Building a "Behringer homestudio"

I like my ECM8000 pretty well for some stuff.

I have a little mixer that I use for live stuff.

I'm thinking of getting that control surface they just put out.

It is what it is. In most cases I would not put a Behringer product (or a Nady product for that matter) in the signal path.
 
The original poster wants to put together a studio. He wants to use Behringer gear. Not surprisingly, the thread has morphed into the standard Behringer bashing, with a few notable exceptions.

Many use Behringer gear. Some of them are happy, other are not. If you want to put a studio together on the cheap, you might as well do it with Behringer gear.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy things, stick with it, and develop skills. In a few years you might want to upgrade your stuff. You can deal with that then. If you lose interest, you can sell the gear without losing too much $$.

Good luck.
 
I think the issue here is the development of recording skills.

You're better off dealing with fewer components to start with.

I bought one preamp with a digital output, and one soundcard with a digital input, and recorded through these. I used walkman earpieces to monitor.

I got to know my recording software.

I got to know my instruments.

I got to know my headphone limitations.

I got to add guitar effects pedals and hear what they sounded like.

I got to understand compression and EQ and mixing and digital sample rates and mp3 and wav file differences and so forth in a controlled setting.

What was the important lesson was that all the cheap gear I had caused problems in sound quality, and my mixes suffered. Cheaper gear actually degraded the sound in many cases. When I upgraded my monitors, I found I could mix better. When I upgraded my preamps, I could hear more detail in the sounds, and could use EQ with more discretion and discrimination.

From that point forth - I now save up for premium effects and signal path and mixing and try to extract maximum value from each new acquisition.

Spending more forces me to consider all the factors carefully, to research the gear better, and to identify and manipulate the detail of my recordings better.

When you think of art, think of Picasso's charcoal pictures of doves, drawn on table napkins. Three or four simple black curves, and yet such command of simple media.

Less is more. Purchase one quality item at a time.
 
behringer underwear

everything i bought i took back. behringer was just thin instead of fat.

listen to the board, pre-amps, RNC and sht....

behringer just sucks, and thats a low statement coming from my po-boy set-up..geez.

being broke is better than behringer crap....it'll give you tin-ear's i been told.

do like i do, take sht home and try it and then fhkng take it back if you don't like it...so what if the Guitar Center manager twit hates your fhkng guts.
 
Don't be afraid of the Behringer gear. You can get a bad piece of gear from anyone. Shit happens.... besides there are alot of things that can introduce noise into the recording. The less gear or connections in the signal path the better.

I have heard, what I consider to be good or at least acceptable, recordings done with directs into a built in soundcard and a headphone/mic setup, (the point is the less gear the better). The other point,and not to be understated, is knowing how or the best way to use what you have. In most cases I mean your software and PC.

Some of what I consider to be the most important considerations.

1. Take your time and shop around. Buy only what you need as you need it.

2. Make sure your power supply is ample and well grounded. No loose connections at the breaker or recpetacles. If these are not tight, they will build up heat and loosen, becoming potentially dangerous and introduce noise as well.

3. Always buy the best cables. This could be more important than buying the next piece of equipment. If you have to buy the cheap ones I understand, but this can be a source of problems and noise. Loose connections in either the gear or at the end of the cable is going to be a potential problem as well.

4. Buy a mixer with at least 4 stereo inputs. IMHO anything less will limit you in a home studio. (I can not remember which of the Behringers model numbers it is, but MF use to sell it for $299.99 I think I recently saw it for $329.99. A good friend of mine uses one and so far we have had verey good results with it.)

I agree with what the people who admitted to using Behringer had to say and some of what those who thought it was crap had to say. You will probably buy some gear no matter which way you go that you don't like, but hopefully spending your time before you spend your money will help eliminate some of that for you.

Just my opinion, Ozlee :cool:
 
lumbago said:
I think the issue here is the development of recording skills.
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I think this is an important point. Everyone must start somewhere and usually with a defined budget (and usually a tiny one). If Behringer gear is what you can afford then go for it. Sure you will upgrade in the future once you learn the craft of recording but at least today you have gear and today you are recording.

I started recording with a Fostex X-26 4-track deck and an SM57. Sure there were many other multitrackers out there but I couldn’t afford them. I was just happy to have something to record my songs with. I knew then that my tunes would not end up on the radio but would be enjoyed by my friends and family and most importantly, enjoyed by me. And like so many others who have contributed to this forum, I learned what the limitations were of my gear and I adapted. If I had waited until I could have afforded a better system then what I learned on the 4-tracker at that time would never have happened. I made some magic with that deck and mic and I’ll cherish the long hours and fun I had writing songs, developing my recording skills, and putting my songs to tape.

If Behringer is what you can afford, buy it and start your recording journey.
 
I start recording with behringer gears also.
I have 2 ECM8000 mics and a ub2442fx mixer.
For the sound, they are acceptable for my ear, but......

The mics gone bad after 2 or 3 recording session....with a loud drummer (me).
and the mixer.....the "gain" knob on ch1 was not functioning after 3 months of purchase. and some channel (5 and 7) cut off suddenly sometimes.

I bought all things brand new, and I am taking a lot of care for my gears....at lease for the mixer.I cant accept anything that fragile.
so.....I will NEVER buy behringer`s gear again....even I have only very limited budget, I will save up some bucks for some better gears....at lease more durable.
 
Drummercat,

I’m sorry to hear about your misfortunes. I’m sure I’ll be singing the same tune as you if my Behringer gear starts to fail.
 
Johnny,
may be just me....
Hope your behringer gears will last longer.


JohnnyMan said:
Drummercat,

I’m sorry to hear about your misfortunes. I’m sure I’ll be singing the same tune as you if my Behringer gear starts to fail.
Click to expand...
 
Here's my two cents. I own or have owned two Behri products: An ultragraph pro fbq6200 (returned and got an ART EQ which I am more happy with, though I want an Orban) and an Ultrafex which I still have. The ultragraph sliders were loose, cheap feel, and sounded cheap. The ultrafex sounds and feels cheap as well. Of course, others says decent things about some of their stuff. Guess it probably depends on which particular pieces you are talking about, so don't discount the whole Behringer name. FYI, though, I wouldn't buy the two I listed that I own/have owned.
 
Re: Behringer

I just started recording as a hobby. I had no idea Behringer had such a bad reputation. I also don't have that much experience with Behringer products. I picked up a set of Behringer B2031A and honestly I think they're great.

I don't plan on buying all Behringer gear and I'll certainly pay close attention the next time I consider buying their stuff given all the bad reviews. However, I have nothing to complain about the monitors I just bought. I would argue that this has to be one of their more decent products if not a very competive set of studio monitors.
 
I'll put in my 2 cents. I'm am new to recording and like most people just starting out, i don't have alot of money in general but i especially don't have money to waste if i decide i don't like doing this anymore or get bored of it, etc. You never know how dedicated you are to something until you've done it for awhile. I made sure (or Shure :D -corny i know) i got a decent mic, and sound card so I could make sure that they weren't the weak link in my recordings. The same with my midi controller. They may not be the best but if i keep recording for awhile they will hold up and remain useful. As for my mixer, i got a behringer mixer for $60 because i knew i could get my use out of it for what i spent. I also have a behringer compressor that i am borrowing indefinately. Both work fine for what i am doing. Both also will probably be replaced but they are the cheapest things i bought. I don't feel like they were a waste of money but now that I have everything i need, instead of buying new stuff, i will probably replace the old instead. I think it is better to have everything you feel you need, as long as it works, than some high quality pieces while missing critical pieces. That's what i think behinger is good for. To go with all behringer units, and especially replacing behinger units, is like going out and buying a bunch of bald tires. Sure they will work, and sure they will be cheap but it still won't make since in the long run. Buy them only if you need a stepping stone.
 
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