On Behringer’s Track Record, “Value,” and “Copies”

Photo (CC) sleepydisco aka David Wood.

In pointing out Behringer’s clone of Apple’s homepage, I may have left some things unclear. I was honestly surprised to find a number of people rushing to Behringer’s defense. I wasn’t trying to score cheap and easy points against the brand, but while venting frustration, I may have underestimated the response of people who own Behringer gear. If you do, and it’s working for you, as always – that’s a good thing.

The conversation got me excited, and I stepped into the comment fray. I shouldn’t have in this case, and unless asked to, I’ll stay out of this conversation. I enjoy being involved in those threads, but there are times when I should keep my writing to this space and let you have at it in the space below – the one labeled “comments.”

I think the reason Behringer inflames some people boils down to two things. Those people may have been burned by gear that proved not to be a bargain, or offended by a history of gear designs copied from recognizable models, or both. The former, of course, can happen with any vendor, but it does illustrate that saving money doesn’t always save time or money. Caveat Emptor is therefore true with any vendor. The latter is really the sticking point. Here’s a loose timeline of the cases in question:

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Video: Moog FreqBox Effects, Tested with TB-303 and Guitar

Our friends Chachi and Alan write in from San Francisco’s music tech haven, Robotspeak, to share a video giving the Moogerfooger FreqBox some hands-on time. Since the FreqBox needs some signal to do its magic, they turned to two great sources: Alan’s guitar, and Chachi’s Roland TB-303.

We hope to have some more on the FreqBox soon; let us know if you’ve gotten one yourself and how it’s working out for you.

Previously: NAMM: Moog Music moogerfooger FreqBox Meant to be Heard, Not Seen?