Dang, I like the Behringer version!

Pilgrim · #1 03-30-2008, 06:58 PM

I spent some time at Gee-tar Center the other day trying out pedals, and among the ones I seriously auditioned was the Boss RV-5 Reverb pedal. I play surf music and wanted to add reverb.

BUT - frankly, I didn't hear much that impressed me, especially for $150. If I'm going to spend that much for a pedal, it better impress me!! No taker here.

Then I got home and heard that Behringer had a DR-100 digital reverb pedal and that Sam's Club sold it online for $25. I thought what the heck, and ordered one. And I like it better than the Boss! It certainly gives me more reverb sound than I heard in auditioning the Boss pedal.

Now, maybe the test setup in the store wasn't good enough for me to hear the Boss pedal to advantage. it was in one of those Boss display towers with a fairly small speaker at the bottom. But that DR-100 sounds great through the single 15 I practice through as well as the one I use for gigs. The reverb really adds some depth and fullness.

But so far the DR-100 is performing nicely, and it's on my pedal board next to a Behringer BDI-21 direct box. Both of them seem to have permanent homes on that board. I don't abuse pedals or electronics, and I see no reason they won't last a long time.

4StringsEnough · #2 03-31-2008, 02:12 AM

I think people on this forum are too quick to dismiss Behringer. Yes, they copy other designs. Yes, some of their pedals aren't very good. But there are a few gems amongst the range as you've found!

Another good one is the VP-1 Vintage Phaser - I've A/B'd it against the EHX Small Stone and, to me, it sounds slightly nicer!

40Hz_of_Love · #3 03-31-2008, 07:05 AM

I'm very fond of my Behringer's Slow Gear copy.

Loel · #4 03-31-2008, 08:16 AM

Thinking of getting the ADI21
has anybody compared it with
the BDI21,do they have the same
tube emulation effect?

jimmy rocket · #5 03-31-2008, 08:23 AM

I'm getting on board with behringer as well. A couple of months ago I picked up the BLE100 bass limiter enhancer after trying the boss lmb3 and found the sound to be comparable if not a little warmer than the Boss.

GreggBummer · #6 03-31-2008, 08:38 AM

I am glad to hear that your pedal is working out. Behringers reputation did not stop me from buying one of their amps. I am happy with it... although I did have a problem. One of the wires that goes from the amp to the speaker came loose and required a touch of solder. I had never soldered anything before, so it was quite an adventure.

Still, I would consider some of their other products. I am not a big effects guy, but for $25 who wouldn't try it out.

As an aside, the radio station that I work at has a cheap Behringer mixer that has been dropped, has had water spilled in it, and generally abused... and it has never failed us. We use it on remotes side by side with a Radio Shack mixer that is probably 30 years old. That thing works great too.

mellowgerman · #7 03-31-2008, 08:42 AM

behringer is great. they just figured out how to produce great quality gear at low prices. if you're buying a brandname item you're going to pay for the brandname regardless.

andvari7 · #8 03-31-2008, 09:01 AM

And if you run a cheap Behringer pedal through a decent true bypass looper - I like the Keeley - you'll be set for life (never having to stomp on cheap plastic and all).

Pilgrim · #9 03-31-2008, 11:58 AM

I do recognize the ethical concerns that some have with Behringer's perceived reverse-engineering, and it appears that there have been some quality / dependability concerns as well.

However, this is my second Behringer pedal (and yes, the controls and configuration on the reverb pedal are suspiciously identical to those of the Boss), and both are performing well. I play through a Behringer BX-4500 head, and I've had no issues with it at all.

Quite honestly, I've had no problems with Behringer equipment at all. And as for the reverse engineering issue, I'm leaving that to the lawyers.

Puru · #10 03-31-2008, 05:12 PM

I can't believe it, this thread has been up almost a day and no bashing yet. I'm pleased with and have had no problems with my Behringer stuff, but again it's getting fairly light use. If I was a touring pro I'd go more heavy duty.

XXL · #11 03-31-2008, 05:25 PM

Id like to know which Behringer pedals are gems and which ones aren't.

lebrett · #12 03-31-2008, 05:30 PM

I have a RV600 Reverb Modeler on order. I will let you know what I think of it when it comes in.

hbarcat · #13 03-31-2008, 05:40 PM

FX pedals are usually pretty simple circuits and tend to be very forgiving when building them with less than good quality parts (unlike a power amp or speaker cabinet). Also, they are typically used in live situations when internal noise or dirty signals won't be noticed as easily.

If a Behringer FX pedal satisfies your ears, you aren't concerned with quality issues and you're comfortable with the company's business practices, then you can buy two pedals from Behringer for the price of what another company gets for one.

Pilgrim · #14 03-31-2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbarcat

If a Behringer FX pedal satisfies your ears, you aren't concerned with quality issues and you're comfortable with the company's business practices, then you can buy two pedals from Behringer for the price of what another company gets for one.

I'll buy that - other than the crack about quality issues. So far the Behringer stuff I've bought stacks up with the Boss and other gear I've used. In terms of SOUND quality, it's very good and I have no complaints. I know the pedals don't have metal cases, but (a) I'm not a touring pro and (b) I don't pound equipment, so I don't expect problems with that aspect of the design.

And that RV600 looks REALLY interesting...more controls and parameters. I'll look forward to hearing more.

hbarcat · #15 03-31-2008, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I'll buy that - other than the crack about quality issues.

To be frank, There's PLENTY of other pedals that have cheap plastic cases and are unlikely to be all that durable with some hard stomping on, so I can't really single out Behringer in that department.

BTW, are Behringer pedals analog or digital? Or some of each?

bassguppy · #16 03-31-2008, 06:52 PM

I own nothing from Behringer not by choice though.

What dictates the cost of a Boss pedal warranting a $150.00 charge for a reverb pedal?

Somehow, when a manufacturer comes out with a new product I would guess that every other manufacturer is inspecting that manufacturer's product and copying and using as a guideline some aspects of that product. Changing just enough to avoid a blantant similarity or copyright infringement.

How different is a reverb pedal from Boss, Digitech, Line6, MXR, and the 100's of other pedal manufacturers? And how does each manufacturer justify a high cost when they may be using some other manufacturer's pedal as a template?

How much can research and developement cost to produce an effects pedal if you have another company's pedal to copy and then tweak?

OhThePeacock · #17 03-31-2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXL

Id like to know which Behringer pedals are gems and which ones aren't.

+1 to that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassguppy

How much can research and developement cost to produce an effects pedal if you have another company's pedal to copy and then tweak?

Depends on how much buying power and what not the company has. A bigger company like behringer will have the ability to hire reverse engineers and buy components for a fraction of a penny considering how many they order at a given time.

For a smaller boutique company this is all deligated to either one or a small team of guys who obviously can't afford nearly as many components as behringer buys at a time.

That is a good part of why boutique commands more money. That and the pedals being handmade, and most of the time having a very good build quality.

Although it does get to a certain point where you pay big money for very small improvements, (which is reasonable for pros) pedals in the $100-300 range are generally where the big improvements are as opposed to $300+ where the improvements become less and less but it is important to enough people that they still sell.

I don't know where I'm really going with this but I think I said pretty much all I wanted to.

drewfretless · #18 03-31-2008, 07:50 PM

I just picked up a Behringer BVT550 Head and I must say it is not a bad deal for $399. I paired the head with a Ampeg 4X10 and it sounds great. I have a Traynor 200 watt tube amp on the way, so it will be interesting to see which head wins out. But so far I am impressed with the Behringer.

BassMan99 · #19 03-31-2008, 08:04 PM

Drew, I want to hear more about the BVT5500. I hope you can tell us more. New thread maybe?

OhThePeacock · #20 03-31-2008, 08:06 PM

You can probably find more in the amps section if you search for it. IME/IMO Behringer amps are pretty decent for their price, I just don't like how their cabs sound.