Behringer BXL450 Combo

Ok, a rating of 10?
This is only because I gave it previously a 4, and I think it's unfair. I'd give it an 8-9 normally.

This is an UPDATE to my previous review 2 years ago. I didn't send the amp back, in fact I still have it.

I'm ashamed to admit the issue wasn't the amp previously, but me and my bass, augmented by very very very old strings. I was new to bass then and I had only played with headphones through a V-Amp before getting this amp. I had years of experience with guitar, but not bass.

Very soon after my first review I got another bass. And to my amazement, it sounded pretty damn good. So did every other bass I've owned... and even that old Jazz copy too, once I changed teh strings.

As a practice amp I think it's really good. It's reasonably loud, certainly enough to annoy neighbours if you want to, and sounds nice. I've tried lots of similar size amps since, and not one comes close enough, except a Crate BT15 (or was it a BT25) that soudned quite nice but wasn't nearly as versatile.

I own two bigger amps with which I gig (playing in two bands, a Red Hot Chili Peppers covers band an a hiphop/funk/blues fusion type of band). One is an Ashdown MAG250 (sweet) and the other a newer TC Electronic RH450, through either or both of two cabs, a TC Electronic RS210 and an Ashdown ABM115. Those two amps sound good. I get good comments about the sound when I play live. And at home, I still use the Behringer. I can use either of the others at low volume, they're nice enough, but it's simpler to use the behringer which is always ready to go plugged in next to my desk, and I don't feel I compromise my sound. It's a good sounding amp however you want to look at it.

I play fingerstyle usually, always towards funk. Some slap, sometimes qith a pick, some metal... this amp is good. The overdrive is rubbish 'though. But the SHAPE control is very interesting and I get two different sounds between channels 1 and 2, teh overdrive, when I want it, comes from a pedal. The 5-band EQ is alright, but I have it set pretty flat, using the controls in my bass more (I play mostly active basses: Warwick Corvette $$, OLP MM2 stingray copy with a 3-band preamp I installed, Ibanez SR400...).

Really nice amp. Compact enough without compromising tone. Versatile.
It's not the lightest thing to carry around, Ok for 5min, but if you have to walk far... other amps are more easily carried, but this one sounds really good. I also have a small Laney HCM15B amp that I got for nothing, and I tend to take this one for songwriting jams if I have to take the bus, as it's a lot more compact... but the Behringer sounds a lot better.

It will not work next to a drummer unless he's quiet... but that's not what this amp is for.

45-Watt bass amp
Wedge-shaped cabinet.
10" paper cone speaker
Clean channel with dedicated Gain control
Distortion channel with dedicated Gain, Shape and Level controls
5-band graphic EQ with Spectrum Analyzer
Opto-limiter (always on)
Headphone output
CD input

This amp is loud enough for what I do as I never play with a drummer. It's compact and light and seems well built.
A simple, no-fuss amp.

Ibanez SR505 5-string bass.
I like a round clean bass sound. No distortion or fuzz. Just a clean low note. I also play through a limiter/enhancer pedal which evens out my note volumes.
This amp does a great job reproducing the sound I like.

On the day I bought this amp I took my bass into the store and tried a range of amps including Fender and Roland models. I even tried the 300-Watt aluminium cone big-brother of this amp and didn't like it's sound. In the end I kept coming back to this one.

It's too early to know how reliable this amp will be. But I'm guessing it will last because I don't really need to crank it up.
Solid state - no valves to replace.
The controls are quite solid which is unusual for Behringer who often supply cheap, plastic, wobbly knobs and sliders.

I've only being playing bass for about a year.
If this amp got lost or stolen it would be cheap enough to replace.
I think it represents excellent value for money.

There are 2-channels- clean and distortion, an EQ, and a headphone jack.
45W of power and its been loud enough for most of the things I've used it for, which is to say practice and rehearsal and basement house parties.

I use an SX 5-string fretless. This am sounds OK on the top four strings, but the bottom B sounds kind of like a mattress falling into mud- not very clear. I have the BXL450A, with the aluminum speaker cone, and on the other four strings it sounds fine to me. After a while I got a Boss GT-6B effects processor, and that really opened up what this amp sounds like. Having a synthesized pre-amp and effects, etc makes it sound WAY better. Without that, though, it doesnt sound like much. There isn't a lot of control over your sound, and the distortion channel to me doesn't sound good. It sounds OK for practice and rehearsals. There are probably better amps to be had, but this is kind of the low end of the price range. These days Ive been using it as a guitar amp, which it does OK at too, since I got a GK700RB-II and Neo112.

I've never had any problems with this amp. It's never cut out on me, and it's always powered up just fine. I have heard horror stories about Behringer but I dont have any personally

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing bass (upright and electric) for about 8 years. Overall, it's a decent practice amp. I wouldn't say it's useable for a gig, but I've been relatively happy with it. It's suited me fine until I got better stuff. You could probably do a lot worse, but you could probably do better, too.

Pretty well equipped practice amp, judging from specs. Two channels, a clean one and another with more grit on it, aux input, 5-band EQ...
However, on channel one, you're stuck with just gain and volume. It doesn't get very loud and tonal shaping is restricted to the EQ. Channel two is more versatile, you get the shape, level, gain controls as well as the master... and the EQ.
The kickback design is cool.

Mine is the 450A, with the aluminum speaker.
I am very disappointed.
Channel one sounds okay... but it never gets very loud... and there's an annoying speaker vibration going on unless I reduce a lot of the lower frequencies... even at quite low volumes.
Channel two is better for tayloring your sound, but it starts distorting pretty soon, and it's not a pleasant distortion in my opinion.

I couldn't find a single sound I really liked in this amp (using a Jazz bass). The low freq vibration is very annoying. It just oozes "low quality" to me.

It's going back to the shop.

seems solid

NA

Not happy with this amp.
I find it very underpowered, even considering the 45W rating. I know it's not a lot for bass... but really, this isn't loud enough for 45W, and above all, it just doesn't sound nice. The specs look nice, but the EQ is not very good, the frequency analyser hasn't got much use... I just can't get it to sound good enough.
I had a veyr nice Behringer guitar amp (a GM110) and I love their V-Amp and I have other bits of gear (mixer, microphone...) but this amp is really one to avoid. It just sounds cheap and uninspiring. I bought it online, if I had tried it oin a shop I wouldn't have bought it. It's going back.

Just got this thing and have to say am pleasantly surprised. I have an old Ibanez Black Eagle which has a deep round warm 70's tone that many amps don't do justice to. This amp I just took a punt on untested online because it was so cheap and, well, so far so good. My only gripe would be the volume...It will struggle by itself at drum kit volume.... will have to put a signal into the PA.

Very quiet but my bass needs a bit of earthing work and gets noisy if you touch the wrong parts. The distorted sound at the extreme settings is probably not something I would use much but in the right musical context would be OK. At a subtle level has some nice characteristics to play with. The Graphic EQ is very useable

I've always been a bit suss of Behringer reliability-wise but this unit is brand new and working well so far. Whether it passes the test of time.... we'll see. I may well gig with it and definitely for jamming and practicing and even recording it will getting a lot of use...

Not looking forward to getting joy out of their support dept if I ever need to... but who knows....

I would probably get one of the next sizes up if I had to go again. Louder and with D.I. output and compression but this is great for the size and price. God bless slave labour in 3rd world countries, eh? ...but Behringer wouldn't be the only western company milking that situation would it?

2006 brand new, 14kgs, 10 inch 4ohms speaker, aux in, headphones out one input no other connections.
channel one with level, channel two with gain&shape&level. Master 5bd eq (63,160,315,630,5000 hz), light show included (where is my hot dog? Come on, behringer...). Master volume, which commands the aux in level, nice.

Nice wedge size, very well done, good looks.

Well, I am using a passive fretless 5strings bass and I don't find this amp to be well suited to it.
I tried other speakers and that seems to be the answer, so the amp itself is ok.
The sound is not clear enough, is dusty and lacks punch. The eq ain't helping to make notes jump out, in fact I don't get the point of having left critical medium frequencies(1600, 2500 hz) out of the way.
This amp is also proposed with an aluminium speaker, at first glance a better choice (bxl 450A).
The shape filter works only on channel two, which is rather overdrive.
I would have prefered a global shape control.
A very important point for practice at home: this amp, as any other Behringer I have owned, is absolutely silent when no signal is input. No hum or hiss whatsoever.
Bottom line, a honest sound to work with. I tried jazz guitar through danelectro pb&j delay and it sounded almost good.
I think that with fretted basses it could be more than ok.

Well, I didn't want to check out every practice amp out there and I am not disappointed in this product. A sane basis for a better speaker suited for my instrument.
It is pretty, passed the wife test with high marks! In my living room this factor is not to be under considered...

I hear there are very good practice amp out there, such as the hartke 8incher, I would compare before buying if I were you.
As I own a bunch of good speakers here and there I could blind buy this amp.

I only use it at living room levels so I can't rate its power properly (nor do I care since I have a grown-up installation for gigs)