Behringer VX2496

[Drummer4Life05]

Just looking for anyone who has used or has any experience with the Behringer VX2496.
I kow Behringer gear is usually regarded as *crap*, but I'm just looking to get started, and has some cool features!
It's like having a preamp, compressor, de-esser all in one!
And I'm sure, it's not always a good thing to have this. It's better to have different rack components for each job.
BUT, like I said, I just want to get started and get a feel for how this stuff works.

Is it a wise choice to get this, or should I spend the 200 bucks on a better preamp, and save up for all the other individual stuff?

[Massive Master]

Buy it, try it. If you don't like it, just make sure you can return it.

And, although I'm not a "big fan" of Behringer, most of their stuff is still worth twice the price.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com

[Drummer4Life05]

Thanks for the tip, Massive Master.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with it.

[SonicAlbert]

Originally posted by Massive Master
And, although I'm not a "big fan" of Behringer, most of their stuff is still worth twice the price.

That's actually not saying much. However, I recently got the Behringer DEQ2496 Ultra-Curve Pro and am happy with it. Definitely a cut or two above anything else I've seen from them.

[Drummer4Life05]

Thanks for the comment, SonicAlbert.

I guess most if their stuff is hit-or-miss...or so I've gathered.
Some say their stuff is great, others think it's crap.

[allensco]

I just bought a VX2496 for my voiceover work. It has a great sound when tuned up right. Only problem I had was a subtle, high pitch whine that was audible under the vocals and in between takes. If I can hear it, I know everyone else can hear it. It's very distracting. This is not acceptable for my work. I use a Behringer UB802 mixer and the built-in pres on it are absolutely silent.

I went through everything I could think of and finally found the problem. I had to a put two prong plug adapter on the 3 prong power cord plug to bypass the ground. This eliminated the noise. Don't ask me why that worked, I have no idea. What led me down this path was just pure luck I guess. Just for the heck of it, I grabbed an extension cord and plugged it in upside down (meaning ONLY the ground prong went into the plug). The noise was there. When I put the adapter on and plugged it back in...no noise! Go figure.

Then, I did a few tests and they are as clean as they can be and sound great. Granted, this is my first experience with a unit like this so I have nothing to compare it to using my voice. But for the money, ya just can't beat it. I know I've read where many people don't like Behringer stuff because they say it's not durable and doesn't last. I've had my Behri mixer for almost 2 years and it's never had any problems. I stays in one place and does what I ask of it. Now I'll put the VX2496 to the test and see how my clients like it. If you visit my website (http://www.voiceoverallen.com) you can listen to my demos. I did not have the unit when I did these, so they are just the mic to the mixer to the computer with Sound Forge compression/processing. I'll be putting up some new ones soon with the VX2496 for comparison.

I use the following equipment in my home VO studio:
Behringer UB802 mixer
AKG C3000B mic / NADY pop filter
Behringer Ultravoice Digital VX2496 pre/processor
XLR connections from mic to vx2496 and from vx2496 to mixer
Sound Forge Audio Studio 8 / Cool Edit Pro
Custom built computer w/Windows 2000
Sound Blaster audio card (no noise from the card)