Behringer V-Amp 2

Very easy to edit and program the sounds/patches.
With just some minor adjustments you can get everything from the phattest,rawest blackmetal distortion to a crystall clear sound. I did not find all of the fabric presets to be so good, but after tweaking them a little bit I was totally amazed by the sounds. THe LED` things on the parameters is very nice.

I have two guitars : One Ibanez Rg470 with an Emg 81 pickup in the bridge and one ESP 7string H207. I play through a Marshall JCM 2000 head, with the v-amp in the effect-loop. Before I bought this unit I compared it to the Pod 2.0 pro and I found almost all of the amp-models and effects on the V-amp better or just as good as the Pod. In the beginning I wasn`t really satisfied with the distortions, but after reading the manual I learned the cabinet,drive,noise-red and the presence fuctions. After tweaking them I got incredible distortions.. Everything from Dimmu Borgir, Morbid Angel to In flames. When it concerns the clean sounds I especially liked the clean v-amp model and the classic clean sound. After adjusting the reverb and adding some chorus I got this magnificent clean-sound.
The effects are all very decent, besides from the rotary speaker, which I found no good.

No problems with it yet. Would use it on a gig without backup.

Never delt with the company..

I mainly play black and deathmetal like Dimmu Borgir, Opeth,In Flames, Immortal and so on and this unit fits perfectly. I love the hi-gain models. Very easy to use compared to other effect-processors I`ve owned. I bought this unit for half the price of a Pod 2.0, inclunding adapter, pedal to select presets and a bag.

Besides having the thinnest crappiest sound that Ive ever laid down to tape, the computer editing just sucks on this thing. Counter intuitive and unfriendly, poorly explained. I am just shocked so many people like this thing. Ive traded mine in for a Johnson J-station which hs less presets but WAY BETTER SOUNDS

This thing is noisy, thin thin thin. Tons of cheapo european hard rock band sounds. nothing even a little subtle

I had 3 of them. Yes 3 of them. The first two broke and the third when it broke I traded it in for the j-station

Zzounds whom i bought from are great to deal with

get a line 6 or j station. STAY AWAY if you have any ears at all

You have to tweak the knobs around to get a decent sound - not very complicated. I've only had it for two days, so... Saving your own presets is easy (press two buttons and thats it). The manual is a no-nonsense type of thing, Behringer is a German company so go figure. Teh manual just let's you in on the basics, thye rest is up to you if you want to get some good sounds.

I'm either using the v-amp for direct recording into the computer or just for fiddeling around writing tunes. I use a Fender Squier standard Strat, the distortion sounds fat even though the guitar is equipped with single coil pick-ups. The v-amp is'nt very noise - if you compare it with the amps it simulates it's nearly totally silent. All the effects on it sound pretty good (I have experience working with professional reverb effects etc) - the compressor is AWESOME and you got to use it the hi-gain amps. The only thing that sets this blue marvel back a bit is that it works at 31.2 kHz sound quality, compared with the J-station or the Genesis 1 and 2 that work at 44.1 kHz (CD quality). I have not been able to figure out the sound frequency of the POD, their website tells nothing about this and not the manual either.

Just sits on my desk - so I don't really know. There is a warranty though.

Just had it for two days.

This thing is a PRATICE tool, something you fiddle around with at home or in the basement with your band. It's not for professional recording, but sounds good enough for recording demos. The only other similar products I've tested is the POD, the POD costs almost twice as much as this thing - but the sound you get is IMO not worth the extra cash. I wish that the v-amp played sounds at 44.1 kHz at the same price =) and I wish it was'nt in the shape of a guitar - It could be round or square, the shape make it kind of hard to connect the cables in an intelligent way on my desk. But GREAT VALUE overall for home recording and fiddeling around turning the knobs. Behringer is a nice company (I own several other Behringer products such as mics and mixers) and they won't rip you off.

The first day you get your V-Amp 2, you explore the presets, tweaking the knobs to find sounds you like. Make no mistake, there are tons of great sounds to be found in the presets. But, the tone of some of the presets is not ideal, so you move on to creating your own patches. It's not that difficult, but not the easiest to understand either. Some of the parameters and amp models require you to hold down the tap button while turning a knob. This is difficult to do with one hand, so I have to take points off for that. Saving patches is easy, except that you have to hold down the button for 3 seconds until the LED stops flashing(but you can't see the LED because your finger is covering it). It would be faster to have a separate memory button. The editor software for your computer seems easy enough to use, but I haven't bought a MIDI interface yet, so I can't comment too much about that.

Here's where the V-Amp2 shines! The tube amp models sound surprising good. You don't get that electronic sounding distortion that comes from cheap pedals, what you get is that sweet tone that you hear about in guitar mags. I play it with a Gibson The Paul II and a Mex Strat, both sound great. I can dial up the heaviest sound I ever dreamed of or get that edge-of-distortion blues sound and everything in between. Some people complain about the clean sounds. I have been able to program a few excellent clean patches, it just takes a bit more time to find them. The V-Amp2 makes noise, but not artificial noise from the circuitry, the kind that you would hear if you were in the same room as a high-gain amp turned up. The noise gate eliminates the noise while retaining sustain for days. I run the V-Amp through a small mixer, then into my stereo receiver. I cut back on the bass, and it sounds excellent for bedroom playing.

For what it is, a desktop recording effect, is should be adequately reliable. I don't intend to take it anywhere to gig, but if I did, I would consider gettig a hard case for it.

N/A

I was interested in the V-Amp 1, but at the time there were rumors that there would be another version coming out soon. I held off buying it and when I saw the V-Amp 2 in my Musician's Friend catalog for $129, the same price as the original, I had to buy it. I wouldn;t dream of purchasing a piece of music equipment without first checking out the user reviews on Harmony-central.com. About halfway through the reviews, my mind way made up.
I like to play Santana, SRV, AC/DC, Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden and the V-Amp 2 is a perfect match. Having access to a large variety of guitar tones has reignited my interest in playing. The bang-for-your-buck is so good on this little box, I would recommend it to anyone who plays guitar. Even if you never record or play live, the V-Amp will be worth many times its price to you.

I thought the unit was not difficult to use if you're happy with the presets (which are pretty nice) but when it comes to editing the parameters its difficult to say the least. Without the software Behringer provides online for editing I wouldn't tweek parameters much beyond EQ, Drive, and amp style.
I give it an 8 based on the fact that the software is provided free online and anyone with a computer can edit the paramters very easily. But if you're looking for something that's easy to program straight from the panel, its not that easy.
If I were to suggest anything to Behringer about this unit it would be to put a multifunction LCD display on this with a nice interface panel. But obviously this is how they keep cost down (which isn't all bad).

The sounds on this thing are fantastic. I love modern high gain amps and classic rock sounds and this unit reproduces them pretty nicely. The amp sims are a bit dark to be 100% realistic but I believe that once I get tweeking the parameters with the software provided online I will be able to get the sounds I am looking for. The other amps are of course cool but I wouldn't be using them for much beyond very limited sessions & perhaps bass guitar work.
The effects on this unit are also really nice. Again once you play with the software you notice that there's more to the effects engine than just that one knob on the unit itself. It's a shame that they couldn't beef up the interface because I like what I see in the software for editing the effects engine parameters (as well as everything else).
Now - what you've all wondered: how does it sound compared to the POD? IMHO, this unit beats the POD for sound quality and here's why... The amp simulations are more touch sensative like a real tube amp would be. Now its not perfect by any means but I tried the POD out many times before buying the V-amp and the POD sounded OK but when put side by side to the V-amp I liked the V-amp better.
Look around online for more comparisons between the POD and V-amp. I think you'll find that similar thoughts abound.

So far I've had it for only a week so I've not taken it on the road but I will be doing something to protect the main unit. the footpedal is a metal beast which needs no babying. But the main unit is made of plastic and needs some protection. If I had built this unit I would have sprung for the extra $50 to put it into a rackmount unit because that's all I use is rack gear or pedals. These funky shaped tabletop boxes are awful. I use a Roland TD-8 and its the same way! YUK! I do plan to bring this V-amp into my guitar rig for gigging and here's what I plan to do. I will probably build either a 19 inch rack drawer specially designed to hold this unit or I will build a "briefcase" sized case for it which will sit on top of my cabinet I use for gigs. The problem with doing that is that you must view the unit from the TOP and that poses some problems for mounting it anywhere. But whatever I do I will certainly protect the fragile plastic knobs. But for the price (which is what I really care about next to timbre) I like this unit.

Only had it for a week. Most often customer service sucks no matter where you go.m If you want some advice: learn how to fix your own gear. It's cheaper in the long run and as long as you can find the parts you won't pay $50/hr for labor from either the guitar shop or the company who made the unit.

My studio rigs are all tube rigs and solid state amps/distortions are rarely used for retro effect only. The V-amp isn't a tube amp in a plastic box but it comes close enough "for government work". Is it really that good? Well, without tweeking it on the second day of owning it I decided to simply turn it on & dial up a Modern High Gain and play "Judgement Day" from Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album on my EVH guitar. The default was SO CLOSE to the original Soldano SLO-100 he used on the record that it gave me the chills. On the other hand there is no default that comes even close to the sound of Eddie's tone on Van Halen 1 but I'm sure with a little programming I'll get it down. I then grabbed a Telecaster and dialed up a Fender Tweed type sound and played "Start me up" by the Rolling Stones and again my hair stood on end to the quality of sound I heard. But SRV tones couldn't be found anywhere on the box as a default. This is where programming the box becomes all important and if you're looking for good presets ... you need to make them yourself.

Bottom line: Once I rackmount this thing I will hide it from the listening audience and use it like this: guitar -> V-amp -> Power Amp -> 2x12 speaker cabinet. If I can program the unit well enough I am banking on giving the listener EVERYTHING they expect in a show from my amp rig and I won't need to lug around a 4x12 anymore.
That's my goal. Only time will tell if it works that well or not.

A piece of cake to use, even for us guitar players.

I only tried this thing out as an afterthought while waiting for my buddy who was demoing some guitars at George,s Music. I did,nt really need another amp modeler (I already have a Digitech GNX2 and a Line 6 flextone II ) ,and anyway it only cost a fraction of these other popular units so it couldn,t be very good could it? !!! WRONG !!! I played this thing through a Fender Hotrod deluxe seeing that this was the amp I used for gigging live, and to my utter amazement this thing sounded better than anything I,ve ever played bar none. I kid you not this thing is probably the best kept secret in the Guitar universe because I read practically every endorsement ad in the top mags and I have never heard anything good or bad about this unit. It comes closer to modeling tube amps than anything out there. This little blueboy smokes!!!!1

Seems Ok but I havn,t had it very long.

Very good web page.

I play all styles of music ,mostly Christian Rock; My main axes are Ibanez JS100; Custom Strat with EMGs ; Epipone 335 copy; I was using a Digitech GNX2 in front of a Fender 410 Hotrod Deluxe but now I use the Vamp2 instead; I like this Fender amp for it,s clean tube sound which works very well with multifx boxes; I only use my Line ^ Flextone II for small in a hurry type situations; I have a home recording studio and have been playing guitar for 25 years. The Vamp2 is yhe best thing out there for less than $1000.00 and better than some over that price. I would surely buy another if this one were stolen or damaged but I,m hopeing Behringer will make a Vamp3 Pro or something.This thing is so inexpensive at $150.00 that I feel like I,ve cheated somebody.

First of all, it is very easy unit to use. There are 125 presets, organised in 25 banks, which lets you dial your favourite preset instantly without having to change settings to get another sound.The manual is good but not perfect, in my opinion is a little bit brief for what this unit do, but go yourself and explore this little toy!Also it is very easy to upgrade it, due to the easy replacement of an EPROM chip.
The design is superb;I like the LEDs around the pots, which is very innovative as POD and other Vamp competitors don't have this thing. The case it's plastic, metallic blue (it gives you the sense that it is metallic) and it has the funky shape of a guitar body.A two-digit screen indicates you the preset number and it has special indications for the tuner.
I'll give it a 9 because there are some little faults, such like the little lag when you change the presets and the absense of and ON/OFF switch!

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, a Marshall MG50 combo and a Boss HM-3 pedal (heavy metal distortion).I plug this unit with my combo when I practice and I ensure you that it is very nice playing it with an amp.It is a bit muddy when playing with the amp, but a hell better than the drive channel of my 50 watt combo! In other words,it gives you the character of the tube amp stacks!
It is noisy, especially in the high gain models, but this can be solved by adjusting the noise gate.
The effects are all descent.There are enough parameters which allows you to tailor them, but the units design limits you in a way that you can't combine an effect with another (e.g. comressor with delay), but by downloading the editors software from behringer.com, you can use a modulation, a time-based effect and wah, compression, reverb all together!
Delay and echo are very nice, I think chorus and flanger are not of good quality. But in general, there are all very affordable.
But the highlight of this unit is the amp and the cabinet simulations!In few secs I can get from Slash's sound to Chuck Berry's fenderish tone! You can also play heavy metal whith this baby (Iron Maiden, Metallica and Slayer). Also the cab sims are very usable, as changing cabs,your tone is changing dramatically!
My favourite amp models are Brithish Hi Gain (Marshall JCM800),Modern Hi Gain (Soldano SLO) and the Fender Blackface Twin.In fact there are all precious!

Although it is made of plastic, it seems durable. The lack of an on/off switch is stupid.

I have never contacted the company. It is came with a year's guarantee.If it is ever upgrated, I will definately do the upgrade, as it is very easy, and you don't need to buy again the unit (you only have to order and replace a chip).

I play for five years. I play mostly hard rock and blues. My favourite guitarists are Slash,Jimmy Page and Joe Perry.If it was stollen, I would buy it again, as it is very affordable. I love the vast choices this unit gives you and I hate...nothing!Compared with POD and other amp-modelling units, V-amp kicks asses! It is cheaper, better and a step forward its competitors!I love most the amp sims, not that the other sucks!This thing comes with a gig bag, a footswitch and an adaptor, so what else do you need? Having V-amp for only one month, helped me improve my style and technique. For questions, my e-mail is: johnt_gr@hotmail.com

That gear is realy easy to use. There is no need to climb through walls of parameters, just ajust potis to cerate an sound. Real smashing is the accsess via midi and de V-Amp Desingn Software (with a PC). It couldn't be easier to create patches and store them in liberies.

I'm a real picky tube-sound freak, and after 10 years of trying almost everything i found my heaven in a peavey 5150 head through a 70's soundcity 4x12. I was intrested in the v-amp to use as practice-amp - and this purpose it is absolutely great!. After a few weeks it took it to rehearsal too try it live. I put it in the effect-loop-return of a marshall-head - woow!! This gear kicks! Here is my favorite: use the J. Arrendondo simuation w/o any effects and run direct into the poweramp. GRRRRRRR!! I played it with a custom 70's Strat and a PRS CE 24 - woa! But make sure to have a good poweramp. But let us be fair: This device for about 150 $ can't simulate the behavior of a realy good tube-amp. Check a PRS with a Monster prolink into a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, and you'll know what i mean.

The housing semms to be a bit fragile, but i think it'll be strong enough for a gig. I never use anything w/o a backup, but i think i can depend on the v-amp.

Behringer's Website are good and those devices are not going to damage anyway. So....

Overall i would give it a 10, but there are two things missing: a powerswitch, and a effect-loop. The 9 will fit, because it is a realy all-you-can-eat in the tube-amp world. The sound is great, and with the matching poweramp pressure you'll get a real full-stack feeling. And the price is fantastic!!!!

first of all: This thing is a great device. Don't hesitate, buy it!
Excelent knobs with LED's (only the double allocation for the treble/precense and the effect knob is a little bit confusing). A generell "shift button" would have been nice, but you get alonge without. The grey color that they have chosen for the second row of amps is difficult to read. The tuner is not good (takes a long time to get a right tune).
The footswitch is of great quality. The cable-locations around the device is not a economical choise.
The aux in is a good idea and it works perfectly. Same goes for the headphones.
A real great idea are the different setup modes which let you select specific configurations for the left and the right output. 5 modes for studio, live, monitoring etc. Great idea.

Yeah, this thing rules. Ok, don't expect a real Marshall full stack sound from your small stero when you try it, but the sounds are defenetly very good. And you can realy here a difference. Not all of them are of same quality, and i can't tell if the eq knobs effect each other like they do on the original amps, but i don't care. As long as i get a good and flexible tone.

FX section:
Some are great, others not (like allways).
THe auto wahwah is no use at all to me (maybe i just don't know how to handle this thing).
The phaser and the tremolo are good, the delay time could be longer but is good to.
Non of the FX are very impressing, but it's fun to work with them in this easy way.

2 Months is not enogh time to comment on this !

Well, we're talking about Behringer so don't expect much service. You pay a tenth of the price this thing is worth so it's understandable that they have to save money somewhere (not only with the poor documentation :-)
For a product in this price-range I do not care about service - but buying a complex live mixer for intensiv use? Then choose a Mackie!

Before i bought this device i didn't record much e-guitar stuff cause it took so much time to set up all the mic stuff.
But now i just plug the vamp in and start recording. And playing with it is so much fun. I recorded some clean old marshall hendrix stuff (the plexi amp realy kicks as), some steve vai high gain/lot of reverb n sustain stuff, some Nickelback style, blues, funk (still didn't find a realy good funk setup) and it was so great. A friend of mine has a small studio and so i grap my guitar and the vamp - get my ass up there and we start recording (little hint for cubase user: Virtual guitarrist is a GENIUSS plugin).

If you like playing different styles of music, you like trying out new things and you are interested in eady recording: buy this.
I'll soon start using it live, although I'm still a little sceptical about that :-)

Very easy to use, one trip through the manual and your done. I was actually very impressed with how quickly I was editing , storing etc. I thought the manual is well wriitien and easy to refer to. I was able to get very usable sounds within first hour.

I think the sound quality is awesome. I am always complimented on my tone. People are surprised when they see my rig. No its not a tube, but better than any multi effect pedal, amp modeler I've tried. I use a G&L ASAT Classic, Tacoma acoustic (Yep through the V-amp), LP copy with Dimarzios, and a Fernandes 5 string bass. The reason i like the v-amp 2 so much is that I am able to get great tone from my electrics even within the volume cranked. In alot of venues I can't always have a good tube amp cranked up to where I can get decent sound out of it. The V-amp sounds good any any volume. I also like the bypass feature, I actually use bypass with a little chorus and revrb for my acoustic, it works awesome. Its nice not having to pack alot of gear around. I usually just plug strait into PA. I give it a 9 because in my mind a good tube amp for my electrics is still best, but for the money and the versatility this thing affords me its a 10.

So far no problem. I don't have a back up so if it quits, so do I.

This is where it gets a 10. For the money this thing is great. I am looking forward to see what technology does in the future for amp modelling etc, should be awesome. I have been playing for a long time. I play guitar and bass. I am a worship leader at our church and sometimes volume is an issue, this is where the v-amp is helpful. If your reading these reviews thinking of buying one, you won't be dissapointed, well 1 in 20 of you might. This is a great recording tool, practice tool(plug cd player in and jam),and a great performing tool. If it were stolen( I don't lose things), I would go get another, they are affordable.