Behringer has announced plans to release 200–300 guitar pedals priced at $10–$15 each, featuring all-metal enclosures, analog and digital circuits, and hackable open-source designs. The Zentara Mini Overdrive is confirmed as part of the rollout, with phased releases expected starting early-to-mid 2027.

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[–] 7 points 6 days ago (8 children)

I have mixed feeling about Behringer. On one hand it’s good they make affordable stuff and I do appreciate they clone gear that the original manufacturers refuse to reissue (looking at you Moogerfoogers).

On the other hand they’re shameless about copying other people’s work and undercutting them on costs by using cheap labor. Then treating said labor like shit.

Personally every Behringer product I’ve owned has felt cheap and performed worse. My UV-3000 broke after a few months and my Model-Ds oscillator would de-tune as I was playing it. Hoping these new ones are at least sturdier.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    I have MIDI foot controller, the FCB-1010. It is far and away one of the sturdiest things I own. I bought it in either 2013 or 2014 and haven't had any issue since. It is pretty tedious to learn how to program, but other than that it's great.

    My other piece if equipment is the UMC-404HD, a USB audio interface. I think I got it around 2016? Also very sturdy, never had any issue with it at all. For all that people complain about audio drivers on Linux, I just plugged this into my desktop running Mint ans it worked instantly. Way better and more stable.than it ever was on Windows 10.

    Back when I was I high school, our bassist had a Behringer combo amp that was great. I don't remember the details, but it was cheap, loud, clear, and sturdy and I considered buying one myself.

    I have heard that their quality has decreased in recent years. I'm also skeptical of buying anything from them now bfor the other reasons you mentioned.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (1 child)

    Yeah I mean the cheap gear is good for kids who might not keep playing after a few years. I did also have that audio interface and it works fine but I needed something with more inputs.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (3 children)

    Years ago I would agree, but this shows the the first manufacturer, or brand could also meet a price point to produce for the customer yet won’t…and I’d say likely for greed (under the guise of stakeholders)

    So I am at the stage of rip them all off.

    There are still a few that try offer good service, they deserve respect and loyalty.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    Yeah there’s still the overall quality question and what components they’re actually using but I get where you’re coming from.

    The UV 3000 I mention sounds almost identical to the Boss VB-2w that Boss charges like $200 for.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago

    Yup agree. I value quality, and buying for life, I buy a lot of used items. But i don't feed brands unless they offer quality and value. I do buy some new products based on how much usage i think i will get from it, however i also consider the ethics of a brand. I will consciously buy a second rate product.

    A good example are grocery items out there that have dropped quality, or size akin to price rises. There are some brands than keep it all together I try to purchase. Interestingly no one labels Aldi a rip off (rightly so).

    But overall there are categories of purchase that fall under consumable rip offs, for example a craft blade or adaptors etc.

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  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago

    @Cherry @jontree255 to be fair though, I don't think Behringer is doing this "to produce for the customer". They're just as greedy as other companies, if not more. Someone is paying for these things to be this cheap and I'm pretty sure it's not Behringer.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    I will definitely be picking up a few of these. I've played guitar for decades but never actually owned a pedal

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  • [–] [S] 7 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    ... never ..owned .. a pedal‽

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  • [–] 3 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    There are so many modeling options that many guitarists don't feel a need to start collecting a bunch of expensive pedals. I have a modeling amp, a couple of modeling units like a Line 6 Pod, and a couple of Tascam/ Boss recorders that include dozens of Boss pedal models built in, and even include drum machines, so I've never had a reason to buy pedals, other than my Donner Circle Looper. That's especially true since each pedal is often over $100 each.

    Donner has a had a nice line of pedals for around $30-40 for quite a while now, and I've looked at them, but I still didn't have a need to pull the trigger. These are even cheaper, but I still doubt I'll start collecting pedals. I've heard a lot about the Klon, so I may spring for that one, but I doubt I'd have a use for the rest at any price.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 6 days ago

    Well I wouldn't categorically exclude modelers from pedals. If it has foot switches, then it's a pedal in my eyes. I had a Zoom 9000 multiFX back in the early 90s, before ever aquiring any standalone pedals.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Is $15 technically possible?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago* (2 children)

    A digital box would just need running a plugin on something simpler than an RPi zero. I still do not see how one would make a profit though.

    https://www.thomann.nl/behringer_fx600.htm goes for 35 Euro

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  • [–] 10 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    You should look up the circuit diagrams for analog pedals. WAY cheaper to use some cheap caps resistors and diodes. The ic chip is 45.cents and bulk pcb are cheap. They can probably profit 7-10 a box.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

    Yeah, there's already places like Alibaba or whatever where you can get guitar pedals for $12 to $15.

    I imagine Behringer is going to just be taking those and maybe stepping up the production quality or standardization a little bit.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    I do play guitars, but this would be awesome for my live setup as well. I love running synths and drum machines thru pedals.

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