Played a Behringer

[Russell L]

Well, I played a benefit tonight. The band leader said his amp would already be there. It was a Behringer BX4410, 450w with four 10s. So, what the heck, I played it. My Markbass was in the truck, if needed.

It sounded ok, actually. Small club, variety of music, not too loud, but full nonetheless. The first few songs were just to get me oriented with it, and the room, of course. I left the deep switch and Ultrabass knob off. Played mostly flat with no shaping. Ended up boosting the low just a hair, as well as high mids. Not much, though. Overall, the sound was good, but during a solo I dunno if it was my eq, but the solo didn't have the tone I thought I was playing with, somehow. The sound reminded me of my old peavey Scorpion speakers from long ago. But, the amp punched pretty good, but then again, it's a 410, so... The gain was at about noon and the master (called "Output") was around 10 o'clock most of the time. Tone-wise the thing sounded pretty good in the mix. The knobs give me the willies, though, because they have no tension. Very loose feeling, which makes it harder to make a quick adjustment in between notes.

I'm not here to bash the thing, though. It really did a good job. My friend says he's had a lot of Behringer stuff that has served him well. I can't speak from personal experince, nor can I say how rugged this amp might be. Of course, I've heard lots of horror stories and bad opinions, and will probably hear more, even in this thread. But, having never had any exsperience playing a Behringer, I thought it was interesting, and just wanted to share it with you. It was also the first time I've ever played a 410 at a gig. I liked the full sound.

So, one thing that is amazing is that you can buy something for so little that will sound like what this one did tonight. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not going to go buy one. But, it will be interesting to compare it to my two 12s when I get the extension cab for my Markbass.

Comments anyone? Thanks for listening.

[bassist4dalord]

I had a Behringer BXL108 Thunderbird 15-watt 1x8" combo as my first bass amp. In retrospect, I wish I would have kept it. It had RCA input, and the sound that came out of it was actually phenomenal for a practice combo. Warm, vintage sound. Wouldn't get loud without farting, but it sounded good at low volumes.

My Behringer UltraBass BXL450A, on the other hand

They have a bad rap around here that they only mostly deserve.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by bassist4dalord

I had a Behringer BXL108 Thunderbird 15-watt 1x8" combo as my first bass amp. In retrospect, I wish I would have kept it. It had RCA input, and the sound that came out of it was actually phenomenal for a practice combo. Warm, vintage sound. Wouldn't get loud without farting, but it sounded good at low volumes.

My Behringer UltraBass BXL450A, on the other hand

They have a bad rap around here that they only mostly deserve.

Yeah, the bad rap is what I keep hearing. I suppose that if you were real careful, though, you might do ok, unless things just fail. Hope that doesn't happen to my friend.

Heh, I get to play the amp again tomorrow night in a large club. He's taking it there to leave for a jam that's coming up. I'll see what it can really do in that big room. Might leave my Markbass in the truck, huh?

[mowburger]

I would bring your MB it's light enough to tote and grab if you need it, I've heard guys that use these with good results at bar gigs, sounded pretty good. I'm scared of them due to thier rep tho.

[Bassquest]

The little Thunderbird Bx108 I have is perfect for home practice and small gigs, like at the old folks home.

[nocontrols]

I don't think they're necessarily a reliable brand and I wouldn't buy one, given the many better options out there today but if you wind up with one, you could well have a decent, gigable amp on your hands. The level of hyperbolic Behringer hate is kind of silly, as if each and every one is designed to self-destruct upon use, like a secret message in Mission: Impossible.

[Russell L]

Yeah, I might take the Markbass along for the ride at least. Tonight's gig is about 30 minutes from home, not far, but still further than I could get back with another amp just at break time, if needed. I must say that it's nice that folks who don't have a lot of money can get an amp that sounds as good as this one, but if they end up with a lemon they would've been better off paying more for something that would last. Of course, my MB could be a lemon, but I'll bet my chances that it's not are better.

I guess this thread is actually more about me wanting to just talk about playing a different amp for a change, and in different venues. So happens it's a Behringer, and that made it more interesting to me since I've heard all the talk, ya know. Like I said, sound-wise, I thought it did good. I wasn't sure on the first tune, but you know how that goes. There's always something in the mix that makes me want to start turning knobs to get to where I think it sounds good, no matter how good I thought I had it set before we started. Yuck, there's nothing that hurts your technique worse than a bad eq, or bad mix. Once I got it right, the amp sounded fine, to me.

[will33]

I've never had a problem getting a good/useable sound out of one but I'm one of those guys who ends up sounding pretty much "like me" no matter what I plug into. My beef with them is and has been reliability.

[Blankandson]

I used the 45 watt 10" one for practice. Took it once to a church when they called and said they couldn't find their amp. I heard nothing. I sat behind the drummer and honestly, I never heard myself. It was frustrating but I knew the music and just played with the beat. Not fun when you have no clue how you sound. So for me it was fine for practice in the spare room, and that's where it should stay.

[Downunderwonder]

There's a fairly high powered B'ringer head and 4x10 in the muso's club in Dunedin. It's there for allcomers to jam on. Crappy drumkit, guitars, etc. It played fine. I wouldn't drag a rig up there to play a jam session when it's there. None of the locals did either on the night I was there.

[mward69]

I had the BX4500 head and 410 before I got my ampeg rig...I actually liked the head, loved the Ultrabass effect. Didn't like the 410 at all....I ended up trading it in at GC {the whole rig} for a new case for my fender.....lol I spent like $2000 up there that day, bought the Marcus Miller bass, Ampeg Cab. some other stuff....So I got the bass case, a pack of strings and a new strap all for the Bass rig...lol

[evilt70]

I still have a ultrabass 300 watt head and the matching 4x10 cabinet with the aluminum speakers, bought years ago when it was all I could afford. I've beat the hell out of the thing on the local club circuit for a few years and it always worked fine. Once in a blue moon Ill use that behringer cabinet with my pre/power amp combo and it sounds great. There are a few local folks in my area using a bit of their gear, and they really haven't had any issues with it. I wouldn't be scared to take mine back on the road again if I needed to.

[jzhobo77]

I have 2 Behringer Bass Amps both 300w. One 300w bass head and one 300w bass combo both with 15" speakers. I've got them between 4 and 5 years now and do alot of
gigging. I do small local clubs and large clubs. And my sound man said he has no problems
eq'ing the sound for the large clubs. I would say so far I got my money worth and good
sound results.

[Muzoid]

I don't mind some Behringer gear...I have a C3 Mic I totally love...

...as for their amps

Inexpensive: yes
Functional: yes
Rugged: nope

In fact, I get quite a few calls asking if I can replace broken pots....of which, I cannot on a Behringer amp.

Cheap pots with plastic shafts...treat with care.

[Floyd Eye]

First gig with my old band, second song, brand new Behringer PMP2000 powered mixer bit it. No back up. GC replaced it the next day. I quit the following week. New band, Yamaha 532SC, never had a problem.

[geddeeee]

Alex Lifeson from Rush uses a couple of Behringer pieces in his rack... Enough said!!!!

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by geddeeee

Alex Lifeson from Rush uses a couple of Behringer pieces in his rack... Enough said!!!!

Which ones? Any pics?

[geddeeee]

Alex Lifeson current rig list:

Hughes & Kettner Triamp heads (2)
Hughes & Kettner Zentera heads (2)
Hughes & Kettner 4x12 cabinets (6)
Digital Music Corp. GCX Guitar Audio Switchers (2)
Digital Music Corp. Ground Control
Dunlop DCR-ISR Crybaby Rack Wah
TC Electronic TC 1210 Spatial Expander
TC Electronic G-Force (3)
Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere
Behringer Multigate Pro XR4400
Behringer Virtualizer Pro DSP 2024P
Behringer MX602 (2)
Behringer 662
Custom Audio Japan GVCA-2 Rev 3 (2)
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
Boss TU-12H
Korg MPK-130 MIDI Pedal Keyboard
Shure U4D wireless receivers (2)
Shure U-1 wireless belt-pack transmitters (11)
Shure Antenna Distribution System
Samson UR-5D wireless receiver (for acoustic and piezo guitars)
Samson UT-5 belt-pack transmitter (2)
Palmer PDI-03 speaker simulators (4)

A lot of the Behringer rackmount stuff is great..... I have a Behringer Composer Pro Compressor. Superb!!!

[Floyd Eye]

Huh. Who knew?

Not that I have any preconceived disposition against Chinese clones, my opinion is based largely on their exceptional failure rate. Alex must like those pieces though. He surely can afford anything he wants in his rack.

[Muzoid]

That's pretty cool about Lifeson....but I bet he has 5 more of each backstage, just in case.