Behringer UCG102 Guitar-to-USB Interface

by Behringer

Product Features

• Plug in your favorite guitar and turn your PC or Mac computer into a guitar amp and recording system without the need for any other hardware
• Package also includes link to download Kristal 16-track music production and Audacity editing software
• Works directly with your PC or Mac computer - ultra-low latency ASIO driver for PC included
• Stereo Headphone output lets you jam with your computer and can also be used for monitoring with active monitor speakers
• Variable-speed file playback function for MP3, WAV, AIFF audio files - perfect for easy learning and practicing

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.4 x 2.8 inches ; 12 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000PAPO9W
• Item model number: UCG102
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (148 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #4 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Computer Recording > Audio Interfaces
  • #23 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Networking Products > Hubs
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com

Whether you're a guitar ace, novice home recording buff or a jack-of-all trades songwriter in need of a souped-up guitar presence, the UCG102 is the accessory for you. For an incredibly low price, you can bridge your favorite axe to your home computer.

Bridge your favorite axe to your home computer. Click to enlarge.

Old School Meets Cutting Edge
The UCG102 is a USB interface that, like a guitar amp, receives signal from your guitar via a 1/4-inch input jack. A built-in USB cable then sends signal directly to your computer. It has a 1/4-inch headphone jack and PHONES volume dial so you can monitor your performance as you record, a CLIP LED to tell you when your signal is too hot, and a HI/LO level selector.

Plug Right In
The UCG102 works directly with your PC or Mac computer (ultra-low latency ASIO driver for PC audio optimization included). Since it's powered via the USB bus, no additional power supply is needed, saving you valuable power supply real estate.

Product Description

BEHRINGER GUITAR LINK UCG102

The Ultimate Guitar-to-USB Interface to Jam and Record with Killer Modeling Amps and Effects

• Plug in your favorite guitar and turn your PC or Mac computer into a guitar amp and recording system without the need for any other hardware
• Directly works with your PC or Mac computer - ultra-low latency ASIO driver for PC audio optimization included
• Stereo Headphone output lets you jam with your computer and can also be used for monitoring with active monitor speakers
• Powered via USB - no additional power supply required
• High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long life
• Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany

Your guitar is a time-tested cornerstone of popular music. Hook it up directly to pop's present and future with the GUITAR LINK UCG102.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars May Have Some Issues If You Are New To Garageband June 5, 2011

By M. B. Schell

Amazon Verified Purchase

I Just received this yesterday and immediately tried to hook up my guitar to Garageband through my Mac (OS 10.6.7, GB11 V6.02). I spent a frustrating hour and a half trying to play my guitar through my computer and speakers and finally gave up. Part of the problem is that I am just getting to know the Garageband program. The lack of manufacturer documentation for using the UCG102 for use with Garageband is also surprising given it appears that Behring appears to be a major supplier to the music industry. Of course this amateur part of the biz is probably new to them. That said, after some fiddling I got it to work. I figured I would write the instructions that don't appear to exist. This is just if you are using a Mac and the latest version of Garageband, not sure if this will be helpful if you have another setup.

1) Start Garageband with the UCG102 unplugged.

2) Select new project and click on the electric guitar icon. A dialog box will pop up that will allow you to name and create a new project. When you click create you will see a image that has a guitar under the heading "Tracks" on the left side of the garage band window. On the right side there should be an image of a Guitar amp. Using the menu selection above the picture of the amp you can select different amps. Pick an amp.

3) Plug the UCG102 into your computer USB port. A few seconds later a dialog box will pop up that says "Garageband is scanning your system for audio devices, and has detected a device named "USB Audio Codec"." Select "Yes" you want to use the device.

4) Now this step is the one I originally missed. Go to Garageband Preferences and select "Audio/Midi".... For "Audio Output" select whatever speakers you computer uses to provide audio (not doing this is where I originally messed up). Even if you were previously playing audio using Garageband you have to do this step. For Audio input select "USB Audio Codec" and close the preferences window.

5) Once you select the amp you want on the right hand side of the screen, double click on the amp image. You should see an image showing the back of the amp. Below it you will now see two pull down menus. The input source should will either be "Mono 1 (Audio CODEC)" or "Mono 2 (Audio CODEC)". Now go to the second menu called Monitor and select "ON". Also make sure you computer sound volume is on.

6) You should be good to go.

Hope this helps. Time to make music. Read more ›

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Works fine with a Mac January 25, 2011

By Dave Gallo

Amazon Verified Purchase

Simple, easy

Plugged it into a Mac, plugged the guitar into it, plugged in headphones, worked fine with Garageband. Sound is clear and no latency on my setup. Can't comment on the windows side since I don't have a windows pc to test against.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars works well October 7, 2008

By nightSide

I have not had the problems other posters have had. The ASIO driver that comes with the ucg102 works well with the guitar combo filters. (yes the website does exist to get one of the guitar combos to unlock forever). If you have problems with the device first read this section of the readme file of the driver:
3. IMPORTANT NOTES:
-------------------
-> Driver will be installed ONLY on USB port where your hardware is connected while installation!

-> After installation ALL other audio drivers are blocked on this USB port!

-> For using different drivers: Connect your USB audio hardware to a different USB port.

-> Alternative drivers which work fine with the named hardware products:
Win XP only: ASIO2KS (from the BEHRINGER U-CONTROL Download page)
Win XP + Vista: ASIO4ALL (see providers homepage)

This being said I am able to get this device to work with Audacity(one of the programs that comes with the device) just by plugging into another USB port. Also I have used the ASIO4ALL driver which eliminates the need to unplug the devices when switch between Audacity and the guitar combo application.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The hardware is fine, the software is not. November 26, 2009

By Michael

Amazon Verified Purchase

This thing works, but the devil is in the software (I am writing from a PC). While a number of different programs are included with this product none of them make it simple to record. The amp modeling software is compatible and recognizes the hardware, but isn't suitable for recording. Audacity isn't compatible out of the box and neither is the EnergyXT2. This drove me absolutely crazy. For a couple of weeks the only thing I could do was practice through headphones (which works very well). Plain and simple - I bought this to record.

I am sure there are costly software solutions out there that can recognize the USB/ASIO drivers and record via this interface but I didn't want to pay for something I thought I should get out of the box. Fortunately, after much turmoil I discovered that for the computer savvy individual there is a way. Audacity can be built to include native ASIO support! However this requires compiling your own custom (and non-distributable) build. The excellent step by step directions to do so are here: [...]

Once I got Audacity to recognize the USB/ASIO drivers I was much happier with the purchase. I still give the product 3-stars because I assume the average consumer won't want to go through the pain of custom building software to get a recording ability. To me, a out of the box recording is a basic requirement of a "Guitar-to-USB Interface".

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Great on Windows x64 with Proper Setup February 5, 2012

By S. Bailey

Amazon Verified Purchase

Initially, I wasn't sure which PC-Guitar interface to get and I avoided these things for a few years until the companies started producing 64 bit drivers to allow users to run their products on Windows x64. For this device, I am running it through Guitar Rig 5 and Mixcraft with impressive results. I have absolutely NO crackling, noise or latency issues. I have an above average desktop computer with a motherboard sound card and Windows 7 x64.

If you install Behringer's 64 bit drivers and ASIO4All, configure everything properly, you shouldn't have any problems. For those who've had to run an audio chord from the unit's headphone jack directly to their speakers; this step is not required to get results. If you use ASIO4All and Behringer's USB driver together, you can select your audio output to go directly through your sound card after the signal's been processed through your recording software. This is why I purchased the device in the first place. Because I wanted to work with a digital signal within my recording and Guitar Rig software. The Behringer UCG102 allows you to do just that.

Here are some steps to get you going in the right direction. By the way, I went through some frustrating trial and error getting this device to work the way I wanted in Windows 7 x64. It would be nice if Behringer would update their manual and website to provide better setup instruction. This, in my opinion, is the only negative against the product.

Basic Windows 7 setup...
1. Download Behringer's Windows x64 driver from their web page... [...]

2. Run the Behringer driver setup and when it asks you to reboot; Go ahead and do that.

3. Download and install the ASIO4All drivers from their web page... [...]

4.... If the Behringer UCG102 isn't plugged into to the USB port, do that now. If it's already plugged in, remove it and plug it back in again. This step ensures that the driver is properly loaded and the device is up and running in Windows.

5. Go to Windows 7 Control Panel or do a menu search for 'Sound' to configure your Windows Playback and Recording settings.

6. The Behringer still needs to be plugged in to configure these settings. In your Windows 'Sound' settings, make sure your 'Playback' device is set to your default speakers. If using headphones, set them as the "Default" Playback device.

7. Under the 'Recording' tab, select 'Line In' and if the Behringer USB driver is loaded and running properly, you should see an option to select "Behringer USB WDM Audio 2.8.40' as the Line-in device. The '2.8.40' is the driver version you downloaded from their web page and that number may change as drivers are updated.

8. Now you can start up your Guitar Rig or effects processor software. In Guitar Rig, you have to go into 'Audio and Midi Settings' and ensure that you are using 'Asio' as your driver and "Asio4All V2' as your device. Under the 'Routing' tab you have to make sure your 'Outputs' are set to either speakers or headphones. Under 'Inputs', make sure you have 'Behringer USB Audio 1' under just the 'L' or left channel only. The settings under the 'MIDI' tab don't affect this type of setup so there's nothing you need to do there.

*** Step 8 is where you will normally run into problems and to fix this, you have to configure your ASIO4All settings. In the far right corner of your Windows taskbar, you should see a green icon, which if clicked will bring up your ASIO4All configuration window. You can also select 'ASIO Config' in Guitar Rig within the 'Audio and Midi Settings' and get into the same window. To get everything working, you have to click on the wrench to open the ASIO configuration.

This is where you'll have to do some trial and error by clicking on the input and output device icons. What you're looking for is a green On/Off button with green arrows next to them for your input and output devices. For example, under my settings, I have the following ASIO devices showing green buttons and arrows...
Top selection = Output: 'High Definition Audio Device"
Bottom Selection = Input: 'Behringer USB WDM Audio 2.8.40' = (In: 2x 44.1-48kHz, 32 bits; Out: 2x 44.1-48kHz, 32 bits)

A blacked out On/Off button icon with no green arrow, or a red 'X' next to these settings means something's wrong or you haven't clicked on the On/Off button icon so that device is actually turned on.
Click on the wrench to exit out of the ASIO configuration.

If you're not getting all the selection options in the ASIO or audio/midi configuration settings, try the following...
1. Close Guitar Rig and other recording software
2. Unplug the Behringer UCG102 and plug it back in again
3. Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 and also check your Windows 'Sound' Playback and Recording settings to make sure they haven't changed

If your using recording software like Mixcraft, you also have to use the ASIO device drivers within that software in order to record your guitar. By the way, I am able to run Guitar Rig's VST and real-time record with all Guitar Rig's effects within Mixcraft and achieve impressive results. Latency is not an issue because I'm using the ASIO drivers in combination with Behringer's USB driver. If you're having troubles, don't give up and keep at it. You'll be happy with the results and there's nothing like being able to record in real-time while using awesome guitar effects. I love it! Read more ›