The Golden Boy
Fleecy Sweaterologist
Re: How are the Behringer stompboxes? (DC-2 content)
From my understanding, it's not just "conversions of 'unpatented circuits.'" It's outright theft. Companies such as Mackie and Roland have successfully sued Behringer for stealing, not only circuit design but also literature (ie manuals). And it's also my understanding that there are many other companies that would sue but are unable to because of international copyright law.
I think it was 2 years ago, Behringer announced plans for a new line of pedals completely stolen from Roland- and the cases, design and knob layout were nearly identical. It's that sort of thing that is ethically wrong. There's enough people that don't believe that "you get what you pay for." That a Behringer is THE EXACT SAME THING with different cosmetics and a different name on it. I can't get behind that kind of crap- even for the price.
For those that think it is OK to thieve design and cosmetics and manuals, how would you feel if YOUR work were stolen from you? Not just stolen from you, but also placed in direct competition with you? There's a dude on Talk Bass who writes technical manuals for QSC. When Behringer sent out their "clone" of the QSC amp- the manual contained whole paragraphs of his words.
I'm not "above" using cheap ****, but I will not knowingly support that kind of douchebaggery.
The plain truth is, when you don't have to do any development to a product besides illegally copy it and send the plans to China and make with the cheapest materials- you can afford to sell things cheaply.
I think the physical durability issue is overstated. I've certainly seen much worse.
QC is not great, but a lot of people like them. For the most part, they are SMT conversions of old unpatented circuits with a change or two. Their TO800 Tubescreamer clone is supposed to be very accurate, right down to the Panasonic distortion diodes.
I'm not a stompbox kind of guy, but I recently got a BDI21 on broad recommendation from bassists who otherwise despise Behringer. It's similar to a SansAmp. I did have to do a small internal repair to a stripped screw on the activator button flange, but other than that it's a great device and a great value. It's the only analog effect I own that consistently sounds better in the signal path than it does in the junk drawer.
People are put off by Behringer's stomps' low price, but the plain truth is that most other analog stomps are just insanely overpriced for what they are.
From my understanding, it's not just "conversions of 'unpatented circuits.'" It's outright theft. Companies such as Mackie and Roland have successfully sued Behringer for stealing, not only circuit design but also literature (ie manuals). And it's also my understanding that there are many other companies that would sue but are unable to because of international copyright law.
I think it was 2 years ago, Behringer announced plans for a new line of pedals completely stolen from Roland- and the cases, design and knob layout were nearly identical. It's that sort of thing that is ethically wrong. There's enough people that don't believe that "you get what you pay for." That a Behringer is THE EXACT SAME THING with different cosmetics and a different name on it. I can't get behind that kind of crap- even for the price.
For those that think it is OK to thieve design and cosmetics and manuals, how would you feel if YOUR work were stolen from you? Not just stolen from you, but also placed in direct competition with you? There's a dude on Talk Bass who writes technical manuals for QSC. When Behringer sent out their "clone" of the QSC amp- the manual contained whole paragraphs of his words.
I'm not "above" using cheap ****, but I will not knowingly support that kind of douchebaggery.
The plain truth is, when you don't have to do any development to a product besides illegally copy it and send the plans to China and make with the cheapest materials- you can afford to sell things cheaply.
