Behringer Effects

[slurpy]

Hey all.
I was just hoping to get some feedback regarding will Behringer stompbox pedals.
They've gotta fairly bad rep at least in the circles i run in, but my experience with them has been positive. My first Distortion pedal was a Behringer Ultra Distortion, and it did the job for bass alright, and really kicked with guitar. The entire series that I've seen has just been touted as Behringer clones Boss. Ive gotta Behringer Tremolo as well and i rather like it. i was wondering what peoples experience with Behringer is. in paticular there reverbs, chorus's and delays?

 

[Sam Evans]

In my experience, when they work, they're just fine. The problem I've found is just plain lousy quality control. About half the ones I've bought didn't work, right out of the box - no sound, faulty footswitch, etc. If you can try them out before you buy them, I highly recommend it.
Currently, I have the Bass overdrive and the DC9 compressor, and I like them quite a bit. I've tried and returned 4 or 5 others, but I haven't specifically tried the reverb, delay, or chorus.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have the Behringer DR100 reverb, and it works very well. I tried the Boss version and the Behringer, and I actually liked the DR100 better.

I also have the BDI21 direct box, but seldom use the tone shaping much - it's more an emergency fallback in case of an amp problem. Never given me any trouble.

 

[Bongolation]

In my experience, when they work, they're just fine. The problem I've found is just plain lousy quality control. About half the ones I've bought didn't work, right out of the box - no sound, faulty footswitch, etc.

That's been my experience.

Actually, the designs (often tweaks on existing classic circuits) are very well thought-out and the value excellent, but Behringer City, China, is the very home of stripped threads in our galaxy.

I think as RoHS tech is getting debugged so that there are less circuit-board problems, but final assembly is just atrocious, so much so that a lot of stuff doesn't work by the time you get it.

I got a BDI21, which is an excellent unit and gets my nod for the best value effect anywhere, but the switch was bad right out of the bubble-pack as the screws holding the actuator button were completely stripped out and the thing had fallen apart inside. I repaired it (which was harder than expected) and it works fine now, but I mean...

I picked up a BTR2000 for $59.95 from B&H and wanted to open it up to see if I could shorten the AC cable to a manageable rack length, but about 80%+ of the housing screws in the unit were stripped.

 

[MetroBass]

I've been using a Behringer Tuner T300 and AB200 Switch for a couple of years and never had an issue. The boxes are plastic and the contents as well. Just don't drop them.

 

[bigchiefbc]

I currently have 3 Behringer pedals, 2 of which are actively on one of my boards.

BSY-600 - clone of the Boss SYB-5, and I actually think it sounds better than the Boss.

CC-300 - clone of the Boss DC-2, which is discontinued, rare and expensive. Sounds great, although I can only compare it to clips I've heard of the DC-2.

BDI-21 - clone of the Sansamp BDDI. Very good pedal, sounds good. Not in my base tone anymore, but I keep it in one of my cases as an emergency DI.

 

[LAPetrarca]

I've got three......A BLE100 Limiter/Expander, BCH400 Stereo Bass Chorus and a BOD100 Bass Overdrive. All work fine. I also use a Behringer mixer for live sound for my band with no problems.

I'm selling the Limiter/Expander and the Bass Chorus because I just don't use them that much however, the BOD100 sounds better than the onboard Overdrive in my new Hartke HyDrive 115c so I'm keeping that one.

 

[L-A]

Behringer is good, but fragile and poorly controlled.

My guitarist extensively verified a Behringer mixer before buying it, and it's been holding up for a year of gigging now. Not a big track record, but it shows no sign of weakness. My fingers are crossed.

 

[Kromwarp]

All in all, very good pedals. the build quality is not the best being plastic, but that is only a problem if you are a 'stomper', which I'm not, so they work well for me. As for effect quality, its true when they advertise that they are supposed to rival more expensive pedals on the market.

 

[Din Of Win]

+1 for the BDI21 and its awesomeness

 

[crapusername]

i have an ADI, BDI for emergency situations, a dc9 comp because i liked the way it sounds. and the Slow motion copy of the boss slow gear - a tenth of the price of an sg1 on ebay, and better than most of the clones on the market!

 

[faceinbass]

Their "vintage analog delay" I own is off to friends to do shoot outs with his DMM and Skrecho.

It would be so awesome if it turns out to be just as good as the famed DMM.

 

[slurpy]

thanks for opinions, keep em coming, it really helps.

 

[CamiloDíaz]

I'm on the other side. I've never had a faulty Behringer pedal, and I had a few (Bass Overdrive being my alltime favorite) I owned and tried live, on the road and in variously sized venues the following pedals:

Bass OVerdrive (great sounding, huge variety, an all around Boss killer)
Compressor Sustainer (another soccer goal from mid field, awesome and clean as a whistle set right)
Digital Delay (must I say it was fun ?)
VD1 (too much hiss for my taste, specially connected to a power supply)
BDI21 (when and why I sold it??? silly me!)

hope it helps!

 

[Bassamatic]

I am an audio engineer. We have analyzed a lot of Behringer gear. In general the products (all ) are based on other successful designs, and then cost reduced to the point of nearly not working.

The rack gear can be a good value (EQ, crossover, etc.) the rest is a gamble. Power amps of all kinds are to be avoided.

If you get a pedal that works and don't abuse it, it can be a good value. I have had a couple of their pedals, but ended up replacing them with Boss pedals eventually.

 

[Tommy Lotus]

I had a Behringer Bass overdrive that was great and I like it better than Boss ODB-3. Unfortunately I traded my ODB-3 and the Behringer for a Bass Big Muff which is the tone I prefer now. I currently use a Behringer Vintage Phaser. It is amazing! The tone is phenomonal! I would love to try some of their other pedals.

 

[slurpy]

Unfortunately I traded my ODB-3 and the Behringer for a Bass Big Muff which is the tone I prefer now.

why is that unfortunate if you prefer the muffs tone?

i also had a behringer digital delay a while back but it hissed something chronic.

 

[UncleFluffy]

The Behringer gear I've used (amps, pedals, mixers) sounds fine, but is not very sturdy. If you're just using it at home you'll be fine. If not, bring a backup.

 

[dumelow]

I used a CS100 compressor sustainer yesterday, sounded good enough to my ears, think im going to buy the dc9 though seein as though its in a metal box

 

[darthplagis]

i have the vintage phaser, works great but the pot is the flimsiest pot in existence...... a draft could move it LOL.

but i just ripped a piece of 'putty eraser' from the wifes craft box and put it in the hollow of the knob, adds that little bit of resistance and stops the setting being changed.

I've not had any other problem with the behringer gear i have used in the past (we used a 1 channel mixer back in the 90's for a good few years with no faults, as well as a few rack units and fx units), the bass distortion pedal i bought was a waste of time though. its built like a toy and has a horrible background distortion (non true bypass so its always on in background but quietly bleeding through).

i have a behringer amp too (410 alucone) similar pot problems to the phaser but not as bad, but i tend to bypass the pre amp and use my POD x3 for that.

i give them credit for supporting the new guy though, when you just start playing (be it as a teen or an adult) you dont want to sink £/$1000's into what is usually just a hobby. and if you are new to effects they give an affordable option to learning what the effects are before jumping in with EHX and BOSS (UK effects prices are crazy BTW)