J&R are discounting all of the Behringer pedal copies. For the uninitiated Behringer, a very inexpensive German pro audio company, recently started making reversed engineered knockoffs of very popular and expensive pedals for rock bottom prices.
I had been rather intrigued by these but never bit. Right now at J&R all their stock is selling for about $25. These include sansamp copies, Electro-Harmonix copies, Boss copies and a line 6 guitar pod copy.
I bought a Boss EQ copy and the EHX Big Muff. The picture of the "Behringer Vintage Distortion," aka the Big Muff, is on the left.
So I broke it open this weekend. Notice the silver color. Unlike the EHX original this is not metal, but silver colored plastic. Also take note of the small metal stomp in the middle. This is in fact real metal, but not a real selector switch. You know the satisfying click of putting your foot down on one of those stomps and getting the tactile response of a connection being made? No click. It is all for show. It triggers a silent and loose a/b switch. It gets the job done, but I would never use this live. I suspect these pedals are all digital and just fancy plastic houses for a programmed ROM chip.
How does it sound? Like a fucking Big Muff! I've already recorded with it. The thing is cheap, morally suspect and not durable enough to be part of a live rig, but it sounds like it is supposed to. I imagine it could be A/B'ed against the original and someone would have great difficulty telling them apart. I am intrigued to pick up the Small Stone copy, and the MXR Phaser 90 copy. The EQ is still in its packaging but I will be testing and reviewing soon. If I was a small studio owner, and I guess in some ways I am, I would pick all of these up to have a dirt cheap way to add a lot of pedals to my arsenal for clients.
