Behringer Effects Pedals: perfect effects pedals for budget minded synth players?

A talk heavy video, with plenty of sound demos and a pedal breakdown, where I look at the Behringer effects pedals that I own and look at whether or not these could be ideal for synth and keyboard players on a budget.
Coolmusic Plump delay review: • COOLMUSIC Plump Delay:...
Aural Dream Breath Delay review: • Review: Aural Dream Br...
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Please leave comments or questions below about your experiences with Behringer pedals, especially compared with other budget pedals.
Enjoy or find this video helpful? Please hit the like button and certainly subscribe! It's very helpful and always appreciated.
(As always, the demos will sound much better if listened to through decent headphones or speakers.)
Behringer Effects Pedals cop a lot of flack, maybe not so much for their sound quality, but certainly for the build quality. Sure, they are plastic and very cheap, but what if you don't stomp on these stomp boxes? What if they are kept on a desk and operated by hand? Could they be an ideal effects pedal for a synth and keyboard player on a budget?

[@boerd.m.9291]

This video is amazing! Well structured and researched, you deserve a lot more visibility than you have on youtube

[@thedigitallost]

Thank you! I appreciate that! Basically, I make videos of things I enjoy. If others like them, then great! Either way, I am going to keep making them. It's just a lot of fun. The best way to support any of my work is to watch, hit the thumbs up/like button and subscribe! Thanks again!

[@moosey62]

Oh mate.. Killer demo. Just love that Aural Dream delay. Thanks ;-)

[@thedigitallost]

Thank you! I actually did a video looking specifically at the Aural Dream pedal. Spoiler: it's pretty strange and lots of fun. I have not done a cheap/budget pedal video in a little while. They are a lot of fun so I think I need to get going on those again. Cheers! Edit: actually now I look at my comments I see you've already watched it! Thanks again!

[@system87music]

New sub here! Really a great video with awesome information and I loved the demos of each pedal. I'm looking to incorporate some pedals (old and new) in my studio and try some different combos for cinematic/pads and drones. In my studio, I like to try all different kinds of gear - vintage, etc.

[@thedigitallost]

Well thank you! I still love messing with cheap pedals. This video is from a few years ago, but I’m still trying out lots of random cheap gear. Good luck with your experiments! Cheers.

[@guara909]

Dude, this synth on the back is so cooool! With a little reverb in your voice i'd use this video for meditate

[@thedigitallost]

Thank you! That's a really nice compliment! Any of the music you hear in any of my videos is stuff that I've made, so hopefully you were able to check out some more of my channel. Cheers!

[@disectormusic]

What synth is it? Yamaha?

[@kelvindodd5577]

Very useful review and insightful comments. I bought a Lounsberry Organ Grinder pedal for the upper keyboard of my Hammond C3 organ, then bought a Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive for the lower manual for $19 on sale. It gave me the same grindy, feel I was looking for. I was impressed.

[@thedigitallost]

Thanks for the feedback! The Tube Overdrive is nice. A while back I got the SF300 Superfuzz and can heavily recommend it if you’re looking for a different flavor of overdrive. So cheap too.

[@johannbach2725]

Never thought I'd like the the sound of a tubescreamer but here sounds really nice - really like this whole review, very relaxing and paced...many thanks from aus

[@thedigitallost]

Well I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully you could check out some more of my videos. But yeah, I get you on the whole tubescreamer thing. It's the only tubescreamer that I own or have even used and it's actually pretty nice. Anything from a low grumble to crazy static mess. It has a much wider sound palette than I would have expected before I used one. Either way though, thanks again!

[@lundsweden]

Synth player here: I've mostly had Boss pedals in the past, but have grown to like Behringer pedals. They sound great, and are built well enough if you care for them. Favs are Tube Screamer, Analog Delay, VP1 "Small Stone". I don't really find them boring, other than the colors, which are a bit nasty. But the sound is as good as Boss and others IMO. The plastic is'nt much of a deal breaker to me, there were plenty of cheap Japanese pedals made of plastic back in the early 80s, they're still working judging by how common they are on Ebay.

[@thedigitallost]

I agree fully. When I said in the video that they were kind of boring, I more just meant that the decision to make them was boring. Like, these pedals already exist (or did exist in the past...) and these are just cheaper versions of them. It's annoying because, while I have had some choice words to say about Behringer in the past, I've kind of eased off a lot on that after some bad experiences with supposedly high-end gear. When they make their own stuff, it actually works out pretty fine, and I've got some of their much more recent stuff and it's improved so much quality-wise. And it's just a bit frustrating when they just endlessly copy other companies. Because when they do bother trying it works out well. But yeah, I like my Behringer pedals a lot and they really are ideal for synth players, whatever the budget. In my experience anyway. I've had a big handful of Boss pedals in the past as well and besides the build materials, they're pretty much identical. If you're not stomping on them with your foot I would see no issue. Thank you for watching and commenting! I'm glad that everyone can still have this conversation. Cheers.

[@MaR5HaY]

Really nice video!! Exactly the kind of video I was looking for!!

[@thedigitallost]

Great! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully you were able to check out some more of my videos, and if you have any questions go right ahead. Cheers!

[@syntheffects]

Behringer has a lot of pedals and a lot sound fine on synths. They are not always clones, like the DD100 that's supposed to be a clone of a Boss DD-3, but uses a totally different chip and is 24bit instead of 12bit like the Boss. It comes down to testing it out and with analog clones you will probably get a more accurate copy bc they are somewhat easier to make.

[@sonicmistress]

Some ignorant people say similar negative things about the plastic Ibanez Soundtank Pedals but yet to see a broken case on one and some are the 1:1 of older Maxon/Ibanez designs so sound pretty damn good!

[@thedigitallost]

For sure. I still use these pedals and have added a couple more since this video! All going strong.

[@FingeredBenh]

Informative and relaxing , thank you !

[@thedigitallost]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching and commenting! Hopefully you were able to check out some more of my videos. If you have any questions as well, go right ahead. Cheers!

[@lancestewart6907]

I have been singing the praises of these pedals for years(for guitar). Just as good as the boss equivalents. Especially the tuner.

[@thedigitallost]

Hell yeah, man! Other Behringer stuff I owned: 2 mixers of different sizes, an audio interface, and a rack mount compressor and I was never really happy with any of it. Something always seemed a bit off. Strangely, and completely unlike the pedals, I found the build quality on that stuff fine but the sound quality not at all good. As I say in the video, the pedals might be unexciting, but they work well and are consistent quality wise. They are about the only Behringer things I'd ever spend money on. Thanks for watching, Lance! (I actually have the tuner and compressor on Craigslist!)

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Made me *really* 🤔 ... ✔️ Zero problems (YET) with any of my 10 or so plastic pedals ✔️Just this morning got a refurbished Behringer DC-9 compressor pedal: Sturdy metal housing, solid knobs, no wobble, sounds great ✔️ Never had to repair a pedal until 2 days ago: Broken footswitch on an Electro-Harmonix Superego 🙃

[@thedigitallost]

Great! Yeah, that was kind of the point of the video. Ignoring the whole ethical thing of only producing clones, I honestly feel that pedals are about the best thing that Behringer makes. I've had nothing but problems with their mixers or the audio interface of theirs that I had. Pretty common problems across the board too. And I've had a lot of very cheap pedals that came in metal housing that certainly did not save them in any way. So yeah, I don't see the plastic housing on the Behringer pedals as any kind of negative, especially if used with synthesizers up on a desk. Thanks for watching!

[@KaceyRepublic]

I am a big fan of the VD400 Delay you covered. It's a 300ms analogue bucket brigade delay. Unless you need more than 300ms delay(rare but possible) it does everything you could desire. You'll find the exact same chip in much more expensive units. If you want an analogue delay it's a total no brainer at that price.

[@thedigitallost]

Yep. It sounds good to me. We're actually pretty spoiled for choice with cheap analogue (style?) delay pedals. So many out there. Nowadays, I tend to want a lot more than the 300ms delay, but for the price and what it is, it's a solid choice. Thanks for watching!

[@KaceyRepublic]

@@thedigitallost I don't mind a long digital delay(with or without faux analogue effects) but I find bucket brigades get too noisy for my taste when pushed past 350ms or so. Excellent video btw, always nice to see more antipodean synth nerds.

[@thedigitallost]

Well thank you! Hopefully you were able to check out some more of my videos. They're mostly music, but I have a few other cheapo pedal reviews. Been doing more and more eurorack stuff of late though.

[@jongalan1975]

Dude! I love this!

[@thedigitallost]

Well thank you! Hopefully you were able to check out some more of my videos. Cheers!

[@mattsmith1440]

I found this an excellent, well thought-out video so I thought I'd drop a quick line to say thanks! I've had a little experience with Behringer, owning one of their mixers with built-in effects and recorder that is currently not switching on (after not that long, fairly light use). Given the symptoms I suspect it's the PSU that maybe needs some capacitors replaced. Anyway, while it worked I quite liked the effects section and thought the sound was good - for me that means the desk didn't seem to colour things at all, without engaging the fx of course. I've been considering some Behringer pedals for use with synths, and going by the comparison which starts at about 29:55 for anyone curious, there doesn't seem to be much wrong with them. The differences I heard appeared to be more down to different settings than quality, as far as I could tell. If I get any of these I'll come back and give some feedback. They don't seem to be making the RV600 any more, but the DR600 appears pretty similar.

[@thedigitallost]

Hello there! Thanks for watching and commenting! I have had some experience with Behringer mixers. In my personal experience, I didn't love them. I had an older one where the effects were all haywire and had super static. I have read that capacitors and other parts can expand/blow? I have no idea as it's not really my field, but it makes sense. Seriously tho, the pedals have all been great for me, and they can get a bad rap, hence this video. Regarding different sounds and settings; I didn't want to just stick the knobs in the same positions, I wanted to use my ears to dial in a similar sound. And I also feel it important to make comparisons in a review or demo video. It helps to put things in perspective. The RV600 really is a cool pedal, but, as you say, no longer in production. All of those RSM pedals are, apparently, pretty damn good. The RV600 is based on the Line 6 Verbzilla, whilst the DR400 is based on the Boss RV3 and the DR600 on the Boss RV5 I believe, so any would be a very capable pedal. Thanks again for watching! Cheers!

[@girlinagale]

I really like my Behringer po300, power overdrive, it's bassy fuzz, not scratchy like many fuzz pedals. It's excellent on drums and bass. I can link a song using it.

[@thedigitallost]

Yeah, as I say in the video, these pedals are surprisingly good quality for the bad rap they get. I'm generally not a fan of Behringer and their synths or mixers and interfaces (or business practices, let's be blunt), too many bad experiences personally, but these pedals have always done me well. Feel free to post music if it applies, no problem!

[@girlinagale]

@@thedigitallost Behringer po300 power overdrive on Synthstrom Deluge drums an bass. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaWoZGmkgtSEi80

[@raulacevedo-esteves9493]

What effect chain would be best to fatten a thin sounding synth?

[@thedigitallost]

Hello! For me, to fatten up a thin sounding synth, I like to use some overdrive to add a bit of grit, and then even just a little bit of reverb at the end to open up the sound. Add a little space. So looking at the pedals in this video specifically, the tube screamer with the rv600 reverb. And neither pedal needs to be turned up full at all. I always hear about people using chorus to fatten up a synthesizer but that doesn't go well to my ears. It makes everything have a kind of '80s sheen rather than fattening up. I just like to add dirt and dimension. But of course people's ears and sensibilities differ. Overdrive and reverb is my choice though. I've definitely had to use that combination a few times, particularly on my microfreak which is an awesome synthesizer, but it really does sound pretty thin and wispy.

[@ManCalledMif]

How do the behringer pedals contribute to the noise in the signal chain?

[@thedigitallost]

I haven't really noticed any unexpected noise being added, or taken away as it might be from time to time. No more than any of my other pedals, including the original versions that Behringer copied. Mostly it comes down to power supply; not just the cable you're using but the power supply at the socket as well. (I almost never use batteries) But yeah, I've noticed no noise coming from these pedals that you wouldn't get from any other pedal or power supply under the proper circumstances. My attitude towards not only Behringer pedals but Behringer as a company has pretty heavily softened since this video. I used to be very ho hum about them but after some pretty shitty experiences with some supposedly high end gear I decided that why not just stick with budget stuff. Plastic cases and all!

[@t55a2]

Couple of Refaces here, nice

[@thedigitallost]

Love the Refaces!

[@t55a2]

@@thedigitallost I only have the CP, but it's pretty good. Re:Behringer pedals, the '600' series are worth getting, as well as the Space-C/D versions; UV300 too. I think more expensive pedals tend to detract from synths: you don't need much. Also have a few Arion, Denio and a great Nobel 's Vintage Tremolo. It does my head in when folk talk about stomping on boxes: you just know they're going to inflict the most awful guitar-wank.

[@thedigitallost]

Yeeeeaaahhhh....guitar wankery. Immediately puts me off any kind of gear demo. Regarding Refaces, I have the CS and the CP and love them both. I'm still considering the DX if I'm honest. No interest at all in the organ one. I do love cheap effects pedals. Behringer clones, faceless Chinese knockoffs, it's all good! Though lately I've been almost exclusively using modular effects. I'm loving that workflow, but of course I still have a bunch of pedals and tend to change my workflow quite often!

[@t55a2]

@@thedigitallost I have a DX7, but the Reface DX is good. I'd actually like the organ one: the drawbar s are just sine waves , really. A proper organ takes up too much room, sadly.

[@t55a2]

@@thedigitallost Ironically, if you could travel back in time to the early 1970s with these cheaper pedals, you'd have every band wanting to be your mate. Pedals were really rare then, and not much variety. We are kind of spoiled for choice, in a way. It's all about the creativity, lol.

[@ld8341]

I've just done a quick Google search for broken Behringer pedals and can't find any images. A couple of faulty ones (like other manufacturers) but no broken ones. Boss are great and define pedal standards but factor in price and Behringers are bargains. On a side note, the cheap Chinese Coolmusic pedals are actually a Behringer brand. Indeed, JHS openly admit that most pedal manufacturers use Coolmusic chips in their pedals.

[@thedigitallost]

Yeah for sure. There are a lot of problems with Behringer as a company, but I think their pedals get a pretty hard rap. I've owned a few different Behringer things, the quality is not great on their mixers, but I've had really good luck with their pedals.

[@alvaromedinagarcia]

Hi, have you tested the EM600 Echo Machine? Is it less "neutral" than this others?

[@thedigitallost]

I have not tried the EM600, unfortunately. I had a chance to grab one a couple of years back for a good price but, for some reason, didn't. They pop up from time to time on eBay (or wherever). They are, apparently, based on the Line 6 Echo Park pedal. These seem to be way more common for sale online, but a bit more expensive. I would not be against having either pedal some day. Both seem to be well regarded pedals.

[@user-xv8yg1li2t]

Отличное видео

[@thedigitallost]

Спасибо!

[@moonrabbitretreat9173]

How's the Compressor sustainer pedal on synths? I have trouble keeping the same levels when I switch sounds on my synth, will this pedal help with that? Thanks for any feedback!

[@thedigitallost]

Honestly, I don't have it any more so I can't check. I bought it for much the same reasons though; to try and get some consistency between synth sounds. I think I stopped using it because it didn't seem to do much at all. But maybe I was not using it correctly or was looking for something more that what the pedal could realistically do. The effect was subtle at best, but I guess it helped a little. I think that's why I just skipped it in this video; it probably did what it was supposed to but was so subtle it wasn't really noticeable. But yeah, sorry, I know this isn't a great answer, but the fact that I got rid of it and never replaced it with a different compressor sustainer is probably telling.

[@moonrabbitretreat9173]

@@thedigitallost Thanks for getting back to me! I figure for $20 I got nothing to lose. Who knows it might help with certain sounds on my synth. My thing is I'll switch from a preset that is for rhythm to a different preset for a lead and of course the lead comes out too loud. I'm hoping this will level it out. Side note: do you know of a pedal that can mimic acoustic piano?

[@thedigitallost]

No problem! Yeah, the price is low enough to warrant a try! No, I don't know of an acoustic piano pedal, but damn have I long wished for one. Electro-Harmonix makes those pedals that simulate organs and synths and sitars. I have thier Mel9 that emulates the mellotron and I love it. Boss (and others) make acoustic guitar simulator pedals, but no one I know of makes an acoustic piano pedal. If you or anyone finds one, let me know!

[@moonrabbitretreat9173]

@@thedigitallost I've been at the Elecro harmonix Key9. That replicates electric pianos but I haven't been able to find a pedal that imitates acoustic pianos. I will continue to search!

[@disectormusic]

Good channel

[@thedigitallost]

Thank you! I appreciate it. Plenty more to come too!

[@soundvandal3570]

Their reverb pedals are definitely good.

[@thedigitallost]

It's definitely difficult to find a cheap but decent quality reverb pedal. So I guess if they can make cheap copies of decent reverb pedals then so be it.

[@soundvandal3570]

@@thedigitallost Very true. Delay, you can find decent cheap ones depending on your needs. Deadbeat makes some quality pedals for cheap. But yeah.. Reverbs.. Man it's a hard sound to nail on the cheap. Shimmer and cheap shouldn't really happen.

[@thedigitallost]

Delay is pretty easy to do hence more cheaper options. I think reverb, especially anything more than a basic even simulated spring reverb, might be a bit more complicated. But I'm no expert! Deadbeat basically rehouses cheap Chinese pedals. Last I heard, the guy who owns deadbeat was trying to sell the company....via Instagram of all places! But yeah, there is definitely a huge hole in the market for somebody to start putting out some budget priced decent quality reverb pedals.

[@thearticulateinfant849]

I'd like to ask your...musical pedigree, for want of a better phrase. I noticed the Libertines and Spartan Dreggs album covers in the background - but your musical style is much, much different. I think I can hear some Grand Daddy influences in your music too, if you remember that band. What became of that band? And the Libertines for that matter? Both of them just twittered away into musical nothingness. Anyway, just thought I'd ask out of curiosity, its a long way from Brit rock to lo-fi electro or whatever.

[@thedigitallost]

"Pedigree" sounds so distinguished. Especially when I am just some guy who loves music and sounds. But yeah, I just like a whole lot of different music. Maybe it comes from my own musical background? I started playing saxophone in school band like, 30 year ago (my god, just typing that makes me feel so old...). As with so many things, high school absolutely sucked out any enthusiasm I had for the instrument and I gave it up, never to even feel a mild interest in it again. I taught myself guitar (well mostly, my dad showed me how to play the chords E, Em, A, Am, G, F, C, D and Dm and i just kinda went from there) and loved the dirty sounds the electric guitar can make. Just belting out messy garage style rock. At first I was all about making sure my strings were new and clean and my guitar tuned because that's what you're supposed to do. But as I went on I decided that I much preferred things to be a dull mess; though I'd prefer to think of it as a textured collage! I came to love rusty strings and cheap amps and gain pushed way too high. It's a sound and mood I still love. My entire life, I've always listened to electronic music, but only started playing it myself about 10 years ago. I'm not sure what made me take the step. Maybe just Korg bringing out the cheap Volcas? That's what I started with. They are gritty and cheap and not terribly versatile, but they are a great gateway synth. I played around with these synths and various guitar pedals for years. And of course I added more pieces or gear. But I did this without any real direction. I only really started to want to make something of it a few years ago when I quit drinking. I suddenly felt a fog lift in my head when I no longer had alcohol in my system. Many things became clear to me. Not to mention I suddenly had more time and money because I wasn't going out to bars or bottle shops anymore! I naturally spent more and more time playing music and making long winded "lo-fi ambient" nonsense that I fell madly in love with. And as far as the lo-fi thing? Well, that really came about very organically. I know that lo-fi is a bit of thing nowadays. Like, a cool aesthetic. A lot of people out there make music on some incredible gear. Really high end synths or even just a stupidly powerful laptop. It sounds more or less professional, but then they run it through some plugin or an equally high end (expensive...) effects pedal to make it sound old and shitty. I mean, whatever; I'm not here to bag on anyone else's workflow or art, but for me, the lo-fi thing just came about on its own. I have some pretty cheap gear, I already love the sound, plus I record on some really cheap gear. Crackles and pops and too much gain are going to come through. I am absolutely fine with that. I much prefer that punk rock kinda way of doing things, rather than the studio worship of perfect takes and spending too much money on having the best gear. I find that whole scene a massive turn off. Even thinking about perfect, clean recordings as I type this is making me cringe. Again, it's perfect and good for some (well, most...), but it just isn't for me. So yeah, the lo-fi thing came about because I didn't really care for hi-fi, plus I didn't really have the means to create hi-fi, even if I wanted. My laptop is getting on a bit and cannot handle a lot of plugins. My headphones and cheap enough that I don't think I'd be able to effectively mix and master things to a hi-fi level. I very recently decided to give up using my laptop for music just from the frustrations of it crashing or Ableton freezing or plugins that worked last week, suddenly becoming unusable for no obvious reason other than planned obsolescence. I mostly record now on my old(ish) Zoom R16 digital recorder. But hell, I also occasionally record on my old Yamaha 4 track cassette recorder that I have had since around 94 and it still works perfectly. So electronic music was a choice because I love it and it's a great way to craft sounds. Lo-fi started out as a choice when I played guitar, but then when I started recording electronic music, just became the norm due to equipment. But again, it's something that I'm happy with. So to get back to the point, maybe my music taste isn't confined to one genre because I've had a background in a bunch of different things. I also don't see any point in limiting what I listen to. That seems wasteful and pointless. I love dirty, shitty, sloppy guitar, I love tight electronic, I love minimalistic piano music, I love long, pretentious soundscape pieces. I think we talked previously where I mentioned that a common point in what I listen to and the music I make myself is a sense of melancholy. It always seems to be there. As far as the bands mentioned, they all seem to have just drifted away. The Libertines are, apparently, still going. We all know their first 2 albums that are proper classics. That Doomed Youth album was ok. I don't really listen to it any more though while I still listen to those first 2 so that's telling. I do indeed love Grandaddy. Listen to them regularly (still!), saw them twice in Melbourne, hung out with the band backstage, ended up in a car with the guitarist, drummer and keyboard player (I know they have names, but I don't want to go on like we are on a first name basis or anything) being driven madly by some drunk woman with her even drunker friends through Melbourne streets at 3am after leaving the Corner Hotel and getting dropped off at the band's hotel in South Melbourne. The mad driving drunk women left, I should add. At which point I wished them a good night! They were friendly as hell and a good time was had by all and I clearly still fondly remember that whole event even though it was 15 to 20 years ago. The "band" is still going, but it's basically just Jason Lytle now. I could go on and on about everything mentioned here, but this is already a very long reply and it's early morning here and my coffee needs refilling. Anything else you want to know, go ahead! Cheers.

[@davelordy]

The VO sound on this video is terrible, what are recording with, a pillow ?

[@thedigitallost]

If you're talking about the voice over, I recorded everything on my phone as, at the time, it's all I had. I recently picked up a microphone so hopefully voice over sound quality will improve. For now, I do what I can. That's one of the many and big problems with so many large companies making KZbin content now: the quality is at broadcast level and people come to expect that same quality, even from small enthusiast channels like mine. (Yes, there are plenty of us still here!) The main point of the video is the content. I enjoy talking about this kind of thing and want to get out my thoughts and ideas, regardless of certain qualities and hopefully get to engage in some dialogue about the things I make videos about with other enthusiasts. As the channel grows, hopefully I can get better equipment, but until then, I do what I can. Regardless, thanks for watching. I hope you still got something out of it.

[@montazownianr1]

His barber recorded this.

[@N8oRMusic]

Lol what a dick. Calm your comments dude. Maybe you'll get friends one day.

[@davelordy]

​@@N8oRMusic Mmmmm . . . I comment that the sound on the VO is terrible, not a personal comment, certainly not a personal insult . . . . and you respond by calling me a dick who hasn't got any friends . . . and it's me who needs to 'calm my comments' . . . lol 😂

[@indyginc]

delays and reverbs from behringer freezes and glitch out from time to time , flanger is absolute trash shit , but over all is good , only some of them have realy high noise floor , but boss pedals are noisey af too.

[@thedigitallost]

Yeah, I’ve had a handful of Boss pedals as well and a little bit of background noise seems always present. I’ve not had any freezes or the glitches that you mention. Either way, great, cheap pedals.