Pro Tools LE with Behringer B-Control (BCF2000)?

[headwerk'n]

Hi all,

I've just "discovered" the Behringer BCF2000 - needless to say, the idea of an AU$500 motorised control surface has me more than a little excited.

The $64 question is though, can I use one with my Mbox/PTLE? Anyone using one currently?

Will Behringer (if they haven't already) be providing a nice pre configured set up for PT, or some kind of JL Cooper CS10 emulation?

Info is sketching on the 'net, no reviews or anything. Answers please!

Cheers,
headwerk'n.

---
You're just made 'cuz there's no clock in your hat.

[headwerk'n]

Let me answer my own question - this from Behringer support:

>> We are working on Pro Tools LE mixer map at the moment. It will be a direct mapping style
>> layout. I don't have any further specific information at the moment because the unit has
>> not been released for sale yet.

All I can say is "shhhwweeeet"!

Cheers,
headwerk'n

--

You're just mad 'cuz there's no clock in your hat.

[JFreak]

if only digi sold the command8 for a competitive price... not that digi should compete on price, but if the behringer unit "work", the price gap is ridiculous. big names need to lower prices, pronto. at least a little, just to get the products to a reasonable level.

i mean, come on... how much would you pay for a dozen faders and knobs? behringer's got a good price point. the quality can only justify so much, but for that price one can buy a spare behringer and still be half cheaper than one digi unit.

1300usd for digi command8 - you've gotta be kidding. 50% off and it's good.

[Icabod]

I just looked at American Music Supply's website, and they have this listed for $219.00 American dollars!

If this thing works for PT...

Put me down for one!

Not sure when it is supposed to come out, but keep looking.

[headwerk'n]

It does make you wonder how Behringer can do it - I've actually asked them for an explanation! No word yet though...

I was always under the impression that motorised faders were very expensive components and hence the large price gap between motorised (Digi002, Control|8 & 24, MotorMix, HUI, etc.) and passive non-motorised (US428 & 224, CS10 and all the others) control surfaces.

Now obviously those motorised surfaces are "professional units" whereas the non-motorised ones are "prosumer" and aimed more at the budding home recordist than full time pros, so they're perhaps not directly comparable. Either way, it will be interesting how the BCF2000 works, and more importantly, how Behringer got it down to such a low price. Behringer have always been a "bang-for-buck" company and as such they strive to produce good (rather than great) products at a very affordable price (typically the cheapest in the industry). As such, a Behringer preamp's is never as good as a Mackie or Presonus, and so on. For the home engineer on a tight budget, that's not so much of an issue, but every pro engineer I talk to basically writes off Behringer as kiddy stuff.

The thing that has been really excited about the BCF2000 is that it's not the kind of product that can be "affected" too much by cost cutting. I mean, ok, it can, if Behringer completely balls it up (which I don't think they would anyway, the do have quite high standards despite their budget focus), but think about what's involved.

No audio circuitry, for one. Good preamps cost a lot of money... that's why a Mackie mixer costs a lot. Comparable Behringer mixers cost less because they basically put "less" into the preamps, for one.

Now, one must imagine that the motorised faders being used in the BCF aren't the same as the one's used in something like the CM Labs MotorMix. Whether or not they'll be the "silent type" motors remains to be seen, though personally I'd still buy one even if they clack away like the ones on an 02R. If they don't, all the better for Behringer. My point is, for the market they're targetting, it's not that important. The functionality will be there and the benefit to everyone who always wanted a decent control surface but couldn't afford them will be more than happy.

Build quality? Again, remains to be seen, but Behringer still do a pretty good job. My Behringer mixer is a solid unit. Of course, should Behringer wrap the BCF in plastic, would it affect its reliability in use? It's a control surface, and as such it will probably spend its life on a desk in front of a computer. When I had a US428 it didn't move in a year and a half.

What else? Well, like anything computerised, software support will make or break it. Behringer, from what I can gather, are serious enough to write a complete control module for ProTools, rather than providing an emulation for a controller Digidesign no longer officially support, so that is a very promising sign. Hopefully they'll nail the preset mappings for all the major sequencers in the first go, but it is important that they keep up the software updates and support for a good few years. I already feel pissed off because Johnson totally failed to provide another firmware update to the J-Station, and MacOSX compatibility.

Wow, this is a long post! My point is that the BCF2000 won't be the kind of product that can be easily killed by a bit of Behringer-style cost cutting. Hopefully it will be a big winner for Behringer. And I can't wait to get my hands on one!

[jeronimo]

Have anyone tried it already?

[Mr T]

I got the info from Behringer's support,: it doesn't work with PT but they say they're working on it...
Anyway, I'm pretty sure the faders will be of very poor quality.

[DJ Insomaniac]

hey, as long as it controls the faders, i'm fine with that!

[jeronimo]

I agree!!! As long as it keeps me using less and less the mouse... I'm fine w/ that too!

[superlovemark]

Found this review at audiomidi.com:

http://www.audiomidi.com/aboutus/rev...er_bcf2000.cfm

Looks VERY promising to me. I'm betting the faders are at least as good or better than the C8 or 002's.