Behringer Ultrabass - Yay or nay?

[seamonkey]

Behringer won't die in 6 months, they have a 3 year warranty. They are everywhere and easy to exchange.

Well known high quality dealers like Sweetwater now sell Behringer

I wouldn't buy this model myself. It's old technology now, and too big and heavy (with MDF).

I'd be more inclined to get a Behringer Eurolive B215D and a good pre-amp.

 

[Ben Noblit]

I have that exact model, and I say nay. Bad, boxy tone, with an ineffective EQ. Wattage is not what they say it is, and I've had nothing but problems with it breaking down.

 

[superfunk47]

I got a similar combo when I started playing, and while I can't rave about the weight (seriously feels like carrying a bag of bowling balls with the least convenient handle location possible) it's been reliable these last eight years. The first half of those put it through some heavy and hard use, too.

Behringer gets a bad rep on here, and while mine could have been a fluke, it seems that others have had similar experiences.

 

[BawanaRik]

I have never owned an Ultra bass but there's a reason for that. Mostly talking to others about them. I have a Behringer mixer which is cool but I wouldn't use an anp unless it waa free.

What's wrong with the Ibanez or is this just a tone jones?

 

[Barca_bass]

Not only NAY but RUN!!!!! Behringer gear may seem like a great deal at first but it will only bring you much grief. What they do is reverse engineer other companies products and make them with the cheapest parts possible, guaranteed to fail in 6 months o less.

Honestly, try something like the GK Backline series combos o Microbass series, Markbass o even an Acoustic practice combo, any of these will be a fa better deal.

I agree with this idea. I had a Behringer Ultrabass combo and ended up upgrading to an Acoustic B200 combo. For me, it was a lot better combo.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Nay.

 

[jeff7bass]

Of the combos, I liked the BX300 which was an older 10”/30w combo. It was a rock for 3 years and was LOUD with some great features on it. Cheaper than the Fender Rumble 25, two of which I blew up just practicing, and much better in sound and quality. For 130 bucks I got the combo plus a replacement warranty. It was a great purchase and now it belongs to my cousin (sold it when I bought an MB10).
My second Behringer purchase was the BX4500H head, which I paid 225.00 and also included a replacement warranty. I needed a backup head at the time (about 4 years ago) and it was cheap and powerful so I bought it after giving it a run at GC.
It does most things very well but the Octaver is funky and its heavy. However it does power either one or both of my cabs with plenty of volume and the SHAPE filter gives it some cool tones.
I leave the DEEP switch off too but it does work as you would expect. The overhang of the housing makes it difficult to see the descriptions of the knobs without bending over but that’s a minor thing. The compressor works fairly well also. I’d give this head a solid “B” for performance (sound, versatility) and an “A-“ for value. It’s a perfect head for leaving at the rehearsal space sitting a on cab that doesn’t cost too much (but works well). It’s time for a re-design though.
I’ve seen the aluminum-cone speakers shred badly but I think they’ve improved on them lately. Hard to say. I likely would not consider one of their bass cabs but I know people who have had good luck with their PA speakers.

 

[ksandvik]

Please save your money for something more decent, used or new. Don't go with cheap stuff just because you could afford it. Even with warranty in place you have a gig to play and if it breaks down after the first song....

 

[senorblues]

MOST of these naysayers never owned one.
Behringer amps are OK. Most loud you can get for the money. I never had any problem with any Behringer product I have owned.

 

[hired hand]

When I read "Practice Amp" I think of something that will sit in a room for most of its life.....like at somebody's house.
I do not think of a studio or rehearsal space, but more like an amp you would use at home by yourself or to play with a piano or guitar player in a "casual" manner.
That Behringer will be fine. We have the 1200. It has been used in the manner above for about 5 years. It sounds completely fine for that purpose. Like a guitar player plugging into a cheap, 300 dollar, Solid State amp. It will be just fine for "practice".....
Best

 

[5StringFool]

For a practice amp it might be ok, but I wouldn't expect much volume out of it. My experience with Behringer amps is that their wattage ratings are a bit specious at best, outright misrepresentations at worst. That combo is supposed to be 180 watts, but my Crate BX80 (which is 80 watts) is much louder. If you read the spec sheet the speaker in the combo is only rated for 120 watts... why would any manufacturer put a 120 watt speaker in a 180 watt combo, unless of course it's not really 180 watts (or at least clean watts).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[seamonkey]

Please save your money for something more decent, used or new. Don't go with cheap stuff just because you could afford it. Even with warranty in place you have a gig to play and if it breaks down after the first song....

Any new gear you buy, from any brand, you should crank and find the limits during practice and rehearsals Not on the gig. Even new high priced brands can fail on the gig. A new amp from any brand is much more likely to fail than one that has been well "tried out" ahead of time. Same for cars, TV's, cell phones, and any technology in life.

 

[Mousekillaz]

they might be reliable, but they sound bad ... I mean really bad.

 

[barrod10]

MOST of these naysayers never owned one.
Behringer amps are OK. Most loud you can get for the money. I never had any problem with any Behringer product I have owned.

+1

 

[5StringFool]

MOST of these naysayers never owned one.
Behringer amps are OK. Most loud you can get for the money. I never had any problem with any Behringer product I have owned.

I've owned the Ultrabass BX 1200 (120 watt) and my Peavey TNT 130 (130 watts) blew it out of the water volume wise, and cost less, and sounds better.

IME used Peavey is the most loud for the money hands down.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Practice amp, sure. Behringer OR Peavey.

We have 2 Behringer KX1200's here(keyboard amps), one is daughter's and one is son's.....they work fine. There are 2 BX1200's here as one is my son's and one is the one I got for use whenever we play a club with GOOD PA subs....no more bringing a bass rig(see pic below). Works fine.

PS: There's also a Behringer bass Vamp(POD clone) at my employer's for headphone practice at lunch.

 

[fingerbun]

To original poster....I bet your head is spinning. I'd like to give you a perspective on the advice you've received here.

There are better amps out there than Behringer, but they cost a lot more. The bass player I mentioned who has the same amp you are looking at does paid jazz gigs with it, and has no desire to upgrade. His two main gigs are backing a guitarist on a river boat, and a 15 piece big band.

Others brought Peavey into the discussion. I own Peavey and I personally think it is better than Behringer. I've done maybe a couple of thousand gigs in my life and 80% of them would have been through Peavey amps. To my knowledge I never lost a gig because I was using Peavey, and I did up to 5,000 seat rooms

I own something better now, because I can afford it. But if I had to I'd make do with Peavey. If you are only doing small gigs, these sorts of amps are enough.

If you have the money and desire for something better, go for it, but you can be a working bassist with basic gear. Heck, do some research on Hofner basses to realise what a second rate piece of junk Paul McCartney's first bass was. You know if he'd spent 100 quid on a Fender instead of making do with a 30 quid Hofner, he might have been able to score a hit record or two.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

MOST of these naysayers never owned one.
Behringer amps are OK. Most loud you can get for the money. I never had any problem with any Behringer product I have owned.

I'd counter with most naysayers have tried them at GC/SamAsh/etc and wouldn't buy them. They also have experience with other Behringer gear crapping out on them.

 

[xxx666]

I'd counter with most naysayers have tried them at GC/SamAsh/etc and wouldn't buy them. They also have experience with other Behringer gear crapping out on them.

So you know all these naysayers do you?

OP I think its the old "you get what you pay for" . Clearly a Behringer is not gonna get you a whole lot of street cred (or talk bass cred for that matter!) . But if it's in your budget and you like the way it sounds - do it.

As mentioned it carries a three year warranty which is as good, if not better than most manufacturers.

People also seem to forget that a lot of the "cheap" components etc. that are in these things find their way into many other manufacturers equipment also.

IMO, YMMV so on and so forth.....

 

[pie_man_25]

I'd recommend getting a different amp, mainly based on the fact that this is a combo amp. This is just my experience, but I have a hard enough time punching through the mix of two guitarists with particularly loud heads and a drummer on even small gigs with my head and 410. Getting this combo amp wouldn't be too much of an upgrade, unless of course the ibanez amp you have is a little 15-watter, but even then, it would be a more sensible long-term choice to grab a cheap used head with at least 200 watts to it and a used 115 or something. It's less convenient than having one combo to lug around, BUT if you ever need to expand your rig, you would only need to buy another (preferably matching) cabinet, as opposed to a whole new amp. To be honest, I've sampled plenty of behringer equipment, and I'd say it's generally worth buying if you can get a good price for it - at this juncture I'm considering upgrading my rig with a behringer 810 (for 200 bucks, believe it or not).