need comments on behringer ub preamps for a friend.

[manning1]

i have a friend who has a very small budget. i know some on here
are not partial but he is trying to keep an open mind. in my case i'm confused frankly because ive heard some pretty decent tracks done with the ub mixer but ive also heard bad tracks. maybe its a question of how good the engineer is. i just dont know how to advise my friend.
ive tried suggesting making his own preamps like i do - but he is not really into soldering and i dont have the time to build preamps anyway for him as i'm too busy.
so what i'm looking for is very honest feedback on the ub series mixers from folks using them daily. another option are the behringer mic100 preamp.
anybody tried one of these ?
please no flames - i'm just trying to help a friend with a small budget
who just wants to get his feet wet. he just does not have the money for more exotic fare. any comments appreciated. or any other options. ive also suggested he look at the yamaha and alto boards as well.
thanks.

 

[Markd102]

Behringer preamps are great for what they cost, but don't expect a high quality result. They are very harsh and noisy compared to pro level units.
As long as he's lucky enough to get one that doesn't break down every other day, it'll be fine for upto demo quality recordings

 

[Gidge]

id suggest something in the Yamaha MG line......

 

[Markd102]

Yes, the Yammy MG's are a better option.
And I can't imagine the Altos being any better than Behringer.

 

[radiorickm]

nail on the head

first off, i will (gladly) admit to owning a Behringer Board, the ub2442pro fx.
and i use it often for recording and p.a. applications.

maybe i got lucky, i have had absolutely no problem with it what so ever in a year. as a matter of fact i own a bunch of behri gear and the only thing wrong with any of it is i have a burned out light bulb in my tube eq.

you said something very important in your post. The skill of the engineer is equally or more important than that of the gear. i think (my $.02) the most important thing is learning to use the gear you have properly and to it's extent. So if all he can afford is behri gear, by all means buy it and use it. It will most probably serve his purpose and beyond.

Understanding that a $59.00 behri board doesn't comptete with a $5,900.00 sound craft board, you can obtain some very decent recordings with the behri's.

at worst, when you learn enough to know what is wrong with the behri board, you'll know enough to know what is good about the other ones and know what features you need and want!

Good luck to your friend.

 

[Gidge]

Im not anti-Behringer.....Ive got an Autocom compressor that i use quite a bit......

but as far as mixers, Yamaha is a better value and better board than Behringer......thats my opinion.......

 

[Stan the man]

I've got a UB1002, and I did have noise with VERY cheap mics (those plastic ones ). Now I bought an AKG dynamic, and there's no noise at all!
The preamp can be opened completely without any noise or distortion at all.. just quiet .

I'm still very happy with my mixer, its sturdy, robust and noise-free, and it only cost me 71 euros

I can really recommend this board. I use it to record things in my studio, or with my band, and it does either job perfectly well.

Greets,
Stan.

 

[manning1]

i thank you all so far for your comments.
actually its confusing more and more because i expected more anti sentiment. definitely he is looking at the yammy as well.
the ones he cant get feedback on are the little budget mic100 preamps
and the retailers dont carry them where he lives.
what about robustness of the ub ?

 

[berdy]

I have a UB1622FX mixer, sitting in it's shipping box. I keep it just in case something bad happens to my Mackie (sort of "emergency" gear) and for rare occasions, when some of my friends want me to lend them a small mixer for a day.

I noticed, that the mic preamps are quite queit and overall quality is very acceptable UNLESS YOU HAVE THE ONBOARD EFFECTS TURNED ON. I think, that most of the opinions telling that UB mixers are noisy, come from people who have FX turned on. You can plug headphones, turn the knob to 3/4 and still hear silence (errr... maybe some cable noise), but if you engage the built-in FX processor, it's noise may make your ears bleeding.

I would also like to add, that UB series mixers are MUCH quieter than the previous MX series (which was horrible). Another thing is sound coloration, but I haven't had enough time to investigate this topic.

 

[reshp1]

I noticed, that the mic preamps are quite queit and overall quality is very acceptable UNLESS YOU HAVE THE ONBOARD EFFECTS TURNED ON. I think, that most of the opinions telling that UB mixers are noisy, come from people who have FX turned on. You can plug headphones, turn the knob to 3/4 and still hear silence (errr... maybe some cable noise), but if you engage the built-in FX processor, it's noise may make your ears bleeding.

I have the UB2222FX-Pro, and I couldn't agree with you more. The built in effects are only good for generating white (or was it shit brown?) noise. I ended up losing channel one of the mixer somehow, but overall I'm pretty happy with it. I does all you're normal mixing functions. If you're just starting out, it's not a bad bet and for the price it's almost disposable.

 

[Taylor_214]

I was using a cheap UB502 as a mic preamp..wow...lots of noticeable whirring and background electrical signal type noise. Bought a focusrite preamp and been good. Of course, the new preamp cost more but you get what u pay for.

 

[berdy]

Although listening very carefully, I haven't noticed anything like this in the UB1622FX... Seems, that Behringer products' quality vary from unit to unit (ot at least model to model).

 

[notbradsohner]

look at some wharfdale mixers, they are saweet!

 

[manning1]

i think my friend is as confused as ever after reading posts and trying mixers.
but thanks to you all for trying. the only solution i came up for him is to rent a behringer for a month and really work with it. he likes it of course for the prices. and because he has heard tracks that are nice that have been done with the ub series. i still think possibly its how one engineers.
but ive told him that product quality from posts on here seem to vary so i guess he just has to try a few.
thanks folks .