Behringer BX4500H Ultra Bass Head

The features such as they are, are limited, though I find the amp to have a good overall sound. I have no real problem with the rotary EQ, and find the shape button to be very good. The ultrabss effect is useless really. It has more than enough power (I've used it for outside gigs). I've used this amp with it's 4x10 cab for many differnt gigs, both inside & out, studio work, and at home. I get a good sound out of it with any of my 7 varied basses, without too much fiddling.

I have been playing for many years so I do have some experience with different gear. I play in several rock covers bands as well as writing my own more diverse music. I've used this amp for the last 2 yrs and have been happy with it. Of course it's a cheaper end unit so maybe not in the same league as Fender, Marshall, but look at the cost! I agree the ultrabass effect is not needed but with the shape on it sounds fine. It has plenty of power and holds it's own against the guitarists big stacks!I don't find the fan that noisy, no worse than any other makes. I use a Treban Pheonix active bass as my main workhorse along with a Fender P lyte going through a samson wireless unit. I use several effects pedals, but these are simply personal taste. I rarely need to go above half volume as that will deafen, and the bands I play with are LOUD!I leave most of the contrals about half way and use the guitar to fine tune the sound.

I bought my amp new in 2007 I have gigged with it quite a bit since then as well as using it at home. At the time I bought a matched 4x10 cab and have to say have been pleased with it on the whole. The amp does have weak points like the input jacks (plastic) which can break if you're not carful, my active one did after another guitarist "wiggled" the lead out of it one night! It still worked though. The amp is quite heavy and seems strong. It's had a lot of use so far and I hope it goes on for some time to come. The rating is due to the input breaking

NOT USED

I'm a girl so I won't say how long I've neen playing, lol but I go back a long way! I've been impressed with most of the Behringer stuff I've bought. I don't have a big purse so am always looking for value for money, which I think they provide. If I had more money I would probably get something more expensive, though it would have to go some to beat this. I recently bought a bb115 cab to go with the 4x10 and the sound is awsome!

Mainly has been used as a studio amp over a period of 1 year
Won't bad rap the features because every manufacturer is different
One always tries to overstep the next
Would prefer a band EQ rather than rotory
Plenty of power (for studio) that is

Sound quality is descent and can hold it's own

Let's get to the grit, shall we?
Bought this as well as a BA115 cabinet from GC almost 2 years ago
Brought it from home to studio soon after purchase
Used it in that time period not only for practice but as well as recording and even 1 outdoor show.
Took a 1 month break,came back with the boys,turned it on and no sound
I know it has power,receives a signal but no sound
I know the cabinet works just fine with another head but with the 4500h no sound

I know when I called customer support they were helpful in directing me to a local service tech but still no answer to why I don't have sound
I know that when I was told that it would be as much to fix the problem as I paid for the unit almost 2 years ago I still couldn't believe there was no sound
I know the GC reps will tell you you get what you pay for when you have no sound
I know That I feel like I've been taken for a ride

Like I said------

I will stand by my rating of #6 because I do believe this is a descent product when it works
Unfortunately some customers have been lured in by cheap pricing and a product that seems to last just beyond it's warranty. I'm stuck with a choice of repair bills or boat anchors
So I ask the CEOs of Behringer---- What would you do in my position?
Take another chance on a product that may cost (dearly) down the road or save a few more dollars and go to reliability like Ampeg or Fender
Or are they the next to go?

Not sure about the year this amp was made as I acquired it from a friend of a friend for a stately some of ??0.00

It's your typical bass amp. 450 watts, one channel, 5 band EQ, input and output knobs and passive and active inputs. It also has a shape control, a UltraBass control and deep and bright buttons. Oh, and it is very very very very very heavily based on the Ashdown heads.

On paper, this thing has good features for the price. But thats only on paper.

The shape and UltraBass controls are utterly useless and add nothing more than a thud to your already shocking sound, they should have left these two options out and made the EQ a 7 band.
I do tend to use both the deep and bright buttons as they help clean up the mess of sound, but not by much.

I am using this with a Mexican Fender P-Bass and an Ashdown MAG 4x10. I play mainly rock, metal and indie and I am very partial to a bit of Rage Against The Machine. This amp does not make me sound like Tim Commerford.

This amp has no character. I play this amp with the EQ flat because no matter what I do with it, it always makes my bass sound like a very low, wet fart. As stated above, I use the deep and bright buttons as they add a tiny bit of shape to the otherwise utterly shapeless tone.

I know this is not my bass or cabs fault as I have used a friends Ampeg SVT-3 with the same gear and I dialed in a delicious sound straight away.

The only thing this amp can do is go loud, very loud. But even that is not desirable as I don't want anyone to hear the **** this head comes out with.

Fair play, for a piece of junk it has a lot of fight in it.

It has been thrown around, stuffed in the back of a van in boiling hot and freezing cold weather, punched, kicked and has taken more verbal abuse than a whore, but when I plug it in it lights up straight away and starts spewing out that god awful sound I have to hear far too often.

Though it only starts if it doesn't burn out my kettle lead. It eats kettle leads up like no ones business. I have gone through over 5 kettle leads after only having it for 6 months.

I have never dealt with Behringer and don't want to. I will be glad to get enough money to buy a new amp from a better company.

What a piece of ****. I wouldn't even piss on it if it was on fire.

I have compared it with other low range models such as an Ashdown MAG 300, an Ampeg B-2RE, a Hartke 2500 and a MarkBass Little Mark 250. While each one was better than it, I never have the money to purchase any of them.

If it were lost or stolen I would congratulate myself on being clumsy enough to lose it and hope it doesn't come crawling back into my life. I would then consider all the possible ways to make enough money to purchase a Hartke LH-500.

I have been playing bass for about 2 years now, but have also been playing guitar for 7 so I know how a good bass should sound. This amp won't ever ever ever get you that sound.

If you were ever thinking about buying this amp I strongly recommend you save a bit of money and just buy a D.I. box instead.

Rated at 450 watts but sounds like a lot less. Active and passive inputs, EQ knobs, "ultrabass" and "deep" switches, effects loop, shape. This is your basic, cheap Behringer sound, sure you get more watts on paper but 1) the tone is mediocre and 2) it doesn't cut through anything. The Ultrabass feature is utterly useless and the amp just has no character whatsoever.

I'm playing a Fender J bass and a custom 6-string w/ an active EMG dual coil pickup. The sound quality is poor, as mentioned above this amp just has very little character and I really struggle to get a good tone out of it. Sorry but I'm not going to go out and buy a compressor to make a cheap head sound decent, I'm just going to get a good head that won't fall apart and has some character of its own. As mentioned, you get a lot of noise with the treble turned up, especially if you use the cheap Behringer cabs that are often packaged with this amp. This amp isn't very versatile and even with the gain turned up it just doesn't growl like it should.

The passive input fell out of this thing - not came loose, but totally fell out - after just a few months of use in rehearsals. No gigging. Hey, you get what you pay for.

Never bothered.

I've been playing for 10 years and have played through or owned Ampeg, Fender, Peavey, Hartke and Crate equipment, from the low end all the way to vintage tube stuff. You can get a lot of value buying used and I am generally not a big spender when it comes to gear, however this amp is just not it. The best feature - the high wattage at a low price - is not even terribly applicable since this thing sounds totally underpowered. Novices, don't be impressed by the low price and the inflated reviews on Musician's Friend and other vendors... Behringer's bass gear is junk.

This is your typical Behringer cheap Chinese product. Before I get too critical, I'd like to say that yes, it works, it works ok, nothing spectacular. Manufacture date of March/08. It works for me, Don't know if it'll work for you. If you're gigging everyday, everyweek, no, it won't do for you. But if you're like me and gig two or three times a month it's a good deal. One channel, fx loop, and yes again the ultrabass thing is useless. However the shape thing is useful. This amp is underpowered, it states 450 watts, but it sounds more like 300. It is useless without a compressor to boost the signal, however with the compressor it sounds much better and is capable of holding down its own with a full band. Considering of course, the cabs you're using with it. Me, looking for the cheapest solution to my shrinking budget, bought the cabs they make to match the head. The BB115 and the BB210. This makes a formidable sound, though I spent many hours trying to dial in the sound I heard in my head. The EQ section is ok, just ok, it doesn't fair well without the "deep" button on. Like I said, for me, looking for cheap gear to play in bars and the occasional outdoor gig, it works just fine. I wouldn't rely on this for anything else.

I'm playing a Mexican Jazz Bass 5 string and a Squire Precision 5 string thru this rig. I have other more expensive guitars, Ive been a musician for 30 years and have collected a few over the years. However I find that much to my surprise, the Squire sounds the best thru this set up. My band plays pop, rock and country covers and for what we do, this has a fair amount of punch and volume (with added compression) The gain structure of this amp is funny. The volume on its own does little to get the signal where you need it to be, the pre gain, if used too liberally, adds distortion. Something I can live without. This is where a good compressor comes in. I find that you raelly have to spend some time with it to get it to sound nice and fat and round. But it is possible. Maybe it's the cabs (again more cheap Chinese stuff) but the speakers fart out if you turn it up where you think it should be. Constant adjustment to the EQ and compressor finally got the sound I was looking for. It doeasn't just happen out of the box. I read the other reviews here before I bough this, and was aware of all the glitches that could happen with it. I got what I expected, nothing more.

The amp itself is packaged in a very sturdy enclosure, unless you drop it off a building, it won't break. As previously stated, if you gig for a living, don't count on this. If you're a weekender like me, this is the deal. I have a Fender Bassman 400 combo I use as well and rely more on it than I do on this. It's also a hell of a lot more portable than carrying two cabs and a head. But it's the sound that makes the diff. I can get really deep and vibrant tones from this rig, again, with an outboard compressor. It hasn't broken yet, then again, I'm not trying to break it. I understand some of you kids do.

New, never had to deal with the company. I deal with the vendor I bought it from.

I've been playing since I was 17, I dare to say I'll be fifty something this October. If I had to replace this, I would save save save and buy something else. This was an impulse buy, I had my tax rebate in hand and could not afford to get something better. With that said, I am not remorseful, The thing works, it does the job for the money that I paid for it. Had I had another couple of hundred, I would have bought an SWR or an Ampeg head.

I had one of the first 4500 heads after the 3000 head. I never assumed that the Ultrabass would do anything good after reading other reviews. So I tried it and then shut it off. The preamp does not drive hard enough. The 'Shape' control is necessary to get a good sound. The preamp amd final amp work together to make an acceptable bass sound but by themselves are strange.

I played one gig soon after getting it and I had a very successful performance which shows what live sound and volume will do. However....What this unit lacks in finesse it makes up in value. The absolute lowest price you will find for a 450 watt amp. I never had noise, let alone noise that was objectionable. Makes me wonder if people weren't setting it up correctly. Never use the ultrabass. Did you? The final adjustmant is to turn up the shape to where it suits what you play. A Tech 21 RBI goes a long way to turn this amp into gold.

Should last forever.

Great starter bass on a budget!

My Behringer BX4500H was Mfg. in 7/07.
i play along with all different styles of rock.
This rig can get most any sound you need.
The UltraBass function is pretty much still non-functional.
i didn't get it on my 1st Behringer BX1200.
Pretty useless with P basses or my Kay KB1.
You really don't need to use the pre-amp
section unless you like distorted bass.
The master gain is basically all you need to hurt someone.
i do believe this amp's output wattage is a real 450 Watt amp.

Not really sure how many channels.
my guess is one.
Manual is pretty vauge on getting different
parallel/series output cabinet configs
for max proper power rating.

i ran a parallel from my Fender BXR cab
to another 8 ohm 15" pyle driver cab
and ran one cord to amps' output.
It was scary freakin loud with no distorion
and using only the Main output gain.
Running it to both cabs straight in seperatly
into the 1/4" outputs was a lil more tamer and not as loud.
Did i mention this amp will hurt you?!
Very Loud!

Had a earthing prob at 1st but when jammed out
for about 2 hours buzz was gone.

i play Motown to modern rock.
i use P-basses & a SG type Kay KB-1
The Kay is a monster thru this rig!
The P-Bass highs doesn't cut thru too well.
But with the front jack output on the BX4500H
i can run my old Ampeg B-100 to get
the mids & highs i need for the P-Basses

Real clean power amp section.
Fan is loud but that's okay.
Once the amp is jammin you can
barely hear anything else anyways.

The BX4500H is a power plant!
Have some good rated speakers for it.
It about through a Fender 150 Watt 15" acroos the road!
Bone shaking lows from this bad boy!

It can get a nasty distortin but not like an Ampeg.
Ampeg has the top spot for that feature.
But the distortion is do-able with using preamp gain.

Clean channel distorts past 5.
i couldn't bear the force after 5 anyway.
BRUTAL!

Clean channel sound is round, low & HUGE!

i got this because i smoked another amp.
(3 this year)
Low on the duckies so it was the smartest buy.
Lots of Watts for lil dough!
Well worth the money!
The former Behringer BX1200 i had was very gig worthy
so i was led back to Behringer because i knew they can gig
& practice & you don't have to worry about them.
i just heard recently the BX1200 i sold is still going strong.

This head is bult like a tank!
Heavy lil guy too!
Must be one hell of a transformer in it.

N/A

Overall it's the best low budget head out there.
It is a pro quailty rig.
The Gtr guys better have stacks to keep up with the BX4500H!
Massive wall of sound from two 15" 800 Watt Pyle Drivers.
Closely match you're nominal RMS with a high rated speaker
and you'll have the sound you'll love.
The band will hate it but you'll love it!

Would have gave it a 10 but nothing's perfect.
UltraBass feature should be yanked out!
i think this amp would be even better
without the eq section.

i've played rock, pop & r&b bass for about 30 years.
i've owned and played Ampeg V-2 & B-100s
Fender Bassman 350, Peavy Mark IV, Kustom 250
Crates, you name it...
i Like Behringer for it's overall value & reliabilty.

i would buy another if i needed to replaced.

this amp was built in 2006 & is used for classic rock,blues. It has one channel.I do not use any of the features, I just blow through with a wide open volume & ajust accordingly on the bass knobs.This amp has 450 watts of power which is plenty. It is a solid state amp & has excellent sound for the money layed out.

Used for rock & blues & it gets the tone I need to get the job done. If you turn down the gain knob, there is no hum but on stage in a bar you can't hear the hum over average bar noise. I am using 4x10 & 1x15 & there is no distortion turned up to 90% power.

I have had the amp for about 1 year & it hasn't given me a problem yet. I use it on a daily basis & it is as clean as the first day I bought it.

never needed repair & the warranty is good for prolly a year or so???

I have been playing for 41 years & have owned tons of gear over the years. I would buy this gear again due to the durability & the money paid for it was right. The only thing I wish you could do is hook 2 up together & get 900watts going out for outdoors & arenas.

This amp is very versatile through my Spector Legend 4 bass. I play rock, jazz, blues and alt/rock and this amp can LAY IT DOWN! I run through the active channel with gain turned all the way down and the output at about 8 o'clock and this thing is LOUD! I like the shape feature which allows me to switch my tone with just the press of the footswitch which is included. DI out with effects/tuner send/return as well as VU level meter. Ultrabass is not to be used unless you know what you are doing and are tasteful. This can be used to accentuate melodic lead bass lines/runs without over-muddying your overall tone with the right tweeking. I don't recommend using it as a full time setting. Everything works as expected and then some. For the price I paid I was expecting a lot less. I am pleasantly surprised. I use this amp in live settings with a country cover band and DI'd for studio recording. Plenty of power for me running into a 4x10 Hartke and 2x10 GK. I give it a "10" for what this amp offers for the price I paid!

I pretty much like to get a well rounded tone with just a hint of treble and this amp allows me to dial in that tone quite easily. I read the manual before hand and found it useful to a point but the amp itself proved to be very easy to navigate through on my initial practice with my band. I took it straight from the box to my practice and plugged her in and was jammin with the tone I wanted in about 5 minutes. This was very easy to use and seemed to give me great tone across all of my strings. It reproduced everything I played very nicely and didn't lack in tone or power. I have a SansAmp DI for any drive that I may need (very rarely) and it mixed well with this amp. It also thickened up my tone quite a bit and seemed to really bring both this amp and my cabinet to a new level. This amp definitely was well worth my purchse price. I would have even paid a couple of hundred more. I had the slightest hum when the Ultrabass feature was turned on but I would rarely use it if at all. The drummer said "WOW!" I give this amp a "10" for its diverse sound shaping ability. It can really rumble!

This amp weighs about 30 lbs. it feels like a brick. Carrying handle on the side, black carpet matched my cab's, cooling fan that you can hear running after you've been playing for awhile (to me that is a good thing - I know it's working). I have not had this amp but for about three weeks, but it feels like it is road worthy. I have a friend who plays guitar and had a Behringer 2x10 combo and it had issues with noise when using his footswitch. Other than that I have not really seen anyone personally have issues with Behringer gear. That's not to say that I haven't heard stories, I just haven't seen any personally. All in all I feel like I could definitely gig with this amp without a backup although I don't recommend anyone doing that. At least have a backup head or small combo you can mic up just in case. I take very good care of my equipment and I can tell by the manufacturing of this amp that it will not break down any time soon in my care. I am giving this amp a "10" because of how it appears to be built. I don't anticipate any problems but I haven't had it long enough to really give a solid rating that you should gauge your purchase by.

I bought it used on eBay. My guitar friend who had the problems with his guitar combo waited 4 weeks for his amp to return. But it was fixed and he didn't have to pay a dime. I give "No Opinion" because I have no personal experience with Behringer.

I have been playing for 25 years and this is one of the better amps that I have owned (especially for the price!). I have primarily used combo's in the past but I wanted to step up to more power with out more weight! This was definitely the right move for me. I more than doubled my output wattage and have a lighter rig now. That seems very smart to me! If it were lost or stolen I guess I would try to find a replacement for it at a similar price. I know I got a good deal but it was really all that I could afford at the time. It's worth looking into for anyone who is serious about their tone and has the know-how to make their equipment work (this isn't rocket science). I would recommend taking care of your equipment in regards to how loud you play and who you let play it. I am a very serious musician and MY EQUIPMWENT IS MY LIVELYHOOD! That attitude may rub some people the wrong way but it saves me a lot of money in equipment repairs. I give this amp a "10" for its value and ease of use. I feel like I moved my bass tone forward with this purchase.

Don't know when the amp was made, the manual with it is dated may 2005, right around when i bought it. 2 channels, active and passive, 5 band eq. (rotary dials, thank you)vu meter, bright and deep functions, tuner send/return, fx loop, gain, DI out, (2) 1/4" out and one neutrik speakon out. ultrabass and shape filter, controlled by button on amp or with supplied footswitch.

Yes, it does have a SLIGHT hum. some reviews i've read have made a huge deal of this, maybe some are worse than others, this one is there but not objectionable at all, plus once your'e playing who gives a crap anyway? I have an Olp MM4 (Stingray copy) and ESP B154 to which I've added a Seymour Duncan Pbass pickup. I play thru 8 10's and 3 15's, most cabs I've built myself and my baby is the dual 15 with 2 Eminence Kappa Pro LF2's in it. This cab rocks the universe! If i say so myself, this cab has the cleanest, deepest, most powerful bass tone i've ever heard in ANY cab with ANY amp! Getting back to the amp, it's shape feature is very versatile and you can get amazing volume from it without distortion. with the gain at about half, turning the volume up about 1/4 is loud enough to crack the foundation of your house. this amp has power to SPARE! I tend to agree with some other users about the ultrabass..it may be useful on a jazz number at low volume, but the octave lower that it plays takes a second to "catch up" and if you try playing too loudly, it sounds like it's gonna tear your speakers apart!

so far i've had it foe over 2 years. i don't gig with it, but still play a lot, so far no problems at all

haven't needed it.

absolutelt the best amp for the bucks! powerful and clean with useful features, it has performance way beyond what you pay for it. I'd put this amp up against any 'major brand' and be happy to kick their ass!