Behringer leak hints at SP-1200 and RD-765 drum machines

The SP-1200 clone is the leak that matters most for beat-makers. A redesign on Behringer’s website briefly exposed 14 unreleased products, and among the drum-machine entries were an SP-1200-labeled drum machine and sampler, plus an RD-765 hybrid sampling drum machine that looked far more developed than a placeholder page.

The SP-1200 entry reads like a direct nod to one of the most mythologized boxes in hip-hop. The original E-mu SP-1200, designed by Dave Rossum and released in August 1987, became a staple because of its low-resolution bite, the kind of 12-bit, 26.04 kHz character producers still chase for drums, chops and hard-edged loops. The leaked Behringer page reportedly pointed to both modern 24-bit and classic 12-bit sampling, along with an analogue filter, which suggests a clone aimed at keeping the old snap while making it easier to live with in 2026.

The RD-765 feels like the more immediate utility piece. It was described as a classic hybrid sampling drum machine with sample recording and a 64-step sequencer, which puts it in the lane of a hands-on performance box rather than a museum piece. For drummers running hybrid rigs, that matters: a machine with a sequencer and recording built in is the kind of tool that can sit beside pads, triggers and e-kits without forcing the whole setup into menu-diving.

Behringer is not wandering into this territory blind. The company already sells the LM DRUM, a classic hybrid sampling drum machine with 109 drum sounds, sample recording, a 64-step sequencer, Wave Designer and a dual-mode filter. Retail listings position it as a recreation of the LinnDrum family, including LM1, LM2 and LM9000. The RD-6 line goes even narrower, with an eight-sound, 16-step take on the Roland TR-606 formula. In other words, Behringer already has the cheap-clone lane mapped out; the question is whether the new leak adds genuinely different voices or just more retro badges.

That is what makes the SP-1200 especially consequential. Behringer publicly teased an SP1200 clone on Facebook in January 2025 by asking for feature suggestions, so the appetite was already there before the website leak. If the machine ships with the promised sampling options and filter, it could be the one that pulls the most weight in a live or studio drum setup. The RD-765 looks useful, but the SP-1200 is the one that could still make a room stop and listen.