Behringer X-Touch

385

Universal DAW Remote Controller

  • For studio and live applications
  • Supports HUI and Mackie Control protocol
  • 9 Touch-sensitive 100 mm motor faders
  • 8 LCD Displays for channel identification and other parameters
  • Ethernet interface for RTP (Real-time Protocol) MIDI and BEHRINGER X32 remote control
  • 8 Assignable rotary controls
  • 92 Buttons for direct access of key functions
  • Built-in 2x2 USB/MIDI interface for direct connection from Mac or PC
  • 2 Connectors for foot switches
  • Dimensions: (H x W x D) 100 x 452 x 301 mm
  • WeightL 4.3 kg
  • Suitable transport bag: Art.479532 (not included)
  • Suitable case: Art.330507 (not included)
Available since August 2015
Item number 368658
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
USB Yes
Bluetooth No
5-pole DIN MIDI Yes
Ethernet Yes
Fader 9
Rotary Encoders 8
Audio I/O No
Transport Function Yes
Footswitch connection Yes
Foot Controller Connection Yes
Bus-Powered No
Jog Yes
Joystick No
£433
Free shipping incl. VAT
In stock within 7-9 weeks
In stock within 7-9 weeks

This product is expected back in stock soon and can then be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
1

Flexible control of sound and light

With its X-Touch series, which is designed in Germany, Behringer now offers MIDI controllers that are based on its older X32 series and can be used to control a wide range of applications - from theatre to club to home studio. The X-Touch is equipped with nine touch-sensitive motorised faders, eight rotary encoders, and 92 illuminated buttons for direct access. Each of the rotary controls features a collar of orange LEDs for clear visual orientation when making parameter adjustments, while each channel strip has an eight-stage LED chain for level indication. The rear of the X-Touch houses a range of different connection options, including USB and MIDI ports as well as three pedal connections.

A feature-packed controller

For users who require more than eight channels, Behringer has equipped the X-Touch with two layers that can be toggled using the buttons in the lower right-hand corner, thus giving the user a full 16 channels. The eight rotary encoders have infinite travel and feature a push facility to which the user can assign their choice of functions. MIDI data can be sent to the Behringer X-Touch either via USB or via a five-pin connector, and the two additional USB connections on the back of the unit allow input devices such as mice and keyboards to be connected or several controllers to be operated in series. As mentioned above, the rear panel also includes two dedicated footswitch connections and one foot controller input for external remote control. The scope of delivery additionally includes a USB cable and a power cable.

Flexible and robust for home, club, and studio use

Whether it's being used in a live environment or home studio application, the Behringer X-Touch will fit onto virtually any work surface thanks to its compact dimensions, and its four rubber feet will ensure a firm grip wherever it is placed. The coloured LEDs clearly indicate whether a channel is switched to mute or solo, and the Behringer X-Touch also features an integrated Mackie Control emulation that makes it possible to control any desired DAW with ease. The onboard USB interface allows the user to carry out initial operation of the X-Touch quickly and easily, without needing to manually install drivers.

About Behringer

The company, which was founded in Germany by Uli Behringer and now manufactures its products in China, has been known for affordable and great-value equipment since its very first product, the Studio Exciter F. An array of mixing consoles (such as the Eurodesk MX8000), signal processors, and later sound amplification and monitoring equipment, has made it possible for countless musicians to fit out their home studios, practice rooms, and mobile PAs within budget limits that were previously unthinkable. The acquisition of other companies, including Midas, Klark Teknik, and TC Electronic, meant that new product groups were added - and also resulted in the technical expertise of these companies being incorporated into product development.

Convenient control via Mackie Control or HUI

Pressing and holding down the Select button while switching on the Behringer X-Touch takes the user to the configuration menu, where they can select the mode in which they wish to start the device. A choice of Mackie Control (MC) and HUI is available here and, from firmware version 1.15 onwards, the device can also be used to control an X-Air mixer, allowing the user to switch between Mackie and HUI during operation. The Behringer X-Touch can be operated via USB, via both MIDI ports, or via a network, and plug-ins can be selected and operated easily and directly via the encoders. Automations can be programmed using the Read/Off, Write, Touch, Latch, and Trim buttons, while the Behringer X-Touch additionally features special buttons to facilitate DAW operation - including Autopunch, Cycle On/Off, and the activation of a metronome via the Click button.

385 Customer ratings

4.5 / 5

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254 Reviews

Z
Quickly became an indispensable tool for me
Zwavelbron 07.06.2019
My use case for the X-Touch is as a DAW controller for Cubase in a home studio. I use it for transport control, setting markers, volume and panning, and other DAW control (e.g. arming tracks, metronome toggle (custom shortcut), monitor toggle (custom shortcut))

I don't use the faders and knobs for plugin control etc., I use my master keyboard for those since that allows me to change the CC numbers more easily.

The positive:
- Since I started using this in Cubase, I can't work well without it anymore. It speeds up my mixing workflow so much compared to just using mouse+keyboard. It's also much easier to control the recording process with the X-Touch when I'm playing guitar or keyboard. Need to record DI + wet signal to separate tracks? Just press both 'rec/arm' buttons on the X-Touch at the same time.
- Build quality feels very solid, faders feel sturdy.
- Reliable, no issues in operation yet after 4 months of intensive use.
- The touch sensitive faders are useful for automatically selecting channels, no need to press a button first. However, that option does exist as well, if you want to select a channel without touching the fader and risking a volume change. It's great to have both options!
- Great integration with Cubase, the customizable shortcuts open up a world of possibility.
- Has 2 pass-through USB ports, which I use to connect some other music-related gear, allowing me to turn all of it on/off with a single switch - the X-Touch power button.
- Uses a standard power cord which is therefore easily replaceable.
- Motorized faders just look awesome in general.
- Much cheaper than an actual Mackie yet I don't really see a reason why that would be better. In fact, I prefer the X-Touch' separate track displays to the Mackie's combined track display. The X-Touch also shows the volume per channel during playback with a typical volume 'bar', which looks great in the total channel overview, while the Mackie just shows it using a single LED.

The negative (X-Touch specific):
- The track displays are not readable under an angle, but I solved that by tilting the whole X-Touch, which somehow feels more natural to control that way for me as well.
- Toggling between parameter names and parameter values in the track displays is a non-sticky option. I prefer to see the values, but the default is to show the parameter name. Every time I switch fader banks (or restart the device), I have to re-set that option if I want to see values instead.

The negative (Mackie-protocol limitations):
- The track display hardware supports different colors for the backlights, which would be an awesome feature to even more quickly correlate the channels to the ones in my DAW. However, this does not work with a DAW due to limitations in the Mackie protocol. This is NOT actually a limitation in the X-Touch itself; the much more expensive Mackie controllers have the same limitation. It only works over ethernet when connected to a Behringer X32 (have not been in a position to try that, so I cannot verify it)
- Buttons can have different functions in different DAWs and applications, so you may have to find and print a template to put on it for easier use. The standard names don't map well to Cubase, which I'm using.
- Faders sometimes do not appear to go very smoothly. This is not a hardware issue, but it is because some DAWs send Mackie updates with a relatively low frequency (so instead of a 'diagonal line' when increasing volume, the controller receives a 'staircase' from the DAW). Luckily there is a free tool floating around online that can intercept and interpolate these updates, which improves smoothness.

Useful note:
- The protocol is MIDI-based, which makes it universally compatible with many things. However, if you only plan to use the faders and knobs for volume/panning, like me, you may want to disable this device in your DAW's regular MIDI inputs to prevent unintentional changes to your virtual instruments when pushing buttons and moving faders/knobs :)
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H
Okay, but not without its flaws
Hushikun 26.01.2021
Overall, this is a nice piece of kit to help you free your hand from the mouse. I've had this for a few years now and it's still going strong. It's well built (mostly) and for the price, you do get a lot for your money. That said, there are a few niggling issues I'd like to point out.

Now, I use this for interfacing with my DAW and if you (like me) were/are swayed by the fact that the LCD scribble strips can change colour, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed as this feature is only available if you're using it with the Behringer's X32 products. Whilst this isn't entirely the Behringer's fault (as it is technically impossible to get them to change colour through the Mackie protocol without some technical knowledge), their product pages and publications all show multi-coloured screens with no mention of the feature only working with other X32 products. It's not the biggest issue in the world, but when you're working with loads of tracks, it would have been nice to have some way to change the colour of the screens.

On the subject of lights, it seems to me that there is no real way to clear the LED clip lights if you peak as they do not seem to respond if you clear them in your DAW. This means it can be quite confusing if you use them in conjunction with your onscreen mixer. It would have been nice if this could be fixed in future firmware updates but considering I've not seen a firmware update in the five years I've owned this, it says to me that Behringer has probably forgotten this product exists. Also, I find that certain lights randomly stay on when you close your DAW down which is rather annoying.

Secondly, whilst the jog wheel is a nice addition, it does feel quite cheap when compared with the rest of the (mostly) metal construction. I love the illuminated ring around the wheel, but I notice friction at some points where the wheel makes contact with the outer ring which makes accuracy a bit of an issue if you're using it for fine scrubbing purposes.

The biggest flaw I have found though, is through the reliability of its connectivity to the computer. The X-Touch has three ways to interface with the computer; through USB, MIDI or through the network. I'm using this with a 2016 Apple iMac installed with the latest version of Logic and connecting it through the USB is by far the most unstable option, with it regularly dropping connection and me having to cycle the power to get it to connect again. The network option is a little better but there is a lot of setting up and additional hardware (a router) involved and it still dropped connection occasionally. In my opinion, the best way is to connect it with old fashioned MIDI cables. In my case, I have them connected through my NI Komplete Audio 6 interface and so far (touch wood) it's not dropped out.

So yeah, it's an okay bit of kit for the money, but I can't help but feel it could have done with some more refinement on the software side to make sure it was truly was user friendly. The build quality is mostly excellent with a lot of it being solid metal and it does get the job done if you like the tactile workflow, but perhaps with a few more tweaks under the hood, it could be even better.
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Ja
Flawed implementation
Just a customer 16.10.2019
First thing to say about the x touch is that physically it's a solid product for the most part. It's heavy and the chassis is well constructed. It stays put on your desk. This is a big deal for me. I don't like gear floating around...The former BCR and BCF series were a good deal lighter and the the feet were not so good.

Faders are smooth enough and are accurate. LCD strips are adequate, but as many people have mentioned, not ideal to read at a comfortable working angle. Pan/multi-function encoders are OK but have that wobbly quality the same as the old ones from the BCF/BCR. That's just a 'feel' thing, they work fine and they seemed to last on the only BCF unit. I also don't find the readout of the position of the encoders that easy to read. Function buttons for the channel strips like mute, solo etc are rubberized, but firm and affirmative in operation and have clear lighting to show if they are engage or not. No complaints there.

Transport controls are adequate, but the jog wheel is not very usable. It's stiff and the indent for your finger is too shallow to work properly.

Where I really start to have problems is in the general function buttons, which in mackie mode are supposed to do everything correctly (with the right layout, which I have for cubase). They don't. As far as I can tell the whole bunch of buttons in the global view don't work at all. Even for something like the click toggle I had to set up a custom function. Which works easily admittedly, but then I have to modify my template with a sticker. I'm not precious about that sort of thing, but I expect the basics to work properly and not have to set up custom functions. I'm not even thinking about controlling plugins or deeper standard DAW features.

To sum up, if you just want something to operate the faders, pan, basic channels switches, like solo mute and transport. This works fine, but beyond that it is not working how it should, at least with cubase. And if you only want those functions, you might be better off with something like the Icon platform M which is a smaller footprint and cheaper.

I sent mine back, because it's not proving to be a genuine ergonomic improvement in my studio and not all the basic functionality works. So I'm disappointing in the product overall.

Just to say though. Thomman's service is excellent as usual.
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soundwhiz 27.03.2021
Impressive hardware considering the price asked.

I actually wanted the Mackie Control Universal Pro, but because it costs almost three times as much as the X-Touch I had to resign myself to the fact that I'm in the wrong income bracket presently.

It has a very sturdy build, built like a tank. Picking it up the first time and feeling its weight immediately communicated good quality. Good response in the buttons, soft ones and hard ones. Jog wheel is pleasant to operate. The motorized faders are very smooth and I can't hear any anomalies when they track my automation. I wipe the surfaces down at least once a day to keep things nice and tight.

I use it with Presonus Studio One 5 and setup was a breeze.

Full transparency, I don't use nearly all the functionality. I bought it because I want to adjust levels and pans and fast forward to any position in a tactile way, but you can do so much more than that. It's just that I'm way faster with my keyboard for most things. For example, I could adjust FX parameters, but reading the tiny channel displays and menu diving is far too complicated and whimsical.

If you want to create custom setups it is apparently possible to write scripts, but I couldn't be bothered. You can find videos on this topic on YouTube if that's your bag.

On a purely superficial note, it looks really cool on my desk and I take idiotic pleasure in watching the faders move in accordance with my music. No regrets after many months of use.
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