SOUND ON SOUND

[DGL.]

That kind of simple travel adapter is illegal to supply for use with new equipment in the UK and it should be reported to Trading Standards.

The one that Thomann supply with 2 pin "wall wart" psu's does secure the PSU in place, there is a screw on the underside of the plug that tightens a plastic clamp around the pins of the PSU. Once the PSU is inserted into a socket a sprung loaded cover/tab renders the screw inaccessible.




These are properly approved adaptors from the primary manufacturer of such devices, Power Connections UK, which conform to all the required EU and British standards.
https://www.powerconnections.co.uk/conv ... uk_bca.htm
https://powerconnections.co.uk/pdf_file ... 190624.pdf

[Arpangel]

I just chop the plugs off and put a UK one on, I’d rather not have to do that though.

[Dave B]

The link to the Thoman page is interesting. Apparently, they will have stock in 14-18 weeks, so don't hold your breath kids. That's 3 months or so ... which means that they won't be able to ship until almost Feb 2021.

Three or four months to get from China to Germany? It really is a slow boat ...

[DGL.]

I just chop the plugs off and put a UK one on, I’d rather not have to do that though.

Another option, as I have done, is to buy a Schuko or French extension lead and rplace the plug with a UK one, gives you multiple euro plugs to UK (excluding earthed Danish/Swiss/Italian 3 pin plugs) and is much better than a supermarket style Euro-UK adaptor. Plus you can pretty much guarantee that it will have earthing, something a lot of Euro-UK and visa-versa adaptors do not have (and frankly shouldn't be sold).

It naturally also works the other way as well, when we went to France a few years ago I put a German/French hybrid plug on a UK extension lead (yes in theory the cable could have been thicker to account for the 16A circuit/plug rating), so not only did I get multiple UK outlets from the one adaptor I knew the German/French plug would fit properly/securely (it was a nice PCE rubber plug from Thomann), the UK side 0f things would be correct and that the earth would be passed through properly.

[Arpangel]

I just chop the plugs off and put a UK one on, I’d rather not have to do that though.

Another option, as I have done, is to buy a Schuko or French extension lead and rplace the plug with a UK one, gives you multiple euro plugs to UK (excluding earthed Danish/Swiss/Italian 3 pin plugs) and is much better than a supermarket style Euro-UK adaptor. Plus you can pretty much guarantee that it will have earthing, something a lot of Euro-UK and visa-versa adaptors do not have (and frankly shouldn't be sold).

It naturally also works the other way as well, when we went to France a few years ago I put a German/French hybrid plug on a UK extension lead (yes in theory the cable could have been thicker to account for the 16A circuit/plug rating), so not only did I get multiple UK outlets from the one adaptor I knew the German/French plug would fit properly/securely (it was a nice PCE rubber plug from Thomann), the UK side 0f things would be correct and that the earth would be passed through properly.

Good idea, although a have stuff in different places, and grouping things to fit on one board that have those plugs is a bit difficult.

[The Elf]

As far as any of us know it's a circuit clone, so there's no reason it shouldn't behave in much the same way.... The lack of pitch bend in release was a far more serious problem for me....

Wha? Bizarre!
How does that even happen on an analogue synth?
I suppose it could be explained if the CPU was reading and distributing all these CVs... but this thing isn't programmable is it?

To be clear for others reading this, it is just the Model D we are referring to - I'm not aware of a similar problem on other Behringer synths)

Not programmable, but it does have some digital control features, including pitchbend response, in firmware.

I like my pitchbend to be set to 2 semitones. If I set it as such on the Model D then pitchbend does not work in release (which scuppers my synth solos!). But set it to 12 semitones and pitchbend in release *does* work. Behringer added this latter option after I'd pointed the problem out to them. From what I was told at the time the limitation is a hardware one - not solvable by firmware.

My solution is to set my D for 12 semitones, then do a bit of maths in Cubase/Cantabile to convert my pitchbend messages to 2 semitones of the full range. This works well enough for me.

[Arpangel]

I’ve never used pitch bend, ever, strange but true.
Just a mod wheel is OK for me.

[The Elf]

I’ve never used pitch bend, ever, strange but true.
Just a mod wheel is OK for me.

I use pitchbend to bend into/out of notes (and mod wheel for vibrato). It can be a very expressive technique.

https://youtu.be/tzQHsYWANSE

[BJG145]

...yeah, I can't imagine playing a solo without it. Coming from wind instruments I use it all the time.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Another option, as I have done, is to buy a Schuko or French extension lead and rplace the plug with a UK one, gives you multiple euro plugs to UK

I have done the same for connecting review gear direct from the manufacturers that sometimes lacks a UK mains plug. I have a similar board for US power sockets, too.

For EU main connectors I use a Bodo Ehmann plug board (with earthed sockets) which terminates in a standard IEC plug. You can then either use a standard UK plug to IEC socket cable, or cut the plug off and replace with a UK plug.



Available from RS components and others for about £35.

BTW, I have taken the liberty of adding some images to your post above about the wall-wart adapter, and I agree that it is a legal option. It also appears to be the same as the one Nigel mentioned earlier.

[Arpangel]

I have a round adaptor that came with my Behringer interface, the European plug just plugs into it from the top, it’s a very loose fit, and I can't see any way of tightening it up.
I haven’t got around to chopping this one yet.

[The Elf]

All of the power solutions above are fine, but my point is that we shouldn't be *having* to find solutions for newly-bought gear! As long as we keep accepting this nonsense and finding our own solutions someone is getting away with it!

There are good UK companies who are playing the game, and doing what is right, and they are the ones who will get my business.

As ever, I'm probably a lone voice, and nobody understands why I feel strongly about this, but if nobody stands up to this kind of stuff it becomes the norm - and in this case it can be genuinely life-threatening. If any company supplies you new gear with a travel adapter - send the whole damned thing back!

[Rich Hanson]

That kind of simple travel adapter is illegal to supply for use with new equipment in the UK and it should be reported to Trading Standards.

The one that Thomann supply with 2 pin "wall wart" psu's does secure the PSU in place, there is a screw on the underside of the plug that tightens a plastic clamp around the pins of the PSU. Once the PSU is inserted into a socket a sprung loaded cover/tab renders the screw inaccessible.




These are properly approved adaptors from the primary manufacturer of such devices, Power Connections UK, which conform to all the required EU and British standards.
https://www.powerconnections.co.uk/conv ... uk_bca.htm
https://powerconnections.co.uk/pdf_file ... 190624.pdf

I've got one of those and I'd noticed that hole on the underside before, but not the screw. I've just tightened the screw and the European plug is now held very firmly in place.

In this case it's on a Behringer K2 that I bought from Thomann. These come with one of those wall warts which can take multiple slide-on adaptors according to what it is to be plugged into. Others of these I have encountered from other manufacturers come with a selection of parts for different socket types, but this only came with a Euro one - the other two Behringers I have I bought from Gear4Music only come with a UK adaptor, so it looks like in this case it's an example of where Behringer save themselves a few pennies.

Of course, Elf is correct, the right plug type should be supplied.

[Hugh Robjohns]

All of the power solutions above are fine, but my point is that we shouldn't be *having* to find solutions for newly-bought gear!

It should be the retailer that is having to find a legally acceptable solution. And it seems that Thomann does, at least some of the time! :think:

There are good UK companies who are playing the game, and doing what is right, and they are the ones who will get my business.

Quite right... selling goods properly equipped by the manufacturer for the UK market... and often competitively priced against the big European box-shifters.

...if nobody stands up to this kind of stuff it becomes the norm...

Completely agree... which is why reporting abuses is very important.

If any company supplies you new gear with a travel adapter - send the whole damned thing back!

Seconded -- provided you report it first!

[Arpangel]

If you are using this stuff on the road, you’d have to simply cut the lead, these adaptors are just so badly made and flimsy, I can’t imagine them surviving more than one or two gigs, or they’d just get lost.