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Alright, I don't intend on starting a Behringer arguement post here, but whatever. I own the Behringer V-Amp guitar head that just recently came out. At $200, it is insanely priced. In all honesty, if it were priced at $600 I still would've been interested in buying it.

First let me talk about the physical quality. This thing weighs so much, it's built like a tank. I really wish it didn't weight as much as it does, but oh well. It has something like 16 LED's around each knob, so as you turn the knobs the led's just light up and thats how you save presets.

It puts out 120w mono (but only to 4 ohms) or 60w to two channels, in STEREO at 8 ohms. The only weird thing about it is how the master volume control knob is weighted. Most masters on almost everything will max out half way or maybe 3/4, on this head, the real power doesnt even really start pushing until about 3/4. Apparently all of Behringer s master's are weighted this way, a friend says a eurodesk mixer he used is similar. I don't know, its just not something i'm used to.

Ok, getting to recording with this thing, it has a full range of inputs and outputs. The coolest thing with this head, is you can set it up so that you can monitor distorted guitar, but at the same time through other outputs, you can record a clean sound. I know for myself, this is awesome. Getting a good distortion sound is often a difficult task. You can mic up cabs, do whatever you want, but it's always hard to get a distortion sound that fits. With something like this I can record and then mess around with different types of distortion, cool stuff.

Thats about it, it's quite a good peice of equipment.

Comments

anonymous Sun, 04/10/2005 - 17:36

Nah, you guys are wrong. I think it's really all about the sound you're going for. For today's sounding metal stuff, I can pull off the perfect tone with just this guitar head going directly to my computer. For just maybe a general rock tone or, see, like I said, it depends on the band. If i'm recording a band where I don't feel like something like that would cut it for the guitar tone then i'll get a hold of a marshall stack and a SM57, but thats only if I think thats what I want.

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 00:26

seriously though, I haven't heard this behrenger thing, and I'm sure it's probably not great, but there is some real gear snobbery around here. Now, I do understand Kurt's position, and I've been visiting these forums for a LOOOONG time and respect Kurt's reviews very much (I changed my name recently by the way...that's why so few posts), but no one gives a SHIT what was used to make the record. It's the end result that people judge. I just cut a track coming out for international release where I banged on pots and pans with drum sticks for same crazy panned effects.

Not saying that this Behrenger thing is amazing. Just saying that if it works for you, then use it. All tracks end up in the same final format, and no one can "analyze" them post master to see what gear you used.

I've heard terrible recordings done with top of the line GR, cransesong gear in great rooms and I've heard great ones done in a spare bedroom with a tascam 4 track and 4 sm58's.

So if it works for you cool. There's no rule that says you need a halfstack and JCM head to get a good guitar sound. "good" means whatever you want it to mean.

later....

p.s. However...better gear is BETTER. I went through crappy gear until I finally sucked it up and upgraded my whole studio to UA, avalon, RME, BLUE gear...it DOES make a difference.

Guest Mon, 04/11/2005 - 03:51

PCM wrote: it DOES make a difference.

I'll 2nd that remark. Even Marshall's IMO are over rated (some of them not all of them). But reguardless it goes without saying. If I bought anything worth keeping it probubaly was WWAAYY more than a couple hundred bucks. And once again Behringer's gear has only about $100 dollars worth of components in it. The rest is profit, sales, commison and marketing and when people say"free shipping"... NOTHING is free that goes in to the price markup also.
Now they could mark it up to $500 or so to make it seem as though it is as good as some of the cheap crap. But they are trying to undercut ALL the other companies, and get the guys who are tight with their money.
I say that because, even if you (not you personally) only make $22,000 a year (you will pay about a 1/3 in taxes and the rest is your's (or who ever's).
Two or three years go by and now you have made over $66,000. But All some guy's want to throw down on gear is $99.99. :shock:
Makes NO sense to me! But then again neither does the rest of the world. :?

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 13:00

Behringers gear has about $100 of components in it? Let me just say this guitar head weighs more then most guitar heads i've held, it has the presence of quality to it. I first believed they put weights in it but I took it apart and nope no weights. But wait.

Alright, I'm not trying to sound smart but, ANY guitar head, what really costs money in it? I'm sure all of the components in ANY guitar head total maybe $100. Whats circuit boards, tubes, resistors, transistors, sheet metal, some wood, cost? I don't know but i'm just saying, you're paying for the name with ANY electronic more then the actual components, which is something I believe behringer is trying to defeat, but theres a lot of skeptics like you guys that won't accept it.

I'm not dening that Marshall, etc etc, all those other brands kick ass, because of course they do, anyone could tell you that, but all I'm saying is you have to lighten up.

I really think the real reason that the old timers to recording and audio hate Behringer is because they've spent so much money over the years on really nice equipment and then here comes a company that offers all of this great stuff for really cheap and they're pissed about it.

KurtFoster Mon, 04/11/2005 - 13:09

theres a lot of skeptics like you guys that won't accept it. ..... I really think the real reason that the old timers to recording and audio hate Behringer is because they've spent so much money over the years on really nice equipment and then here comes a company that offers all of this great stuff for really cheap and they're pissed about it.

OHH! That is so obnoxious ....

Dude, I could give a rats ass about Behringer and all modeling amps in general. Your ignorance is your just punishment. What you don't know on the topic, could fill a book. That last comment only proves it! In about a year, I would love to hear back from you to see if that amp you have still works. I doubt that it will.

Keep trying though ... someday you'll get it!

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 13:50

Eh. I can agree somewhat on that. My friend had a birthday party this weekend and my drums and guitar stuff is over there because we've been jamming. Half of the people that were there could play guitar and that Behringer head was on ALL day, and it was running pretty hot because I checked it every hour or so.

Later on though, we stopped getting anything out of the half stack, and I was sure that the head blew, and I wasn't really disappointed in a way, I was actually curious myself if it would stand up to this. But after further inspection, someone just stepped on a cord going to the back of the cab, problem fixed and it still continued to be a workhorse, playing at full volume for a few more hours. I doubt it will stop working in a year, but if it does, I don't really care, i'll buy another one.

KurtFoster Mon, 04/11/2005 - 13:57

I'll tell you what I'm pissed at ... I went out and bought a Line Sux "Fuxtone" for a wad of cash ...then dumped even more cash for the "Floorboard" ...

Sounded like sh*t! To boot, the thing took a dump and stopped working after a few months. Cost a bundle to fix and when I sold it I lost my shirt. I didn't even get half what I paid for it (and I got a deal).

I've heard the Behringer, it doesn't sound half as good as the "Line Sux" did. But still, my old blond Bassman with a Mesa Boogie V Twin in front of it, blows the doors off either one of those modeling pieces of C-R-A-P!

I had an old HI WATT head ... traded some studio time for it ... was about $500 into it ... I went out and found a nice Marshall 4 12 cab for $300, used them for 2 years and sold the whole thing for $1150.

My Bassman which I have had for five years now and I can sell it to the local music store (wholesale mind you) for more than I paid for it. You're never gonna do that with the Behringer .. yeah I'm really pissed off ..... NOT! :roll:

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 14:07

Line 6? Oh god dude. Don't even go there. I hate Line 6. I used a Line 6 Pod for many months because my friend let me borrow it. God that thing sucks. I hated every second of having to use that thing.

I know modeling all probably sounds similar, but I personally think Behringers V-Amp modeling sounds better. You've gotten to "hear" Behringers modeling, but have you gotten to fiddle around with it? You can get some of the distortion to sound pretty full of tone and not just "chug" like all I got on a Line 6 Pod.

KurtFoster Mon, 04/11/2005 - 14:14

Oh so let's see ... do you think Behringer really did any of their own R&D on that amp? If you do, I have a bridge I would like to sell to you ... cheap!

Who's design did they copy? Most likely "Line Sux".

I would bet if you were to look and see what was going on in both amps, the Beringer would be a very close knock off of a Line Sux design with cheaper components .. I haven't even bothered to compare but I bet the Behinger has all the same features as a comparible "Line Sux" amp. Anyone else want to weigh in on this? I am weary of it .... It's waaaaaay too easy! It's like fighting the "Knight Who says Neeh"!

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 14:22

Yeah I'm quite aware of that. I don't doubt they copied the line 6 design, but I also know that my ears aren't complete liars. I'd sit around with the Line 6 pod for an hour trying to get a decent sounding distortion sound out of it but all i'd get is muddy chuggy sound.

The one thing I really do hate is "cabinent modeling." Thats the dumbest thing, I don't know...just give me one good freakin distortion sound and a good clean sound and thats all I really need.

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 02:25

its that guy again wrote: [quote=killersoundz]1st-----Behringers gear has about $100 of components in it? Let me just say this guitar head weighs more then most guitar heads i've held
2nd-------Alright, I'm not trying to sound smart but, ANY guitar head, what really costs money in it? I'm sure all of the components in ANY guitar head total maybe $100. Whats circuit boards, tubes, resistors, transistors, sheet metal, some wood, cost? I don't know but i'm just saying
3rd--------I really think the real reason that the old timers...

1st----I said it has appox $100 worth of parts (technology) in it. I do not care how heavy it is
2nd----You said "what cost money in it?" Answer: True audio professionals are drawing up the lastest and greatest designs at REAL audio sound companies. And new platforms never before seen. It cost money to develop newer & better technologies.
That is exactally what Behringer does NOT do at all. They just buy one (Line 6) and open it up, make copies of the blueprint circuit board. And buy the parts from a cheaper dealer. So that's why there are no development cost and they don't even have to design shit.
Also try this....Tubes, tubes, and more tubes (tubes in the pre amp section & bigger tubes in the power stage). Not bullcrap transitors and bottom rate resistors. No bargain zener diodes. And PCB bridge rectifiers.
You can't even get the tubes to re-tube a good amp. (A real amp) For the cost that the Behringer is.
3rd---"old timers" dude I'm frickin 29 years old
Maybe what you meant was "words from the wiser" :oops:

For everyone reading this thread.... I think what this guy is trying to say is... 'I would rather spend 10-20x what the orginal spent and argue with them over wanting to spend less then me, so that I feel better about my spending habits'

Seriously dood... teh v-amp is not as bad as you amke it out to be.. Im an old school guy that would rather have a 4 tubes powering my distortion.. I will be honest.. I have always been a tube guy a still am.. but the v-amp is in my rack... and I dont think a tube amp will be replacing it anytime soon. If anything it will be 'line sux' replacing it

Guest Thu, 04/14/2005 - 04:37

Well you can change my words all you want. But you don't know "what I think". I didn't say what I think. I only stated facts. What I think is that ALL Behringer SUCKS and this topic belongs in budject gear.
Those are my words. NOT anything other than that. I think you don't like people who refuse to play on crap.
I choose my gear, it doesn't choose me.
Whether you like me or my facts is not the topic of this thread. :cry:

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 07:12

I wouldn't say amp modelling sucks in general, this is totaly up to taste & purpose.

If I record in a studio I use tube amps ONLY, but for capturing ideas, practising, prerecordings, recording demos (maybe at home where you just can't turn up your 100W tube amp stack) these things are a blessing.

this is a prerecording i did some time ago when i was using NOTHING but a behringer v-amp and some pc-based plugins:

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.forevere…"]behringeronly-metalprerecording.mp3[/]="http://www.forevere…"]behringeronly-metalprerecording.mp3[/]

consider that this guitarsound cost me 100€ (~130$),
no neighbors complaining and still a useful prerecording.

besides i think it's relatively easy to do expensive sounding recordings with expensive equipment, but i see it as a challenge and a good practice to get a lot out of only a few cheap devices.

don't get me wrong - I'm not a huge behringer/modelling fan.
I'm just against "cheap equipment/behringer/modelling sucks in general". What kind of a dumbass would i be to buy UREIs and NEVEs for my living room if I go to a studio afterwards anyway.

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 12:18

expletive deleted yes. *HEADBANGS* Who's that on guitar? Because he seems to be exactly on my level of guitar playing, that sounds like stuff I make up. If that doesn't tell you something behringer haters then I dont know. :?

That sounds pretty expletive deleted killer dude. In all honesty, I haven't recorded much with my guitar head yet, I used a Line6 POD for everything i've done up until now, and I hate using that thing.

Edited by the Moderator for inappropriate language

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 13:20

First, please tone down the language.

Second, saying that behringer's modeling amp rocks while the pod sucks makes no sense at all. I have used a pod pro for some time (It does not repace a collection of great amps as some would have you believe, but you can get some good sounds out of it). There is absolutely nothing original (except crappy parts) about any of the behringer's features, even the knob placement is made to look like the pod pro. I don't know how you can respect a company that makes a living by ripping off other company's products and convincing ignorant people that they are better at half the price.

Every feature you pointed out that is "great" on your behringer unit is a direct rip off of the Pod Pro.

Boltino

anonymous Thu, 04/14/2005 - 14:40

its that guy again wrote: Well you can change my words all you want. But you don't know "what I think". I didn't say what I think. I only stated facts. What I think is that ALL Behringer SUCKS and this topic belongs in budject gear.
Those are my words. NOT anything other than that. I think you don't like people who refuse to play on crap.
I choose my gear, it doesn't choose me.
Whether you like me or my facts is not the topic of this thread. :cry:

I said 'wat i think thisguy is trying to say' I was just letting you know what you sound like ;) I have no reason not too like you or what you are stating... Just throwing in my $.02

Guest Thu, 04/14/2005 - 17:00

trey85stang wrote:
For everyone reading this thread.... I think what this guy is trying to say is... 'I would rather spend 10-20x what the orginal spent and argue with them over wanting to spend less then me, so that I feel better about my spending habits'

Seriously dood... teh v-amp is not as bad as you amke it out to be.. Im an old school guy that would rather have a 4 tubes powering my distortion..

"For everyone reading this thread..."--- What about the people who aren't reading this thread? :?
"I think what guy is trying to say is" ----No I already spoke, anything that you might want to add would be "what you are trying to say"
"I would rather spend 10-20x"----Yes I would..I like quality gear! And cost is nothing when it comes to great gear that is at least worth the money you are spending on it. (unlike Behringer)
"So that I feel better about my spending habits"----I feel fine all the time. Except when jackmasters like you try to put words in my mouth. Just because you don't have anything constructive to add, does not mean you will be able to run your mouth about what others "DID NOT SAY" and not be called on it.
"I am an old school guy that would rather have 4 tubes"---That's exactaly what I said! :evil:
Add your 2 cent as you call it. But don't say what "that guy is trying to say"
No more than me saying "heres what you meant to say"
Just say it, unless you don't have a point to make.

therecordingart Thu, 04/14/2005 - 23:19

Here we go......my opinions....

Construction:

The fact is that the Behringer units are a knock-off of the Line 6 designs using cheap parts. What does this mean? Anyone that wants an amp modeler, and wants it to last should probably go with Line 6. Behringer has a strong reputation for building products that don't make it very long.

Sound quality:

I own a Line 6 POD and very rarely will I use it! I use it for scratch tracks while tracking drums or if a guitar player has an awful amp. I've recorded the Behringer V-Amp....sounds a little different from the POD, but still nothing to write home about. These units get the job of tracking a guitar done, but I've personally never recorded a take through one of these units and been blown away by it. IMO they lack the "life" and "tone" of a real amp. I will say that I've had better luck with the amp modelers than I have had with the low-end Crate amps! The amp modelers don't completely blow cheese, but they don't rock either!

Conclusion:

If you can't afford a Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Orange, Vox, HiWatt, Bogner...etc....then the only option you really have is to try coming close with modeling the amp. I've had the priviledge of owning and recording some of the best amps made, and it has spoiled the amp modeling experience for me. I would love to not hear the difference between a $150 Behringer modeler and a Bogner half stack. That would be the cat's butt.....but unfortunately it hasn't happened yet.
If you like the sound of your Behringer...then hell yea....I've seen and heard much more wierd things.

When it is suggested to people that have great amps at their disposal to try a product known for breaking that attempts modeling the great amps.....you are setting yourself up for responses like this. The reality is that a lot of guys in this forum have spent years training their ears to hear the slightest changes in sound, and can hear a mouse fart in the building next door.

I'm sorry you didn't get the response you were looking for....don't let other opinions keep you from liking your amp. If you like it and it captures the sound you want....roll with it!

Side note....I saw a Marshall VS-100 head at a pawn shop for $175 bucks. It's not a JCM800, but it isn't a Behringer either. The band Static X used this amp for quite some time in their rig during their first album. I think I'm going to go buy it.