Behringer UMX25 25-Key MIDI Controller User Reviews at zZounds

"Decent value for your money." submitted January 9, 2008

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Features

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Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: hobbyist

Music Style: pop/rock/lo-fi/garage

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Sound: No sound (it's a midi controller. However, the included freeware (also available on the net if you want to hunt it all down) is OK. Feature: This is the weak point of this product. There is no LED to indicate patches, groups and stuff. It reminds me of old electronic devices from years past. Come to think of it even my old Casio keyboards had LEDS. Also, an interface for the PC to store and load presets would be a great feature for people who like to tweak their synths and stuff a lot. I have a Behringer V-Amp with this feature. How come not this product? It does have all the basic features, 1 or 2 octaves up or down, personalizing knobs and buttons, etc. I was surprised that even with batteries you need a power adapter to use the midi out cable instead of the USB. USB cable and this weird USB to audio-out cable are included as is a cutback version of Ableton Live (never used it, I'm happy with my old Logic 5.1) and the aforementioned freeware. Ease of Use: It is pretty much plug and play. The included ASIO drivers seem to work well and were easy to install. The setting of knobs and buttons is also pretty darn simple. No complaints there. The instructions are pretty light and I'm pretty sure I have found a couple of mistakes already but not bad in general compared to what I have seen for other products. Quality: I can't talk about durability cuz I have only had it for a couple of days. The feel of the keys is pretty nice. I was surprised when I tried it next to a M-Audio Axiom 25. The Axiom was a little better but not much. For me the feel of the keys is just fine. The adjustable action of the keys is nice too. However, even at its most sensitive setting it is still a little stiffer than I would like. Value: Pretty good bang for the buck, especially for the feel of the keys. Manufacturer Support: Don't know. Haven't had any issues (yet). The Wow Factor: It's a little boring without the LED lights and it's all black on silver. Overall: Hopefully this controller will last me for a long time. However, if I had to replace it I might try an M-Audio Oxygen. The enigma software that comes with the Oxygen is what seems most interesting to me about that keyboard.

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"Good Controller" submitted April 15, 2006

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Musical Background: Active musician

Music Style: rock

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Sound: Just got this piece and im happy with it. For 100 bucks its just a great deal and while not the most fantastic controller out there fits the bill. It's also nice htat it comes w/ the usb interface and cool software. Feature: Comes with cool software and a usb interface. Ease of Use: Manual sucks, gots to figure stuff on your own. Thank God for web forums. Quality: Cheap plastic, but for 100 bucks what do you expect. Value: Bang for the buck, can't beat it. Manufacturer Support: Don't know. Overall: This piece will be good until I'm famous and can afford anything i want.

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"Nice mechanics, nice feel, not so many features" submitted May 11, 2006

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Electronic Music Hobbyist

Music Style: Pop/Electronic

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VERIFIED BUYER

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Sound: Controller, has no sound. Feature: Cons: No RPN/NRPN control, no bundled software to edit button assignments (assignments are made on the instrument), Knobs can be assigned only to send CC values, buttons assignments aren't very flexible either. Does NOT fit into standard laptop backpack (one inch longer, you can still carry it unless it's raining). USB audio interface does not come with native drivers and does not have an earphone jack (RCA only, works fine otherwise, ASIO works) Pros: Keyboard has very nice feel, is even slightly weighted, velocity-sensive (and sensitivity is adjustable), pitch bend/modulation works perfectly without skipping values. After playing it Oxygen 8 feels like a cheap toy. Has one-page memory recall and auto-save. Comes with a USB sound interface. Ease of Use: No need to read the manual, quite intuitive. Quality: Feels nice and sturdy, looks nice and fits my laptop color scheme :) Value: Good keyboard, feels nice, even has a free Manufacturer Support: Well, they replied to my request about NRPN control quite fast. Not that they could be helpful, but that's because the feature simply was not there :) The Wow Factor: I didn't buy Oxygen and actually waited two months until release of this product, no regrets still (because keyboard feel is more important for me than feature set) Overall: This is a nice portable solution, however, I'd want it to be more portable and to have more features. Sure, lack of features can be worked around with MidiOX, and portability fixed with a larger backpack, but I'd be more happy if it came in the package. Still, Oxygen seems to be nearly the only controller that is shorter, and no other device can beat the price. Also, I thought of replacing it with Oxygen, but the keys on Behringer are so much nicer that I decided to keep it. So it's features vs. mechanics, if you are for the latter - this will work perfectly for you (and you will be unhappy with oxygen).

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