Behringer UB FX Pro mixers

  • Thread starter Thread starter cstockdale
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cstockdale

cstockdale

supafly killa homey
I have been running a Behringer mx 602a for the last year, and have hit the limits on it. I cannot (repeat cannot) afford a Mackie or Neve board, but need a significant upgrade.

Has anyone used teh UB 1204/1622/1832 FX Pro mixers? I understand the mic pres are much higher quality than the MX series. I also like the flexibility of signal routing, which can provide numerous outs for when I upgrade from a AP2496 card with only two "ins" to something with 4 or more ins.

Also, how is the compressor in the FX component? I will someday buy an external compressor for better tracking, but in the meantime, it would be nice to have a compressor I can use in the signal path ahead of recording to get better vox/acoustic guitar sound. At the moment, my only compression options are all software based, which are great for mixing and editing and mastering, but no use for tracking.

Ideally I would go for the 1832 FX pro, I think, but I am fishing for opinions. Again, let me repeat, a Mackie is nowhere near my price range.
 
I LOVE my UB1832fx pro. I know Behringer gets bashed alot, but I LOVE this board. I would be willing to bet that the people that bash them have never tried the UB series ( or any others for that matter ). The IMPs are great, the board is quite as a mouse, and has pleanty of outs. The FX are a little weak. I haven't played with the compression too much, I have outboard geat for that (nice inserts on this mixer), so I can't really say about that, but I have used the other effects. The delays and reverbs don't sound too bad, but there really is no way to edit the effect other than the level. Pretty much stuck with the presets. I personally have NEVER found a preset on ANY gear that I didn't have to tweak ALOT. But maybe that's just me. For $240 I wasn't expecting a 1/4 of the board I got. I bought it because I was in a jam and needed something that day on a budget. I was fully expecting to replace it soon after, but never did because I just can't find a reason to do so. LOVE IT.
 
Thanks for the opinion. I am not counting on teh FX in it to be used for any serious recording, as I have shitloads of plugins for Sonar for that purpose. However, I do not have any external effects units, and even in the short term having some pre-recording compression in my signal path can't hurt for vox and acoustic guitar. I like the idea of the onboard FX just for jamming, though, as I jam in my studio, and having some 'verb and delay to add to my vocals will be nice for that purpose, as will having a few effects for my acoustic guitar.

I like the signal routing capabilities, and am leaning towards either the 1622 or the 1832 (finances will dictate the final choice).
 
I got my 1832fx pro for $240 online (musicians friend.com I believe). If you go with that....try fx #15 for acoustic guitar...it's not bad at all.
 
as for the presets in the FX component, you mentioned there is no way to edit them. How is the compressor configured? Does it have any real utility? Can I use it in the short term to use as a compressor on vox/acoustic guitar before I record into Sonar until I can afford a real outboard compressor? Ie. are there more than one comp preset with different thresholds/ratios?
 
I still have not really played with the compressor yet. I have outboard for that. However, from the little I did use, I wouldn't expect too much from it if I were you.
 
Cant you find a used Mackie 1202 for $240? A friend bought the UFX board for his live PA and it's passable but it has a distinctly muffled and blah sound to it. I definately would not want to record with it, live use maybe.
 
If I could find a used Mackie for comparable price, I would eat it up. I don't think that the straight 1202 Mackie board has the routing options I need though. If I could find a 1202-VLZ Pro , it might meet most of my needs. ALthough I currently only have an Audiophile 2496 card with 2 ins, I intend to upgrade to at least a 4-in or even a 10-in card before long, so I would like to get a mixer that will give me at least 4 outs, preferably 6 or more, and it needs inserts too. A 1604 VLZ would do me great, but the cost is out of my ballpark.

From what I can tell about the 1202 VLZ Pro board, it looks like I could get 4 simultaneous outs? i.e. 2 from the Aux sends, and 2 from the alt 1-2 send (I imagine that if I was sending two channels out their aux sends that they would also be in the main mix, so I can't use 2 more from the mains). If there is a way to route things from this board to get 6 outs, then I might seriously consider it. Although now I think about it, even if there were only 4 outs from teh Mackie, I could still use my Behringer 602A for another two outs (especially for straight line-sources), totalling 6.
 
I get no "muffled" or "blah" sound from my board. However I'm using V-sessions drums, and since I use mine for recording more so than live, I really never use more than 3 or 4 channels at a time (most of the time it's really just one at a time). I would try to find a place with a good return policy that would allow you to take the board home and check it out for a week or so. My problem with Mackie (aside from the fact that they are overrated), is they just don't give enough bang for the buck. I really could not hear that much difference. I think Mackie might give you 100mm faders (depending on the model), where the behringer only has 60mm, but that really hasn't been a problem for me yet. Another problem I have with Mackie is they just can not justify the price. You will hear people say "it's because of the R+D that goes into it.....bullshit! There is RnD into EVERY piece of gear on the market. Great sounding mixers are not new tech. There really is just not that much R+D that could go into a mixer that would justify the cost on ANY mixer today. I once recorded on the very board that Zepplin II was done on. The board is 30 years old....sounds great...like any other top end board today should......how much R+D would you need to duplicate that on a smaller board?? BTW Mackie has stated that thier boards will start being made in Japan ( and that some already are) to improve thier bottom dollar! They have no plans in dropping thier prices, though.
 
I have the Xenyx 1832FX and am happy with it, (finally a thread where it isn't all bashing Behringer). It is quiet and as others have said really versatile. On this one the effects are really decent, you select a type of reverb etc and most of them have around 10 variations on it. No compressor though, I either use my compressor unit through the aux or use the software compressor on my computer. Anything else you want to ask me about it just email me or I can post here.
 
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