Preamp - Behringer Bass V-amp

Not many people here think too highly of anything made by that company. Their selling point is the fact they're so cheap. But personally, I think you'd be better off spending a few more bucks for Roland's version. Or, better yet, go to the effects forum, and see what those guys have to say.

 

I happen to be a very happy user of two Behringer stomp boxes. My opinion is that if you like it and it sounds good to YOU, get it. There are plenty around, both new and on Ebay.

 

Search really is your friend, this is only one of many posts: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6731056

 

I've used both the guitar and the bass units. Did the job. Good sounds. No problems.

I prefer the guitar one (for guitar). The bass unit is ok, but I was never 100% happy... I later got a Bass POD XT and I think that one is better for bass. But the Behringer is fine!

 

I had one... decent sounds... ok effects... but it was noisy. Meaning when sitting idle it would often breath noticably through multiple different setups even when using a patch with no effects, modulation, etc.

I sold it.


.

 

I own one and used it fairly often until it died after about three years of use. It lights up, looks like it's working, but no output from any port. Oh well.

Until it died it was a decent unit for the price. Moderately noisy but the effects were ok as were the amp sims. The patches were for the most part goofy but I was able to reconfigure some to be quite usable. I'd grade it a solid C+ just for the fun factor if nothing else.

 

The only effect I use is auto-wah. I had an MXR Auto-Wah box (everyone said they were the best), but I sold it after a year or so and bought a V-Amp (non-rack). The V-Amp sounds as good if not better than the MXR for auto-wah purposes, and I have been playing with it for 5 years with no issues.

In fact, I own 5 Behringer products, and have never had any problems out of any of them:
Xenyx 502 Mixer
BB210 bass cab
V-Amp
Phantom power supply
4-way headphone amp

As mentioned earlier, buying Behringer is mainly a money/pricing priority for most people. Sometimes you roll the dice on an 'affordable' item and you win. But be prepared to lose, though.

 

Did you try changing the internal battery?
(a battery that's not mentioned in the manual, but which will create all sorts of "malfunctions" as it starts to lose its charge. It's a CR2032, same as in computer motherboards)

 

This is also my experience.

 

I have one and everytime I go to the studio I use it. I have even used the keyboard pre sounds for my keys player who wanted a convincing leslie sound. If you like it then get it. We tend to sometimes look at the names on our gear instead of listening to how the gear sounds.

 

Didn't even know it had one. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Yes, it's incredible that the manual doesn't mention it.

I'd guess 99% of the cases you read of someone saying "my V-Amp started making horrible noises" or "losing its memory" or some other complaint, it's due to a battery dying. I've had a guitar V-Amp since 2001. Batteries last me about 2-3 years.

I hope you revive yours!

Sometimes I think I should keep quiet and buy the "broken" units cheaply, put a battery in, and re-sell them

 

I must add... I mentioned having a guitar V-Amp since 2001... I've also owned the Pro version, and the Bass Pro version... they all are esentially built the same way. Same battery. Same omission on the manual. Same "death" when the battery runs out.

 

You can have mine for $50 bucks! Seriously, the tones are okay, had much better luck with Line 6, but that is just my opinion.

 

I wonder how many people dismiss or toss out gear for a problem they could have easily asked their customer support about?

Geez - a battery
It may even be saying so on a LED somewhere.

 

If it says anywhere... I couldn't find it. And I looked. Hard. Read manual cover to cover... checked Behringer's site... nope, not a word. You only get information about it when googling about it... Many users somehow found out, and the word spreads... but it doesn't reach everyone.

 

Absolutely no slam on you - I meant people in general.
Behringer could do better to document this. It's dumb on their part to have a bunch of these in customer's hands that look broken because of an undocumented battery.

But someone with a problem can also call them, or search their support site:

http://behringer-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/behringer_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=GG5wK9Ej&p_lva=29&p_li=&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_page=1&p_cv=&p_pv=&p_prods=0&p_cats=&p_hidden_prods=&prod_lvl1=0&p_search_text=v-amp&srch_btn_submit=%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0Search%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0&p_new_search=1

 

A big shout out for mcnach! I put a new battery in, restored the factory settings, and now my unit works like new.

Let's add a loud boo to Behringer for having this 'undocumented feature' that almost smells of planned obsolescence.