Behringer BFC2000

[antiClick]

Hi!

I'v been thinkin in buying a controller. I'm in need for real faders.

Is the behringer controller workin ok with Reaper? Any problems? Is it doggy?
Can it control plugins?
Can two controllers be attached and use it as a 16 faders thing?



Thanks so much for the info
Any documentation resource for programmig it would be very welcome

[BishopJD]

Originally Posted by antiClick

Hi!

I'v been thinkin in buying a controller. I'm in need for real faders.

Is the behringer controller workin ok with Reaper? Any problems? Is it doggy?
Can it control plugins?
Can two controllers be attached and use it as a 16 faders thing?

I read sometime back that several Reaperites were having good success using the BCF2000. I was looking into buying one of the C-Control keyboards with hopes that it would relieve some of the cramped conditions in my studio, however, I was not certain that it would handle all of the DAW control stuff I was interested in........So.........I order a BCF2000 last week and I am currently awaiting delivery. I guess I will continue to control my keyboard related plugins (B4, Ivory, ect....) with my Studiologic SL-990 and then use the BCF2000 just like I would an actual console (volume, pan, play, rec, rewind, ect.....). Anyway, I guess you could say that I'm already committed, so let's hope it works when it gets here. I will post my results once I have had the opportunity to try it out.

Blessings
BishopJD

[antiClick]

I'll wait for your comments

Thankx in advance Mr. Bishop!!

[flight]

The BCF2000 works fine in Reaper. I have one and use it all the time. And there are a couple of different ways to set it up. You could do a search on "BCF2000" here to find previous postings about it.

I understand that they can be daisy chained to allow multiple units. I only have one, so I've not tried it personally. But you can actually accomplish something similar by just clicking through the presets, so that P1 controls the first eight tracks, P2 the next eight and so on up to, I believe it's 32 presets. I've mislaid my manual or I'd look it up for you. However, you can go online to the Behringer site for the specs if you're interested.

I've use the preset switching method to do up to 24 tracks so far, and it works fine.

[BishopJD]

Originally Posted by flight

The BCF2000 works fine in Reaper. I have one and use it all the time.

That makes me feel better knowing that the two (Reaper and Behringer) get along :-)
My unit should be here first of the week and I can't wait to dig in.
Oh, and by the way, I checked out the manual on Behringer's website and it seems to be laid out quite nicely. Looks like it's gonna be pretty easy to set up. They also have some various emulation modes and presets available on the download page. Are you using the standard B-control mode or did you set up one of the Mackie Control templates on your unit?

Blessings
BishopJD

[artkau]

Heya Bishop, be sure to update the firmware. Once the driver is installed you can use the surface for fx and feedback faders. Very happy with mine.

[BishopJD]

Originally Posted by artkau

Heya Bishop, be sure to update the firmware. Once the driver is installed you can use the surface for fx and feedback faders. Very happy with mine.

Thanks for the advice, just went to the Behringer site and downloaded the firmware utility and the latest update. I'll be ready to go when it gets here!

[BishopJD]

OK,

I finally got the chance to tinker with the new BCF2000 this morning. The unit "seems" to be built pretty well. The faders and knobs have a nice feel (even when compared to the Mackie Control which is much more expensive than this Behringer). The first thing i did was update the firmware which went off without a hitch using the little utility provided on the Behringer Website. Reading the section in the Reaper Manual on setting up a Control Surface and reading the actual BCF manual proved helpful. I did hit a little snag when I began to set up some of my own presets using the BC-Edit program which is also a download from Behringer. The software would recognize the BCF2000 but would not allow me to send my settings from the software back to the control surface. However, I found that if you are using the current JAVA Runtime version it is a no-go. The BC-Edit program will only work with version 1.4.2_05 or earlier. So, I just downloaded the older version of JAVA installed it and presto! works like a charm.

Now to the Reaper side of things. If you read the manual you will have no problem setting this thing up to control any number of parameters in Reaper. Since I have only been fooling with this for a couple of hours now, I haven't got much further than setting up the basic Volume, Pan, Solo, Mute, Arm, and transport controls. I have Preset 1 set for tracks 1 - 8 and Preset 2 set for 9 - 16. Setting up does take a little time, so this is as far as I have gotten. The BCF controls the software without any problems.

Now a question.....The BCF handles the task of controlling my parameters in Reaper, but am I right in assuming that Reaper cannot, in turn, control the BCF. If this is possible then I must be missing something somewhere, because I can find nowhere to enable parameter feedback. In other words, if I move fader in the mixer with the mouse it does not respond on the BCF. If I am overlooking something I wish someone would clue me in, then I would be the happiest man in the world. (Not that I'm not already happy).

Blessings
BishopJD

[maifeng]

Originally Posted by BishopJD

Now a question.....The BCF handles the task of controlling my parameters in Reaper, but am I right in assuming that Reaper cannot, in turn, control the BCF. If this is possible then I must be missing something somewhere, because I can find nowhere to enable parameter feedback. In other words, if I move fader in the mixer with the mouse it does not respond on the BCF.

Did you set up your BCF2000 under Preferences-->Control Surfaces-->Add new? You can choose either to use the BCF2000 mode directly or to run it in Mackie emulation mode. Both modes work flawlessly and will give you instant parameter feedback!

[rrroscar]

Thanks for the Java-tip, BishopJD! I recently did a complete reinstall, so of course I didn't have ArchaicJavaRuntime™ on my box. Been bugging me for a while, but I've been too busy to dive into it. Not it JustWorks™ again.

[flight]

Originally Posted by maifeng

Did you set up your BCF2000 under Preferences-->Control Surfaces-->Add new? You can choose either to use the BCF2000 mode directly or to run it in Mackie emulation mode. Both modes work flawlessly and will give you instant parameter feedback!

Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and in this case I would LOVE to be wrong), but if you set up under Control Surfaces you gain parameter feedback but lose the ability to alter any of the default control assignments. In other words, the BCF2000 comes with factory presets, and these are what Reaper uses. I have never found a way to, say, assign a "track record arm" function to a control on the BCF when running under "Control Surfaces".

Anybody know something I don't?

[echosystm]

Trust me on this, I've been in and out of the midi controller world many times over...

The need for real faders embodies epic failure and unmet expectations.

If you must get a midi controller, I'd suggest the Novation Remote SL Zero. Beats the pants off BCF-2000s, and even Mackie Controls IMO.

[artkau]

I own the BCF, if you install ALL THE UPDATES AND DRIVERS then you have parameter feedback AND CONTROLLABLE FX.

Drove me NUTS!

Just install ALL THE DRIVERS

[antiClick]

Hi!
Can that behringer knobs be automaped?

I'd like to insert the same EQ plugin in every track, and be able to control that EQ. So if I change track selection, the knobs would be remaped to control the EQ from the last selected track.

That would be very very useful
Would it be possible?

[artkau]

Heya AntiClick

nope, sorry dude. l controller per channel, no automapping.

[antiClick]

Originally Posted by artkau

Heya AntiClick

nope, sorry dude. l controller per channel, no automapping.

I believe it's technically possible just by bringing to Reaper a feature like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbeXIwNfuw


....it seems possible? Justin?

[flight]

Originally Posted by artkau

I own the BCF, if you install ALL THE UPDATES AND DRIVERS then you have parameter feedback AND CONTROLLABLE FX.

Drove me NUTS!

Just install ALL THE DRIVERS

Loaded up under Preferences->Control Surfaces or under Preferences->MIDI Devices?

I'll go look for new drivers, but I thought I had the latest. I then edited the presets on my unit using the Behringer utility, but when I hooked it up to Reaper it reverted back to the defaults. Is there something else I need to do here? I am dying to be able to alter just a few settings and still keep the feedback...

To be specific, the default BCF preset 1 uses the top row of buttons to solo tracks. Say I wanted them to arm for recording instead. I have BCEdit, so I can alter the presets to send whatever data to Reaper I want, but I have no idea what MIDI CC to send to get Reaper to arm the specified track. Is there a list somewhere of MIDI/Reaper commands, similar to the list of keyboard shortcuts?

[flight]

If anybody from the development team is checking this thread, I dug around and found a BCF2000.keymapfile in a Reaper subdirectory. I can find nothing on keymapfiles in the manual.

I have a suspicion that this is involved in connecting the BCF via MIDI. If so, can it be altered? what do the different columns map to, and where might one find info on programming for different functionality via a MIDI control surface? Is there a mapping between all of Reaper's functions and MIDI CC's?

[bardo]

Bump!
I could use this answer also

Bardo