Behringer UMC1820

Used this pedal to control various functions like patch/song changes, backing tracks, loopers, channel mutes, and software guitar effect plugins within Apple Mainstage for a gutarist/singer live setup. Lots of pedals and banks. Painful to program manually (like a manic game of Simon Says), but there are a couple of 3rd party software programs that make the mapping more visible and easier to perform. I started simple and then added more controls. I didn't use anywhere near the 100 or so channels available. Physically the unit is quite well built and heavy so it stays where its put on stage. I'm only an occasional performer and I've only had it for a few months so can't vouch for its robustness under heavy use/gigging etc. One feature that slightly annoyed me was the LED on each pedal illuminates when the pedal is pressed but doesn't extinguish if you press again, only when you press another pedal, so if you use it for something on-off it doesn't reflect this.

I've purchased this audio interface mainly for convenience, as I have upgraded from single-channel AI. It is very convenient to have all of the available external gear connected right away (I use two synths, a guitar, and a bass).

Three stars for handling, because I have experienced difficulties with driver installation on windows 10 (maybe even my fault). The soundcard was working great before it started to produce clicking noises (outside DAW as well). The full removal of drivers and re-installation has solved the problem though. Keep in mind that it is mandatory to install UMC Asio driver if you want all of your inputs to be recognized and if you want to be able to play sound on your PC or MAC along with the DAW.

Five stars for features, because definitely at this price point it is the most feature-packed AI. Lots of channels, good sounding preamps, mix between sound from inputs and sound from the DAW (good if you practice instruments and need no latency). Also, I love that headphone outputs are loud and there are two of them.

Sound-wise, can't say that this particular device somehow is better than the competitors at this price point. I think that it should be kind of neutral and this is the point that you do not want it to be colored or something.

Great quality for the price, everything feels sturdy, with no air in the gain knobs.

I use this interface in the studio sometimes but the main usage is for live sets and gigs. If you are looking for an high end studio designed ADC/DAC that's not what you need (obviously), subtile crackle and noises are ordinary with the UMC1820. But if you are looking for an affordable and easy to move and versatile interface...here it is, this Behringer black brick will follow you everywhere and everywhen you need it, fits in a backpack, in a keyboard bag or in a flight standard hand luggage. Essential In/Out (8 mic-line-inst in/Main L-R + 8 line out), gain knob, pad and line/inst switch for each tracks, two separated phones out with dedicated knobs , MIDI In/Out, SPDIF/ADAT...in conclusion everything you need to play around. I traveled all around Europe with this interface and it never let me down and never made problems. The value of the UMC1820 depends on your particular needs, as everything.

The Behringer UMC1820 replaced my Zoom R16 in my home studio as with every Mac update the Zoom was just starting to have more and more compatibility issues. The Behringer does not need drivers for Mac, so it works instantly and seamlessly. I use it mainly to record vocals and acoustic guitar in my home studio, and also other instruments.
The Midas branded preamps sound very nice, definitely well above the price. The features in the front of the unit are plentiful, and I really like the fact that there are two separate headphone channels. Also, the speaker mute button is something I don't know how I managed without so far.
It would be nice to have all of the XLR inputs on the front of the unit, but this is just my preference and it would definitely have limited the features in the unit. I have been using the unit for a bit over two months now and I am very happy about the purchase.

I bought this interface just because I was in need of more inputs. As soon as I started using it, I found great benefit in having a number of outputs as well. With them, I could make various sends and returns. It's super handy and serves a wide variety of recording/mixing situations. Another handy thing is that all 8 ins have combination connectors, so there can all take line level XLR cables, as well as instrument level jack cables.

By now, we all figured out that Behringer's low prices don't necessarily reflect poor build quality. UMC1820 feels quite solid.

On top of everything, you can add 10 more channels through ADAT and SPDIF if you get external preamps.

Never had the problem with drivers. I've been using it mainly with Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Garage Band.

The only downside is that the highest sample rate is 96 kHz. Honestly, I rarely have to record or mix in higher sample rate, but it would have been amazing if it would go to 192 kHz

I would strongly recommend this interface to anyone who needs a good amount of inputs and can't afford to break a bank.

I use my UMC1820 for recording music and speech and for playing back surround sound. I use it as a USB class-compliant device on Linux - it was easy to set up and runs under JACK very reliably with no dropouts.

I can't fault it in terms of audio quality - the inputs and outputs are very quiet. The dual headphone outputs and monitoring controls work well for recording with one or two musicians, and it seems to drive "difficult" headphones (e.g. HD650s) happily.

The unit as a whole seems solidly built. Inputs are on balanced XLR/jack combos, which are plastic but are bolted to the panel so they seem reasonably robust; outputs are on balanced jacks.

There are some minor downsides, as you'd expect for the price. The gain controls are a bit fiddly so it's difficult to set levels exactly and it's easy to knock one control while adjusting another. There's isn't quite enough gain to use an SM58-style dynamic mic (although it's quiet enough that you can boost it in software afterwards).

The monitor mix is just a straight sum of the analogue inputs - there's no built-in DSP mixer. The power supply's an external brick, which isn't very neat in a rack. And the channel numbers are right at the bottom of the panel, so they're impossible to see unless the unit's at eye height - I've added some labels to the top of mine!

But overall for the price this is excellent value, and I've been very happy with mine.