory will remember when Behringer teased the synth on its Facebook page last year – or at least the circuitry anyway. So how true has the manufacturer stayed to the original?

Key CAT features

• Pure analogue signal path
• Mono/Duophonic synth with polychain capabilities
• Authentic replication of original CAT SRM circuitry with matched transistors
• Dual VCO
• OSC 1 features four variable waveform shapes
• OSC 2 features three variable waveform shapes
• Sliders for both oscillators provide flexible control across shape and sound
• Six different sources for oscillator modulation
• Analogue CAT filter with self-resonance and six sources for modulation
• Two envelope generators for modulation of VCF and VCA with S&H function
• Analogue sine/square LFO

No information has been announced on release date, nor is it currently listed on the Behringer website or any retailers that we know of. We may, however, find out more at the upcoming NAMM 2020 event. Regarding price, if we go by what Behringer’s other recent synths have been retailing at, we can estimate the CAT to be around the €299 mark.

Behringer also announced an update on the TD-3 synthesiser, which you can find out more about here.

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