Behringer Swords

Wow, crazy low price

Wow, crazy low price
-- fuzboxz

no r&d costs + piss poor build quality = low cost
I mean, look at the demo video, the pots are as wobbly as pots come

Damn right...
Overmore, it's ugly AF...

If this is based on the MI Blades it is not an SEM filter, in other words, it will not do what it says on the tin.

Just shitting on everything holy. Don't give them your money unless you have to plz

Wow, crazy low price
-- fuzboxz

no r&d costs + piss poor build quality = low cost
I mean, look at the demo video, the pots are as wobbly as pots come
-- Fruarse

They're fine, have you ever played Buchla 200e modules? Some are astronomical in price, like 3k+ euro and more. I have, all of their knobs wobble. In fact, they are the same exact knobs Behringer uses and some wobble even more. Interestingly, they are the last things to fail in those systems. My Buchla Easel Command has these and they wobble way more than those on my Behringer Abacus.

Wow, crazy low price
-- fuzboxz

no r&d costs + piss poor build quality = low cost
I mean, look at the demo video, the pots are as wobbly as pots come
-- Fruarse

They're fine, have you ever played Buchla 200e modules? Some are astronomical in price, like 3k+ euro and more. I have, all of their knobs wobble. In fact, they are the same exact knobs Behringer uses and some wobble even more. Interestingly, they are the last things to fail in those systems. My Buchla Easel Command has these and they wobble way more than those on my Behringer Abacus.

-- Hutch979

It's your experience against what we are seeing in a video. Also, wether you find wobbly pots a non-issue it's up to you. Personally I have only seen Ciani's Buchla system up close, and never touched one, but if I were to buy one and got wobbly pots, I would be even more inclined to get a replacement, given the price. I find much more reasurring and indicative of good craftsmanship and quality sturdy pots and knobs found in Doepfer's and Frap Tools' modules, for example. But again, it's my opinion.

What is concerning to me (but has been said countless of times at this point) is how a giant like Behringer undercuts everyone by using open source designs and exploiting its production capabilities and distribution chains. This applies to mutable stuff, but in the case of your abacus —although buchla inspired— one needs to be completely blind to see how it is not a straight ripoff of maths. The panel interface is the same, the name is clearly a taunt (maths, abacus, come on...). And maths is still available.

Behringer operates well within legal rights. But if in the future manufacturers like Make Noise (whose cash cow is Maths) or other open source driven projects a la Mutable Instruments start disappearing, well, it's because of folks who support giant corporations with this kind of business practice.

My 2 cents, and have fun with your abacus.

I got often criticized, because I criticise behringer.
For me it appears as mockerey.
I dont like it.

Maths=Abacus,
Blades=Swords
Tides=Waves

even that naming is a farce

EDITED Dec 7th, 12:27

It's your experience against what we are seeing in a video. Also, wether you find wobbly pots a non-issue it's up to you. Personally I have only seen Ciani's Buchla system up close, and never touched one, but if I were to buy one and got wobbly pots, I would be even more inclined to get a replacement, given the price. I find much more reasurring and indicative of good craftsmanship and quality sturdy pots and knobs found in Doepfer's and Frap Tools' modules, for example. But again, it's my opinion.

-- Fruarse

The wobbly pots on the Buchla are not a defect. Just look at some photos of their modules on Schneidersladen, all of the potentiometers are PCB mounted, so they will wobble. Sure, there are manufacturers who have better build quality, but it's not like Behringer is the only one who uses PCB mounted potentiometers. Some of my Bastl modules also have the same pots and I haven't seen anyone complain about their build quality even though they were more expensive than any Behringer module.

I find the ethical concerns about cloning less clear cut when it is common practice in eurorack to clone or directly borrow ideas from other manufacturers. And given how many people recently gave up eurorack I don't think it's bad that there are cheap gateway modules that reel in people into the hobby. Most Behringer modules will be replaced eventually in people's racks as they take up too much space and offer little utility.