Last week budget gear company Behringer announced the DeepMind 12, a synth which they toted as the beginning of an affordable new synth line. Today they revealed the next part of that stratagem, announcing plans for a low-priced MiniMoog clone.
Want a Minimoog without shelling out or the stress of inevitable repairs? Behringer have announced an affordable clone of the classic synth.
The plans were announced in a Gearslutz forum post, with the promise of a “quick design draft” in the near future.
While you would think Behringer would potentially run into trouble for more or less copying one of Moog’s most iconic synths, apparently the law is a non-issue here. Being a 40 year old model, the Minimoog patents have long since expired and the technology is free for all to use.
“The property is now in the public domain, free for everyone to use. Without this principle there would only be one car or synthesizer manufacturer in the world. For this exact reason you will find many companies who are manufacturing replicas of all sorts, including the Minimoog.”
The representative also defended their decision by inciting the argument of affordability:
“Our primary customer is not the well-off doctor or lawyer, but the people with much less income. I was a struggling musician myself when I started my business 30 years ago and I made it my mission in life to enable musicians to pursue their musical dreams without financial obstacles.”
We’ll be waiting out for those initial sketches. Keep an eye on Behringer, this isn’t the end of their push into the budget gear market.
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