Behringer BCR 2000 Vs. Novation Zero SL MKII

ICN

How are things Guys?

Editing this post, cos my scope has changed a bit.

Wondering if any of ye have either one of these and what you think of it?

Behringer BCR2000 http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/IEP/Behringer-BCR-2000-B-Control-Rotary-USB-Midi-controller/art-PCM0003513-000

Novation Zero SL MKII http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/IEP/Novation-ZeRO-SL-MKII-Midi-Controller-USB-Contr.-mit-Automap-und-USB/art-SYN0003513-000





Would love to know if anyone is using with with Logic in particular.. but am interested in ease of use / build quality - all the usual stuff.

Doing a bit of checking around at the moment - so thought I'd rack your opinions.

DamagedTrax

the only piece of behringer ive ever bought!

they are fantastic. ive a bcf and a bcr. been live gigging with the same 2 units for 5 years and they never once let me down.

not sure on integration with logic but in ableton its piss easy. point and click.

infact, since i dont play live anymore i would be interested in selling my bcr - 100 and its yours.

ICN

Thats cool DT - Good to hear about the reliability being 100%

I can get stuff trade now from a friend - so can pick up a new one for around that price & send it back if I dont get on with it - but appreciate the offer Mate :cool:


Been looking at the Novation Zero SL MKII as well. I've got a Nocturn, which although is handy, I've just not really used it as much as I thought I would.

Ideally I want something that can be used for the Faders on the Mixer, or for jamming, can be assigned to individual channel Lopass / Hipass's & do mutes.

And something that aint gonna break the bank. Really liked the BCR2000, due to the amount of Pots, but just heard back from a Guy this morning who made a Logic Template for it & he said it cant do Mutes.. so I dont know.

Edit: He said he can assign "Solo" in Logic, but has not been able to locate the "Mute".. and he's had it 4 years. Oh dear!

If I can assign it to a loads of hi/lo passes in the mixer then I might pick one. up. Waiting for the reply.

ICN

Yeah, was just told that you can link everything up in the environment in Logic to run the stuff on the inserts.. so that looks good to me.

This French Dude's got templates here for Logic (He speaks English if you ever need to ask a Q ):http://www.logic-nation.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=127&func=view&catid=68&id=1582



The Novation though has the bonus of Automap & it'll mute/solo anything.. so that looks pretty cool too.

If anyone is using a Zero MKII & can give an insight into what its like, I'd be very appreciative.

ICN

DT - could you answer me a quick question Mate? Been looking around for the last hour, thought it would be quicker to ask you.


Can you do pages of assignments in the BCR2000?

SO.. You would not be limited to the 8 channels.. you could hit next page (similar to Automap, if you are aware of it) & have another XX amount of controls? and then another page.. and another..

Doge

What would make me buy the remote Zero over the BCR,
is the LCD Screen.

I prefer controls that are named, like in real hardware,
and this is the closest you're going to get for now.

I like to take my eyes away from the screen of the computer.

The Remote Zero MK1 has an additional LCD over the the sliders,
which i'd rather over the MKII tbh, even though you're missing out on a few features.

I'd end up desoldering every encoder on the MK1 also, and removing all the detents, as they'd just annoy me.

ICN

The Screens, yeah, that looked good on the MK I alright.

The MK II has the endless dials, which I think would be handy. Still have a bit of reading to do with the manuals to see which one suits best.

Each apprears to do something that the other one doesnt. The Zero looks to only be able to control Pan's, Sends, Vol, Mute & Solo in the Mixer in Logic.

It doesnt seem to be able to contol Insert Effects parameters without them being open at the time.. You can use 2 Automap controllers @ the same time though, & I've got a Nocturn.. so I think I'm gonna mess around a bit with that before I do anything.


The BCR2000 cant Mute/Unmute as far as I have found out.. but its controllers look to be more flexible as it can be routed to pretty much anything according to a Guy I was Emailing.

I've got a Edriol PCR300, with lots of Sliders & Buttons & Pots already.. so I just need to figure out what I can & cannot do with that & the Nocturn in Logic before I start reinventing the wheel.

I've been jamming in Ableton with the Keyboard & really enjoy it. I'm looking for a similar way to doing it in Logic. I really dont like the way Live sounds. Eveything just seems a little dirty & muffled compared to the same loops played in Logic. I use Logic more, so I am more comfortable with it I suppose.

My thinking so far -

Aesthetics & Automap - Zero MK II.

Value & Most of the Features that I need (but more effort to set up) - BCR2000

Regardless - Need to do some more digging.

Doge

I've never used Logic, but surely the controls you mention can be mapped, via a midi learn function or whatever?

You may have to do it manually, but it should definitely be possible,
unless the developers are complete idiots.

ICN

Well thats it Man.. I've not got much experience in mapping midi.. but I've done a bit, so I'll just have to sus it out for myself.

I'm wondering if theres a language barrier there for the BCR Guy in France, as English is not his 1st language.. maybe he just cant find the info he needs in french.. or the developers are sham's - Toss a coin! :pac:

Do you have either the MK I or II yourself?

Quiggers

as for the pages question, the behringer has 16 presets and you can map these to banks of 8 channel strips if you wish and use the preset buttons to jump between banks.

with an open controller like the bcr it really is up to you what it can do, i've had mine 3 years and i'm still finding new ways to use it, just keep the manual nearby as it has a lot of options

ICN

Nice one Quiggers.


Found this last night - Looks pretty cool.

$40.. Turns "Any" generic Midi controller into an emulation of a Logic / Mackie Control.

http://www.opuslocus.com/lcxmu/index.php

They've got a Forum there too, so you can see all the issues & pros / cons that people have had.. but the Guy who made it is very responsive.



Theres a guy here thats done a Vid of him using his BCR2000 with Logic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqkH2kc9iGI



I got onto Novation about the ins & Outs of whats possible with Automap. Seems that it can only affect something if the gui window of what you need to use is open.. so dont think that'll suit me. You can do a Mackie Emulation with it too on the Mixer, mutes, vol, sends etc.. so I'm going to give that a try before I go buying anything. But I'm very impressed with the BCR after seeing that Vid.

Appears to give you much more control. Cheaper than the Zero, so Win/Win.

http://witez.blogspot.com/2010/08/bcr2000-and-logic-9.html

http://witez.blogspot.com/

http://www.witez.net/IMG_0354.jpg