When Behringer set out to modernize the Prophet-600, they didn't just shrink it down—they actually improved it in ways the original couldn't. The Pro-800 adds a white noise generator that only appeared on a handful of rare Japanese Prophet-600 units from the 1980s, instantly opening up textural possibilities the original designers never fully explored.
This is a proper eight-voice analog polysynth with 16 voltage-controlled oscillators—two per voice—each capable of sawtooth, triangle, and pulse waveforms with pulse-width modulation. The 4-pole low-pass filter is the heart of the sound, warm and creamy at moderate settings but capable of self-oscillating into gnarly, screaming territory when you push the resonance. Two ADSR envelopes handle filter and amplifier control, while the LFO section offers six waveform shapes including stepped and smooth random modes. The standout feature is Poly-Mod, which lets you route Oscillator B to modulate both the pitch of Oscillator A and the filter cutoff, creating everything from subtle movement to wild ring-modulator-like clanging and bell tones. Oscillator sync adds another dimension for piercing, metallic sounds.
The panel layout puts every essential parameter within reach—dedicated knobs for tuning, pulse width, and level on each oscillator, plus individual controls for the noise generator, filter, and modulation sections. You get a built-in arpeggiator and sequencer with 400 preset slots, USB-MIDI connectivity, and the whole thing is compact enough to fit on a crowded studio desk or integrate into a Eurorack setup. The synth supports mono, poly, chord, and unison modes, with aftertouch and velocity sensitivity for expressive playing.
Since its release, the Pro-800 has earned genuine respect from the community as one of the few truly affordable analog polyphonic options. Players consistently praise the build quality and sound character, though some note the envelopes feel slightly slower than higher-end analogs and the single mono output is a practical limitation. The membrane buttons and compact size are design choices rather than compromises—they keep the price accessible while maintaining the hands-on immediacy that makes analog synthesis rewarding.
