Behringer? any thought?

[RW James]

I have two Behringer products - a mixer that I use in my recording setup and a volume pedal on my pedalboard. Both are ruggedly built - solid electronics - behave exactly as they should - and are essentially worth a lot more than I paid for them.

I just got a catalogue from Music123 with some new Behringer pedals for $19.99. I know this sounds stupid, but if they cost $59.99 I would probably think they're pretty good. But at $19.99 they have to be crap!

A part of me is thinking that given their other products there is a good chance these may be quality products as well. Is that possible?

Can someone share a negative story about Behringer? Talk me out of this... Any thoughts at all?

(Side bar: I was planning on going to Guitar Center tonight - but I just found out my ride can't get off work early enough, so we may miss it - I was going to look at the Line 6 MM4 - but now, if I can't make it, I may just give these a try)

I don't know what to do,
Rick

[ErikH]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Rip-off artists. Those pedals are Boss clones in plastic enclosures. The ones they have released are actually in different enclosures than what was originally planned. Then Roland caught wind. It was VERY, and I mean, VERY hard to tell a Boss and Behringer apart from several feet away with the original designs (or should I say, not so original).

I wouldn't waste my money on them.

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Talk you out of it?

Do you have 'conscience?'

Behringer takes advantage in international law to STEAL designs. Not re-engineer designs. Just take them.

For example I know a guy who works at QSC. He writes manuals for products. Not only did Behringer steal the design of the amp, the also stole whole paragraphs of his writing out of the manual. They didn't even take the effort to rewrite the manuals.

[LesPaulRules]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I have used a few Behringer products over the years. The main thing I always felt was how cheap they were, both in price and quality.

They might be fine if you really don't have the cash, or simply want to save a few bucks. Other than that, I think most of their products are junk.

[RW James]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Yes, I do have a conscience... so I do appreciate that information Golden Boy - thanks. And ErikH - I remember seeing the early press releases and wondered about that design - these do look different.

Okay, I'll stik with the my original plan to get the Line 6

Thanks for the quick info

Rick

[ratherdashing]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I have a Behringer mini mixing board for my home studio. I didn't know about the whole rip-off artist thing - does that apply to their studio gear as well?

I bought it mainly because it was half the price of the equivalent Mackie. Come to think of it, there WAS no equivalent Mackie at the time. It isn't a cheap POS at all - very good quality.

[ErikH]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I have a Behringer mini mixing board for my home studio. I didn't know about the whole rip-off artist thing - does that apply to their studio gear as well?

I bought it mainly because it was half the price of the equivalent Mackie. Come to think of it, there WAS no equivalent Mackie at the time. It isn't a cheap POS at all - very good quality.

It IS a Mackie. That's where they copied them from.

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

It IS a Mackie. That's where they copied them from.

And a big part of the reason Mackie is no longer really Mackie.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

It IS a Mackie. That's where they copied them from.

And a big part of the reason Mackie is no longer really Mackie.

Can anyone actually substantiate that? Was there a C&D issued? Lawsuits pending or fought? Injunctions made? Indictments?

I'm not doubting that it's true, but that's a very bold claim to make without real proof.

[ErikH]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Can anyone actual substantiate that? Was there a C&D issued? Lawsuits pending or fought? Injunctions made? Indictments?

I'm not doubting that it's true, but that's a very bold claim to make without real proof.

They changed the appearance enough to be able to get away with it. Just like they eventually had to do with the pedals once Roland jumped their butt. Inside, they're still copies of the Boss pedals with a somewhat different layout, the external appearance is just different. I still think the pedals are too close to the Boss enlosures.

Here's something I dug up from another forum. I remember hearing about this from several sources, one of which is someone who actually attended the Frankfurt NAMM show. He also saw the pedal display that Behringer used for their early prototypes before Roland made them change it and promptly took pictures of it, both close and from a distance, all the while he's holding a couple real Boss pedals. It confused me. He said the same thing about the mixers like the below, he just didn't specify models.

Here's the quote:

"The console with the name 3282 is the behringer version of the Mackie SR 32-4. Originally it had just the same design, but they changed it because Mackie started a campagne against them. Behringer went so far that the first time they presented the MX 8000 8-buss console in Frankfurt they showed a Mackie console with their stickers on it because their own boards where not ready!"

[Mincer]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I use a Behringer 1 rack space line mixer, and a Behringer FCB1010 midi pedal. These are their own designs and they did not copy them from anyone. Both work very well. The midi controller can do much more than pedals costing 6x as much. I have had it for over 4 years, and have never had a problem.

[B2D]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Hey did you hear Behringer doubled the size of their R&D Department lately?











They bought another Xerox machine...

[ratherdashing]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

Hmm, okay ... this is what I have:

http://www.behringer.com/UB802/index.cfm?lang=ENG

I can't find anything in Mackie's current product line that's even close. Am I missing something?

[Willis]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I use a Behringer 1 rack space line mixer, and a Behringer FCB1010 midi pedal. These are their own designs and they did not copy them from anyone. Both work very well. The midi controller can do much more than pedals costing 6x as much. I have had it for over 4 years, and have never had a problem.

I just bought a FCB1010 and I don't know what more I could expect from it. It feels very sturdy and has tons of programming options, and is totally worth the price (especially compared to other models - like the Roland one)

I'm not going to judge their new pedals until I try any.

[marvar]

Re: Behringer? any thought?

I have not been impressed or liked any Behringer product I have tried, with the exception of their active DI. The manuals are almost impossible to make sense of, and the stuff just doesn't perform up to my standards.