Today, Behringer has announced the release of the 676, a 2U rackmount tube preamp and compressor that draws a rather hefty dose of "inspiration" from Universal Audio's 6176 Vintage Channel Strip, a piece of gear released in 2004 that unites recreations of the preamp from Bill Putnam Sr.'s classic 610 mixing console and the 1176 compressor in a single unit.
While Behringer has a history of releasing affordable recreations of other company's instruments and pieces of gear (typically without the blessing of their original designers) the majority of these - with some notable exceptions - are clones of classic products that are no longer on sale. That's not the case with the 676, which is based on a Universal Audio product that - though it was released two decades ago, and is itself based on vintage designs - is still available today.
