Sep 12th, 2012
In Defense of Behringer
The lawsuits filed against Behringer for supposed “copying” of other manufacturers’ devices are frivolous. Boss sued for copying the shape and color or a guitar stomp box, not for the design content. Behringer’s product was far superior and used modern DSP technology which Boss had not even achieved yet. Mackie also sued over the shape and color of a product. Meanwhile, many Mackie products are sold at twice the retail price of Behringer products and claim to be American made, yet are marked as originating in China. So who’s really fooling whom? Both attempts at litigation were really about holding up Behringer product releases while the existing stock of Boss and Mackie products could be sold off.
Behringer products use the same type and quality of controls, switches and IC chips as most other companies. The product is not “cheap” but inexpensive, with worldwide demand by consumers who compare the functionality and value of available products. South America and Europe are big markets these products, as many big names are expensive here but seldom marketed internationally. In fact, many big name American companies pay the original manufacturers in China and Japan for exclusive rights to market a certain product in the US. When that legal agreement runs out in one to three years, then other lesser names market that exact same product in a different package. Most companies design packages and colors, not content. Audio Technica makes products for over twenty name brands in the USA and maintain a staff of engineers here in America. Audio Technica was also disparaged much the same as Behringer, but they are the true originators of the products and time is proving out the truth.
It’s well known that the audio industry uses bloggers to distort facts and create myths to help maintain high profit margins in certain product lines. The irony is that companies like Behringer, ART, Audio Technica, Zoom, Yorkville, and some others are the true design originators with ISO 9000 standard factories, owned and operated by Americans, Germans, and Canadians. The BS that exists in this industry is intentionally created to confuse artists and musicians while mega corporations and chain marketers collude to create artificial price values. Trust me, in my forty years in this industry I have seen so many Chinese made products retailing under big brand names for three times the retail value. So again, who is scamming whom?
Consider that Mackie is really part of LOUD Technologies, a mega monster corporation that owns about fifty name brands in America! This company actually bankrupted a prestigious, forty year old speaker company in Italy by not paying for their products. This and other truths are suppressed in an industry where mega stores protect their high profit margin product lines.
Ultimately, big chain stores will not recommend low priced, low profit margin equipment, no matter how good it is. But as a small business owner, musician, and artist, I can recommend cool devices that allow real creativity and are value oriented. The well known name brands carry no extra weight with me unless their product or service is something special. The truth is most companies have no parts, information, or servicing available for their products, but ART, Apex, Behringer, and AT can all supply parts and manuals. It will surprise you which companies are really concerned about their customers. Usually they are not the big name, CEO-driven companies, who ride on their name appeal to generate value and profit. By the way, check out who Uli Behringer is and what he does for the music industry. It is quite enlightening!
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