Behringer establishes controller division

[ElmerJFudd]

“We’d like to have your opinion. We recently assembled a new engineering division for Midi Controllers and we’re currently designing a complete range of performance controllers. 
This is the first draft of our powerful Polykeys 61-key USB/Midi, poly-aftertouch and ribbon controller with CV control. We believe we could make such a product for US$ 199 retail. 

What do you think about the features, design and price? Thanks for your valuable feedback. 

If you want to collaborate with our synth developers and make your voice heard, please join our “Synthesizer and Drums Behringer Music Tribe" FB Group.

#synthsforall #WeHearYou #synthesizers #behringer #eurorackmodular #eurorack”

 

[mobi]

no expression pedal input?

 

I wonder why almost all middle priced controllers skip this

 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

Not a shipping product and asking for feedback.  Tell him at Synthesizer and Drums Behringer Music Tribe (Official) on Zuck's Facebook.  

[stoken6]

Pros:

- Poly-aftertouch!

- 9 Sliders

- Real 5-pin MIDI

- Wheels

- CV/gate

 

Cons:

- External PSU (practically a given in this sector/at this price point)

- No expression pedal input

 

Unknowns

- High Trigger (this would be a real USP)

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

[AUSSIEKEYS]

Im gonna' tell him to make that transport control area to double as a 10 digit program change input area.

 

Who do I ask for on Facepalm?

[drawback]

This really is great news. I’m dreamin’, but if there was a line of controllers that included quality key actions in waterfall, semi, and weighted in a variety of sizes, include expression inputs and 9 sliders, perhaps even a dual manual upper waterfall, lower weighted, it’d be pretty amazing to see.
 

Got to give them kudos for reaching out.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

Just joined up (pending approval) to see whats happening.

 

Ill make some suggestions and put in my 2 "frilled neck lizards" worth. 

 

73 / 76 noter might be nice as long as the weight is kept down

[marino]

Maybe they read our recent thread on controllers with AT and reacted in real time...

 

Jokes aside, I would be content with good quality mono aftertouch, and a price of 150 max.

[Stokely]

Whoa...that's pretty crazy, are there ANY poly aftertouch controllers out there for anywhere close to 200 dollars?

And yes a high trigger option would be great (or they could make a waterfall controller!)

[Tusker]

To me the features are strong, but how well they are implemented (tactile feedback, controller accuracy and precision, reliability) are the key determinants for me. As the market for controllers has become cost competitive it has become richer in features and poorer in both quality and user experience. 

If Behringer wishes to have a USP in a crowded controller market, perhaps they should aim their efforts differently from the other competitors? 

[johnchop]

I'd pay more if it was built well and had a great key feel.

[D. Gauss]

faders are too far apart to be drawbars...

[Mr -G-]

The spec looks good (please add the expression pedal input). I hope such product would put the long overdue pressure on most other manufacturers who refuse to include AT in their keyboards.

[AnotherScott]

There's gotta be a good way to do single button Program Changes. Maybe the pads could double that way, in switchable banks. 

 

I thought their earlier ones with motorized sliders looked interesting.

 

I've been surprised that there are no 7x controllers, except for a hammer action Studiologic model. That would seem like a market worth addressing.

 

Hopefully this is an idea for a "base" model and they can go upscale from here. More keys, touchscreen patch selection, motorized faders, endless encoders (I'm guessing the current mockup uses pots).

[Morrissey]

2 hours ago, drawback said:

perhaps even a dual manual upper waterfall, lower weighted, it’d be pretty amazing to see

 

The holy grail

[AnotherScott]

5 hours ago, Morrissey said:

8 hours ago, drawback said:

perhaps even a dual manual upper waterfall, lower weighted, it’d be pretty amazing to see.

The holy grail

 

This has come up a lot, but I just don't see it. For one thing, it's going to be big, clumsy, heavy to move. For another, to stop it from getting ridiculously heavy, it's not going to have what people generally feel are the best feeling actions, especially on the piano side. That's often a compromise someone has to deal with regardless, but as it is, if you're trying to keep weight down, as the buyer, you can "pick your own compromise action" for your piano board, and likewise for your top board. Put the two in the same box, and now, as soon as you aren't happy with just one of the actions, you've ruled out buying the whole thing.  IOW, what are the odds that a company can choose/design both a lightweight hammer action and lightweight non-hammer action that most most potential buyers of such a board would be happy with? 

 

As an alternate way to at least partially address the same desire, though, I'm imagining a selection of weighted boards (ideally 88, 76, and 61, each available with your choice of an "okay" and a "premium" feeling action, assuming they can't create a true premium feel in a lightweight board); and similarly, a selection of semi-weighted boards to put above it, with the key being that the bottom board has a clear deep back half that is designed specifically to securely (and aesthetically pleasingly) hold the top board. The bottom board would have virtually no controls, only the top boards would have the full control surfaces. There would be a single MIDI cable out from the bottom board into the top, and then the top board would merge the MIDI Outs of both boards (to USB and 5-pin MIDI Outs). So then you could pick the top and the bottom you want (based on how many keys you want and which action you want), and it would always be relatively portable since you'd be moving it in two pieces. But you could put the whole thing on a single-tier stand, and the keys of the two would be as close as possible, and the wiring would be minimal.

[ElmerJFudd]

It might be too small a market for Behringer - but a great clonewheel controller (single and dual manual) for B3X, B5, VB3, Blue 3, B3V and all the other AU/VST organs out there.  Clearly software developers feel there’s a market for these players.  Nord, Roland, Korg and finally Yamaha with the YC acknowledge there’s a fan base for vintage organs.

 

 But Behringer getting into a dedicated controller is a long shot.  A controller with 9 faders on the left is viable.  I’d crap my pants if he did one with waterfall keys, light springs and high trigger.  😂

[Stokely]

Ideally any controller might also have a class-complaint audio interface.  I think some of Studiologic's have.  I guess that moves it a bit out of the "controller" category and toward "instrument", but having audio outputs and volume controls for whatever is coming in over the usb port(s) would be fantastic.  Maybe even multiple sets of outputs while we are dreaming!  This is basically why I have kept my MODX for so long, it's mainly being used as a controller for B-3X at this point.  (To be fair I do like the rest of the keyboard, but that's its best feature to me.)

[BluMunk]

Here's a dream feature I want on a controller: an endless knob for volume with a small screen displaying 0-127. I'd like that knob to function as a master volume for the outputs as well as being able to send CC values via MIDI. I want that CC/MIDI functionality to be toggle-able via a button, and to be saved on a per program basis.

[Konnector]

Needs longer faders and an expression pedal input.

[Iconoclast]

Confused about the price point? If $199 is the target audience then why have a lot of the bells/whistles for guys's who'd pay a LOT more for that feature set...and yet leave out a couple things that the pro player wants? If a controller has everything I want, I'd pay $299 and still think it's a bargain.

I own a Hydra and Polybrute and love the ribbon and the poly AT so kudos to you guys for jumping on that bandwagon. That makes it a big temptation.

1. Lack of expression/pedal ins on the back? This is actually a hard-stop for me. Every rig I have has at least 3 pedals and an expression pedal. Yes...some of those pedals I can get via other instruments or direct to USB but why leave them out? If you want pros to buy this you'll have to add at least 2, maybe 3, programmable jacks to the back.

2. Matter of preference: I think if you have 9 sliders, considering that you need 9 for drawbar functionality, they should be closer together. I don't know why they always seem to be spaced out so far, and it takes up real estate that other controls might take up.

3. Asking way too much, but I thought the Motor 61 was such a great idea. I think that motorized faders that will jump to wherever they should be for your controller assign for that patch would be SUCH a great idea. If you could somehow combine that with the scribble strips that Line6 uses on the Helix controller so you can actually see exactly what's assigned to what controller. Of course you'll never meet that $199 price point, but those things are worth every penny.

[ElmerJFudd]

I think Behringer is primarily about value for the money.  And the guy listens… so, help him get the feature list and the price point you’re willing to pay for it right.  

[Justin Havu]

I like it.  As some people have mentioned, I'd be comfortable with longer faders, and move them a little closer together.  Wheels to the left of the keyboard would be nice, too (It'd be cool to have a pitch bend and two mod wheels a la SY77, VL1, Ion, or DPM-C8.)

[AUSSIEKEYS]

9 hours ago, AUSSIEKEYS said:

Just joined up (pending approval) to see whats happening.

 

Ill make some suggestions and put in my 2 "frilled neck lizards" worth. 

 

73 / 76 noter might be nice as long as the weight is kept down

 

Took a while "pending" but there is so many replies i dont think i could be bothered...

 

i think ill use a typical Aussie attitude to my innaction of......"she'll be right mate".

 

At the moment ill spend a day reading the comments. I fear it already looks like it'll be over run by daw and noodler users. 

 

I dont know how Uli will sift thru the mountain of dreamy eyed consumer "wants" but hats off to him for trying.

[Anderton]

Am I the only person who doesn't like wheels above the keyboard?

 

It wouldn't take much effort to make it MIDI 2.0-ready, I think that would be a major selling point. All they'd need to do is reverse-engineer the Roland keyboard that already is

[ElmerJFudd]

30 minutes ago, Anderton said:

Am I the only person who doesn't like wheels above the keyboard?

 

It wouldn't take much effort to make it MIDI 2.0-ready, I think that would be a major selling point. All they'd need to do is reverse-engineer the Roland keyboard that already is

I prefer the wheels up top to shave unnecessary width off the boards.  I also don’t mind the slim wheels they’ve put on a few lately, pitch and mod one over the other rather than side by side with the same goal. 
 

joysticks are cool too, or sort of hybrid joystick/rocker things Roland uses sometimes. 

[AUSSIEKEYS]

29 minutes ago, Anderton said:

Am I the only person who doesn't like wheels above the keyboard?

 

 

         YES

 

Actually theres heaps on facepalm who are with you

 

I like them above to keep the size down

[Tom Williams]

56 minutes ago, Anderton said:

Am I the only person who doesn't like wheels above the keyboard?

Nope.  It's the one thing I dislike about my PC4-7.

[Anderton]

The wheels also seem pretty small in the picture. My mod and pitch bend wheels get a LOT of exercise, so I prefer the kind of wheels like you find on the Komplete keyboards. Then again, if the controller has decent poly aftertouch (and not poly afterswitch), I might not use the wheels as much anyway.

 

I may also be one of the few people who liked the levers on the OB-8, which took up less space than wheels. 

[Spider76]

19 hours ago, Morrissey said:

 

The holy grail

That nobody will ever buy... especially the ones who clamour for it on the internet.

 

How many on this forum bought the ORLA Jamkey? 😁