Have keyboard, will travel ! – The Behringer UMA25S
My Behringer UMA25S is finally here. When I placed my order, they had just been released and mine, apparently, is one of the first batch to be shipped over from Behringer City, China ! :o)
Well, so far, I am utterly impressed by this tiny bundle of fun. It is indeed very slim, and the half action keys take a little getting used to, but they are very capable and a tweak of the velocity curve had things ringing true very quickly. It feels light yet substantial and the sockets and connections at the rear are flush, firm and snug fitting. Also, the knobs and slider feel very good to use. Not loose, not tight, just….well, kinda right :o) I guess that man they pay to make sure that knobs and buttons “feel” right in use is a worthwhile investment. Thank you Lo Zhan ! ;o)
Not a vast deal more I can say about the keyboard as it is a simple affair but the Behringer ASIO driver (a derivative of the Ploytec USB Audio driver which I have used before with great success on my Event EZbus) installed first time and instantly provided 7ms stable playback latency. It was just great to have a full blown Reason track playback with no crackles on my work laptop that is designed more for running business apps than music stuff. EmulatorX & Proteus VX were handled with consumate ease too.
It’s been an overall joy to install and use ! I immediately found an error in the manual though. They refer to a table that lists the preset templates included with the UMA25S but that table doesn’t exist. I dropped Behringer support an email late last night and had a reply waiting for me when I logged on this morning ! How’s that for service ! They are sorting it as a matter of urgency :o) I don’t mind mistakes. What I mind is when a company abdicates responsibility for them. No sign of that happening here, I’m pleased to say.
The supplied gig bag is nicely padded, the headset is functional and sounds pretty good and the straps are more of a gimmick, but they do what they set out to do :o)
Hats off to Behringer once more for delivering a simple, robust product at an amazing price ! Oh, did I mention that whilst I paid £79.99 for mine, Digital Village have now dropped the price to £67.99 ! An amazing deal ! When I spoke to them last week, I was told that they had received 8 pallets full of these babies and only one unit was available for sale as all the others were already sold. I’m not surprised !
Well, the real proof is in the long term performance of this thing, and you can be sure to hear about that from me ;o)
Dear Failed Muso,
you are probably going to be appalled by my ignorance, but hee, one can not know everything! 🙁
I would like to buy a small keyboard that I can bring with me to my -unfortunately- frequent work trips…
When looking for that type of things, I have found the “Controllers” which function I understand well, but have not managed to find any small (25-35 keys) “normal” keyboards.
My question is: does the Behringer UMA25S sound without being plugged to a computer? (and that’s where you laugh at the question!)
And if it does not, which is what I suspect from the user manual, etc) is there any option for a Keyboard that size but “standalone”.
Thanks very much. The Behringer looks really like the thing to go for in any case… (and also, I _always_ need a computer in my trips, so the Behringer would not be a bad option, but would prefer something that I can bring anywhere, with or without computer…)
Cheers,
Pedro.
No worries Pedro, glad that I can help.
Ok, the Behringer is simply a controller with an audio interface built in and therefore does not contain any sound generating facilities of it’s own whatsoever. You will indeed need to hook it up to a computer or other MIDI device and use it to trigger those to get sounds.
As for small keyboards that do generate their own sounds, the first one that pops into my head is the Korg MicroX. A 25 note, full size key synthesizer with a massive collection of sounds taken straight from the Triton or created especially for it. I have tried this myself and can vouch for its awesomeness (if that’s a word !! LOL)
http://www.korg.co.uk/products/pro_keyboard/microx/pk_microx.asp
You may also want to look at the Novation Xio synth which is similar and equally stunning.
http://www.novationmusic.com/products/hardware_synths/xio/
A cheaper option may be to buy a controller like the UMA25S and hook it up to something like a Yamaha QY70 or QY100 or even a Roland PMA-5, all of which pop up regularly on eBay for not a great deal of cash and will also give you the ability to sequence. They are pocket sized devices and would certainly do the trick.
Hope that helps :o)
Hi Rob
I’m thinking of getting one but from my experience, these low-profile keyboards tend to lose the velocity in some keys. Have you noticed this phenomenon?
Any more impressions after owning it for a while?
Thanks!
I have to say that it took a little getting used to, with the half action keys, and a bit of tinkering with the velocity curves, but I’m more familiar with it now and I can’t say I have experienced any problems with uneven velocity on any of the keys.
All in all, at this stage I am still hugely impressed with the UMA25S. My only issue so far is that I am having trouble getting Reason to respond to MMC transport controls on the UMA. I am currently awaiting a response from Behringer :o)
Hi Failed Muso,
I’ve just invested in the Behringer UMA25S. Alas, I am strictly a performer, I have no idea of how or why I would use this device through a computer. I wish I had have known this before I bought it but I didn’t…
My question is I use a (albeit fairly old) Roland D10 Linear Synthesizer in my live performances, I just bought the UMA25s to dance around the stage. Can I Plug the UMA into the ROLAND if I buy some MIDI cables, and still end up doing the same thing? Can I play tunes through the UMA and have the ROLAND process them into the amp. Thanks for your help in advance. Joe
Hi Joe,
Well, firstly, if you had a PC with a USB connection, the UMA25 can act as a controller for any other MIDI device you have hooked up to your PC. It will also serve as a dedicated audio interface (soundcard) for the computer it is hooked up to. This is useful if you use digital audio workstation software (like CuBase or Logic) and will also allow you to play software synths.
But, if all you wish to do is use it as a trigger device for another MIDI hardware keyboard, all you need to do is hook up the MIDI out of the UMA25 to the MIDI in of the D10 and hey presto, you should be able to remotely play the D10. Just make sure the UMA25 is transmitting on the same MIDI channel as the D10 is set up to receive. Consult the user manuals for both products.
Better still, if you were to invest in a wireless MIDI transmitter and receiver, you could be completely cable free and do exactly the same :o)
M-Audio do such a device…
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MidAir.html
As do Kenton…
http://www.kentonuk.com/kenton/wireless_midi.shtml
and Midiworks…
http://www.midiworks.ca/products/midijet.asp
Hope that helps :o)
I tried all of the velocity settings available (as per the manual) and none of them are playable. How did you tweak yours?
…except for “Fixed” which doesn’t give any variation at all. The other settings just seem too sensitive and hard to any consistency out of 🙁
Hi dnafrequency,
I have mine set to the “soft” setting and seem to get on very well with this. I think it’s also a case of getting used to the half action keyboard. There’s less travel in the keys and therefore a reduced ability to convey expression. To be honest, this isn’t an issue for me as the UMA25S is not my main keyboard, so if I want wider levels of expression, I will use something else.
Ultimately, it probably comes down to each individuals playing style and them adpating accordingly. A bit like when you drive a different car. Everything is familiar, but the clutch needs more pressure, or the brakes need less, etc.
Hope that helps :o)
Failed Muso,
Thanks for the tip. I left the velocity curve on “soft” all day today and it’s settling in nicely. I think your car analogy holds true. It seems to be more of a muscle memory issue for me, rather than one with the keyboard sensitivity.
Hi en thanks for the review. I think I’ll buy one 🙂
But first a quick question: I installed reason 3 on my laptop. Will this program recognize the UMA25S so I can play instantly the soft synths?
Is it difficult to assign the controllers?
Thanks!!
Bart
What does the microphone and headset sound like? say compared to a standard shure sm57 does it still sound good for live performance and home recording?
I've just had a chance to use the audio interface on my UMA25S. There is ALOT of noise on the line even when nothing is plugged in. Is this normal or do I have a bunk unit?
@ mackvanderbilt – I have used the UMA25S with both Reason 3 & 4 and whilst there is no specific Remote template for it, I actually found that the Akai MPK49 template works quite well for it. But a bit of manual tweaking should get it sorted for you. If you (or anyone for that matter) finds a specific Remote template for the UMA, I'd be most grateful if you'd share it :o)
@ Leon – The supplied headset is in no way comparable to anything like the Shure SM57. I would equate it to something not much better than a good quality internet headset. It's primary function is more of something to record simple podcasts with, rather than any type of live performance. I have an AKG C444 Pro headset mic and this is light years more suitable for live use than the supplied Behringer item, both in terms of audio quality and physical robustness.
@ dnafrequency – Whilst the UMA25S is not of the same quality as higher end audio I/O devices and does exhibit a slightly higher level of "noise", I wouldn't say it was obtrusive in anyway and is quite bearable and acceptable IMHO. It may be that you do indeed have a defective unit. Try going back to the retailer for some assistance.
Hope that helps all of you guys :o)
Thanks. I asked some shop here in Belgium but the keyboard isn't yet available. 🙁
Really? That's a surprise. It's been out almost a year now. Try ordering from somewhere like Thomann.de
Hi Failed Muso,
I just got my UMA25S today…and run it on a mac using garage band…
but my question is – how do i load all the sounds that is on the CD that came with the UMA25S?
and also, without MIDI, can I use the knobs for things like reverb, decay, etc?
thanks!!
HI jogshuttle,
Not quite sure what you mean here. The UMA25S comes with a CD full of VST instrument and effects plugins as well as other virtual instruments which can be used on your Mac. If you already have a DAW or other host, just copy the stuff across and load them up.
If you don't have a host, Behringer supply a couple of Mac hosts on the CD too! :o)
Don't forget to check out the Behringer website for more freebie plugins and other updates….
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Support/U-Control-Downloads.aspx
As for the knobs, they are just controllers that send MIDI info, so on their own, they do nothing. The UMA25S is a MIDI controller and audio I/O device. All it does is send MIDI control data and behave like a soundcard for your computer. It contains no tone generator or DSP.
Hope that helps.
Thanks!
i carnt get my keyboard to change midi channel so the keys trigger on channel 2, seems to be a fault. you carnt trigger the key board unlesh its on channel 1 making it a bit useless. just a though