Behringer Kobol Expander - SonicLAB Review

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We're looking at the Behringer Kobol Expander, a remake/re-imagining of the French RSF Kobol Expander from 1979.
It was an interesting though quite rare instrument, based on the Kobol (the version with the keyboard) and designed to offer an alternative to the ubiquitous Minimoog. The Oscillators (with crossfading waveforms) have character and the 24dB resonant filter - not the Moog design but still with the low end reduction when resonance is added made it also has its own thing.
The additional patch points of the original made it more of a synthesists instrument with quite a lot of patch points, making it highly modulateable.
The Behringer version is built to a budget - with plastic knob shafts and a basic built-in MIDI interface, but its still got a character and has something about it that makes if an enjoyable synth to play with.
It can be used in desktop mode with the case it comes with, or indeed Eurorack mounted as it the case with many of their other cloned range.
Cheap, yes, but also not without character, charm and a lot of fun with some thunderous low end - the two oscillators sound great. I really enjoyed this one and found that while simple, the patching options make it more flexible than you'd think. It also sounds pretty nice.
Available now priced at around £175/$199
www.behringer....
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#soniclab #behringer #kobol
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[@sonicstate]

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[@davidpetersonharvey]

I still don't think the original is worth the over $11,000 it's commanding on Reverb. I own a Juno 60 I bought in '92 for $250 used and I don't think they're worth the $2,000 price tag, either. These vintage prices are insane.

[@mjf1589]

Could this be patched to Moog Grandmother without risk?

[@sonicstate]

I think the grandmother operates at Eurorack voltages, but I would check that

[@synthanatomy]

@@sonicstate hey Nick, Grandmother is Eurorack compatible :)

[@TannithVQ]

And I wasn't going to buy another Behringer clone... This sounds really good though.

[@g3cd]

I still prefer the 8 voice Black Corporation Kijimi with its 20 independent LFO destinations for modulation and 6 envelopes over Behringer's intellectual property theft series with well, 1 LFO and a mono voice. Grrrrrreat.

[@unduloid]

Kijimi: $4,299 Kobol Expander: $199

[@Goettel]

Link your music please.

[@patsonmusic]

Intellectual property theft? Shows that you don't really know what you are talking about. Are you often comparing synths that have a price difference x 20 and announce the cheaper synth as not worthy? 😀

[@NEOREV_MUSIC]

Another anti-Behringer 🧟‍♀️ heard from. "My favorite synthfluencer told me to hate Behringer"

[@stephenroldan5107]

Really? Apples and rocks

[@ultralife73]

That thing has a LOT of character and you really bring that out. Thanks!

[@bugglebegger143]

sounds massive for bass

[@mauriciomandara5946]

The best synth reviewer on KZbin … thanks for sharing!

[@johnnyvandeclit259]

Funny thing is the Kobol is a bit of a French VCS3 as you could find it in some schools. It was the first synth I ever played with during my musique concrète workshop when I was 15/16yo. A friend has the modules now, gifted to him by our music teacher : 2 expander 1 and one expander 2 and the infamous presets sequencer. As you said, while the expander one is kind of Moog related (what substractive synth wasn’t ?) the expander 2 was very arp2600 related with the exact same voltage processor, sample and hold and lag and an LFO with individual waveform outputs, a mixer, all things making me believe that the French designers had maybe a bit more of ARP in their minds while designing the thing. To be honest, if Begringet puts the expander II out, I might fall for it as it is essential IMHO. Also as I spent quite some time with the original Kobol, I can confirm that you really hear and recognize the spirit of it in your demo, for those wondering. Good thing to know that the VCOs have been fully recreated, I also thought maybe there would be some trickery with the 3340. And 175 bucks. Crazy. You could add a zero and them multiply that by two to get a real one.

[@lolilollolilol7773]

C'était des cours au conservatoire ? Parce que j'aurais adoré qu'il y ait un synthé dans ma classe de musique, moi !

[@leethium6982]

Je sais que Denis Dufour en utilise un !

[@matta6554]

did you learn in france ? there was not to much electroacoustic class with this setup actually..

[@kezstone1]

Thank you so much for the excellent review. I purchased the Kobol and it's wonderful. It reminds me of 1980 when I first got my hands on a synth. It took me a while to suss it out as the layout is very different but when you finally click...oh! my it's an absolutely joy. It is very simple but has synergy. Incredibly inspiring.

[@matta6554]

i actually own an original Expander and you just give me a masterclass...

[@NEOREV_MUSIC]

Enjoying hearing what Behringer synths sound like in Nick's hands. I always love his sound design.

[@SCHAAFJOERG]

Best Kobol presentation so far!

[@bonaventura_AKA_ben]

If you are reading this, please DO NOT HESITATE buying this! I’ve had mine a few days and I’m probably getting another. At 299usd it would be a bargain, at the current 199usd it’s an exceptional bargain, and if Nick is right about the vcos not being 3340s and a discrete design, then this baby is a phenomenal bargain. This is as close to a Moog Nastiness Level of 11 you’re going to get. This is going into my System 55 (Behringer), along with the 55 modules and my Moog Mother 32. Absolute modular heaven. Damn

[@roismacara5079]

Bought this a month ago for the depeche , broken frame sun and the rain type sounds which it excels at. Really nice synth indeed.

[@CommunityGuidelines]

Excellent review, Nick, you coaxed a lot of nuance and character out of this unusual instrument. It sounds fantastic.

[@mike.thomas]

Wow that was an excellent review. Nick always manages to coax great and interesting sounds out of equipment, and this time is no different!

[@EllisDeWaldOfficial]

I would love to live in a world where Behringer released only obscure old synths and original stuff. There are a lot of great obscure old synths like the Gleeman Pentaphonic or the Voyetra that deserve a reissue.

[@reecedeyoung6595]

Behringer taking way too long on the SEM

[@Eli_B3000]

Oh man a Voyetra would be fantastic.

[@DurararaX2]

Absolutely. If Uli focused on preserving rare synths instead of jacking other people's current designs Behringer would be a much more respectable company too.

[@Projacked1]

I would prefer the obscure stuff, with added patch points....so they can do more/ be less limiting.

[@BeniRoseMusic]

It's really this easy for Behringer to turn it around, and they just choose not to because they like to be trolls.

[@MatthewFolstad]

Great job Nick. Definitely the best review of the Kobol so far for me. Really got it to show its unique sound.

[@MetaFunction]

Does sound similar to my originals. Prefer it for bass sounds than my model D. RSF were great. 💚💚

[@juliaseppi2205]

Would love to see a comparison video, cheers.

[@RodLevitonMusic]

I really like these obscure synths that Behringer make. Especially for the prices and the sounds of course. Great review of a very nice sounding synth. Thank you.

[@skywalnut]

You have a real knack for extracting great sounds from these things. I didn't expect to like that as much as I did. Thanks!

[@moorestreetfootscraytrucks2909]

Lovely contrapuntal ditty from 26:16 or so!! Beautiful!

[@DrJ3RK8]

I'm guessing that the original used 741 op amps or something like that (or maybe even RCA 301? if I have that part number correct) So going to TL07x would be a minor upgrade (less noise/distortion) but otherwise pretty bog standard in the world of op amps. On the tempco thing, it's just using a different method of temperature compensation as the ua726 is basically non-existent now, or if you can find one or two of them, you'll be paying through the nose (and maybe other things :D ) for no noticeable difference. Rob knows his stuff too, so this thing is likely to be SPOT ON.

[@jean-louispech4921]

Gilles the french guy managing the hardawre recreation of the kobol for Behringer, had done his best for recreating the behavior of the original kobol with available modern tools. And from the comment of peoples who own an original kobol, and working with him, he did a great job.

[@nyanko2077]

This synth sounds so good I ordered one as soon as I listened to some videos on youtube about it. Thank you for the review, always a good reliable content you put in there for the community.

[@sonicstate]

Hope you enjoy it.

[@JLeonSarmiento]

Finally got what the Kobol was about thanks to this video.

[@keythinwatford7153]

Connect mine up to a Hydrasynth 49, Behringer Abacus, Brain, Chaos, Doepfer MAQ 16/3 and Dark Time sequencers. Endless hours of fun so far.

[@Goettel]

This is just love for good synths without any bs, thank you.

[@THEREALDATALORD]

4:40 he says Pulse Width

[@entropybentwhistle]

One has to live up to their legendary status so the kids don’t get disillusioned and lose their motivation. It’s a heavy burden to bear.

[@BF-up5xw]

Wonderful work on this review. I really have a much better sense of this synth in terms of sound and options now!

[@KNHSynths]

The Kobol Expander is really astonishing and is offering a unique sound signature. Very pleasant and musical. It has almost the same number of patch points than a mother 32 and it plays very well in a setup with other semi-modular or eurorack machines. The more you play with it the more you're surprised to discover original sounds. For than price it is a true bargain. Unfortunately Behringer will certainly never release the Expander II that contained S&H, Ring Mod, etc. But if you have a 2600, a MS 20 or a eurorack, you'll be able to use their modules instead. Something to notice, a 4 voice kobol racks was used by JMJ for its Concerts en Chine. And the whole album is using the kobol rack, giving a very interesting sound to old tracks like the Arpeggiator (all done with the kobol rack, apart the bass that was played by a ARP 2600). Some people, without knowing why, are preferring tracks of this album rather than original mix. The secret sauce is a Kobol rack (mostly 4 expander + 1 or 2 expandeur II, mixer and preset manager)! So, if you have the place (at this price I don't speak about money...) buy this little strange guy!

[@wildphilpresents]

I got my Kobol a few months ago...and I must say...I absolutely love it. I have a Poly D...I have a Grandmother...but something about this synth just stands out. It has almost like a plate delay on it's waveforms by nature and it gives it a very metallic and brash sound that goes perfect with the industrial stuff I produce. Due to all of it's modulation points, I euroracked mine (and I ordered it from england and it came with an english power supply and I'm in America). Such a great device and if you're going Eurorack, you really can use ALL of this synth as almost like multiple modules in your euro setup so the hp doesn't feel like it's that bad compared to like my Pro-1 which seems silly to eurorack. Thanks for the review! I always look forward to your reviews of gear and had been hoping this one was coming.

[@EarmonkeyMusic]

Nice overview Nick. You know what's funny is that, for some reason, this thing reminds me more of my 1976 Octave Cat than the Behringer Cat does. Lots of character. That osc sync is so juicy and it's broken on the B-Cat.

[@banksideleopards2569]

The Kobol was used by JM Jarre to, RSF was build by 2 brothers from Toulouse in south of France. Other modules was enable, like an expender of the expender, polyphonic keyboard...

[@huli8557]

Yes geniuses 👍

[@HornieCow]

sounds a bit like the 24year old Access Virus. :D

[@iCrazyX]

Love your vids! Hello from Kharkiv🤝

[@slakk5093]

Always been my fav synth reviewer. This synth sounds really nice, might be my first behringer

[@sunilsolanki]

Might be one of the best sounding synths in years. Always loved the sound of the RSF Kobol... So this clone is a godsend those of us who couldn't buy one originally or from Mos Lab.

[@juliaseppi2205]

Exactly. I'm going to buy another.

[@hdsubstance1]

Excellent practical sound design here, definitely Mute Recordish

[@paulemery7353]

Why don’t we see many Sonic Lab reviews like this now ? Really miss them.

[@xoio]

Lovely Sounding Synth. BTW, Is that a Cheetah MD16R Rack Drum Machine, up on the top shelf behind Nick? :-D

[@malkymac7258]

I would guess that it's a MS6 synth back there, as the MD16R had additional front panel buttons for triggering the sounds.

[@DurararaX2]

Clones, re-issues, knock-offs, bootlegs, counterfeit, fugazi, whatever you want to call it :)

[@ickebins6948]

Nothing original, so typical Behringer

[@michaelkistenmacher]

for the noise generator, you could of course use one of those voltage processors in the lower left corner to control the amount when feeding them to the VCF or anything else…

[@Pulse2AM]

Sounds very good especially In your hands. For me personally I don't know enough about making patches and like to work really fast so It's not for me.

[@cloudrun654]

Quite nice presentation, Nick. Cheers

[@juliaseppi2205]

You can go higher than a 100hz by using the voltage processor. You can also get the lfo to go very slow.

[@sonicstate]

Ah! Good thought, didn't think of that

[@juliaseppi2205]

A pleasure, great demo, cheers.@@sonicstate

[@sunlightprism]

Thanks for covering this one, Nick. The first Behringer mono since the TD-3 that appeals to me.

[@fiddlestickzmuzik]

I'd love to hear the osc waveforms swept with a fast LFO speed, a sine wave perhaps..

[@wearetemporary]

This synth oozes character. Most synths that veer into the derelict get thin and brittle, this just feels richer for every “flaw” in the sound.

[@slakk5093]

yeah it offers something unique

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

i once met a homeless man named "Les Wealthy"

[@kayvon_is_likes]

Did he have a brother called Mo?

[@bugglebegger143]

LFO t shirt? synth sounds very good. now, maybe its my preconcieved notions from the brand name, but i tend to think it has the same issue of lacking "vibe" that other behringer has. thats not a deal breaker i do tend to notice - or is it imagine? - it, myself alone- i own and think fairly well of my TD-3mo and I notice a close "quality" in other demos of Big B. they fit a niche

[@GoodAfternoonDave]

yet another behringer product that isn't actually available in most markets. Their catalog looks huge but they're really a paper tiger who purposely understock everything as if demand was that great they couldn't keep up.. But its all BS. Just more duplicious marketing from the most unethical music company of all time.

[@juliaseppi2205]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@exhumus]

My Kobol had been in back order to Australia for months but finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. It *is* frustrating, but now that it's here I'm smiling.

[@valley_robot]

I sold all my behringer gear after the "swing" was released, don't want any of their shite in my house, that said, I miss my neutron

[@juliaseppi2205]

Lol.

[@cnfuzz]

Don't forget your hat on the way out

[@strykermoonfall2220]

Great character synth, nice review. Nice to see the B brand back on here. P eace to all

[@jeanbonnefoy1377]

Waiting for it (mainly because of vivid sharp keen memories of the original one I played and used in the early 80s. Was on my B. bucket list (with the vcs3 and, someday, the Polivoks - I tend to Behribuy machines I used or owns - or still own. Anyway, ordered it as soon as it was released, got it from Thomann last month: a total winner, as it is an almost perfect recreation, on a par with the D, the Cat or the K2, Now hoping a release of the Expander 2.

[@benjarrell1122]

Glad to see Sonic State reviewing Behringer gear again.

[@tommyg5095]

I was mightily surprised..

[@benjarrell1122]

Not sure. I would assume because of some of the controversies surrounding them. Maybe also because Behringer stopped sending out demo units.

[@bugglebegger143]

guessing there was a genuine interest in this one so he bought it for himself. fun to see reviews from SonicState for any produc I need to see more reviews like this if I want to buy a synth and SonicState is the only place I really truly trust when I make a decision.

[@edgodsall3740]

Prob coz there stuff is shit ha

[@botany500kojak]

@@user-cl3re8xi7y I think it was because TU said something negative about the company on a podcast.

[@jazzdude7014]

TI TL074 (Quad OPAMP) i remember using these chips in the mid-later 70s lol. Price for Industry in quanities under 1$ Ull must sit back in his mansion laughing at all you Synth Freaks he even makes decent money with this. And dont start calculating what the benefit/profit of Moog back then was.

[@huli8557]

Moog is dead

[@NTRSN-Archive]

Uli is the smartest .

[@kentxx12]

But where is the New Behringer UB-Xa Review Nick ? can't you just borrow it from someone who have it, you must know someone ;)

[@unkatom]

This is a near “perfect” review as ol’ Nick hails from the very culture and time-period that this synth was lifted from! (As do I… though I’m a Californian) I think the Behringer Kobol Expander absolutely purrs… like a Lion!

[@gru_day]

Had Crave, Neutron, TD3, Cat, Model D... and sold it all. There was always something with these synths. And now the Cobol came up. And i fell this itch that i want to scratch, again.

[@gula_rata]

what behringer synth did you finally keep?

[@alistairsteadman3765]

I’d be interested to hear a comparison between this and the Mos-lab version (no longer available) given the very different price points.

[@NicholasBryantBonzaiSequoias]

Would have been helpful to hear how resonance modulation changes the sound (Was doing some sequenced Res mod on my Neutron this very day!).

[@mididump]

I would love to hear Ty Unwins opinion on this one, apparently he is not a fan of Behringer and I distinctly remember Sonicstate throwing their toys out of the pram and saying they will never review another Uli product again. Lets see how this one plays out.

[@sonicstate]

For the record, we said their actions had made it very hard for us to cover their stuff. After they spent considerable amount of time bad- mouthing "the media" amongst other actions. There was a missive from above telling their people to not send us anything anymore. That sounds more like what you are describing.

[@jrsrcz-r512]

Great review.. I am just getting to grips with mine.. You have given me a few great ideas in this review .. Good to see Behringer products reviewed. Thanks.

[@Julian-g3e2e]

It's strange how, in Canada's largest city, none of these new Behringer synths are actually available. no stock anywhere. It makes one wonder if these are just limited runs of products, going mostly to social influencers to create demand for a supply that's intentionally shorted. But the best synth is one that actually exists in people's hands...so don't believe the hype.

[@TechnoAssassin-vx6zf]

10 plus in stock in Anderson’s uk 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣

[@mumblur421]

Ummm... is it just me or does this thing sound like a robot fart no matter what you do. 😂

[@juliaseppi2205]

Its you....

[@mumblur421]

hello @@juliaseppi2205

[@NOLNV1]

This is what they SHOULD do, put out the stuff that nobody else does!

[@yaboop]

First we had the Boog, now it's the Bolok.

[@huli8557]

Bobol?

[@yaboop]

@@huli8557 Haha, joking aside though, what a great demo!

[@iiaaiiaannaaiiaaii]

You are the best, Nick!

[@turdferguson1214]

23:50 what a beautiful sound!

[@RamtinDidab]

Should I get this or Neutron or Proton first? Aiming for live performance/versatility.

[@sonicstate]

Tricky, for live all modular is challenging, but I would probably go for the Neutron. Though I've not tried the proton

[@herberdth]

19:10 onward "quite a decent snap to them"

[@moroderhead]

Your patches remind me of Daniel Miller’s The Normal

[@intheblink]

Amazing review as always. Truly the best in the business. My favorite synth channel.

[@billwray6381]

Anybody know what was the drum machine?

[@Substance242]

The ending reminded me of "Équinoxe Part 6". :-)

[@GGprods-o2x]

Ew

[@brettlemmings]

great demo/review Nick! it is a lovely unit!

[@LlewynDaviesTheThird]

Really want one. Have too many monosynths. But this is v tempting

[@Stremklad]

Nick got is head shaved during the shooting ;-)

[@SR-ih1be]

This thing is bananas!

[@magmasunburst9331]

I just bought this instead of the K2 (MS 20 clone) really not bared on thorough research. I'm trying to expand my Roland System 1M in a modular way. I'm not even sure if the two can be plugged into each other. Anyone know?

[@whitelightenergydads]

love your reviews, nick!

[@keg3212]

Like the Neutron this is another Behringer synth that has a lot of character. The Neutron is my favourite monosynth but I think this, from what I've heard of it, would be a contender.

[@Goettel]

Wouldn't trade my Neutron for it. Guess I have to get one -.-

[@sdsmack1]

Nice review and lovely synth , thanks

[@Dolores5000]

Dang that sounds great ❤❤❤

[@pixelwash9707]

Very thorough overview, thank you, helpful to me as an owner to understand it, very confusing in someways to use, as it's hard-wired internal routing confuses what can be done with patching cables. Your knowledge of how synths basically work was obviously very useful in exploring some of the options available.

[@voidcat6876]

this , this i dont mind behringer doing , cloning out of production synths to me is moraly perfect , it doesent harm the other company , becouse the synth is no longer generating revenue for them , and it helps musicians .

[@expandingknowledge8269]

The Behringer Kobol just recently became available at Sweetwater for $199.00, free shipping. Wonder how it would sound with the Neutron.

[@PWMaarten]

This is the hill I’m dying on. A circuit designed around IC’s is not a discrete circuit.

[@NamelessSmile]

How are they not discrete?

[@jean-louispech4921]

at least the filter is discrete, form a good source.

[@PWMaarten]

@@NamelessSmile a discrete circuit is build from discrete components. The moment an IC enters the circuit it is no longer discrete. This makes the kobol expander, including the filter, a non discrete synth.

[@NamelessSmile]

@@PWMaarten u missed my point. I mean how do you know there are ICs in the oscillators and filters ?

[@PWMaarten]

@@NamelessSmile by looking at the original schematics. Also there is no 100% discrete synth that I know of.

[@adriano_io-ko3]

Im new to sound design. I have a question, can duophonic synths make chords with more than 2 notes? Cmaj7 for example

[@synthanatomy]

great review video :) Kobol sounds great, 25:00 beautiful :)

[@cptgone]

Love the reviews - but if you put "SonicLab review" in the title, I'm hoping for a review of SonicLab's weird and wonderful plugins.

[@andrewverran3498]

Sounds very nice, have you any idea what those silver shelving unit /bookshelve are behind you please? Much appreciated. ✌️

[@NoirEater]

I've mistakenly been calling this thing the "kobold" 😂 Really want one but gotta replace my Behringer brains module first

[@AbsurdTV1]

Thats a powerful synth player and the best thing that can ever happen

[@DaveBessell]

Sounds pretty good. If Behringer can also recreate the polykobol I will be very interested.

[@user-vg5rv5xf4u]

10:30 wow

[@mumblur421]

Robot farts for life lol

[@pedroeustache5511]

Thanks for this EXCELLENT review!! BRILLIANT Blessings!!

[@kentxx12]

This sound so good :)

[@monolith2063]

I hope Behringer will recreate the RSF Kobol Expander 2, too. This would be a nice enhancement for the Kobol Expander.

[@brettlemmings]

definitely . . together with the 1601 sequencer would be fantastic!