DeepMind 12 Review - Exclusive Sonic LAB

We take a look at the much anticipated Behringer DeepMind 12 analog poly synth.
(note: 1024 internal patch memories)
Any additional questions, leave them in the comments
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[@sonicstate]

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[@phd3333]

I really want to thank you for your devotion and talent putting out these vids. I'm not a musician, but have enjoyed electronic music since the 1970's. I built my own synthesizer in 1976--a Paia 2600--a prehistoric modular synth that came in kit form. I am now in my 60's and enjoy the amazing resurgence in electronic music. Younger folks are such an inspiration and great guys like you have helped rekindle my love for these instruments and the music made.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Same for me. ARP Odyssey, in the 1970s, and loving the latest generation of electronic music toys.

[@kintrap5376]

I think I speak for many when I say I would not mind one bit if you made a 2 hour exhaustive demo

[@TheRealSasquatch]

or a series of demo's really exploring the capabilities (Maybe a Behringer sponsorship opportunity for Nick?) - this sounds great but the effort required to get to grips with the complexity (or spending a week reading the manual) is somewhat daunting - it makes programming my DX7 look like a breeze ;-)

[@TheRealSasquatch]

IzoTope sponsor the livestream so I guess it's possible. I would say, from what I have seen, this synth is very capable and i'm very tempted to order one. I think everyone who watches Sonicstate knows Nick isn't going to hold back on criticism (as he did with this vid) - He appears to be impressed with the Deepmind - and whilst it cant be everything to everyone, it does appear to be a bit of a gamechanger in terms of pricing/capabilities. I would happily watch a Behringer sponsored Sonicstate demo series (and a Markus Fuller teardown:) knowing it was sponsored.

[@smartbart015]

Yes Nick, you seemed a bit rushed, overwhelmed by features and worried you could not answer all our questions.. So sit back, let the camera's roll and freak out for 2 hours or more on this machine :)

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

Don't worry I'm sure Marc Doty will do a review that's like 14 parts spanning a month. just kidding Marc!

[@CommunityGuidelines]

I said, "Aww, it's over already?" at the end. What a fascinating synth, the time just flew right by...

[@08080m]

After years, this is the best review about the Deepmind 12. Great job Nick.

[@CamberGreber]

This Guy should Design his own Synth...he knows his shit.

[@EddieKMusic]

By your logic rally drivers should also engineer their own car engines because "they know their shit". Knowing your shit is not enough

[@CamberGreber]

@@EddieKMusic I meant the overall functions and UI not the technical underpinnings of course.

[@thruzero]

@@EddieKMusic Design, not build or create the circuit board.

[@davedagreat69]

@@EddieKMusic Actually, most racing drivers have a major input into the evolution of their cars. At the end of the day, who knows better how the car handles than the driver? The engineers certainly aren't as qualified to determine that. There's a big difference between designing and building.

[@FreddieShreddieTV]

@@EddieKMusic oh dear

[@robdela3632]

this guy has an awesome job

[@Psychlist1972]

Sounds even better than I thought. Some of those mono sounds you got out of it were fantastic as well. Great review and demo. The patch sync'd to the external LFO was brilliant.

[@bobbo924B]

Nick, that was amazing. I've been watching a number of vids on this baby and yours delved into the real guts of it. Thanks so much. Most impressive first outing for Behringer.

[@piscue]

good job nick! this synth is really deep and you covered a lot of aspects. Always a good time spent watching your reviews and stuff :)

[@ColdWelder]

Thanks Nick! I've been waiting for you to review this synth to really get an idea of its capability, it seems to have everything I need and a lot more. Great review as always!

[@williammitchell6921]

Great review. It inspired me to purchase the Deepmind 12. I arrived yesterday. I'm a bass player and will be using this for composing. I got fed up with menu-driven-mouse-ckicking-creativity-destroying software plugins and midi controllers, so I went with the DeepMind. I'm not a synth snob. It sounds gorgeous to my ears right out of the box. I'm sure it will inspire many future compositions. Also, as a bass player using this to compose, having the ability to quickly assigning whatever chords I want to single keys is invaluable.

[@jakobole]

And how did it go?

[@adastra123]

Amen to that, it's way better not to be using a mouse when in creative mode.

[@lescobrandon8045]

How the hell are software plugins and MIDI controllers destroying creativity? Also what the hell is a bass player gonna do with a polyphonic synth? You don't like software plugins because it allows lower class of people to compete with you.

[@lescobrandon8045]

@@adastra123 If you don't know how to assign midi controls you might wanna step away from music production. Pro producers squeeze a mouse all day long. You're not special, you still have to mix and master your tracks, so back to the mouse. Get over yourself snob.

[@SuchaDoofus]

@@lescobrandon8045 Bad day at the office Lesco? You lost your cool there...

[@noiselabproject9659]

Great review Nick, you defo have the DNA for reviewing Synths

[@BURG]

really like the TV backdrop screen... thats a nice touch and adds some extra depth to the presentation / demo. Good review, thanks !

[@rain_irl6460]

really excellent review nick and lovely playing as usual...thanks for this

[@BillyCosmosis]

18:45 "Here I've got LFO 1 normalised to the pulse width modulation..." Of course you have Nick :)

[@grimiss8592]

Thanks for the great review, as ever......and the synth sounds amazing. I'm looking forward to further reviews, as and when they're available. It would be great to see the app in action in one of you next DM12 videos. Cheers.

[@mCKENIC]

Jesus! I was not expecting to be this impressed - great overview Nick! Thank you!

[@johnnyraphaell]

mCKENIC i was reading "jexus" 😂

[@mstorey83]

Thanks Nick ... excellent look at this synth. (as always, you are the best with this sort of thing!) Helps me with my purchase decision.

[@m.g.kroger]

Could enjoy hours of your sound explorations on synthesizers. This one is surely the most intriguing demo review of DeepMind.

[@dougelick8397]

I find it interesting when people complain a synth, "should be X". They complained about the Minilogue that way too. It simply is what it is. Take it or leave it. Seems like the DeepMind12 is an amazing first stab from Behringer of all companies. From this demo at least, it seems utterly unique. Why this obsession that every new synth should be a recreation of something from the past??

[@SPAZZOID100]

Doug Elick too much menu diving.

[@HotStrange]

James Reeno no there’s not. The menu diving you do have to do is so intuitive it’s painless. People like you just have to complain to be happy.

[@HotStrange]

Doug Elick idiots have to have something to complain about. They think every synth should be made to their specifications and just for them.

[@josephmills3864]

Right? Two different synths really shouldn't be compared. They are all a little different. Buy them all..if you can.

[@theeltea]

@@SPAZZOID100 You don't have to menu-dive. WHATSOEVER.

[@RecordingStudioRockstars]

I just bought myself a Deepmind 12 for my birthday!! Can’t wait till it arrives. 😎

[@diglet553]

I find it amusing when people moan about menu diving or lack of Roland chorus. For me, the DeepMind has everything I'd want in this type of polysynth. For the price point, this is incredible! Hats off to Behringer for developing it. I think I know what I would like for Christmas now haha!

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Dale Johnson Yes i agree its not supposed to be a complete Juno clone. It does far more than a juno and jupiter put together. This is behringers second synth. So i can only guess there will be more great goodies from them in the future. P.s. i have already hinted to the missus i want one for my birthday/christmas . Her response was a look of disbeleif and "Why do you need another keyboard ". Never mind ill try again next year !!

[@SPAZZOID100]

Dale Johnson a bit too much menu diving.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

James Reeno Yes im not the biggest fan of too many menus tbh . However i hope this machine is reliable and doesnt rely on effects to heavily.

[@snuppssynthchannel]

James Reeno Scared of a little menu diving? its a synth with matrix modulation, of course it needs some menu diving, or else the synth would be huge and much more expensive.

[@snuppssynthchannel]

@Trololo Inc ® Rev 2 is a great machine!

[@deandavis325]

I finally got my DM12 today and it has surpassed all of my expectations. This thing is pure dopeness, best investment I've EVER made........ EVER !!!

[@BoomJitsu]

Hey I have a Deepmind 12 on the way. Just curious since you’ve had it for so long how it’s still holding up and if you still love it. Thanks!

[@deandavis325]

@@BoomJitsu, the Deepmind is holding up great. I haven't had any issues with it and it fires up and works perfectly everytime. The build quality is really solid and I did buy a soft shell case to keep the dust out of it but other than that it's still an awesome synth. Congratulations and best of luck with your new Deepmind. Peace ✌

[@gasparlucas92]

@@deandavis325 how does its bass sounds? i got a behringer neutron, and it has a very very good bass, lots of sub frequencies. Im thinking about to get a deepmind. Thanks.

[@deandavis325]

@@gasparlucas92 the basses are fat. It has a sub oscillator so you can get some seriously deep bass.

[@mikeexits]

You made the Deepmind?! :O

[@hansbertschler5141]

Great review! Also the idea with the "pre-review", where you gave all the synth-fans the possibility to ask for the informations they re really interested in! After watching your review, i have a so much more precisely picture of what the DM12 is, and so that synth moved from my "would be nice"-list to my "really wanna have that"-list ;-)

[@OrangeJackson]

The thing sounds well. Love to see a sonictalk dealing with synthesis techniques. Working tricks with envelopes and lfos etc. Sort of mining the wisdom that Nick puts into play on these demos.

[@TheJonHolstein]

Yeah, the Nick Synth-school. I would love that. Perhaps sometimes with special guest, so that they could have a discussion, so that we sometimes get input on how some of his pod-cast guests treat certain synth parameters.

[@bennydeckard]

Note for anyone coming in here over a year later: they patched in the ability to favourite your programs so one of Nick's complaints got addressed :)

[@bhriscmusic8880]

So you can have your patches say for a live set organized instead of scrolling through each bank of patches?

[@jojjeboy]

cool, this was a major concern, how do you do this?

[@philipd2252]

@@jojjeboy Press and hold the program button for a few seconds.The menu will give you context for use of rotary wheel , up, down, left , right keys . It is well explained in the manual, download from Behringer site. Cheers

[@X22GJP]

@@bhriscmusic8880 RTFM

[@1980alsful]

Demo'd one in GAK recently. Genuinely blown away by the quality of sounds I heard. I really like the sound of the oscillators - and the filter was a pleasant surprise. Think this is one of those 'no brainer' synth purchases - especially at the price it's marketed at!

[@steve-on7kl]

Nice review. When you were using the chords feature it sounds so nice !

[@liverawkstar]

What a golden new era we are in.

[@snoolee7950]

yaes there is a lot of cheap shit

[@fortheloveofnoise9298]

We are now beginning the platinum era with 2019.

[@TomasDiez]

any updates to this comment in 2020?

[@jeffreyjbyron]

Also from the future, and damn we are just getting started. Not only are there so many affordable instruments, but there is very little stigma regarding what you use. Some people making legit hits with toys. What's next? How does this era come to an end?

[@tommychappell6359]

The Space Age ;)

[@08080m]

Thanks Nick, this is the best review!!

[@ianpritchard6375]

Great as always. Really informative. Thanks!

[@MikePensini]

Great demo Nick, some great sound potential there.

[@MichaelBranque]

Bravo pour la pédagogie de cet essai ! The best I have seen for this great synth… You just make it simple ! Merci.

[@PDG1956]

It is great to listen and watch a review by someone who really knows what he is talking about and is enthusiastic about making music...thanks! Great synth by the way.

[@KirkMonteux]

Fantastic review. Thanks Nick!

[@mickeythompson9537]

Excellent review, as ever. And always something I want to try on stuff I own (like the 3:2 LFO ratios - the circular delay trick). And I like the chunky Moog Opus 3 styled wood on the DM12.

[@fortheloveofnoise9298]

Revisiting this video and this synth is growing on me.

[@bitley]

This is a TRULY COMPREHENSIVE demo and review Nick, very glad to see this. Waiting for delivery on my DM12 now, old Roland Juno / JX "buff" here.

[@agerven]

Cooool, thanks a lot for this video. Lots of talking, but all to the point, and lots of sounds to demo it too. You've answered many questions, including some of mine. Parameter and DCO pitch randomness are very cool indeed, and omitting my need of an associated modification! The deepmind 12 is becoming more interesting with this video's results!

[@ozorg]

As always: Great review!

[@SunCrushr]

Finally! So glad to see Nick's review on this.

[@TozBourne]

Great vid, Nick.

[@Conforce]

this synth is brilliant. and a well engineered product. not just a clone

[@muppetpaster]

And relatively built like a "tank" By which I mean it is sturdy and not nearly as flimsy as in this clip...

[@Synthelicious]

A great review as always. Most questions answered... Thanks! Seems like a very nice synth, even with the menu diving. But i'm used to a CZ1, Poly 800 and Sequential MultiTrak and the DeepMind12 has more hand on controls than those. It has a crazy amount routing possibilities... Me liking :) Waiting for a review part two..... ;)

[@stevebrenner9538]

Thanks again for another great demo! This machine is amazing I just ordered one from Sweetwater Sound.

[@SheldonKreger]

Awesome review for an awesome instrument. Thanks!

[@33iknow]

This is thing is SICK!!!! I've been making beats for some time now and I have been waiting for something like this.

[@hafstrat]

Now I understand why it's called DEEPmind. Impressive and fab review as always.

[@SwagwarStizzy]

great job nick and great job behringer !!

[@decimal1815]

So this is one of the most popular video on the Sonicstate channel: @ 70k views per year. Behringer RD-8 review: 123k per year, Neutron review: 100k views per year. The champion is Behringer Poly D review: 137k views per year. Interesting.

[@RomanticAnalog]

Really loving the DeepMind. Cool video!

[@DaveBessell]

Thanks in depth review is very helpful. Also good to hear it without effects. We know the effects are good but its also useful to get a bit more of a feel for the basic sound quality without them.

[@MarshalArnold]

It sounds awesome, thanks Nick!

[@chvadsb]

Great review. Synth looks really cool. No more room in the apartment these days but man... it looks like some fun.

[@thaneco]

Great synth and review!

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

I think the the real deal maker or breaker would be to have your own hands on experience with this synth. Great review !!!

[@dddux]

A note to Roland: this is how it''s done. d= :)

[@HotStrange]

dddux they’re new SE-02 is phenomenal, as is the D-05 and SH-01a. The AIRA series is great as well. So idk what the point of this comment was.

[@aaroninja1]

Jdxa ...

[@UnlovedZetsu]

Roland is good too, this one is my first synth and so far I love it

[@Pronobozo]

it's too bad they are small af

[@TallicaMan1986]

dddux The JDXi is awesome though.

[@mej6519]

"i want this, no i want an sv-1, no i want this this, nope get the sv-1. cant have both man", (the voices in my head are kicking off again). great review nick, looking forward to the extra vids.

[@shaft9000]

sv-1 (my bandmate has one) will cover a LOT of the good-old bases sonically - the rhodes and mellotron alone are worth the price. but the sv-1 won't help you learn nor apply diddly about synthesis. of course, the answer is "both" ;-)

[@jittisoolt5927]

Fullsome review - thanks!

[@rosss9999]

Oh my God looks awesome, Thanks Nick - Succinct and detailed as always. Just need a knob per function version haha

[@harrymerchant8944]

Amazing for the money. Dear Gearslutz forum clique. You screamed loudly for years there would never be a polyphonic analog synth made for under 10,000. Advice to anyone. Steer well clear of the collectors on the gearslutz channel. Their only agenda is keeping the price of their old analogs artificially high.

[@jumpingman8160]

bwahahaha True.

[@StevieMasters]

I have been viewing that site for years, may as well change the name to "GeaRsNoBs". According to those ppl on that site unless it is ancient and slowly breaking down which all vintage gear does than it's not worth anything. They need to embrace new things but they have too many LFO's up their butts to move forward.

[@gladtobeangry]

Gearslutz is a typical nerd community. A few genuinely helpful and knowledgeable people, overwhelmed by a vast pool of pretentious ignorant wankers.

[@SleutelbosMusic]

@anthony patterson Not sure if you are being ironic, but the whole focus on money instead of music is kinda the criticism. Not sure if you intended to be a walking example...

[@trevor4835]

Kwantize are you still selling it?

[@NathanChisholm041]

Just bought one and it's a beast!! in loving the sounds and the faders are a lot of noise mayhem fun!

[@gamma_noize]

Thx for that review!

[@leemearns3808]

That sound at 27.32 is awesome, this synth sounds really powerful and really deep in sound...

[@smguy7]

I am very impressed. I think that this would be a great compositional tool. I'd love to use it to multi-track in the studio.

[@33Jeanjazzman]

I bought one today, feeling like a Child with 38 years now!

[@TheStudioDrummer]

Thanks for the deep look.

[@deandavis325]

Seems like it's well worth the price. Mine has been preordered. Thanks for the review Nick. Cheers !!!

[@rolandgerard6064]

Great review

[@daviddavies9149]

Great review worth viewing again and again. Hit prog button at the same time as the fx button and press the yes button and the patch will be stored to your favorite patch page..to recall a faveorite patch (factory or user) hit prog fx and turnthe data wheel. faveorites will be shown your faves can be loaded by turning the Data wheel

[@Dudderlyful]

I didn't know that!! Thanks!

[@MessiahGaming1080p]

I love Behringer for this, finally someone who listens to what people want and make it affordable also, this is the easiest synth purchase I will ever make. Thank you Behringer and keep it up, I can honestly say I haven't had much love for many of your products in the past but this seems like a step in a new exciting direction for Behringer and what a first analog synth you have made, just wow! Not saying other brands sound bad but they are expensive and in some ways they don't bring that old classic sound to the table at all even if their pricetag is steep. This sound gritty, dirty and shitty at times and I looooove that! That is what I am looking for in a synth, not some clinical harsh or stiff filter, it should be wild, raw and dirty. Congratulations Behringer, I bet you are really proud of this synth and I am a very happy future customer, you have a buyer with me no doubt! It will be such a pleasure to unpack this baby and actually see a Behringer logo on it, finally Behringer will be a german company that will go down in history with synths also, I see a future classic here without a doubt that will be used on so many tracks and will probably have a signature sound like an SH-101 or TB-303 and will be a a go to synth for certain styles. I am very excited about this synth, I was actually looking at the Modal synths for a while but their prices are just insane. They are greats synths but when you realise you get like 4-5 of these behringers if not more for the same price as a Modal 008 or 002 it gets a bit off-putting. Thank you for the review Nick, beautiful as usual.

[@RabiBenLavi]

Great review. I get the workings of it, now. It's a Juno with real DCO's nothing like a Prophet 12 with 6+ 6 digital oscillators. I love the compact size, having more than a 2 line screen to fully edit with out a computer, and it sounds like a synth from 1985.

[@millord111]

Yet another perfect review from Mr. Batt

[@JiggyWig]

Really lovely. Want one. WIll pre-order as soon as I can. Is it just me , or is that display eerily reminiscent of the ZX81 / ZX Spectrum? Does it play Manic Miner?

[@stonail665]

It has sync DCO, so you can play Manic Miner.

[@prufrockrenegade]

Reminds me of the Casio FZ, VZ etc lines of synths from the late '80s, which ironically were the "behringer"s of their age. Great synths from a company that no one took seriously at the time

[@networkservices3121]

The real question is, does it play crysis. :)

[@georgegeorgio1751]

Who cares, make music games suck

[@hang-sangitch]

I love the sound of this synth.

[@blakecasimir]

I'm rather on the fence about this still but the patch at 21:15 is still rather tasty. This is a great synth, and another excellent review. Great job, Nick.

[@intheblink]

Playing and patch around 27:45 are beautiful.

[@BenBlauRecordings]

Thanks for the nice Review, Nick. Always a pleasure to watch. It would be nice, if you could show an Program Edit, starting off an Initial Patch. Just to show, how intuitive and good the Interface really is - despite the menus..

[@sonicstate]

Hey Sven, I may do that, see how much time I have, more reviews to do!

[@BenBlauRecordings]

+sonicstate no problem :)

[@foxwilliam456]

you guys are the best. thanks :)

[@bit-map]

Do you think you'll add this synthesizer to your setup Nick? The patch at around 27:35 sounds to me like some of the type of stuff in your live performance videos.

[@BrooseWayniac]

trying to recreate that very last Arp patch... ideas are welcome! Very cool Review by the way! Thank you

[@Jimbo386000]

This and the Novation Summit are the synths of the future.

[@gregchuchelo7248]

sounds great. any pics of what the desktop version will look like? I might get it to compliment my P12.

[@JamesWilliam70]

This Synth sounds great! Looks retro with some modern twists.

[@OMNIFICPICTURES]

Thanks Nick!

[@yPhil]

Those are exciting times, synth-wise :)

[@Tcabezon]

Thanks for the review! Won't the menu diving be easier once the iPad editor is out? Is it supposed to exactly avoid all the menu pages?

[@marketingdisaster]

The Poly Chord feature is clever. I'm surprised at how nice this seems!

[@noahhultgren1710]

beautiful

[@PureAmbientDrone]

Got one of these right out the gate, had to have one and must say its worth far more than what Behringer is asking!

[@delta-9969]

Are there any standalone hardware FX units that offer the kind of routing options he shows around 25:00? Besides an eventide rack unit, I mean... something affordable?

[@bobfrode]

Nick...is there anything you do not know about how a synth operate? :) Great review as always

[@BigBadWolf..............]

The Deepmind demos now on you tube, mixed with this review are selling me on this synth. It has the effects section that reminds me of the Ultranova but it has the warmth of a Juno. It has 49 keys which is just enough but not greedy, same thing with the 12 voices. The menu and sliders on the front are what sells me on it though. It's tweekable while you play but deep when you want to delve in. I better start saving up.

[@Deepwatermusic]

Good review Nick. One Question. How do you like the feel of the keyboard? I played one recently and was put off by it as it feels a bit too light and cheap. The unit I played was also experiencing a lot of stuck notes which required actually striking the note a couple of times to get it to stop. Since I sold Behringer in the past and experienced many issues with repairs this concerns me.

[@aeffchen5252]

Love soniclab 👌🏻

[@blogwiser]

It's been an excellent addition/companion to/for my Little Phatty.

[@Zemael]

Great show. Does it save exactly the filter hot-spots once found? Does it recall them right? If you set one just on the turning point, does it stays there once recalled? You know, it is all about tone. thank you

[@ConquestForDeath]

great question!

[@rebours]

nonsense

[@Zemael]

Maybe, but I liked very much the sounds Nick got messing with the filters on the edge. I just got curious if those crazy sounds could be exactly recalled or if it will jump each time, as the sound changes on "blocks" 9:55. Great synth, I liked it a lot.

[@rebours]

All parameters can be saved and recalled, this is the advantage of having presets/digital control ! Being analog the filters' cutoff may vary a little but nothing major...

[@djey308]

woah, 20:33. sweet deal. awesome review as always nick.

[@sphenesounds]

Hi nick great review, can you explain in your next video a little more about the chord function also more about the arp/seq?

[@PureAmbientDrone]

GREAT and now I have to find MORE room for another TOY! :)