First announced all the way back in 2022, Behringer's UB-1 is an Oberheim-inspired microsynth based on the 3396/3397 chip design found in the company's Matrix synths.
Since then, Behringer has released the synth's two big brothers, the UB-Xa and UB-Xa Mini, but this week the company has finally delivered the smallest and most affordable member of the familiy: UB-1 Micro.
Promising to squeeze Oberheim-style sound into a compact and portable package, UB-1 Micro is described by Behringer as the "world's smallest fully-featured analogue synthesizer". (Whether you believe that depends on how you interpret the phrase "full-featured", but there's no denying that it's tiny.)
The monophonic UB-1 Micro features two analogue DCOs with saw, triangle and square waves, PWM, a sub-oscillator and noise generator, running through an analogue 4-pole low-pass filter. These are joined by envelopes for both the VCF and VCA, and two LFOS assigned to the oscillators and filter.
UB-1 Micro features a 16-key touch-sensitive keyboard and OLED screen for parameter editing. Alongside this you get a basic arpeggiator and a selection of 32 presets that can be edited using Behringer's SynthTribe companion app.
UB-1 Micro's USB-C connection is joined by a 3.5mm MIDI input (all of the synth's parameters can be controlled via MIDI CC) and a 3.5mm stereo output that doubles as a headphone out.
That's a decent amount of functionality for a synth that costs just over $50 and fits in your pocket – we've no doubt that the UB-1 Micro will find its way into a few synthesists' stockings this Christmas.
