Behringer Bass V-Amp Pro

I give an 8 to the Bass V-Amp Pro because patches can almost fully be edited with the knobs. Of course you have to read the manual and play with it for a little while to know where is what. I've owned the Bass Pod and I must say Behringer really out did themselves in terms of ease of use.

Sound quality! I really don't understand how can people find this unit noisy...not even close to be noisy. Of course if you drive the gain of the Rock Classis (Ampeg SVT) to 8...duh...you get noise...don't ask from an emulation what the real thing cannot even do!!! All amps drive with high gain will produce noise, that's what a noise gate is for and Behringer bundle a very good one with the Bass V-Amp.

The amp models are very good, of course it ain't the real SVT or the real Bassman, but it's pretty darn close. Unless you want to lug around 100 pounds of gear (or more!) the Bass V-Amp is the closest thing to Heaven for a bassist.

The effects are not from out of this world but there are very usable. the Stereo Chorus is lush and full and the ultrabass is even better than a new Boss Octaver pedal (not the old japanese ones from the 80s...nothing beats that).

Conclusion, if you want an SVT, pileup your cash and buy one...if you want a gold mine of tones that weights 7 pounds instead of 100...buy a Bass V-Amp Pro.

The only draw all emulators have is the little silence when changing patches. If playing live keep that in mind...but it's more than manageable, not that much of a draw back if you ask me. I'd rather worry about a 1/2 second silence than about 8 tubes in overdrive that can fail anytime.

I've had good luck with Behringer but I've had the Bass V-Amp for about a week...so time will tell.

Usually if it works for a week , it will for a life time. That kind of stuff breaks very fast if it's going to, unless you drop it in the staircase of course.

Custowhat? I'm in Canada, there is no such thing as Custawhat from Behringer...the guy from Behringer in Halifax is nice though, too bad he always keeps saying "it's been taken care of...we can only wait now" or "I placed the order two months ago and I've been following on it every two weeks!!! There's nothing more I can do..."

I just wished Behringer would give North America the same support they give in Europe...

I'll give it a 2 because Mike is a nice guy!!

I've been playing for about 6 years, in studio and in a band. I have a workhorse, a Yorkville 200b...not loud enough for big gigs but cool for cozy small gigs. For all the bigger venues I had been using a Bass POD until I found this beauty call Bass V-Amp Pro.

I plug the Bass V-Amp Pro in the club's PA and there we go.

Just remember that most people can't even tell the difference between a Bass in the higher frets from a guitar played in the lower frets...stop worrying about haveing the best this or best that...practice and perfect your technique. When setup properly the Bass V-Amp Pro will be all you will even need.

This is Behringer?s Bass V-Amp Pro (BVAP) rack-mountable bass amp/speaker modeling and multi-effects unit. Please visit http://www.v-amp.com/ for a complete list of the specs.

The front panel controls and menu are fairly intuitive for switching patches and basic configuration. Beyond that I would prefer to use the software editor, although Behringer?s editor is lacking compared to others. The unit is best approached head-on as a single lit LED (around the rotary encoders) can appear to be 2 lit LED?s from an angle. The rotary encoders for models have detents but the rotaries for volume, tone and effects parameters do not. They?re all digital controls (I believe) so I?d rather all encoders have detents, seems to make things a bit easier. The tuner is definitely twitchy and could use a few more segments in the display, I won?t even use it. Computer connection is established via MIDI, although USB would be preferable. Particularly since the Behringer software/unit won?t play nicely if you?re chained through other MIDI devices. Also, S/PDIF and AES/EBU in would have been very nice for re-amping and such. All outputs are clearly labeled and there?s a signal path diagram on the top of the unit. Fairly straight-forward stuff.

There?s a REAL difference in the quality of the sound coming out of this unit, depending on which outputs you?re using. I simultaneously ran the S/PDIF, balanced and unbalanced outs into a DELTA 1010 (bass->BVAP->Delta) so I could quickly compare the 3 signals (all stereo). Ah yes, but first the headphones. This unit contains, hands down, the NOISIEST headphone amp EVER!! That was the first output I used, almost making me throw it right back in the box and send it home. Then I cranked up the other outputs? The balanced outs are alright, no noise like the phones but the signal is very muddy, like someone threw some moving blankets over your speaker cab (more below). The unbalanced outs are vibrant compared to the balanced. The sound is much clearer and more defined. The S/PDIF is even more robust than the unbalanced out. However it should sound better, as you?re skipping another DA/AD conversion in the process. Also, the DA converter specs say that it?s not quite what the AD converter is, one more reason you?ll get better sound through the digital outs. The phones/balanced out issue must be related in part to the ?SuperG? mic/cabinet modeling, because these are the two outs (balanced and headphone) which pass through that processor. I guess that some of the cabs actually sound that muddy, but I choose to bypass. IMHO this end of the modeling comes up a little short. The phone-amp still has issues beyond that, as there?s WAY more noise there than anywhere else (or than there should be).

Most models in the unit are of good quality as are most of the effects. Great low end and clean sounds, no complaints! Many models provide good definition and balance throughout the spectrum. The over-driven patches (for the greater part), however, tend to suffer from a cheap, digital sound. The BVAP is definitely not the best in that respect. Some patches have excessive noise to the point that you wouldn?t want to use them, then again so do some amps. Overall you can achieve a good quality of sound with this unit, suitable for live or recording purposes. Some have complained about too much noise, especially for recording. I would disagree. Admittedly, that all depends on your threshold? but do not make the mistake of judging this unit from the headphone out. It is regrettable that there?s so much noise there, I?d even say the phone out is unusable. I tried one unit in a store and it seemed to have the same issue, so I assume it?s something Behringer needs to address.

Switching patches mid song during a live show won?t work. There?s not only a short dropout but also funky, unpleasant digital noise; unless your bass is perfectly silent. This makes the foot controller that much less attractive. While the foot controller seems to be a very capable (and expansive) MIDI controller it?s also about ? of the price of the unit. It would be nice to see Behringer offer a more basic version (bank & patch up-down, bypass and exp pedal), although any MIDI foot controller should suffice.

Sound quality rating ignores the lousy headphone amp, because there is good sound coming through the other outs, which are what you?d use live or in the studio. But the lack of a decent sound from the phones further kills the ?Ease of Use? since I have to run it through my rig to edit patches.

The power cord receptacle is so touchy I?ll either send it back for repair or open it up and do it myself. If the unit is moved even ??, or the power cord is touched it shuts off or resets. There was also an issue with the unbalanced outputs being loose and generating some noise. The S/PDIF jack should be fastened to the rear panel, from the movement of it I?d assume it?s simply fastened to the PCB. Hopefully I won?t need to constantly reconnect it since the amount of movement is not encouraging. Initial quality issues are never a good thing to see, but this seems like some poor QC with connectors, maybe a couple of cold solder problems. I just noticed that the LED?s for the master volume are not functioning at all. Then again, on Behringer?s site the picture shows that the LED?s on the master volume don?t light, there?s a dot on the knob instead. What?s up with that, nine knobs with LED?s and one with a dot? Especially for the master? but I leave it up all the way anyway. Overall, the unit doesn?t have a very road-worthy feel to it? but then again it?s made to be rack mounted and protected from abuse. Theoretically rack gear doesn't get abused. I?ll have to consider this unit reliable until it isn?t. (ala Yogi?;-)

Haven?t dealt with them yet, I need still need the BVAP right now but as soon as I get a chance it?s going back for repairs, which sucks because of the lost time. I don?t want to void the warranty to fix a cold solder issue and the possibility exists that it could be something beyond that.

Comparing the BVAP to other similar units is tricky. Among the other popular rack units to compare this to (for features and sounds) is the Bass PODXT Pro, but considering the price difference I?ve tried to refrain from doing that. I tried to base my ratings and comments (mostly) on how this units fares by itself.

While the BVAP lacks some features that I?d like to see and has some issues that should be addressed in the future, it is a very cost-effective unit :-)

Issues: First, fix the headphone amp!!! Second, a better and more usable tuner, please! Third, a better editor software package. Beyond these things, are digital ins and USB, but for the price I realize that?s a tad unreasonable.

I thought about the Tech 21 RBI, but money was a big issue so the $100 saved made the choice. I wasn?t really looking for a digital unit with effects, (price of PODXT Pro and others $300-700+!!) but my friend turned me on to this and swore that he and his boys have had good luck with Behringer equipment in the past so I couldn?t resist. This is even a stereo unit; where as the Bass PODXT Pro is not. Some will argue whether or not that?s necessary but there are other forums for that? The BVAP offers several modes of operation; stereo, amp sim w/ FX on the right and amp sim w/o FX on the left, bi-amp and other modes. Again, visit Behringer?s web site(s) and then download the manual. The Behringer BVAP does what I needed it to do well and then does a little more. For the money, I?m happy. If I had unlimited funds, I would have gone a different route, but at the moment I consider the $190 money well spent - surprisingly well spent, even. This is a decent unit with models suitable for a wide variety of music and it even accommodates acoustic guitars fairly well also. The BVAP is absolutely great for entry level, although the lack of USB will deter some in that market. Those above entry level may find the lack of S/PDIF and AES/EBU in annoying, among other things. I stated before that it?s hard to compare this unit to others (Roland/Boss, POD, etc.) because of the huge price differentials, but it?s also hard not to ? c?mon they?re right there! The Behringer BVAP stands fine, alone. When compared with some others (if money is no object) the BVAP would probably not fare so well. Bang for the buck? Most definitely! Hence the ?9? overall rating.

I give this a 9 because you CAN plug & play right out of the box. It's not difficult to be up and running in 5-10 minutes. That said...it can get as deep as you care to dive into it. The midi implementation takes some study. Docs need some rewriting.

For the price...it's great. I use an Alvarez Yairi acoustic w/ Martin Thinline straight into it. The 1M input impedance makes it great for a piezo w/o a preamp. I also use an Alesis Midiverb4 in the effects loop (verbs are much better than the effects built-in). Then I feed a Peavey 2600 power amp into two Fender 12" speakers (stereo...in a 70's Pro Reverb cabinet). The sound is awesome.

Caveat...you MUST feed a clean signal into it. If you have any pickup or ground problems in your axe or cord the signal comes through as awful digital noise. Provide a clean input and you get a clean output. Once I resolved my electric guitar's issues...the sound was fabulous!

I've had it for a month now...works fine...all my other Behringer equipment has been totally reliable.

The only issue I have is the upgrade procedures they've instituted for their other equipment (i.e. FCB 1010 midi pedal). It's not an easy web form to get an upgrade. This unit might prove me wrong with the software implementation. I'm basically rating the company's past performance.

I've been a guitar player for 25 years. I've very picky about my acoustic sound. I play contemporary Christian music (and write some). If this were stolen...I'd get another. You can't beat the tone & flexibility for the price. If you only like 2 of the presets...it's a good value. I'd considered the Yamaha MagicStomp (seemed too limited)...and the Pod (too much money...just over my budget). This unit...with the built in DI replaced my 15 band stereo eq and a separate DI box...plus gave me a vast array of options. I just haven't found the time to exploit the all! :-)

My, oh my, people. Behringer is an international company that sells musical gear world wide. Don't be so elitest stupid and expect everything to be in simple english.
Ease of use. No problem. I had this thing up and making sounds and storing presets inside of an hour. Editing is easy. As easy as a POD. I know, I own one. You get what you need in the manual. A basic idea of the amps and cabinets and what the effects do. If you aren't familiar with an auto-wah or flanger go back to your guitar instructor or read a guitar magazine. This is NOT a PLUG & PLAY. You have to initiate some grey matter into the process.
This is really designed for Bass and Keyboard players. You other guys get your red POD or the Blue Behringer V-amp and leave us alone.
Adjust the values by turning a knob, you like it, then press a button. simple!
One thing I really, really like is the fact that I can plug my headphones into the unit with the amps off and play/practice to my hearts content with out distrubing the rest of the world. Helpful for those long winded arguements. This item is worth the price of admission alone!

Did someone say hissing? Turn up gain onanything and you'll get hissing. They have their own noise gate that you can activate called a "Denoiser". I have mine (when needed, set at either 6 or 9 out of a possible 15)and it keeps things sounding pretty. I use mine like this: Bass guitar into a wireless, into the V-Amp unit, and then into a QSC power amp (PLX 1602) l & r out into two seperate cabinets and the balanced XLR into the snake for the house mains. Incredibly versatile this way and the soundman is able to tweak the sound and volume without changing my sound on stage. I like this arrangement very much. The sounds are infinite. What? You want a Ricky, Fender, 70's sound, 80's punk, 60's distorted, no problem. I get a Chris Squier, Geddy Lee, Marcus Miller, Mel Schacher, John Paul Jones sound and even more. It is even quiet enough to use in the studio. I don't get where a few say it's noisey????
The only thing I wish it had was a bypass on the effects. But all you really have to do is turn the effects knob all the way off and then save the adjustment by, get this, pressing 1 (one) button. Hard to use? My foot.

It seems to be able to handle playing almost everynight. i have had mine for two months and have used it for 41 nights. It is a fragile piece of equipment by it's own nature. Handle it like you would your best guitar, savvy?
Our crew and myself liked it alot and we talked our keyboard player into getting one. He can tell his own story, but it has made sound checks easier and volume wars not as abundant. I think he has had it three weeks. Once again, the soundman can get it to do things that you don't like to hear on stage, but you'd never notice. You know some stages are really dull, to expansivem, too thuddy.

Never dealt with them. We'll either fix it ourselves or buy another. So there.

OK be honest with yourself. You find a couple of presets you really like and then you stay with those and store those with different effects. Out of 125 presets I like to use 15. Depends on the gig and the bass I'm playing. I have a bank designated for each bass. It's like having 5 amps on stage. I wish it had a simpler foot switch. Oh that's what roadies are for, I forgot.
This is better than being tied to a one amp sound. I've had a POD since Feb of 2000 and have grown accustomed to this type of gear. I bought this one in March. You can be original more so than with the Marshall or Mesa sound. Hey you can get those two, too.

Pretty easy to use.. you can be up and running in no time.. but tweaking is a bit harder. Most things are easy, a few things you will have to consult the manual on.
It's easy to understand, however, and you should learn quickly.

I'm using a cheapo esp ltd b 50 while I shop for a new bass. Loaded with dimarzio pickups, and very nice Everly bass strings.. it sounds great via the v amp pro.
I see some complain about noise.. hey dummies.. extreme settings produce noise, get over it.
All the effects are pretty damn good.. and you don't lose a great deal of low end with this as you do with some outboard effects.
I use it with a Behringer BX3000T head.. straight into the power amp.
and I run a Legion Sound 8X10 cabinet or an X audio 2X10 cab.
sounds great, really.
I don't do particular artists sounds, but really, if you can't find in in here, you aint lookin' very well.

I've had it a few months now. Not a single problem.

I have no idea.. except that every time I've dealt with anyone from Behringer for anything they were courteous, prompt, and as helpful as one could ask.

It doesn't really matter what I play.. you can get a good bass sound out of the V amp pro for any style. many more than one, in fact.
I've been playing thirty years. This is the last device of it's type I'll need.
I'd buy this again in a nanosecond.
I'd have to say that none of the features right now outweigh the others.. except for personal tastes.. that is, there's no problem with the features it offers, especially for this money.
I like the EQ.. the amps.. the effects.. all of it.
I wish it had a simple footswitch with a couple of features like .. turning things on and off.. or switching from one setting to another, instead of the expensive multi purpose fcwhatchamacallit.
This is as good a unit as I'll ever need.. I record with it.. gig with it.. practice with it..
This thing and a Nady power amp.... MF has them for two hundred bucks.. is all any gigging musician would need. *well.. speakers, too. *s* *
It's really nice for home recording.. I'd take it with me to gig or studio and as a home practice unit, it's peachy.

Boy... a new guy would sure get along with this if he/she would have realistic expectations. You can't get maximum gain or lots of effects without getting noise with ANY unit. This one does just fine.

Buy one. *S*

It's pretty easy to get a "decent" sound out of this unit, I pick a preset and tweak it to taste. Editing is relatively simple once you get used to the way it works. The manual is pretty thin (English version) but it's enough to get started with. I go bass -> V-Amp -> mixing board -> M-Audio Delta 44 on my DAW.

I go straight out of my mixer into the computer for recording, it keeps me from getting evicted for playing late (lol). I have a Schecter Elite 5-string, it's my main bass. The unit is quiet enough, I know some folks have had quality control problems but I lucked out - mine is fine. I don't try to copy another players sound, I have the sound I want in my head and I can get it with this box - that's all I can ask for.

It *looks* pretty solid, but I'd not tow it around with me unless it was racked in a decent protective case. I'd always have a backup, though.. they're cheap enough, buy two.

Never dealt with them. Their Website is OK, though, and you can download extra presets from v-amp.com (along with editor software for Windows).

I have multiple personality disorder (lol), I play bass, guitar, and keys, everything from ambient soundscapes/electronic music to blues/rock and the occasional jazz tune. This box can go from a snappy, poppy sound to a deep sub-bass, so I can find a tone to fit my tunes no problem.

I've been playing bass about 5 years now, since I'm a bedroom musician and don't gig I just have the one box and bass on the bass side of things.

I checked out some other bass amp sims at Guitar Center, but this thing had the best sound for the price (I'm not rich so anything that says Line 6 on it is out of my price range lol). If it were stolen or lost, yeah, I'd get another. I really can't find anything I don't like about it, but maybe I'm easy to please. ;)

Piece is not easy to use. Many options must set with press a magic switching "tap", and some of them can't be changed at all! the only way is connecting the piece to a computer.
Manual in italian contains some little less infos that the english version, so you have to read it in english.
Manual not so clear.

The effects (distortions, rotary delay, reverbs synth) are very good for my taste, and also some simulations of amps and cabinets are goods.
I've experienced little background noises on some simulations, and also a "sound hole" when changing from 1 preset to another.

Good piece for the price paid.
Extreme useful for people who don't have clear ideas on what type of sounds ( amps - cabinets - effects) they prefer.

For so many knobs and possible tones, the v-amp pro is surprising easy to navigate. It doesn't take much to set up your own sounds and save them quickly and easily. I haven't found any of the presets that I really like but they are good for a starting point for a wide variety of sounds. You definately get an appreciation of the wide variety of bass sounds that are possible. It shouldn't take long to figure out the sounds that you like.

I originally bought it to beef up my GK400RB and it certainly did the job. I generally run through the vamp into the effects return of the GK, so I'm just using the power amp of GK to power my cab.. there seems to be heaps more volume this way. When I first bought it I couldn't believe the difference, but I have had several grievances with sound since then. Despite wide EQ shifting available, there is still a few frequencies that really annoy me that just can't be dealt with. It is quite noisy on some settings, but doesn't bother me too much live. When I play a note and change a preset, the sound dies and then restores on the new setting - meaning it would be useless to buy a foot controller to use multiple effects in a single song - the transition is not smooth at all and is very noticeable. Don't know if this is standard or not? I have used it for acoustic guitars as well and again it definately adds something that a traditional DI sound lacks.

Worked fine everytime so far.

Not dealt with behringer but I think they're pretty good in OZ.

I looked at getting a Pod Pro but for the price that behringer sell these things I couldn't go past it. If you're using a basic/moderate amp like I was then this cheap investment definately improves the sound greatly. I've since bought and all-tube monster that blows it out of the water but I still use the v-amp/400RB as a reliable backup rig and its definately worth the money to improve your sound.

The unit is pretty easy to use

Sound stinks, I got hiss so bad I sent the first unit back, the second had less hiss, but was still to much to deal with. Sent it back for a refund.

Can't say, only had it for a week

They told me it was my amp. I tok the whole setup to the Guitar center and they checked it all out for me. They told me to send it back. They also said they no longer deal with Beringer, bad QOS
Buyer be warned

Not worth the time. Will try POD 6 Bass next

Easy to use for basic tone shaping. There are a lot of features that will probably never be used, unless you're a real gadget freak. Comes with maunels in multiple lanquages. PDF files also available on the website. There are 25 banks of 5 presets, that are quite good, very easy to edit them and save your own, just hold the button down for a couple of seconds, like setting a station on your car radio. The effects and amp modeling features are very easy to use and very distinctive.

Sound quality is to excellent on the amp simulations and effects, only very good on most of the presets. Some of the presets are noisey, OK for live use but bad for recording. The good news is there are so many choices that you can find a simillar preset without the noise. I have this unit in a rack with a G-K RB 400. I've also used it with an Ampeg B-2. I play a Gibson Les Paul 5 string with Bartolini pups. Playing classic rock in a working band, I find it useful for that Mountain/Deep Purple/Grand Funk sound. Also very easy to dial in a Yes/Chris Squire tone.

So far so good, will see how it holds up for long term steady use.

Overall this is a nice unit. Reasonably priced with lots of features, even a bulit-in tuner. Once you get used to this thing you're not going to want to play without it. Traditionally there hasn't been a lot of "toys" out there for us bassists. I've tried other effects and stomp boxes over the years, and quickly dump them as gimmicky. This thing really works. Playing live in a band setting it cuts through the mix just fine. A very useful tone shaping tool.