Speaking of triggering things; what's the low down on the Behringer Swing?

[Oogie Wa Wa]

How well would the Swing work for adding a second keyboard on my Juno DS61 via 5-pin MIDI for bass duties? In a live situation?

It looks like I could hook up the IN cable to the DS OUT, hook up a power supply, set it to MIDI ch 1, assign a bass guitar patch to MIDI ch 1 and have at it?

It would free up all 61 keys on the DS, normally I only have 3 octaves left to put other keyboard functions.

Cheap option, and apparently it's causing quite a stir, essentially cloning an Arturia KEYSTEP37 (still in production) for half the price. People hating on Behringer big-time on the Interwebs (which I guess isn't a new thing anyway.)

It does a bunch of other stuff, like 1-key chords using only the notes of a chosen scale, guitar strumming emulation for Wang or Chung note timing, and a whole bunch of other stuff I'll never need live on stage. And yeah, I know the keys are a tad smaller, but for my bass playing that might work out well.

Thanks as usual. Should this be in the Roland sub-forum? If so, mods, please . . .

 

[happyrat1]

Looks like a knockoff of the Keystep but I don't know the quality of construction.

Arturia keystep, pro, beatstep and pro all have metal chassis and are built like tanks.

Personally my recommendation is the keystep pro.

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

Looks like a knockoff of the Keystep but I don't know the quality of construction.

Arturia keystep, pro, beatstep and pro all have metal chassis and are built like tanks.

Personally my recommendation is the keystep pro.

Hey, thanks, as usual! Always appreciated. I got sidetracked for a while.

Since all I want this for is to be an input device, I think I'll go for it just to see if I can get it to work. The try playing in a live setting. A cheap way to try using two boards on stage to see if I like it. If so, I can get better. If not, I can get more than a 61 key unit.

Either way I can take this, an interface and a laptop pretty much anywhere, like our upcoming 3 months somewhere warmer than here!!!

 

[happyrat1]

This thing is MIDI capable and as a bonus, it doesn't need a computer to sound good.

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

This thing is MIDI capable and as a bonus, it doesn't need a computer to sound good.

Not quite what I'm after, I'll be playing almost exclusively left hand bass with this and everything else on the DS live on-stage. Using it to mess around is a side benefit. Plus it's USB, both my Juno and my interface use DIN directly.

 

[happyrat1]

Just spitballin. Personally I just ordered one for the summertime when I'm lazing around in a green space or am. invited to a friend's to jam. And USB will work just fine when I'm at home surrounded by gear. I use MIDI routing software on my mac mini.

And it's no smaller than the keystep. 37 keys. A bare minimum. If you're putzing around in a studio or tapping out a riff on an iPhone it's plenty enough to work with.

If you're using it for live performance I might see the DIN MIDI as a necessity but for me it's not a dealbreaker.

This will sound so much better than the Casio SA-76 I've been using for practice sessions in the great outdoors and I really don't want to lug around some 60 key monster when I'm out in the park.

For me it's definitely a toy but a very useful one.

Your intentions may differ substantially from mine.

 

[happyrat1]

Not quite what I'm after, I'll be playing almost exclusively left hand bass with this and everything else on the DS live on-stage. Using it to mess around is a side benefit. Plus it's USB, both my Juno and my interface use DIN directly.

So have you received the Behringer Swing yet and how do you like it?

Is the chassis metal or plastic?

I could see huge cost cuts over the Arturia by going with cheaper materials.

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

So have you received the Behringer Swing yet and how do you like it?

Is the chassis metal or plastic?

I could see huge cost cuts over the Arturia by going with cheaper materials.

Ha, still in shipping, probably on a slow boat from China.

Hey, while I have your attention, I left my Juno power supply at home. What would you think of using a 9vdc guitar pedal power supply if I can't find a Roland one locally. The current rating on the factory web page shows 600ma, so a 1 amp one would work. Can't find the polarity anywhere, not even on the case, I might be able to find an inverter cable. We're away from home for three months. Thanks!

 

[happyrat1]

If and ONLY if the voltage, polarity and minimum current are a match.

 

[Biggles]

My Roland Boss GT100 power supply failed so I just walked into my local Music Store and they had a compatible one.

Suggest you call in at a Radio Spares and buy a cheap meter, then go to a Music Store that has Roland kit and use the test meter to determine polarity.

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

Tx! Spent some research time, Searched the area, found a music store, got a Pig Hog 9vdc center negative 1 Amp supply. They even had me bring the Juno in to try it. Seventeen bucks in nice family store that knew what they were talking about.

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

OK, a followup. Got the Swing, hooked it up, set a few things, and it worked! In like 10 minutes. Scary, it's almost like I'm starting to understand this stuff.

Kinda cool, you can tell the patches came from elsewhere in the Roland universe; the DS doesn't have aftertouch, but some of them have it turned on, mostly vibrato. Whoda thunkit.

Thanks for the eighty-third time folks!

 

[happyrat1]

It clicks like a SOB.

Is it metal or plastic construction?

 

[Oogie Wa Wa]

It clicks like a SOB.

Is it metal or plastic construction?

Metal chassis, plastic top housing. Kinda chunky for it's size, actually, I was surprised.

I'm sure a lot of that clicking is newness, it's when you release the keys, and the phone mic was pointed right at it. The powered speaker is on the floor at the far end of the Juno, not tilted, set to a low volume.

Worst case is my mic picks it up, but the Senheiser 935e has a pretty tight pattern.

Notice that the 'stand' is an ironing board, we're renting a small house in Florida away from the NW Ohio grunge for three months!

Actually thinking of mounting it just below the DS and not sticking out very far anyway. Once the MIDI channel is set, I don't have a whole lot of use for the controls above the keys, just the pitch and mod pads are all I need, if ever. It's just simple controller. For now.

Edit: Seventy bucks for a new toy, hard to beat that. Edit2: By toy I meant useful, necessary tool, just in case my wife reads this.

 

[happyrat1]

It sounded really loud.

Arturia uses a Fatar action in the Keystep.

Behringer is probably using some Chinese knockoff to cut costs.