Are Behringer Eurorack Mixers worth a f**k?

[lakemonitor]

I am an extremely poor individual who needs a mixer to handle simple guitar/vocal inputs to my computer. I was pricing mixers and found Behringer to be pretty much the cheapest I could find. Would I be wasting my time buying one of these, they seem too cheap to do anything! Does anyone here use them? I'm talking about the entry-level ones - UB series.

[distortedrumble]

i use one..other people here use them but you have to torture them before they'll admit it. most of us buy them before we know about better quality products but we cant afford the better quality here are some links to music i made with a behringer mixer http://www.soundclick.com/bands/writ...=newdaycomming and http://www.hiconeentertainment.com/sslap.php

[distortedrumble]

oh yeah....and i think every behringer mixer is considered entry level

[traidma]

I had one but I blew it.. don't recomment it to anyone anymore.
Great prices.. but also won't last for long.

[Garry Sharp]

Yamaha MG10/2 or 12/4 must be about the same price...far better.

[distortedrumble]

behringers are definitely ymmv...i'm in the 3rd year of mine and its used by me and its used by nutcases when I'm not there and mine is still kicking....oh yeah and it aint in a smoke free studio either.

[lemerlisP]

they suck. i bought a ub2442fx and used if on and off for about 2 and a half years - then my power supply died. you guessed it; berri doesn't sell replacement power supplies for my model (even though they still sell my model). trying to track down support was a nightmare. getting it fixed will cost at least half of the total price of the mixer. buy a small mackie if you wanna save some loot (and some trouble).

[noisedude]

I had a UB1204 - nothing went wrong with it and the routing options were great. However, the sound absolutely sucked by comparison to the Yammy MG10/2 I know use for my monitors and headphones. Dull and lifeless and variable noise between channels.

Not all Behris suck - the DDX3216 looks like a 'proper' digital mixer.

[DREAMLABS]

Originally Posted by Garry Sharp

Yamaha MG10/2 or 12/4 must be about the same price...far better.

Yep! I must agree with you there Sharp! I would suggest that he goes for a Yamaha as well.

The MG10/2 is $99 and the MG12/4 is around $199. The pre-amps are alot better. I had a Behringer MX2004 and I had channels dying left and right during the two years that it was in use. I now use a Yamaha MG16/4.

Yamaha MG10/2
http://www.americanmusical.com/images/b/p22037b.jpg

Yamaha MG12/4
http://www.americanmusical.com/images/b/p20815b.jpg

Yamaha MG16/4
http://www.americanmusical.com/images/b/p20816b.jpg

[guttapercha]

Hi,

Will phantom power cause a problem with my dynamic mics, if I need to use it for the condensors? I'll be micing drums and using a mix of mics, and was thinking of going with this board. I noticed that phantom power is all-on or all-off.,

JD

[sile2001]

Originally Posted by noisedude

Not all Behris suck - the DDX3216 looks like a 'proper' digital mixer.

Wow....I wonder who they ripped that one off from...

[boardman]

guttapercha,

NO phantom power will not hurt or cause any problems with dynamic mics.

peace
boardman

[noisedude]

Originally Posted by sile2001

Wow....I wonder who they ripped that one off from...

Yeah ...........

[mamm7215]

If it's entry level stuff you're doing, it'll be fine but QC may bite you. I've got a UB1202 and it's ok for what I do. I only use it for guitar and vocal in and monitor speakers out of my soundcard. If you're really that concerned-forget about the Berries and get a good 2nd hand mixer off of E-Bay, like a yamaha or mackie-check it out...

[lakemonitor]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I think I'll go down the second-hand route looking for mixer. I know I wouldn't be risking much ($75!) buying a Behringer, but it might just be one of those things that turns out to be an ugly paper-weight. Thanks again.

[bigwillz24]

Originally Posted by lakemonitor

Thanks very much for the feedback. I think I'll go down the second-hand route looking for mixer. I know I wouldn't be risking much ($75!) buying a Behringer, but it might just be one of those things that turns out to be an ugly paper-weight. Thanks again.

I sold a behringer mixer on ebay once whoever bought it payed more for it than I did...



Thanks ebay

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by lakemonitor

I am an extremely poor individual who needs a mixer to handle simple guitar/vocal inputs to my computer. I was pricing mixers and found Behringer to be pretty much the cheapest I could find. Would I be wasting my time buying one of these, they seem too cheap to do anything! Does anyone here use them? I'm talking about the entry-level ones - UB series.

No!

Is Behringer the best mixer you can buy? Nope, not by a long shot.
I'm not sure what your price range is, or what is your ultimate goal (selling, going pro, fun).

If it's just for your guitar and your vocals you may not even need a mixer, and may want to go with either a firewire solo (1 pre, 1 1/4 insert, output to monitors and headphone outs).

I originally bought the UB802 and it worked great for me. I used to go from my mixer to the line-in of my integrated soundcard, and I was happy. I've since upgraded to a Yamaha MG10/2 and a Delta 4/4 (not the top of the line -but better than what I had).

Again, it's all in what you are trying to do and where you see yourself going.

[lakemonitor]

Eventually what I'd like to be recording would be really satisfying demos which don't sound dull (or like you're listening to them through a plastic bag). I've been recording on a Tascam analog 4-track for some time, but it's a bit dodgy now (channels cutting out etc), so I bought a Terratec Phase 28 soundcard and am starting to get the hang of Cubase. I was thinking of just getting a pre-amp (or something like the Audiobuddy), that'd do for myself, but I think in a while I'd like to be able to record my band, so I'd need at least a few mic inputs, so maybe a mixer's the thing I need.

Do you find the MG 10/2 to give good results (not much hissing, clear sound etc)? I've seen one on sale for $100 which seems reasonable to me.

[noisedude]

The MG10/2 will be a good starter for you ... there's plenty of room to upgrade in future but get it, start playing, and as the Bear says, your ears will tell you when to upgrade!

[bigwillz24]

I'll endorse the Yamaha 10/2 also... I had one of those too and the only thing I didn't like about it is the fact that it had knobs instead of faders.

[Dracon]

Do you find the MG 10/2 to give good results (not much hissing, clear sound etc)? I've seen one on sale for $100 which seems reasonable to me.[/QUOTE]

As noisedude said the Yamaha MG10/2. Keep in mind your enviorment and what you are doing.

The Yamaha MG10/2 is good. I really don't have any hiss. is the S/N higher than say the Mackie? Probably, but not anything that you will notice when you record. Besides is not like you have an isolation booth or a professional studio. You'll pick up more ambient noise than the Yamaha will add into the line.

Keep in mind everything in your signal chain will add some noise. Your mic, the cable, the mixer, and the soundcard. I bought a Yamaha MG 10/2 for $99 at Guitar Center brand new, and I have not regreted my purchase.

[lakemonitor]

That's cool. The MG 10/2, for the price bracket, seems like an all-round favourite on this thread anyhoo. I know I'm gonna get noise from using relatively cheap mics, leads etc. but just checkin' cos I don't need anything else creating a hum.

[teetopkram]

For those of you with the 10/2, with only 2 outs, how do you monitor your input and mix? I was under the assumption you'd need 4 outs (e.g., MG 12/4) in order to hook up external devices and be able to monitor...

[noisedude]

'Tap' the inserts as direct outs and then monitor the return in the normal way. Only works if your soundcard has direct monitoring, which most do now.

[teetopkram]

Thanks noisedude...I am working on a Mac laptop, and have yet to decide on an interface (USB vs. Firewire) to record two channels at time (maybe up to 4 if I invest in a drum kit), so I will definitely the direct monitoring feature in mind.