Hot Tub Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Behringer gear is frequently slated on here, but over the years I've used various bits of Behringer kit and never had a problem. Anyhoo, the only item I have left is their BDI21 amp modelling DI box, which I've always said is a fantastic bit of kit. Until last night, when it packed up. It had been crackling a bit for a few weeks, so now my immediate thought was that I'd best get on here, fess up, and see if someone can sell me a SansAmp! Along with a large slice of humble pie and quite a few "I told you so"s! Well..... no. Turns out the standard jack cable from the DI box to my amp has given up the ghost. Tried two other cables and no problems at all; solid, clean signal, no noise. Perfect! I just don't seem to have much luck with cables. The best instrument lead I have was made for me by Mark at Bass Direct; damn near everything else has packed up at some point. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I try to avoid standing on cables, and I coil them up loosely rather than "fold" them. Maybe I'm just jinxed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I had a Behringer flanger, dirt cheap, which I sold to buy a Boss one. Big mistake, the Behringer was a much better sounding pedal, though I'd be nervous about gigging it's plastic case for as long as I've gigged the Boss. I've used one of their ADA8000 mic pre units in the studio for seven or eight years now and never had a bit of bother with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 OBBM on here makes good cables.. He recently made a custom instrument cable for me that's the dog bits... I'm going to be getting some more stuff from him later this month.. Mark [quote name='Doctor J' post='1129393' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:19 AM']I had a Behringer flanger, dirt cheap, which I sold to buy a Boss one. Big mistake, the Behringer was a much better sounding pedal, though I'd be nervous about gigging it's plastic case for as long as I've gigged the Boss. I've used one of their ADA8000 mic pre units in the studio for seven or eight years now and never had a bit of bother with it.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janmaat Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Claudio Armani answered the question "How do you see if a man is dressed well" by saying "look at his shoes". In auditions, two things make me spot a "pro" player in the first minute: quality cables, and the ability to tune. I have three leads and they are dear to me, and they served me for a long time - happy bunny! In the early days, loads of leads, frequent re-soldering, what a waste of precious rehearsal time - not to speak of gigs, where a cracking cable is just ... well ... like pants dropping down Behringer offers no service so it is a gable, and if you need reliable stuff, its a no-no, however good the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxpop Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 [quote name='markstuk' post='1129400' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:23 AM']OBBM on here makes good cables.. He recently made a custom instrument cable for me that's the dog bits... I'm going to be getting some more stuff from him later this month.. Mark[/quote] Can also recommend OBBM and if you really want the very best try The Chord Company Cream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 You get what you pay for. Every time you move, the lead moves as well and over a period of time there will be stresses, strains and accidents that eventually cause a failure. The cheaper the cable, the quicker it's going to fail. I don't buy ready made cables - I buy Neutriks plugs and decent cable and make my own. Some of them are now getting on for 10 years old and are still working fine - maybe a couple of inches shorter than they were when I first made them though... . Every so often I have a 'blitz' through the lead cases (probably around 80 cables of various types) and go through every cable testing and physically inspecting the connections and overall cable condition. Anything that even looks dubious is either rebuilt or discarded and replaced. Sounds like a lot of work, but we've only had one lead failure (cymbal sliced through it as it fell) whilst playing live in the last 5 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Buy ALL cables from OBBM, seriously good and no high prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janmaat Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1129472' date='Feb 16 2011, 12:04 PM']You get what you pay for. Every time you move, the lead moves as well and over a period of time there will be stresses, strains and accidents that eventually cause a failure. The cheaper the cable, the quicker it's going to fail. I don't buy ready made cables - I buy Neutriks plugs and decent cable and make my own. Some of them are now getting on for 10 years old and are still working fine - maybe a couple of inches shorter than they were when I first made them though... . Every so often I have a 'blitz' through the lead cases (probably around 80 cables of various types) and go through every cable testing and physically inspecting the connections and overall cable condition. Anything that even looks dubious is either rebuilt or discarded and replaced. Sounds like a lot of work, but we've only had one lead failure (cymbal sliced through it as it fell) whilst playing live in the last 5 years! [/quote] +1 for the make-your-own. Quality cable costs about 2 pounds / meter (maplin), plus 2 quid or so per jack, so you can save good money if you make a dozen or so for the whole band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 +1 for OBBMs cables And another +1 for Behringer. I`ve never used a piece of Behringer kit that I didn`t like. Mikes, pa, BD121, all been good. And a local bassist has a Behringer rig, and it sounds great. They must make some not so good gear, but I think the reputation is like that of Skoda/Lada. Its cheap, so it must be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I've had a lot of Behringer stuff & only had problems with one thing - that 300w Ashdown clone head they did, mine developed an intermittent & random cutting-out problem - pity because it was a great-sounding head. Everything else I've had (including the BDI21) has been great for the pittance it cost & problem-free. Admittedly I did see a Behringer headphone amp catch fire in a studio once... In my experience cables deteriorate over time & need to be replaced pretty regularly - even if you look after them they will always be being coiled & uncoiled, and in motion while you play, they are flexing constantly & eventually metal fatigue will take its toll. Pretty much all of mine are on their last legs! Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 A while back I thought I'd save a few quid by bying a behringer tuner. After a month, the power input stopped working so I could only use batteries - which lasted about 1 gig. Not such a saving - Now use my Pod for tuning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I've experienced problems with every Behringer item i've used so i don't use em, i'm aware of people on here who've been gigging with their stuff for years though so YMMV. Our old guitarist bought a few of their pedals they failed one by one, you could pretty much guarantee that there'd be a problem with one at every gig until he ditched them deeming them not gig-worthy. Similarly we had 2 of their desks which both developed faults, didn't go near the brand again but i understand some of their higher end desks are excellent. It's cheap so there will be good and bad batches, i may have been very unlucky. Keep your receipt and you should be ok! As far as cables go i use obbm and homemade ones. Neutrik jacks/speakons and Van Damme (instrument) and Klotz (speaker) cables are all you'll need. There's loads of posh cables costing the earth but you really don't need to spend more than what obbm charges unless psychoacoustics are really important to you! If you can solder then it's very cheap to make pro quality leads, to the extent that some of the prices you see look farcical. If you can't then obbm will sort you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 With reference to OBBM - I've used the same cable he made me for over 100 gigs in the last year with no problems. A huge +1 from me Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I have two Klotz cables that have given me faultless service since 1986. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Ive got a few of OBBM's cables and have had no problems with them. I do tend to make my own now though. Its cheaper (for me) to just cut and re wire my older leads if they start playing up. I have a couple of long leads i "corrected" a few years back and these are still working fine in our PA. As long as you use good components and do a decent job they should last just as long as any off the shelf lead. No disrespect to OBBM but I think its worth learning how to fix your own leads, you never know when you might need to do this in an emergency. Oh, and another happy BDI21 owner. Its been replaced by a BDDI for gigs but that was mainly as i wanted one for gigging and one for permanent fixture at home. I keep thme on all the time, just sitting on my amp so i guess they dont get a lot of abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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