Reason: Using Multiple BCF2000’s Can’t Be Done (Update)

Update: check out the new post Reason: How To Use Multiple BCF2000’s.

If anyone’s curious on setting up multiple Behringer BCF2000’s together in Propellerhead Reason (to go from 8 channel banks to 16 channel banks, etc)… from what I can tell it can’t be done and no one has provided real evidence of this. Because…

BCF2000’s are controlled by Reason uniquely

I couldn’t get Reason working with two Behringer BF2000’s, setting everything up as it’s intended (both via direct USB and MIDI cascading). When you look at the BCF2000 remote file, you see references for 8 faders groups at a time and no more. Reason loads in a temporary, on-the-fly preset for BCF2000 and BCR2000’s that other DAW’s don’t. This is where the issue happens. Who wants two or more BCF2000 mixers that are controlling the same exact channel banks? It’s stupid, and if you wanted a control surface, go with a BCR2000 instead of a BCF2000.

Other DAW’s you probably can use two BCF2000’s functioning as one mixer, but Reason and Reason alone controls the BCF2000; using two to display one 16 channel bank not only didn’t work, I see no references in the map file that seem to allow it without creating extra coding.

Videos online are not showing proof

At the time of this writing, the videos online showing people using two or more BCF2000’s in Reason are BS. They’re not doing what you think. They’re not using two mixers as one, they’re locking one mixer to the virtual SSL and then locking another mixer to a Remix rack mixer, Redrum or other stupid, misleading crap.

This screwed me over as I was working on the ambient song Palma Sola at the time, expecting to be able to use two BCF2000’s. Nope. I was in such a groove creating the song, I didn’t wanna’ lose that rhythm. So I went out and bought a Behringer  X-Touch to replace the BCF2000. Click play and listen, the X-Touch did a great job on the song.

Click to play in new window

Some other mixers apparently work

Apparently other models of mixers can do multiple mixers as one channel bank, particularly those working in Mackie Universal Control mode, but even then I haven’t personally seen evidence of it working in Reason. But since the Mackie Control Extenders are supported with map files, I’m hopeful it’ll work.

Cascading BCF2000’s in Reason is a myth

Getting multiple Behringer BCF2000’s to work with Reason without creating custom code from scratch is like the existence of Bigfoot; lots of speculations and grainy, blurry videos but never any solid proof. You’ve been warned…

Later. – MJ