Behringer is like that: on the one hand it makes long teasers in which it announces the production of clones of famous vintage synths, so that the hater have all the time to grumble "so they won't really do that..." And on the other hand it comes out like this, with original projects never announced before like Neutron last year.

"Crave" is the new upcoming release by Behringer announced this January after the NAMM.
Behringer Crave is a truly analog monophonic synthesizer with a sequencer. It is an original project that does not clone anything, but on closer inspection it has its roots in the previous Model D and Neutron, some components, ideas, circuits are in fact taken from these two synths and are reused here in a new configuration and with a new sequencer to create a completely different machine.

The VCO is single and is based on a replica of the CEM 3340 chip used already in the Neutron oscillators. Behringer claims that it is the VCO of the Prophet-5, while in reality it is more correct and precise to say that the same chip as the P-5 is used here but not the whole of its VCO circuit.

In Crave you can choose between two basic waveforms (sawtooth and square) but it is also possible to modify and modulate the Pulse Width (PW) so as to give rise to very varied and changing timbres. A knob doses the modulation that can come from the envelope or from the LFO, while then a Modulation Destination selector selects whether this source will be rotated to the frequency or to the PW. There is a Glide command and the generation circuit is completed by the possibility of mixing white noise with the signal coming from the VCO.

Follow a VCF referred as a clone of the Minimoog filter ladder (and presumably derived from the one already used in Behringer Model D). This VCF can work as a traditional LPF and HPF.
The audio chain closes with a VCA output level control.

The secret weapon of Crave
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A patch-bay with 18 entry points and 14 exit points to control various stages of the circuit in CV and enter / exit audio.
Through it it is possible for example to modulate from outside the frequency and the PW of the VCO, the cutoff and the resonance of the filter and so on.

Sequencer
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As a good machine destined to act as a groovebox, Crave has an on-board sequencer: it is divided into 64 patterns that can be memorized and organized into 8 banks of 8 sequences.
The length of each pattern is 32 steps maximum. It is a very versatile sequencer in that for each step it is possible to set the Gate Length, the Glide Time and the Ratcheting.

A very important thing to note is that this sequencer has the ability to be transposed via MIDI in real time. Thanks to the patch-bay connections also, the sequencer can be controlled by CV: in particular it is possible to intervene on Pattern reset, Hold, Play and Stop. Internal time can also be modulated via CV. The module also offers arpeggiator functions.

Cabinet
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Behringer Crave is situated in a metal container with wooden side panels of the approximate size of a Roland Bassline.
Audio connections provide analog input and output on the upper patch-bay.
Anyone who owns Neutron or Model D will have already noticed that a virtually identical MIDI section is used here: MIDI travels on pentapolar DIN connectors (In and Thru) and USB (In and Out), while the reception channel is set via rear dip-switches.
The synthesis part is not programmable, as already Model D and Neutron were not programmable.
A note for polyphony lovers: up to 16 Crave can be attached in poly-chain.

We already not have official date and price release. Only few video of demo prototype products was released for now.

Some video:

 

Got the Neutron a couple of weeks ago and am enjoying patching like I haven't seen since the EMS AKS.
Looking forward to Crave as a cheap sequencer/sound source to drive the Neutron.
Really want the Pro-1 clone as I bought the original when it first came out.
Yes, I'm that old