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My travels with Behringer

J

jellybass

Guest
Nov 8, 2004
170
0
#1
I have grown sick and tired of the mud slinging about Behringer, it sucks, it's great, moral issues, ethic issues, etc....

This is what I have done and will do, I have purchased the Behringer bx3000t head and BA410 cab, both their top of the line and the 4 ohm cab will allow me to push the head to it's limit. I am going to use this set up exclusively for the forseeable future in both gigs and rehearsals. I am going to write on this space exactly my experiences, completely unbiased with all warts and stars included.

Now, I have owned and currently own Ampeg, Trace Elliot, SWR and Peavey bass amps and cabs. I couldn't care less about product loyalty, brand loyalty, type of bass whatever, this "diary" is to present an unbiased look at the products.

I am going to use a Yamaha BB1500A and a Passive Fender with the set up. I don't see the courts have removed Behringer from the shelves due to any violation, therefore I suspect they have not violated any laws.

To begin with, the cab is very heavy and the position of the wheels is horrible, not an easy time moving the cab. Turn the horn off, an annoying hiss comes from that and it doesn't add to the sound at all. The cab has a good, punchy sound and is ported at the bottom, good decent thump and articulation.

The head is relatively heavy, however it seems well put together. To get the sound I am looking for some tweaking was needed, however I was able to dial in exactly what I was looking for, nothing lacking however the bright switch should go the same route as the horn, don't use it unless you like a hissing sound.

So far I have found a good, serviceable tone and all is together as it should be. First rehearsal is this evening and I will let you know how that goes.
 
#2
Good idea and it's good to have a true, "real world" test of their equipment.

Though I don't plan on buying any Behringer stuff, what say we keep this thread free of the usual arguments as suggested by the starter of this thread. This "experiment"., so to speak, will allow others to get an idea of durability, maintenance, etc.
 
#4
I'll gladly add anything that a group of people would want me to try, but I don't think it's feasible to try every pedal that is suggested. Right now I'll just run it as is .

I have 2 upcoming gigs, a club gig that should have about 150 people or so and an outdoor gig that should have somewhere around 2,000 people. The club gig I plan on going un-miced and the outdoor gig, obviously, will be mic'ed and the cab used as a stage monitor.

First rehearsal tonight with the setup and I'll write as to what I find tonight.
 
#7
Thank you for doing this.


I have a very positive customer service experience i had yesterday. I asked a question via Behringer's online support and received a detailed explanation within 1 hour that throughly explained what I was looking for.
 
#8
Robear22 said:
Can anyone else contribute to this thread who also has owned Behringer equipment for over a year now? I own a variety of Behringer equipment and would love a place to post my experiences without the drama. :D
Click to expand...

I will oblige.

I have a BX3000T that I bought used 50 weeks ago that is my only amp. It gets used in a practice or rehearsal setting just about everyday.

My band did a outdoor gig this past Friday here in Maryland where the temp at our starting time was about 98 degrees with an ungodly amount of humidity. My BX3000t and the Behringer powered mixer (PMH 5000) we use were on for 3+ hours without any additional cooling help and performed flawlessly.
 
#9
While it's good to have positive experiences, I think others posting their experiences will lend itself to a "he said, she said" type of thing that would turn out like all the other Behringer threads. I'll keep my views as generic as possible, however if anyone is in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and wants to visit when I gig out with this unit, they could also give their opinion on what they hear and see. I would also allow someone to play through it if they like.
 
#10
jellybass said:
While it's good to have positive experiences, I think others posting their experiences will lend itself to a "he said, she said" type of thing that would turn out like all the other Behringer threads. I'll keep my views as generic as possible, however if anyone is in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and wants to visit when I gig out with this unit, they could also give their opinion on what they hear and see. I would also allow someone to play through it if they like.
Click to expand...
It'll be hard for you to judge on the basis of reliability until you've had the unit for a while though. That's what most people care about, and your travels with Behringer have only begun.
 
#12
Planet Boulder said:
Good idea and it's good to have a true, "real world" test of their equipment.
Click to expand...
Yes, but is it significant? Will his experience (and subjective experience at that) with a single rig be at all meaningful in leading one to expect the same outcome from his purchase of the same item?

Not really. Production amps, particularly cheaper ones, are inconsistent. Behringer is no different from any other low-end amp in this regard. If his fails, does that mean yours will? No. If his works out great, does that mean yours will? No. If it fails, will it fail in the same way? Probably not.

This class of amps will always be a crapshoot.
 
#13
+1 on the "crapshoot" theory. I firmly believe that, as a whole, the lower end of the electronics spectrum is better than it used to be, but your chances of getting a dog are probably a little higher.

I'm currently using a Behringer KX1200 (keyboard combo) as my primary small/medium gig bass amp (including all rehearsals) (I like having the multiple input channels). To date, I've had 6 months of flawless performance (don't particularly care for the sound quality through the FX loop, however). I've put over 3 years on my small Behringer desktop mixer (the 802 series) with absolutely no issues (interestingly, I get poor performance from its FX loop, as well). Can also confirm that my drummer has been using a larger Behringer desktop to mix his mics at shows for over three years. Again, no issues. I profess to being one of the lucky ones who have enjoyed good performance from my Behringer arsenal.
 
#14
Sorry, but there will be nothing subjective about my research, purely objective as I don't have any loyalties to Behringer or any other manufacturer. If two cardboard boxes produced a good sound, I would plug into them.
 
#16
Never tried their amps and cabs, but I've got a Behringer AutocompPro compressor/limiter in my bass rack and a bunch of Behringer modules in the PA rack. Some are way older than others; nothing has ever failed after all the bumps and bruises of practicing, travelling and gigging. I don't see what the fuss is about these products? They're cheap and they work.
 
#17
I can't speak for their amps on long term performance but I too have used some of their products in our PA rack at church and they perform well with no problems.

We use an the older model of the Ultracurve DSP8024 Unit and an older model of the Virtualizer DSP2024P effects processor. they have been in the rack for at least a few years and get used probably 4 to 5 times a week.

We are considering trying the Feedback Destroyer.
 
#18
jellybass said:
Sorry, but there will be nothing subjective about my research, purely objective as I don't have any loyalties to Behringer or any other manufacturer. If two cardboard boxes produced a good sound, I would plug into them.
Click to expand...
Within some pretty broad extremes, "good sound" is subjective. Entirely.

A gross failure of course is not. If there's any value in what you're doing, it's reporting actual problems, but these will probably be different than what anyone will suffer with the same gear.

I know a guy whose large company in NYC does warranty repair on nearly every brand of gear including Behringer, to whom he also does consulting. He's seen more of their gear than anyone here ever will. His take on it is that it's just like all other gear in its class in terms of un/reliability and quality. There's no serious misdesign (Behringer keeps tabs on warranty work to see if there's any specific problem with a circuit), but there's all the usual, inevitable problems with a certain percentage of the gear from using cheap components and fast production: The cold solder point here (which can be trivial or fatal), the noisy pot or jack here, etc.
 
#19
Presumably, the reports we get will deal with significantly more than just "gross failures" and, in my book, I would much rather hear first hand evidence rather than what "a guy in New York" may or may not think. ;)

Of course, those of us who disagree are under no obligation to read any further in this thread if they feel the information is not worth having. :hmm:
 

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