Behringer FCB1010

Bought in Octber 2021, eprom has 2.5.0 version. Using it to control ableton live performances at home for my cat.
Well build and quite heavy. To connect it to computer you need to buy a midi interface, I am using simple "doremidi" just like "Thomann Midi USB 1x1" which you can buy here too.
There are plenty of reviews of this device on youtube and also here on Thomann and I don't want to repeat it all, just point out what was not clear for me after these riviews before buying it.
It works perfectly with Ableton, each switch (except Exp pedals) can send cCCs and PCs and a Note and all at the same time which allows you to control much more than one device (if you really need it). Someone on youtube told that Ableton prefers midi notes over CCs. Actually both are possible but I switched to notes just to have same commands as my Launchkey MINI has. Programming FCB itself is a nightmare so I strongly recommend using a dedicated sofware. There are few of them and all have good youtube tutorisals, its up to you wchich to chose. If you know what a midi is and what you actually want to configure it will not take you more than a day so don't be scared by complexity of a manual.
Switch 1 and 2 at the rear panel are the exits to switch presets of your amp via standard jack cable, they are no designed to connect additional pedals etc., but you can actually expand your FCB by connecting additional midi controller (any and not only a pedal) to MIDI IN and instruct FCB to merge incoming signals from its own signals ant send them all thru midi OUT.
Switches are pretty tight and quiet, much better than round metallic click clack buttons cheap pedals have. But there is a lack of feedback so I am not sure which moment exactly the pedal is pressed.
Sadly UP and DOWN buttons are not programmable, they are not sending any midi comands at all. Probably next UNO chip will have this option, they have it on a wish list according to their website. I would love to use it to switch scenes.
That's all for the less than a month use. Due to low price I round up my rating to 5 stars. If you need it it's worth buying it. Thnk you Thomann.

I use this to control a video mixer with my feet: a tap on a switch changes my camera view and the expression pedal controls the volume of my main mic.

The build quality on this unit is excellent for home studio use. It's heavy and sturdy.

Bear in mind that this does NOT have USB MIDI and it NEEDS a mains outlet to work. You won't power it with 9 volts, like you would a regular guitar pedal.

The power cord runs directly into the 220V outlet, so you don't need a proprietary power adapter or a switching unit. I have dozens of similar cables around the house from old electrical appliances, so if I break one cable, I can use another. Thanks Behringer for not making me have another power brick for this device.

You only have DIN-5 Midi connection, so if you expected another modern MIDI controller that runs over USB, this is not it. If you need MIDI into computer, you'll have to use a sound card or a MIDI interface.

The programming and adjusting settings is a bit cryptic, but you only do that once, and the manual on Behringer's site is ok.

I own the FCB 1010 for several months now, and I use it to control my DAW in which I load many things. I run several instances of vst amps and a guitar to midi. It can handle perfectly many things and I have never had any problems on rehearsals or on live stages handling a violin, an el. guitar and a vst keys organ triggered by guitar to midi.

I have to say that handling this device requires somewhat deep knowledge of how midi and your DAW works. You have to figure out what you need precisely and which is the best way to do it, but I think the same applies to all the midi controllers of this type. Also, when you press 1 the light is lid and when you press 2 only the second light is lid, while 1 is not, which for me is not a problem. You can solve this with the installation of the UNO chip, which I don't have, so I don't have experience on that. I strongly recommend using FCB 1010 along with a software fcb1010 manager. The pedals feel a little cheap, but in general FCB1010 is built to last.

Good and reasonably robust MIDI pedal board. It has been around for about twenty years now, and shows it's age in that it uses five pin DIN connectors, and needs it's own power chord. Instead of using MIDI USB, and power over USB. Out of the box, if you want to program MIDI settings you have to use the built in interface, using the pedals and a numerical display and some status leds, which can seem a little clunky. The programming interface is sometimes nicknamed "The River Dance". It's actually not that bad, once you get the logic behind the interface. To make it an even better deal there are at least three different FCB1010 MIDI editor programs for Windows and Mac, plus one for iPad, that I know of. That makes it way easier, and also lets you save different setups for different uses. There is also a MAX4Live device for Ableton Live that does the assignment directly in Live, but translating the MIDI signals from the factory setup to the MIDI functions and values Live needs. That one works like a charm too. I'm really satisfied and would definitely buy it again.

I have now set up my FCB1010 in the way I envisioned, and it took quite a lot of work, but now I'm very satisfied with it.

Out of the box, it works as expected, but configuring it is unintuitive and laborsome, and you don't have that much flexibility for what the buttons can do.

I ended up ordering a third-party non-official firmware which fixes the "software" part of this product, and with that I can now program the MIDI functions in a programming language. This was the definitive solution, and now my setup is very flexible, with features like "trigger" mode for the preset buttons, or "sustain", which as far as I understand are impossible with the official firmware.

Regarding the hardware itself, I have two minor complaints: (1) in a silent room, you can hear a hum from the FCB1010 whenever it is turned on, (2) there seems to be some mild "glue" on the expression pedals such that you can feel some stickiness when the pedal is on the extreme bottom or the extreme top.

All in all, not a perfect device, but definitely has opened a whole world of possibilities when performing live and when you're hands are busy with a musical instrument.

I pre-ordered this from our friends at Thomann the moment Behringer announced it way back in the very early 2000s, some three or four months before it came out. Options then included similar units from Roland, Yamaha and Rolls, all at x2 or even x3 the price.

Only just noticed I never wrote a review back then, so here it is now with the benefit of literally decades of use:

Anyone knocking Behringer's QC, even in their early days, probably hasn't stepped on an FCB1010 in anger. I've stamped/stood on it hard on beer-soaked stages, occasionally had stage-divers (remember them?) accidentally trip over it, stamp on it or kick it skidding across the stage by accident. It's never seen a case, just unceremoniously chucked into the backs of cars and vans and rehearsal room floors year after year with precisely zero issues, ever.

Very easy to program, albeit with the manual in one hand. Mine controls an old Rocktron Chameleon preamp/fx unit, with one treadle generally for volume, the other for whatever effect I fancied, ie pitch, LFO speed, dirt amount, delay time etc. Magic!

I'm giving it just 3 stars for features as my FCB1010 is the initial firmware version (possible the very first batch made) with basic functionality. My friend has an 'upgraded' unit with the 3rd party EPROM and that would probably be far more useful these days in my synth-heavy studio, but it ain't broke so...

10/10, would recommend this over any other type of remote midi floorboard.

Contrary to popular belief, programming this controller is as easy as following the manual step by step! Currently using it as a footswitch board to toggle sounds and effects on my Nord Stage.

Pedal sweep angle is rather small, about half of the usual pedal sweep. Needs some getting used to. Switch buttons are stiff and sturdy, just a bit small if you have large feet and shoes on.

Two of the foot switches can be used as analog switches - i.e. routed through foot switch jack instead of midi jack. I found this to a be really useful feature as it allows me to program one of the switch buttons as a sustain pedal for my Nord Stage.

Build quality is excellent, doesn't feel flimsy like other Behringer products.