1) Agreed. I’ve used Behringer gear that’s perfectly fine.
2) This is my biggest issue with Behringer. They do seem very questionable in the ethics department. To add on to what you mention, they also like to apply for trademark patents for existing trademarks, not to mention trying to trademark names of their critics in some weird smear campaigns (see the KIRN corksniffer debauchle as an example) and also litigate their critics when they don’t like what they say. On the cloning side, sure, clones of extinct hardware like the TB-303 I feel is fair game, but it is always questionable when the clone is competing with a product still in production. I mean, it doesn’t matter which market it is in, whether music gear or mobile phones or whatever: clones will always be perceived as lower quality imitations and morally questionable.
3) I agree. Budget brands do not always get fair credit.
4) Yeah, that he does. It’s not necessarily fair to equate the brand with it’s director/founder, but seeing as he is quite active and the brand name is his actual last name, it is kind of unavoidable. But I mean, you should be able to be an odd duck and also be a director of a brand, as long as you behaviour isn’t hurting anyone…
Yes! That was it. Your cork sniffer remark reminded me of something else, maybe part of that same situation: didn’t they put out some bizarre and derogatory cartoons/caricatures of one of their critics? Maybe 5 years ago or a bit more?
I don’t know if it was some sort of misguided “guerilla marketing” ploy but, regardless of the intent, it did come off as weird and unsavoury.
As far as rip offs go: their Arturia Keystep clone was, in my view, over the line. Their Mother32 clone, which I cannot remember the name of, isn’t something I’m entirely comfortable with either… although anyone who wants a Mother32 is I think going to spring the extra for the real deal rather than buying the clone.
OTOH I do like their 2600-a-likes and, as you’ve pointed out, I can’t really fault putting out remakes of out of production hardware.
One and the same. The illustration of the critic that the cork sniffer was mocking was at best unflattering, and at worst referenced antisemitic stereotypes.
> But I mean, you should be able to be an odd duck and also be a director of a brand, as long as you behaviour isn’t hurting anyone…
I think the canonical example here is the Kirn Corksniffer[1] which could have been avoided with some foresight and subsequently a quick apology, but ego can sometimes get in the way.
Behringer definitely made bad products for a very long time, and while I appreciate the increase in quality the synth recreations don't really blow my mind. They're low cost, they're hardware, but almost all of them fall short of the originals.
> They're low cost, they're hardware, but almost all of them fall short of the originals.
As with everything Behringer, a lot of this varies from product to product. And it also depends which axes you measure along and which you consider important.
Like, for example, I don’t think anyone who’d done their research could seriously suggest the TD-3 and its variants aren’t as good as an original 303. In some ways they’re better: MIDI support, for example, and the MO - which is the second one I bought - implements the Devilfish mods that were popular on original units. But sound-wise, they’re as similar to a real 303 as the tonal differences between two original 303s. And hardware wise, well they’re cheap plastic boxes just like the originals so Behringer have certainly nailed the feel of using a 303.
On the other hand, something like the Poly D, does have some differences to the Minimoog. Again, it has some stuff that the OG doesn’t: an additional oscillator, paraphony, MIDI, a sequencer and arpeggiator.
Soundwise it’s very close but my sense is the filter doesn’t have quite the same hollow but fat character of the Moog filters I’m most familiar with (Moog One so not directly compatible). But it’s close and I’m not sure in a mix anyone would notice you were using a Poly D rather than a Minimoog.
And then you can find areas where corners have been cut: knobs and switchgear of the Poly D are solid and satisfying to use, but the keyboard is absolutely meh. It’s functional but it feels (and is) cheap. Not a patch on the OG.
Well, they’re also known for cloning newer devices, such as (which I didn’t realize until recently) the Korg Volca line, which were already rather cheap devices to begin with. I admit that I don’t know the exact details on those devices from Behringer apart from small snippets I’ve seen popping up in videos and perhaps they’re adding something new to it, but they sure seem very similar to the Volca designs.
These news are of course good, but they sure bring up conflicting feelings in me. I mean, they should open source just about anything, seeing how they have unapologetically used other peoples designs as “inspiration” for their gear for decades for their own benefit. Sure, it has resulted in a lot of more affordable gear (I mean, super savings on development costs) and I really appreciate that, but it’s also at a cost. Innovators in the business get less business when there are cheaper devices “inspired” by theirs on the market, resulting in less funding for future innovations to inspire future Behringer gear. Then, of course, the whole Behringer vs Peter Kirn thing was just something that has left a permanent distaste in my mouth whenever I hear or see the name Behringer.
But I get it. Like someone commented here, the do seem like a sort of Robin Hood in the music gear world (although its not always just products from big companies that “inspire” Behringer products), making these expensive pieces of gear much more approachable for enthusiasts on a budget. Approachability is good and I love the idea of it. I just really wish it didn’t have to be at someone else's expense.
Companies like Behringer are necessary for patents to be ethically justified. The deal with patents is a temporary monopoly in exchange for greater competition once the monopoly expires. Cheap re-implementations of expired patents is the patent system working as intended.
Agreed. I have no gripe with companies reviving extinct hardware, such as multiple companies have with the TB-303 (Behringer included). Patents should even have a shorter lifespan IMO (although I admit I don’t know how long they last now). Sitting comfortably on a patent just encourages stagnation.
If it was never patented then whoever produced it clearly didn't care about preventing competition. And Behringer products all have a Behringer logo clearly printed on them, so there is no attempt to deceive anybody.
I like Behringer products, but the story of the Centaur clone is a joke. By all means they attempt to deceive: no "Behringer" clearly visible, the centaur drawing is almost a copy, the colour, the knobs and switch distribution...
And half their pedals look exactly like Boss gear.
The version without a prominent Behringer logo is no longer sold (possibly there was legal action; I don't know the details). I agree that the old version was potentially misleading. The current version has a prominent Behringer logo. Knob and switch distribution is a functional part of the user interface.
AFAIK, Behringer received some threats, and they redesigned the case. But if you order the new redesign "Centara" they will mix your order somehow and send you the first almost exact copy they made.
The functional distribution of knobs are the one that use Boss pedals and others: common case size, knobs at top, switch under a big cover. The wide format with a naked switch offset that the Centaurs have (both original Klon and Behringer clone) is functionally pointless.
That’s not to say that it’s not an accepted name. If your heritage/lineage/culture includes a name not on this list you can rather easily get an exception from these rules. Although, if not, you’re pretty much stuck with this list.
Never been a fan of the naming commitee. Sure, their reasoning may be to uphold Icelandic heritage, but honestly I always feel like that reasoning is a slippery slope into nationalism. But I do support having a naming committee to prevent asshole parents from naming their kid Kúkur or something.
Note: you can request names outside this list if f.ex. one or both parents are citizens with a foreign background. I know this from first hand experience and it was a relatively easy process.
Also, a good thing to remember is to mind the order of your options.
I know from experience that it matters a lot after thinking once: "I can just place this `-delete` option wherever, right?" and using it as my first option.
Needless to say, I had a very bad time.
2) This is my biggest issue with Behringer. They do seem very questionable in the ethics department. To add on to what you mention, they also like to apply for trademark patents for existing trademarks, not to mention trying to trademark names of their critics in some weird smear campaigns (see the KIRN corksniffer debauchle as an example) and also litigate their critics when they don’t like what they say. On the cloning side, sure, clones of extinct hardware like the TB-303 I feel is fair game, but it is always questionable when the clone is competing with a product still in production. I mean, it doesn’t matter which market it is in, whether music gear or mobile phones or whatever: clones will always be perceived as lower quality imitations and morally questionable.
3) I agree. Budget brands do not always get fair credit.
4) Yeah, that he does. It’s not necessarily fair to equate the brand with it’s director/founder, but seeing as he is quite active and the brand name is his actual last name, it is kind of unavoidable. But I mean, you should be able to be an odd duck and also be a director of a brand, as long as you behaviour isn’t hurting anyone…