When Behringer released the Neutron in 2018, they packed a fully realized analog synthesizer into a compact desktop format at a price point that made serious synthesis accessible to people who might otherwise never afford it. The secret was partnering with Midas engineers and using the legendary Curtis CEM3340 chip, the same oscillator found in 1970s classics like the Prophet-5 and Jupiter-6.
The Neutron's sound engine centers on two voltage-controlled oscillators that can blend across five waveform shapes, each with independent pulse width and tone modulation control. A 12-decibel state-variable filter with three modes (low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass) handles the subtractive sculpting, supported by two ADSR envelopes for shaping both the filter and amplitude. The LFO offers five waveform shapes and can sync to MIDI clock or keyboard input, while a bucket-brigade delay chip and overdrive circuit add texture and warmth to the signal path. All of this sits behind 36 knobs and 7 buttons that give you direct access to every parameter, plus a 56-point patchbay that lets you completely reconfigure the internal signal flow if you want to dig deeper.
The paraphonic mode is where things get interesting—it lets you assign each oscillator to a separate note, so you can play two independent melodic lines simultaneously. Oscillator sync, sample-and-hold, a slew limiter, and utility functions like attenuators and summing give you the tools to create complex, evolving textures. The unit measures 12.6 by 8.9 inches and weighs under five pounds, making it genuinely portable despite its deep feature set. MIDI input and thru jacks, plus 1/4-inch audio I/O and a dedicated headphone output, keep integration straightforward.
The Neutron has earned respect in the community for delivering authentic analog character without requiring you to mortgage your house, though some users note the compact layout can feel tight during intensive patching sessions. It's become a favorite for both standalone performance and as a centerpiece in modular rigs, thanks to its Eurorack compatibility and the sheer number of patch points relative to its size and price.
