Behringer BDS-3 Review: Forgotten Simmons Drum Synth Reborn

Before hex pads, before 80s pop clichés, before electronic drums went mainstream... there was SDS-3. In this video, we take in-depth look at Behringer&BDS-3 (originally labelled SDS-3), modern Eurorack recreation of 1978 Simmons SDS-3 - one of very first analogue drum synthesizers ever made. Long before famous SDS-5 kits, SDS-3 was designed to augment acoustic drums using mic triggers, analogue filters, envelopes, noise and pitch modulation. We explore how original worked, why it wasn&commercial success and why that actually makes it such interesting instrument today. Then we put Behringer BDS-3 through its paces: sound design, MIDI control, mic triggering, Eurorack use, modulation tricks and how those 4 identical analogue voices interact as single instrument. You&hear everything from deep sub kicks and MiniPops-style tones, to metallic blips, noise-based percussion and evolving analogue textures - plus why this design still feels surprisingly modern almost 50 years later. Timecodes: 00:00 - Introduction 01:38 - What is BDS-3? 03:44 - Mic Input 04:46 - How Voices Work? 10:37 - Secret Sauce 13:20 - Run! 15:38 - Conclusion Playlists: | #BDS3 Original video: