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the example of snap-on being the inventor of ratcheting socket wrenches is totally incorrect - the patent was filed over 50 years before snap-on was founded... the other companies are NOT copying snap-on! - if you don't believe me go to wikipedia and look at the pages for snap-on and socket wrench!! the 1864 patent is clearly mentioned on the socket wrench page and no mention of a patent is cited on the snap-on (founded 1920) page - the snap-on marketing slogan is just that - marketing! what snap-on may (or may not) have innovated with is their sales method...

beds, for example, have been around for thousands of years - the earliest known mattress is 77000 years old, bookcases have almost definitely been around since the earliest book (wikipedia says roughly 1500 years) and the concept of shelves in an open box, as a piece of furniture probably pre-date that by a long way... tables are at least 4500 years (again wikipedia)... the earliest shirt 5000 years (wikipedia) etc etc

these things are generic... but someone at some time (probably before any of these dates) must have invented them.... as I said, if you go back far enough!

behringer has been around for just over 35 years - and in that time have really only done one thing - copy other people's work - and been sued for it repeatedly - sometimes successfully, sometimes not... and for most of that time they've also had a reputation for producing some of the worst quality products in music tech - I've definitely known to, if at all possible, buy something else for at least 20 years... they've used intimidation (SLAPP lawsuits) to prevent criticism... etc etc

please show me the innovations they have made?

even Ikea and Amazon have made "innovations" - even if in at least some cases their business practices may be (extremely) questionable (especially Amazon - don't know about Ikea)

There's loads of music gear which is made in questionable overseas factories based on someone else's earlier design

but not so much in modular - until the b-company started doing it...

can we really look down on someone who sometimes purchases Behringer modules?

No and we shouldn't and I've never advocated this... I might have said that some people will - the same as some people will potentially look down on others for a myriad of reasons... but mostly what I see & comment on are newbie racks that haven't been bought yet & what I will always do in that case, is point them towards doing a bit of research and making up their own minds as to whether they want to encourage such behaviour by buying from them and pointing them towards alternatives that are similarly priced, if maybe a tiny bit more expensive - often similar functionality can be had from for, instance Doepfer, for only a few quid more!!! If their conscience says "I don't care" or their wallet says "I can't afford a conscience" then so be it... that's their problem not mine

& I might question a rack full of instro, or similar, powered by a b-compny power supply, or mixed by a b-company mixer (or quad vca) - you've a garage full of ferraris, why the lada?

Think about how many musicians got their start playing cheapo catalog-grade or low-end foreign imported guitars, horns, amps, drum kits, etc, made with rubbish materials and shoddy workmanship but designed to look just like the big names.

you're absolutely right here - and as I've stated - to some extent I think the b-company do a good job - specifically when it comes to building copies of instruments and modules that are out of production - and not going to be put into production again by the originators - even the 2600's - Korg kind of got what they deserved for that (producing way fewer than the demand for them, even at the much higher price) - the socialisation of electronic instruments - yay - big round of applause!!! but only for that - and only when it's done with some thought - big boos and thumbs down for v triggers

The companies behind those instruments didn't give a crap about traditional lutherie methods, the future serviceability of their products, or the intellectual property of those whose designs they ripped off. The half-broke teenagers who bought them probably didn't care about that either, they were just happy to get an instrument to play, and that's what set them on the path to become guitar gods later in life.

again you're comparing "mass market" to "niche market", "mass produced" to "artisanal"

& really how many 1/2 broke teenagers are actually buying modular synths - not many I suspect - if they're making electronic music then they're mostly using phones and laptops - and not hardware - especially if they had the phone/laptop bought for them as a significant number of teenagers will have had done...

and even if that's not the case then - eating ramen or cutting out starbucks or whatever they're able to do to get the money together to buy instruments isn't that much of a hardship - a lot of us did this in order to afford the instruments we own - & often less is more

and most of the teenagers that I know, admittedly very few, would rather buy used clothes than from companies utilising sweat shops, for example... they're much more likely to be green, "woke", anti-worker exploitation and anti-capitalist than most of us of the older generations were at their age, definitely more so than I was at their age - thankfully!! so maybe a little more hardship on their part, or a few less modules this month/year (as that's to some extent what we're really talking about - delayed instead of instant gratification)

given this: if you've a budget of 1000(€/£/$) you can choose between a dozen b-company modules or maybe 5 or 6 from other manufacturers - the difference being that the 5 or 6 have been built by people who've been paid properly & to a large extent care about the products and will repair them if at all possible and needed and not a faceless corporation that "exploits it's workers", doesn't really care about the products, throws failed items into landfill instead of repairing and puts money into the pockets of it's bigotted, millionaire owners - & yes I know b-company donates synths to education and claims to not make a profit (but I suspect that's after seriously big pay cheques to Uli & the other directors) - then most of those kids would prefer the fewer modules option, at least as far as I can tell

we're not talking about the same differences in price that were there when a lot of us were kids - when a knock of strat copy was 1/10th the price of a real one - Kraftwerk's 1st moog cost them the same amount of money as their, at the time brand new, Volkswagen Beetle (what's that 35k, these days?) - we're only talking 3 * the price, & probably less than that used, the equivalent of 40 starbucks coffees, or less, not 6 months or more of eating only ramen or beans on toast

even if we're talking only about modular - which to a large extent even a behringer modular is a luxury and non-essential item - there is no need for a batumi, or a maths, or a quad vca - or a clone of any of those modules - in order to build a workable modular synth - there's Doepfer (who even make a quad lfo that's less expensive, if less featured than the four play - at least according to the stated prices here) and Ladik and takaab and DIY modulues from any number of manufacturers that are in a similar ballpark cost...

BUT that's not how this thread started (but I hope this is how it ends):

it started with @drager complaining about some humourous mischief - that he tried to pass of as misinformation:

so @drager: please, stop being such a miserable twat, ffs - it's just a bit of well aimed (and possibly well meant) digital graffiti - so get a sense of humour and stop wanting to censor and subjugate others' freedom of speech - because that's what you seem to want & if you can't laugh at "abacuntus" - then what can you laugh at???

or go to another site for less amusing, censored (boo) and probably less informative information on b-company products: modwiggler - where they censoriously remove all the anti-b-company from any thread on b-company products and put them in a single (& I paraphrase for both humour and clarity) "B-company - their shitty ethics and why you shouldn't buy from these bullying, bigotted arseholes" thread - it's in the hundreds of pages - or the b-company forum - which is censored: all negative comments deleted - so about as informative and useful as a black plastic bag over your head on a safari - which may cater to you better than here...

NB no offence intended or given (as it can't be, in English) - but if you take it, well, good (or bad) for you!!!