Are Behringer guitar pedals good? The company shook up the stompbox industry when they released some of the cheapest guitar pedals in the market, but with absurdly low prices, are they that reliable?
Throughout the decades, musical instruments and gears have undergone tremendous evolution, in terms of innovation, as well as market competition. The industry grew so much and along with it, countless brands vying for the masses’ recognition have emerged.
With the success and popularity of the artists that wield them onstage and inside the studio, the price of guitars, amps and pedals have reached unprecedented levels as well. Sometimes, the ordinary working musician and the beginner guitar student, can’t afford anymore the overwhelming price tag that comes with music equipment.
And this is where Behringer comes in.
Founded by Swiss engineer Uli Behringer in 1989, in Willich, Germany, Behringer is committed to producing quality gears and selling them at a price that’s reasonable enough, even for the average music lover. Coming from a family of musicians, Uli Behringer understood the struggles of musicians, especially in third world countries and was inspired to provide a cheaper solution, without compromising sound quality.
Today, Uli Behringer is the chairman of his Philippine-based holding company known as “Music Tribe.” The Behringer company also became the 14th biggest music products manufacturer in 2007 and now has a sales network in 130 countries, as well as direct marketing presence in ten nations.
Where are Behringer guitar pedals made?
Behringer produces their guitar pedals in Zhongshan, Guangdong, China. The factory is owned by Music Tribe, a corporation that owns Aston Microphone, Behringer, Cool Audio, Klark Teknik, Lab.gruppen, Midas, Tannoy, TC Electronics, TC Helicon and Turbosound. Music Tribe’s massive state-of-the-art facility in China is known as “Music Tribe City” (also referred to as “Behringer City” by some people).
Because Music Tribe’s production facilities are in China, it’s not unusual for musicians to doubt whether Behringer guitar pedals are good or not. For years, the offshore manufacturing of musical instruments and audio equipment has been equated with subpar quality control. But that is gradually changing as Music Tribe leads the pack of a new generation of much-improved Asian-made brands.
Are Behringer pedals clones?
Behringer guitar pedals sound good because they are essentially clones of some of the best-selling effects units in the world. Behringer did a great job in imitating those stompboxes, making their own line of gadgets just as good-sounding as the originals.
Here is a list of some of Behringer’s most popular guitar pedals, along with the corresponding brand and models that they were based on:
- Acoustic Modeler AM100/ AM300 – Boss Acoustic Simulator AC-2
- Bass Synthesizer BSY600 – Boss Bass Synthesizer SYB-5
- Blues Overdrive BO100/BO300 – Boss Blues Overdrive BO100/BO300
- Chorus Orchestra CO600 – Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-5
- Compressor/Limiter CL9 – Ibanez CP 9 Compressor/Limiter
- Digital Delay DD600 – Boss Digital Delay DD-5
- Digital Reverb DR100/DR600 – Boss Digital Reverb RV-5
- Distortion Modeler DM100 – MXR Distortion +
- Dynamics Compressor DC9 – MXR Dyna Comp M102
- Echo Machine EM600 – Line 6 Echo Park
- Flanger Machine FL600 – Line 6 Liqua-Flange
- Hellbabe HB01 – Dunlop Dime Cry Baby From Hell DB01
- Tube Amp Modeler TM300 – Tech 21 SansAmp GT2
- Tube Overdrive TO100 – Ibanez Tube Screamer
- Ultra Phase Shifter UP100/UP300 – Boss Super Phaser PH-2
- Vintage Bass VB1 – Electro-Harmonix Bassballs
- Vintage Distortion VD1 – Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
- Vintage Phaser VP1 – Electro-Harmonix Small Stone
- Vintage Tube Overdrive VT911 – BK Butler Tube Driver
- Warp Distortion WD300 – Hughes & Kettner Warp Factor
Do Behringer pedals have buffers?
Behringer guitar pedals have buffers to deal with signal loss issues. Signal loss is a common problem among pedal enthusiasts, since having more effects on your rig can suck some tone and volume from your overall output.
By using buffers, Behringer pedals can maintain the signal strength of your instrument. On the downside however, Behringer pedals don’t have true bypass and they are a little bit noisier than high-end stompboxes.
Does Behringer still make pedals?
Behringer still makes pedals and they even announced a new alliance with online musical instruments retail giant Sweetwater in 2021. As part of their partnership and to soothe the hearts of musicians afflicted by the pandemic, Behringer decided to sell their guitar pedals on Sweetwater at a ridiculously-low $19 per unit.
Are Behringer guitar pedals good?
Being one of the more reputable audio equipment companies, Behringer has focused most of their efforts on providing reliable gears at much lower prices. It is actually not impossible for a guitar player to acquire more than two Behringer pedals for the price of one boutique stompbox.
If you are planning to acquire some Behringer guitar pedals, you can expect the sound of these clones to be almost as good as the original. With a price tag that’s almost four to five times cheaper, it is actually quite hard to discern the tone differences between Behringer and bigger name brands such as Boss, Electro-Harmonix or Ibanez.
However, this budget price does not come without compromises in durability. Because their enclosures are made mostly out of plastic material, the construction of Behringer pedals are not as robust as their more expensive counterparts that use metal. So be careful when stomping on your Behringer guitar effects pedals, as they are not rigid enough to take the impact.
Furthermore, Behringers are much cheaper because they are mass-produced in their assembly lines in China, as opposed to the hand-made or carefully-built gears from the United States or Europe. As a consequence, the quality of Behringer guitar pedals are still a little inferior compared to fancier stompboxes.
Behringer definitely provides a lot of value for musicians of all levels by making cheaper products, but we can’t expect them to equal the superior build of some of the most revered brands. That being said, Behringer guitar pedals sound good enough to aid you in your quest as a musician, use them with utmost care and they will be able to serve you much longer.
