Analog Mini Synthesizer with Oberheim DNA

The UB-Xa Mini from Behringer is a very compact analog synthesizer that contains the essential features of the 80s poly synthesizer Oberheim OB-Xa. The clearly laid out signal path consists of an oscillator, filter, envelope, LFO and VCA, making the UB-Xa Mini officially the smallest version of the Oberheim OB-Xa respectively the in-house Behringer UB-Xa.

The synth can be played in 3-voice polyphony or unison, but also masters octave and 5th mode as well as polyphonic and monophonic ring modulator sounds. The oscillator offers the two waveforms sawtooth and square with pulse width modulation as well as both waveforms simultaneously, which is typical for Oberheim synthesizers. The Tuning of the oscillator can be adjusted using the footswitch. This is followed by a low-pass filter with a slope of either 12dB or 24dB. An ADSR envelope for VCF and VCA at the same time and an LFO with three waveforms (sawtooth, triangle, square), which can be restarted for each note, are used for modulation.

The integrated step sequencer provides access to 10 patterns that can be programmed with different scales. In addition, controller movements can be recorded in the pattern (motion sequence) and an arpeggiator with three playback patterns is provided. Notes can be entered quickly using the capacitive 27-key mini-keyboard or via MIDI. Power is supplied exclusively via the USB-C port, MIDI is also fed into the synthesizer via USB and the DIN socket. Thanks to extensive MIDI implementation, the UB-Xa Mini can be conveniently automated with the DAW or a master sequencer.