** FINALLY ** .... An Alternative to the Mackie Control Universal Pro ..... Looks Good !

Mmmmmm, looks good. Wonder how much ??

Graal


About 500-600 Euros or so.

750 USD, more or less.


Cheers!

It'd have to be a LOT better than the behringer BCF2000 ... I'm stunned at how functional it is for the price.
Though the job wheel looks good :)
 
 

I wonder how large it is?

ba_midi


It'd have to be a LOT better than the behringer BCF2000 ... I'm stunned at how functional it is for the price.
Though the job wheel looks good :)
 
 

I couldn't agree more.

I believe IMHO that the BCF must be one of the best value bits of kit ever. I have both a BCF and an MCU and while I wouldn't argue with anyone claiming that the
MCU is "better" - in value for money terms the BCF is miles in front. The only thing that the MCU can do that a BCF can't is in terms of navigation with the jog wheel and a few other functions, mainly selection related to the m2, m3, and m4 shift keys on the MCU that aren't on the BCF.


Take into account the price difference however in the UK - BCF circa £134 - MCU  £1299 and apart from snobbery I can't think of one reason to buy an MCU. Oh of course there are those that say Behringer kit = rubbish (mostly those that have never actually owned any)  but I've got several pieces of their gear and it all works great, does what it says on the can and is cheap as well.

BTW - In case your wondering why I've got an MCU, I got mine second hand at a price that was hard to say no to (so I didn't) but I'd always recommend the BCF over the MCU unless money really is no object.

Let the flaming begin.......

The problem with the BCF 2000 is its lack of touch sensitivity.  If it had that, it would be all I need.  Actually, a dream scenario would be a model with channel displays too, I guess.

Have to say the Icon didn't strike with me - like so many units, it's just too big, and it looks a bit of a mess.  All I want really are 8 faders.  I'm not interested in transport control.  I'm using an old Mackie Baby Hui at the mo - short throw faders, but it does everything else pretty well (at least the redundant transport control doesn't take up much space!).  I'm surprised there is so few alternatives in this area.... The Euphonix is, in theory the dream ticket but a) it's Mac only b) it's extremely expensive and c) the real shocker... in my experience it's woefully unreliable.

Still waiting...

FastBikerBoy

ba_midi


It'd have to be a LOT better than the behringer BCF2000 ... I'm stunned at how functional it is for the price.
Though the job wheel looks good :)

I couldn't agree more.

I believe IMHO that the BCF must be one of the best value bits of kit ever. I have both a BCF and an MCU and while I wouldn't argue with anyone claiming that the
MCU is "better" - in value for money terms the BCF is miles in front. The only thing that the MCU can do that a BCF can't is in terms of navigation with the jog wheel and a few other functions, mainly selection related to the m2, m3, and m4 shift keys on the MCU that aren't on the BCF.


Take into account the price difference however in the UK - BCF circa £134 - MCU  £1299 and apart from snobbery I can't think of one reason to buy an MCU. Oh of course there are those that say Behringer kit = rubbish (mostly those that have never actually owned any)  but I've got several pieces of their gear and it all works great, does what it says on the can and is cheap as well.

BTW - In case your wondering why I've got an MCU, I got mine second hand at a price that was hard to say no to (so I didn't) but I'd always recommend the BCF over the MCU unless money really is no object.

Let the flaming begin.......

The only problem for us users is when a company discontinues product lines.  If it's true the BCF/R2000 is or will be discontinued, then I'll be wanting to look at alternatives.
 
 

FastBikerBoy


I have no idea about Behringer future plans but as of now it's still showing on their website as a current product. I find it hard to believe they'd discontinue what must be one of their best sellers, unless of course they are going to bring out a "new improved" version, in which case I can't wait.......

I actually hope they DO bring out a new/improved version.  Can we say "Jog Wheel" ? LOL
 
But, I always worry whenever I buy hardware these days that it will either:
1) BREAK when you need it most ;)
2) Be discontinued just as you got good with it ;)
 
I would love to see a new/improved model though!
 
 

They are out there, Sweetwater for example, but others, like B&H, are showing "Discontinued" on their sites. From what I have read and heard, Mackie had a major production problem with faulty faders and spent some time looking for alternatives.

Welcome to China, and IMHO "fsck Mackie" because they are getting what they, and every other company that sends work to China, deserves.........

In all the years Mackie was in WA, have you ever heard of crap like this?
I heard of one problem, and that was with ribbon cables in certain mixers and a call to Mackie would get you the cables next day, along with another 2 year extension on your warranty.
You could of course send the unit to them as well for a free fix.

These days?

Customer service has gone down the drain.
Don't even get me going on the garbage Chinese auto parts that are flooding our shores.

BlindDog


I had one of those little Contour Shuttle PRO units years before the BCF2000, so I've never missed the jog wheel.  Now I have the BCF on the left hand and the Shuttle PRO on my right with a mixer between them, and am loving the configuration.

I have to + 1 that the BCF is one heck of a bargain for what it does.   I've not used the real MCU or any larger control surface but in the MCU emulation the BCF does everything I need and more that I have yet to figure out!

I love my Alesis Master Control!
Works GREAT with Sonar and Nuendo.

Plug it in, select the Sonar template and away it goes.
No learning.
No nothing.


Wish they had a template for Reaper and Presonous Studio One though, but most functions do work fine.

Me too!  I keep thinking I'll figure out all those buttons but hey, I have work to do...

That's a nice unit. The buttons could use some differentiation but you could solve that prob with a layover piece. Very sleek.

I use my BCF but mostly for the faders. I can never remember the button combos.

My poor BCR is gathering dust. Maybe it's time to sell it.

Jose7822

wormser


I love my Alesis Master Control!
Works GREAT with Sonar and Nuendo.

Plug it in, select the Sonar template and away it goes.
No learning.
No nothing.


Wish they had a template for Reaper and Presonous Studio One though, but most functions do work fine.

Ooooh!  That looks good.  Wished it was just a MIDI mixer though, don't need the I/Os. 
 
It doesn't seem to have a scribble pad either.  Does it have a software one?
 

No scribble pad at all unfortunately.
 

Although I can't help but think they're product name is gonna cause problems. Imagine showing up to a gig expecting a Digi Icon-D and having this little dude sitting there in its place.

That thing looks pretty DIY. Seems like someone has finally built a commercial version of the DIY controller we all wanted to build a few years ago... BEFORE the Behri unit arrived and saved all our soldering irons.

Might be a great optionfor sure but please don't try and convince me the 700C looks clunky and say this thing looks great plus remember it is still not an integrated solution... just a more affordable one running the tried and true Mackie mode we all thank Mackie for.

Thanks for the share OP.

Hey timboe, sounds really good. Not so sure you can completely compare it price point wise to the Roland unit.. there are quite a few differences.

Still a great option for a surface however I'm sure.