Behringer...... The Real Scoop?

[wulf]

Originally posted by tuBass
If the quality is there to support the prices, they will survive. If not, they deserve to go down. Like was already said on this thread, some people will buy the high end stuff no matter if Behringer is giving thier stuff away for free.

I'm not convinced. I think the average person tends to seek the best short term deal for themselves (what's the lowest price I can find for this bit of gear) whereas ethical purchasing considers the wider consequences.

There's no need to throw money away, but I'm certainly happier to see my £££ supporting people exercising a skill rather than people who are just out for a fast buck.

Wulf

 

[Petebass]

Originally posted by tuBass


If the quality is there to support the prices, they will survive. If not, they deserve to go down. Like was already said on this thread, some people will buy the high end stuffno matter if Behringer is giving thier stuff away for free.

Your theory works on the assumption that a company can survive on their high end gear alone. They can't. If that was the case, JBL would never have invended the EON series, GK would never have introduced the Kickback series, same with SWR with their Workingman lines. There would be no such thing as idiot proof "plastic fantastics". There would be no such brands as Nemisis, Squier, or Epiphone etc .....

If you're a company that produces equipment at both ends of the scale, and suddenly one end stops selling, you're in deep doo doo.

 

[GreyBeard]

Behringer is at a point where it is lean and mean and can get the product out that people want at price that can't be beat. I've heard the so called gripes about quality but from my experience they just doesn't add up. How can they do it so inexpensive? Low overhead plain and simple.

 

[wulf]

Originally posted by GreyBeard
Behringer is at a point where it is lean and mean and can get the product out that people want at price that can't be beat. ... How can they do it so inexpensive? Low overhead plain and simple.

But the rumour is that they keep their overheads low by:

a) producing them in places where labour is cheap because the labourers don't necessarily get a decent standard of treatment

b) copying other designs rather than creating their own.

Each person has to make their own judgement call, but for me that stops the issue being plainly and simply about price...

Wulf

 

[kasbrey]

Labour is cheap in China but that doesn't necessarily mean that the standard of living is low. I met an engineer the other week who was telling me that the high earners with sports cars and "yuppie" lifestyles are on around £2000 a year and a respectable wage is £400 p.a. No wonder they can make good quality guitars and basses for next to nothing and still make a profit.

 

[Petebass]

Originally posted by kasbrey
I met an engineer the other week who was telling me that the high earners with sports cars and "yuppie" lifestyles are on around £2000 a year and a respectable wage is £400 p.a. No wonder they can make good quality guitars and basses for next to nothing and still make a profit.

Read my sig. Can you back this up?

 

[soularis]

everything is made in China, get over it

i don't see any resemblance in design whatsoever. in fact, i think behringer has very slick style. However... the point is that... you get what you paid for. It is cheap. And the quality is adequate to the price.

I bought UB502 "mixer" the other day, the smallest, this thing doesn't have a power on/off swithch!!! The rest is good and the quality is amazing, but the absence of the switch just pissed me off.

 

[tuBass]

Originally posted by soularis
everything is made in China, get over it

i don't see any resemblance in design whatsoever. in fact, i think behringer has very slick style. However... the point is that... you get what you paid for. It is cheap. And the quality is adequate to the price.

I bought UB502 "mixer" the other day, the smallest, this thing doesn't have a power on/off swithch!!! The rest is good and the quality is amazing, but the absence of the switch just pissed me off.

I bought one of those too. Tell me, when you play your bass through it, does it have an electronic, processed sound? It doesn't seem to have a very natural, unaffected tone, and I just use mine as a head phone mixer.

I thought the lack of an on/off switch was strange at first too, but if it bothers you that much, use it with a surge protector and use the switch on that. I use a behringer 32 channel mixer at church, and I don't even know where the power switch on it is. I just turn on the power strips.

 

[kasbrey]

Petebass wrote

Read my sig. Can you back this up?

Maybe not but I'm 52.8% certain he was telling the truth.

The "engineer" in question was a customer of mine, a director of a large engineering firm who has had to move production out there to compete. He'd got a big desk and seemed a nice guy so I naturally believed him. Was I naive?

Kevin

 

[soularis]

Hey tuBass! Well, actually, the bass seemed surprisingly "acoustical", definately not "digitized" or processed, but then again, I don't have much experience with these gadgets so I can't really compare. I use it with the drum machine and record directly to a sound card, well, the sound is beautiful, no noise, no hiss, nothing... although I noticed that it's very easy to overload the channel, but it's been couple of days only, so I'm getting used to it.

Actually, that's what I ended up doing, use the switch on a surge protector.

 

[fclefgeoff]

I have owned and operated Behringer boards and Mackie boards (as well as a few others). IMO, Behringer does not compare to Mackie at all. The Behringer that I owned was quite shoddy. The pots and faders went bad quickly, the preamps sucked, and there was a considerable amount of noise in the channels and a major lack of features compared to the Mackie. I am by no means a professional but I was willing to spend a bit more for a Mackie the second time around because I believe their products to be of better quality. I guess you get what you pay for...

 

[EASonBass]

If the quality is there to support the prices, they will survive. If not, they deserve to go down. Like was already said on this thread, some people will buy the high end stuffno matter if Behringer is giving thier stuff away for free.

Quality of products, designs, etc. really don't have much corollation with a company's management team's ability to run that business profitably.

In today's economy it's an issue of managing profitability in a fairly low margin market segment. Not easy.

 

[geshel]

I've had an MX1602A for 3+ years, and it's been very good. No hiss in the channels - at all. Nothing has worn out. I needed it just to mix various sources in my home "studio" (bass preamps, stereo processors, CD player) and as a headphone amp - and for $179 I'm pretty darn happy with that purchase!

Mackie is a local company here, and I know a good number of folks that have worked or do work there - I'd rather not see them go out of business. But what I see Behringer doing is nothing that hasn't been done (and accepted) in various other product circles. Somebody mentioned in another thread all the cheap (and yet pretty good - eg Essex) Fender-bass copies around. Fender is still doing fine.

 

[Petebass]

Originally posted by geshel

Mackie is a local company here, and I know a good number of folks that have worked or do work there - I'd rather not see them go out of business. But what I see Behringer doing is nothing that hasn't been done (and accepted) in various other product circles. Somebody mentioned in another thread all the cheap (and yet pretty good - eg Essex) Fender-bass copies around. Fender is still doing fine.

If you believe the rumours, Mackie is soon to shift all production to Asia. The writing is on the wall .....

 

[jenderfazz]

All I know is I'm probably gonna pick up a Behringer 60 watt combo tomorrow, it sounds pretty damn good for the price. I don't know if the other products are as good, but this amp is loud, clear, and can handle a lot of bass. I can't wait to pick it up. Try the Behringers first, then move on to higher end stuff, and compare. It doesn't hurt to try, you can get a good deal.

 

[12notes]

If you must only buy "Made in USA." Then, don't buy any electronics goods.

No computer, cell phone, guitar amps, tv, cd players, etc.

Just about all electronic goods contain Asian made parts from China, Taiwan, S. Korea, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, etc. ;-)

 

[mojoman566]

I have purchased several pieces of behringer equipment over the past year. A compressor, mixer and effects unit. I have been pleased with it. I'll admit it was the low prices that steered me to it, but it serves my needs. I don't think it's a bad thing to design and market affordable equipment for musicians. If I had the cash I probably would go for higher quality stuff but I don't.

 

[mcdeath]

On the subject of foreign workers and their compensation there is a pretty widely varying range. I was on a consulting contract with a telecom called Ameritech once. One of the guys I worked with was an Indian named Ravi. Ravi was an Oracle DBA, database administrator, with about 10 years experience.

We started talking about different subjects and the conversation turned to compensation. When he told me that he was getting paid about $1,200 USD per month NET I almost fell over! With his background, experience and skills this guy could have easily commanded $200k+ per year at the time. Not a measly $24k per year.

He explained that all of his expenses in America were covered by his company and that, in India, $1,200 USD per month was an outrageous amount of money.

*shrug*

ed

 

[12notes]

Originally posted by mcdeath
On the subject of foreign workers and their compensation there is a pretty widely varying range. I was on a consulting contract with a telecom called Ameritech once. One of the guys I worked with was an Indian named Ravi. Ravi was an Oracle DBA, database administrator, with about 10 years experience.

We started talking about different subjects and the conversation turned to compensation. When he told me that he was getting paid about $1,200 USD per month NET I almost fell over! With his background, experience and skills this guy could have easily commanded $200k+ per year at the time. Not a measly $24k per year.

He explained that all of his expenses in America were covered by his company and that, in India, $1,200 USD per month was an outrageous amount of money.

*shrug*

ed

IIRC. The whole IBM tech supports have been contracted to, and entirly based in India. India has the highest concentration of computer programmers in the world.

A hugh benifit is that due to the time different. The tech problems can be solved in day time in India when much of Europe and N. America are sleeping at night.

So, it also cuts down on system down time. Hence. More costs savings.

 

[int]

Originally posted by mcdeath

He explained that all of his expenses in America were covered by his company and that, in India, $1,200 USD per month was an outrageous amount of money.

Wow. I never really thought about the cultural differences, but I can see this happening in far too many workplaces. I'm feelin' guilty.

BTW, you have one of the best avatars ever.