Behringer V-Amp 2

Very easy to use. Comes with a handy little foot-switch. Also, if you hook it up to your computer you can download software that allows you to upload new programmed sounds and edit from your computer. Extremely cool.

Like always, the sound you get is going to depend on your playing ability and your pickups and your guitar. This thing sounds really good. I think people that complain about the sounds just don't know how to use them. Very versatile and you can certainly sound like crap with it if you want, but you can sound great too.

No problems

No problems

This thing is amazing for the price. For like $200 you end up with more that you could get for $1500 fifteen years ago. Great value. You can't lose with this thing at that price.

Pretty straightforward controls...getting a basic solid tone is easy...accessing the different cabs/reverbs/gains levels is a bit annoying...adjusting effect parameters--which is quite limited, mind you, is also sort of annoying but easy once you get the hang of it.

I'm actually very baffled about the contributors who bash the sound it produces...between the numerous amp settings, the cabinet variations and the effects, getting a good sound, I've found, is very possible...cleans are quite clean and tight sounding and the heavies are very heavy (though they could have put a couple of obscenely heavy ones in there, too...the heaviest one is great, but could be a touch crunchier/more devastating)...I'm a metal guy so more options there would be good, but the spectrum of clean/blues/rock settings is very solid. To be honest, I really like the clean settings a lot...I find them snappy, glassy and tight with plenty of attack...don't know where other folks are getting their bad sounds from.

Seems pretty reliable...it never leaves my desk so I don't know...hard plastic construction would likely withstand a gig or two but I'd stay away from gigginb with it.

I have no experience with this.

I'm a metal/rock guy and it suits me just fine...having two little kids, it's a solid toy to just plug the phones in and jam when they go to bed...really, that's all I use it for, but I have plenty of fun dialing up mulitple tones...I can get anything I want...the effects are bothersome, however, with their lack of parameter flexibility, but for $94 I didn't expect too much...great variety of sounds to suit your mood.

Too many buttons with multiple functions, lot of useful settings are only accessible through MIDI and editor software. Too much functionality and too few buttons.

High gain sounds are OK, but the low-gain simulations are simply terrible. Everything sounds like mud. In addition, all amp models have an insane amount of bass. You have to turn the bass knob to zero on most models to get a decent sounds.

All the Fender, Vox and early Marshall amp models sound basically the same - like a really bad fuzz box.

It's cheap plastic. One of the knobs broke off. I managed to glue it back on, but I'd never take it to a gig.

Yet another gizmo that amazes you at first with the multitude of sounds and effects avaiable. Once you actually get down to do some serious work with it, you realize it all sounds crap.

You can get computer guitar plugins that also sound like crap, but are free...

It is really easy to use but I guess this aint the big point....

Using gibson lp standard premium plus and ..... .. but i guess this aint the big point.Disturbing noise at high gains,non interesting low gains,not bad effects.Dont know Why I bought it..

Play the Blues and Stoner Rock.Not good for sure 4 these styles but i cant imagine any kind of style that it would fit.Guess that most SOFTWARE amplifiers are Better!

It is very easy to use...But, honestly, too easy...There are some parameter missing. How about chorus rate or depth???You cannot edit effects...And every distortion in it has background LOUD noise...

Like I said, the sound quality is the worst...I do regret wasting money in this...I was finishing a recording of guitars in a project, I had to stop...I will NOT record with all this background noise in distortions!! The only way to use this is to put "pream bypass". You cannot use the AMP of the V-AMP, what is the purpose?...

I dont know, I have it for 1 week, and i want to sell it...The aspect and lights, and tuner are OK, the bag is also splendid...But...I wont play live with all this noise. I have no opinion in realiability, it never got to the garage...So, it wont see a stage!

I asked what the hell is going on, selling stuff with so much noise, and no one answered...This crap has so much noise using the amp section, and you cannot mix effects or edit their parameters (like said, chorus rate, depth, delay times, depth, feedback...

fuck!What will I do? I wont have money for anything else this year...Play live with my 5150 only.Crap.
Any one can help me? peterdavis@netcabo.pt

thks!

I play metal, gothic metal, and other stuff. It would be helpfull if i could change FX parameters and use this distortions without the background LOUD noise...

Not as complicated as it first looks. Just read the manual to understand what does what. Editing patches were a breeze, manual was good. After reading the manual and messing with the unit I was able to figure everything out in about an hour.

Using this with a pretty cheap 20W solid state amp. The effects sound really good, of course they don't sound 100% like their real-world counterparts, but I'd say they got them 90% of the way there. The sound quality is great and makes my cheapo amp sound a lot better (see below). When I first hooked it up I thought the distortions & effects were great, and they still are, but this unit shines when bringing out clean channel simulations. I play mostly metal and hard rock, but find myself liking the clean channel blues and jazz sounds (and I hate the blues and jazz).



(Note: When the V-Amp 2 is first hooked up it is automatically set for use with a PA system. In order to make this unit sound good, switch to the Live 2 (L2) setting when using it with an amp.)

I haven't tried hooking it up to my computer, but I wouldn't doubt that it sounds good on there as well. And with headphones, this thing rocks!

Built out of hard plastic so I would not recommend using it for a gig, unless you are absolutely positive it won't fall or drop. Get the V-Amp Pro rack version if you want to use it for gigging (that's why they made it). Perfect for home use and band pratice. I haven't had any problems at all with the unit.

No problems

Read reviews on the V-Amp 2 on this board and trusted what others have written about this product, so I bought it. The price, sound quality, and overall fun of this unit deserves much applause. If you are at all skeptical whether this unit can compete with the PODxt, go try it out. It's easily on par with the PODxt in my opinion.

I've been playing for about 8 months and still trying to learn...uh...everything. Of course, you don't have to take the word of a beginning guitarist, but read the other reviews of many long time players and they will say the same thing, "Go buy this thing NOW!".


Easily worth the $99 I paid for it, plus some.

Gets u a while before mastering each button and knob function.Manual given is comprehensive.

This is my third effects.The sound is really fastastic.So much reading about the item in review, I was amazed they are all true.

I would use it to gig with live band and in my room studio(computer).
Maybe I have to use more careful when playing live since it is made of plastic.

Great. I've just registered online. They gave feedback instantly with customer support.I bought it from authorised dealer.

I think this would be my last multieffects I'll be using ( I don't know). I can get as many sound as I want.

I was very old school when I bought mine. So I had to read the manual a few times to get it all sorted out. Once you've done that making changes is a snap.
I only use a few sounds so the 5 chanels for each bank works great for me. What I've done is to set bank 1 for my strat, bank 2 for my FA70, bank 3 for my PF200 and bank 4 for my Duo Jet. When I switch guitars I just change the bank and I don't have to fiddle around with volumes or amp settings. I also like the fact that I can go to channel 1 and get to the tuner. And I can turn down the guitar volume and chat with the audience as I tune the guitar.

I use a number of guitars although at the moment I am using the strat most. I do occasionally get some noise but that's more the strat than the V-amp. I don't have that problem with the other guitars.
The one problem I did run across was the fact that after I had all the chanels and banks set that I had used while recording they really didn't sound good when I plugged the V-amp into my Marshall. They sounded great when I went directly into my PA though. So I searched around and found that a Fender FM212 was basically a guitar PA. It had no specific character so when the V-amp was plugged in it sounded good.

I haven't had a problem with it yet. I do carry corus compressor effects just in case of a problem because mainly those are the only effects I need to get through a gig if there was a failure. But I am gentle with the V-amp. I use one setting for an entire song so the pedal really doesn't get abused. So I really don't get to concerned about it's reliability. Besides I could do all my songs like the good old days with just my guitar.

Have never needed it so I can't say.

I play some unusual songs for a female solo musician. But playing solo was just intended as a kick that it turned out I do very well. The V-amp allows me to get the basic sound that fits the songs I do (would you believe a solo version of Mountain's 'Nantucket Sleighride'). I usually play in small places so turning up an amp isn't an option, so I can get that sound at a low level. I do wish it had at least a stand by switch. I have to remember what order to turn things on and off to avoid a big pop.

It is an FX-unit with a lot of bells and whistles so you've got a lot of knobs to turn. It is easy enough to dial in a good tone though... And I like the way the rotary light thingies on the knobs show you the exact setting of each patch. You can always see exactly where you're at.

Fan-friggin-tastic!

Unless you get a lemon that doesn't function properly, I don't see how anybody could knock this thing?

The amp models are the usual suspects with a few Fender models, a few Brits (Marshall, Vox) and some Mesa/Boogies for good measure. On top of that you get a JC120 model and some extra V-amp models. 32 models in all.

The effects are pretty versatile and you can dial in enough parameters. They're digital, so the sound is absolutely hifi.

I usually play the V-amp through headphones, or plugged into the clean channel of a Laney TF200. Through the Laney, the sounds are already pretty good, but through headphones it's amazing. It's like you're listening to a CD-recording. Through the phones, set to a small tweed amp with a number 5 reverb and some delay you get some mighty trippy sounds, man! Like Jeff Beck on acid.

I've also played it through a stack and it just blew me away. All these differences means it DOES let you guitar/amp shine through and it doesn't all sound the same. Which is good, because why would you want your 2,000$ Gibson to sound exactly the same as a 100$ plywood Squier?

The only quirky thing I could find soundwise is that some of the models (mostly Behringer's own models) are considerably quieter than the others. It's no big problem, though.

Also sometimes you get some digital feedback.

Pretty dependable. I would gig with it, but WITH a backup.

I've had mine 4 years now and I used it extensively. It broke down once. Nothing major.

The plastic casing doesn't seem very rugged, though. So treat it with TLC.

This thing is great. I think they're about 140$ nowadays and for that you get a tool you can use for recording, as a preamp AND it sounds brilliant through headphones. It's a great practice tool, but you could use it in live situations as well.

Yeah, it's made in China. Yeah, it's made of cheap plastic. But like I said: 4 years of extensive use and it only broke down once. Good enough for me.

This is still the coolest little bag-o-tricks on the market to me. I've heard the Line6 stuff, but it doesn't really sound better and I've not yet been able to justify the price difference. I've played the Roland Cubes and they're pretty cool, but the V-amp is just more versatile. I own a Tech21 TM10 as well, but I really only love the Marshall setting on that one and if you turn it up loud it becomes too harsh.

I've owned tube amps and yes they sound better... If you can crank them up loud! I'm mostly a bedroom player / basement tinkerer who does the occasional gig. I used to live in an apartment so you can't really push a tube amp there. Sold my tube amps. They were just not useful for me.

This little Behringer really rocks! I promise if you try it, you'll buy it!

When I first got it, I took a while to go through the manual, as it was the first multi effect I'd had, but once you get the hang of it its easy, the manual is straight forward, it's the latest version, got a carry bag, power supply, and the pedal included.
Patches can be downloaded from the behringer website, direct to the v-amp, although I haven't tried it yet
I kept getting a little autowah sound on some amp settings, but a quick referal to the manual sorted this out.

For the price it's an absolute steal second hand, I'd definitely recommend them to anyone, I'm using an Epi Les Paul Standard, there's little if any background noise, a little hiss on higher gain amp models, but you can compensate for this by increasing the onboard noise gate setting, at the moment I'm using a Sound City Artiste combo. Pinched harmonics could sound better I think, but that may be the pickups, its as good if not better sound wise as the Pod.

Has not let me down, the only negative is that on mine the memory loses the settings if I havn't played it for a few days, which could probably be cured with a new cmos battery, but I keep a note of my favourite settings, haven't gigged it but I'm sure it could cope

Not had any problems, so can't comment, although website is helpful

I play mostly rock, metal, and acoustic, and it handles them all well, I've been playing off and on for 15 years, my son's got a POD, which I've tried several times, but I prefer the control layout on the V-amp
If it were stolen or lost I,d definitely buy another, Its a very versatile piece of kit, there may be more complex and maybe accurate gear out there, but when I see pods and the like advertised for twice the price I can laugh because I know it does the job for a bargain bin price!
I have a Marshall GV2 pedal which I use sometimes with it, and can get a pretty good Marshall tone from the combination.
The only weak point as far as I can see, is that the casing is plastic, but it hasn't broken or anything

I've had my V-Amp 2 for about a year now. Figuring things out takes a while. In one sense, it's very easy to use if you just push buttons and turn knobs until you find a sound similar to what you're looking for. However, if you want to start tweaking your sound, or you are trying to program it for certain things, like gigs or home recording, then you may run into some serious time spent reading and tweaking.

This is where I'd give the V-amp 2 it's highest rating. There are very few sounds you can't dial up with this. I've been able to find about any sound I've been looking for. And all of them are then able to be modified in a nearly infinite number of ways. While I'm not an amp-geek, I think I intuitively know what sounds good. We all do. The important thing is whether we like the sound, and I like a lot of the sounds in this. That said, I'm into bands like Coldplay, U2, Third Day, David Crowder Band among others.

I'd also like to point out that I have a friend who's played and taught guitar for many years. He'd never actually tried out a V-amp until he used mine. He loved it and is thinking about buying his own. We dialed up a couple of dozen different presets (not our own, but just factory presets) and he made them sound like Eddie, Clapton, Hendrix, just to name a few.

It's been very reliable for me. I've not had some of the problems others have mentioned on here.

However, I have to say that this is where it gets its lowest score from me. It's all made out of plastic and probably wouldn't hold up well to constant, heavy use. That's unfortunate.

Recently, a teen in my youth group tripped on a chord going into the input jack and cracked the jack. I opened it up and all the jacks are just plastic inside--not very sturdy for constant use at all.

Also, the power jack has to be plugged and unplugged constantly--there's no on/off switch. This is unfortunate.

If Behringer fixed these issues, this would be a truly great product. I don't know if the V-amp Pro takes care of these or not. You might check it out, but I don't think it's as portable.

Haven't dealt with them.

Like I said above, I play mostly Christian worship, but also some Coldplay, U2, Third Day, David Crowder Band kind of stuff. I've been playing for about a dozen years, although I've never had any lessons--all self-taught (with help from a lot of friends). I own a 1980 Alvarez Yiari acoustic, a Fender Telecoustic (for messing around on retreats and in youth group), and a Sammick AV-6 Les Paul style. I play through a Crate GX-60C or through the PA system wherever I'm playing.

If it was damaged beyond repair, or lost or stolen, I think I'd shop around, but for the price (they've come down $50 since I bought mine) I doubt I'd beat it and would probably end up buying another.

I love the portability, the sound quality and the diversity of sounds you can get from it. I doubt that few other units in this price range can even come close.

easy to use , need about 10-15 mins to figure it out . believe me , need no manual .easy to edit the presets n the amp are excellent . no prob , grab 1 from your nearest music store .

my setups are mainly to riffs n lead solo . great stuff , i can get many good effects @ artiste presets ...yngwie , steve vai , kirk , santana . the blues setup , i'm not reali going for it . the metal sounds good too . i like de chorus , delay n auto-wah . the auto-wah is this model sounds great !

dunno , just hv it 2day .

dunno , but my previous behringer amp takes few weeks to fix . slow and bad responds. just go to your nearest music store who knows how to repair amps !!

good for beginners n low budget guitarist . overall i will giv 8 out of 10 .

I believe this unit is extremely easy to use. However, I have a lot of experience with these types of units. A beginner will have to spend some time with the manual!

I must say I am totally blown away by the sound. I have played products from Line 6, Johnson, Zoom, Korg and Digitech and the V-AMP 2 just blows them all away. I cannot believe how realistic the amp models sound. I am into every think from Shred to Jazz and this unit can handle it all. My recordings have never sounded so good. I like it so much I just ordered the V-AMP Pro for my studio. I just can't believe the price of this thing!

So far so good. The unit is made out of plastic which is not the best. I would have liked to see a bit better quality with the design, but a lot of my past items have been made from plastic and have help up just find. You never know. Mine has been reliable so far.

I have heard nightmare stories from my guitar students about the customer service. I have yet to have to contact them so I cannot rate this section. I hope I never do.

I am into Shred guys like Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, John Patrucci and Greg Howe. I also play some jazz . This V-AMP 2 fits both styles very well. The factory presets are very good and usable for recording situations. I am extremely happy with it

While I do appreciate the number of features that Behringer has attempted to put into this thing, I think all the V-Amps are pretty overcomplicated to use, and I am a gearhead / tweaker at heart. Holding down the "2nd param" button to get to the other 16 amp models or presence knob gets old fast. If you don't have the manual in front of you, you have no idea what cabinet you're patching into (not that it really matters, admittedly). Adding to the difficulty is that the dark blue finish with grey writing for the "alternative" parameters makes it impossible to see or read knob or button functions on the panel in a low-lit room. Of course, they're trying to squeeze a lot of stuff into a cheap desktop-sized box. That said, I am not sure why they didn't expand a little bit on the V-Amp Pro.

I have been using this with a '93 Hamer Special FM with Duncans. I have not tried it with single coils at all. I don't adhere to a particular style but I tend to be experimental, and on the other hand I will readily admit to doing a bit of drop-tuning power-chord wanking when I'm just not in the mood to think about things very much.

This is going straight into the board for use in recording. Although a lot of people are doing it, I honestly can't understand why you'd buy one of these things for live use through an amp. I think that's an inherently bad and utterly tone-killing idea. You should get a dedicated modeling amp if that's what you really want.

I have owned a Bass V-Amp for about a year now. I ended up getting this because I wanted a "jack of all trades" processor. While I've used it with some success to create decent tones, I felt the BVA didn't have quite enough guitar amp models for me and was hoping that the V-Amp would have a little more life and sparkle to it with a guitar plugged in.

I feel the V-Amp 2 doesn't really offer that much for guitar that the Bass V-Amp doesn't already have. The tremolo is really nice to have (and sounds good too!), and if you're one of these people that loves to have reverb (I don't, ever) then the dedicated reverb control replacing the full-time compressor knob on the BVA is a big plus. But the effects in general are not as diverse as I would like. Mostly, you've got delay, chorus / flange / phase, and combinations thereof... not that interesting. It would be really nice to have a fixed pitch shifter, for instance, or a ring mod. The filter options are better and more diverse on the BVA as well (the V-Amp is limited to an auto wah), so if you like that kinda synthy weird stuff you should probably look into that machine instead.

As with the BVA, I find the clean and overdriven models on this box totally silly and just not useable. The gain controls on things like the blackface Deluxe models are set laughably hyperactively-- it is impossible to get a nice round Fender clean tone out of these, and if you give in to the gain structure here they really don't sound anything like overdriven Fenders. The metal-and-up tones are alright but most have a hard time dealing with palm muting-- they flub out a bit too much to be convincing. In general I feel like the VA2 doesn't have enough "air" or "life" on any of its models, and this is a problem with the BVA also-- they both sound kind of dull and lifeless in a way that post EQ just can't seem to fix entirely. Although the V-Amp's bread and butter would seem to be hard rock and metal, here's also a tendency toward harshness on some of the higher-gain models. The JCM800 (Brit High Gain) is probably my favorite, most musical and actually-amp-like amp simulation in here, but again, that model is in the BVA too.

All this said, we're talking about a hundred-dollar box that does pretty much everything. I don't suppose we can expect it will do any of it very well.

Lots of people have had trouble with their V-Amps; I've had my BVA running constantly on my desk for over a year and have had no issues. I think these things are probably hit and miss. The 1-year warranty is nice to have.

I have been playing all kinds of styles for a while and, yes, at one point I was a serious tube amp and analog-gear snob, with my whole house filled with the stuff. When I became more casual about the habit, I got a Yamaha DG60 cheapie modeling amp that changed everything for me; unfortunately, while it sounds utterly fantastic (especially for what it cost!), it is just too darned noisy for recording. So I've been looking for a long time for something this good in a direct-recording form factor. The DG Stomp (long since deceased) was a huge disappointment compared to the DG60 or anything in the should-be-absolutely-famous Yamaha DG line, and I'd prefer the V-Amp over the Stomp.

I want to like the V-Amp 2, and I think it makes for a neat practice toy, but I really don't think it's completely suitable for its primary intended purpose, which is recording. I may give the V-Amp Pro a shot, to see if it does better when connected through SPDIF. It would also be nice to have the bypass option, because I'd really like to use the box as a "draft tone" option so I can process dry guitar tone with something more proven later on (like the Amplitube plugin, which is harder to set up but, once set up, whips the snot out of any such hardware modeling box I've tried).

To be fair, I have yet to try one of these modeling boxes that I think really gets it right. I tried a Vox Tonelab at my local GC thinking that it would be the ticket. I thought it sounded awful. Might have been the headphones.

If you are going to buy one of these things, you might as well buy the Behringer. It's really no worse than any of them, or so it would seem. I just don't think modeling is 100% there yet-- it requires too much "covering up" in a mix, and as nice as it is to just plug in and play, there's a lot to be said for a couple of tracks of dry Princeton-and-Rat or something that required absolutely no processing or tweaking because the tracks sounded totally perfect straight out the speaker and into the board. I suppose that is why you can't find a Princeton for less than the cost of 8 V-Amps at this point. Wish I'd held onto mine. But I believe that somebody's going to get this modeling stuff down, and soon... just not soon enough for me.

This review is early seeing as how I've only had the Vamp2 for about 2 months and haven't had a whole lot of time using it. From what I've seen so far it seems to be easy enough to use. I would imagine at some point and when I get more serious with it I will have to start doing some editing and add my own presets but I'm not there yet since I am still having fun exploring the presets they provide. I don't have the unit with me right now so I don't know what patch it's at but I bought it in January 06 if that helps?

I'm currently using my Vamp2 with an amp a friend made about 10 years ago. Don't let that fool you, my friend sold his amp design to another company. I believe the amp after being sold was called the "Bedrock", my amp being only the 654th amp he made was called "Fred" (get it? Bedrock -> Fred...I guess he liked the Flintsontes?) Anyway, the Vamp2 sounds great. I need to pick up a half decent pair of headphones though because that is the way I intended on using it, so I can play without bothering anyone in the house. Eventually, the big plan is to record with this thing using CakeWalk. I think the flexibility of the Vamp2 when used in recording will really show it's flexibility...I hope anyway! There are so many ways to tweak the sound of the Vamp2, I don't see how I won't be able to find the sound I want when recording? The Wah Wah may be a bit lame but most other effects sound pretty good from what I've heard.

Don't know yet since I've only had it for 3 months!

I used the sales office when I was first thinking about buying the Vamp2. I realize that being "sales", they may take the opportunity to be nicer than usual, and they were. They didn't have a problem answering my questions regarding competitive devices. I can only hope support is the same!

I like it! It beats dragging around any huge amp which I've done many a time in my 28 years of playing.
I like any music that sounds good on the guitar, which for me falls largely into the rock category spanning from Led Zepplin, Van Halen, to STP, NickleBack, AlterBridge, etc.
The biggest factor for me in purchasing the Vamp2 was price. I asked them if they would take $90 and they said "Yeah!". So for $90 how can you go wrong? I can switch amps at the press of a button. I don't want to get into sound to much because it's objective. Iknow this thing cranks though and you can get it to sound as dirty or clean as you want. Comparitive modelers were much more expensive. This one is a good place to start I think.

The user interface is one of the best of any amp modelling products, mainly thanks to the LEDs round the rotary controls, which show the current patch's most important settings. This has the added benefit of being educational, as while you are playing a preset you get to see at a glance how it was set-up (unlike my previous unit which required you to delve deep into sub-menus to get at the parameters for a patch).

Its easy enough to navigate the patches, and the included footswitch is very useful for live performances. Its a shame that it doesn't cycle round from patch E to A though. The tuner is good and easy to use.

Modifying a patch also couldn't be easier - just turn the rotary controls. There are some features that you need special key combinations to get at, but a quick read of the manual will get you up to speed. The important one to remember is how to set the output mode to match what you have connected it to.

The freely downloadable Windows software for patch editing is excellent, and it allows you to audition patches downloaded from their website. It gives you greater control over the effect parameters than you actually have on the unit itself.

Although it features a wah effect, you can only make use of this if you buy a MIDI controller board (eg FCB1010). It is a shame that the V-Amp doesn't feature a simple expression pedal input, as this would allow the Wah effect to be usable without paying out the price of the unit again.

There are 125 patches, which means that there is plenty of room for you to keep your live and studio patches without overwriting your favourite presets.

I use a Yamaha RGX-321 guitar with 2 humbuckers and a single coil. When I use it live, I connect into the power amp input of my Marshall 1080. The unit's strength is in the direct recording category though.

There are 32 amp models, and 15 cabinet emulations (that's 480 combinations). I found about 4 or 5 of the amp models became my favourites, with the others rarely being used. The very high gain and the clean models work best for me, with the ones in between often sounding a bit too digital. The Marshall emulations are sometimes good, but they totally override the tone from your guitar.

There is a generous helping of effects, and the quality is adequate for most uses. There is quite a restriction on what combinations can be used (although the software can compensate somewhat for this - you can actually combine compression with other effects).

As with all amp modellers, it will take some effort to get it sounding good through a guitar amp. The V-amp has a variety of output modes and some feature a 3-band EQ to help you match your amp. It also features an input level to match guitars with high-output pickups. If you have the patience to experiment with these settings, you should be able to find something that works reasonably well with your amp and guitar. Some patches will require tweaking the noise gate to ensure silence when you are not playing. I found that turning reverb off completely helped tremendously when playing live through an amp.

I used to own a Boss VF-1 which features the Boss COSM modelling. There are some good sounds I miss from that unit, but on the whole V-Amp has a comparable selection. As with the VF-1, I found that I got the best results using my single-coil pickup instead of humbuckers.

Although the power supply connector does seem rather flimsy, as others have pointed out, the fact that Behringer have bundled a gig bag free with the unit should go a long way to extending its life.

I haven't dealt with them, but the website providing software and patches adds a lot of value to this product. There are also a number of lively V-Amp discussion groups about, so if you have a problem you should be able to get advice from fellow users.

This unit gets a high overall rating for its excellent value for money. At this price, the inclusion of a footswitch and gig bag is incredible (and I notice it has dropped another 25% since I bought it). Some of the amp models do need some enhancements, but most people will find at least a few models that they like.

This unit's greatest strength is how easy it is to tweak a patch to your liking.

Pros = you can use 14 different cabinets with each amp. Some modelers ( digitech ) are tied to one cabinet, very versatile. Footswitch, power supply and case are included. Price is right.

Cons = delay in switching amps or cabinets. Drop in volume when effects are added. Noisy when using effects only and using your amps distortion. Even through an effects loop and the noise gate on. Maybe it?s my Randall 100 watt head? Foot switch only goes through 5 banks unlike some 80-channel petals out there.

This is an informational update to my review from before.

Manual is not bad at all, EXCEPT they don't mention the backup battery.

Not rating this, as I already have, but this unit is STILL great sounding. I can get LOTS of fantastic sounds out of it, I use it in recording all the time up until it started getting flaky (simply due to internal backup battery going flat, not a problem with the actual unit) and then I was more involved in my band and practice, so I didn't use it that much til lately when I decided to try and fix it.

Really is fantastic, a great bargain.

Just a quick FYI.

After a coupel of years, my V-amp2 began acting strangely (This also can happen with the Behringer amps I am reasonably sure) in that any patch that differed from the factory preset sounded llike crap, muffled, no effects, etc. You could tweak some parameters and change it, or use the button combination to reset that one patch to factory preset, and it would sound okay, but as soon as you turned it off and on again, same problem.

Of course, I immidiately thought "bad backup battery". Strange thing is, there is no mention of battery in the manual, no battery access panel, and even asking directly Behringer if this could be the problem, they stalled, and wouldn't confirm or deny that it even HAS a battery.

Haven't been using it much lately anyway, but just got around to changing it out. Easy as pie...5 screws, lift off the back cover, little round Lithium 3v, Type CR2032 battery in its battery holder.

I changed it out, STILL (and this is important) had to reset all user patches...you do this by holding down the D & E buttone while powering on, then the display reads "CL" for clear, then you let up on the D & E, and hit the left and right arrow buttons at the same time. Now all is back to factory reset, I changed a couple patches, saved them, turned the unit off for 20 minutes, on again and voila, all is well again.


Just writing about it here to get the info out to anyone experiencing this.

They have a form on their site. I described my problem, the symptoms, and since I guessed there was a backup battery, specifically asked (note: not if this WAS the problem but if it COULD be) if it could be the battery. Instead of saying "it could be" they demanded more information, like serial number, fimrware revision, date purchased, etc, etc.

No help at all. I don't know if this is calculated (they have no access panel for battery on the unit...okay there are others that do that too, but...) but they don't even mention the battery in the MANUAL!!

That is bad.

Its pretty easy to use once u get going. can get very good tone out of it (in my opinion and ears)

Wow, for 100, this puppy is pretty good.

i havent tried it yet. it would seem very good live

never delted with em yet

wow, this is a true value for the money. i play VH, and other classic rock, and the tones u can get is pretty awesome for the price.

I have the original V-amp 1 and the upgraded V-amp 2 along with the midi footcontrol unit with the two expression pedals. I find it extremely easy to use and get live sounds out of. Editing is intuitive and easy once you get experienced with it. The manual is starightforward and easy to understand.

I use this live in 3 ways. Some gigs I run a stereo seTup through two amps, a Laney 100 Watt Head and 4by10 cab and a 100 Watt cARVIN TUBE AMP using L-2 configuration, sometimes through two behringer b-300's and sometimes directly into the board. Each of these set-ups requires a thorough sound check and extensive tweaking. If you take the time to do this and use your brains and patience, you can achieve wonderful, amazing guitar tones. This unit has no reverse reverb but believe me, if a guitar can or has made that sound, you can find it on the V-amp 2. The original unit was meant for practice and recordings, not for live performance but the V-amp 2 is meant to be used live in many different set-ups. I find everything to be amazing on this unit. The wa effect when programmed into the footcontroller(27) will change the tone of the preset to slightly tinny but if you're using other effects in conjunction with the Wa it sounds good. I have 2 side by side presets for 'Crazy Dreams' by Los Lonely Boys. The 2nd ofcourse is the wa'd lead and I've gotta tell ya, you can't tell a difference from the recording. It's that close ! Be sure that you program amp gain(12) into the 1st pedal and narrow the range to nothing (122-127) because the 1st pedal will move when your hammering away on the 2nd pedal (brains). Use American Blues amp simulation with the drive on, compression and reverb to taste. 32 bits ? It does not and I repeat does not matter. You can't tell the difference between 44 and 32 bits. To me the higher the sampling rate, the more 'digital' it sounds. This unit does not sound digital at all. For world class recordings who knows cause I somehow doubt that many people here have done that kind of recording. Ask Carl Culpepper. He's done some of the best rock guitar mixes I've heard. I'll betcha he could use this device in the studio and blow you away with it !

Very reliable and well built. My V-amps are 5 years old and still sound the same as the day they came. Treat the devices with care and respect and you will be rewarded with years of reliable service. Use common sense. Find a stable secure place for it at the gig and keep it at room temperature as opposed to storing it in the garage or in a Vann in a cold, wet environment.

The website is world class.

Remember guitars themselves are a big part of your tone and take that into account. I play a strat with dimarzio aftermarket pickups and a fat hollow body Sammick which humbuckers as well as a Dean Exotica acoustic. You can't make a jazz guitar sound like a hot rodded strat but I can get a kick ass Eric Johnson 'Cliffs of Dover' sound out of the Sammick. Use your brains. Behringer has given you a huge gift with this product in conjunction with their midi foot controller. This is all you need in conjunction with decent amps or PA to get kick ass guitar tones that cut through the mix in any configuration. The rest is your brains and talent. It's all there for you to discover.

Not an easy unit to use as each (small) knob is multifuntional. Editing patches is pretty easy though once you accept the above. manual is great.

I use a Gibson Les Paul and a Febder Strat through this into 2 small Marshall combos. Not noisy. Factory pre-sets are useless on the whole unless you want a quirky jopke-type setting (e.g. "Monk Akka" - what's that all about?) I can't get a particular artist's sound out of it at all except a bit os U2 but that's more to do with the delay technique than the sound itself. Chorus is good, reverb is good, distortion is best avoided, delay is excellent, modulation not bad, EQ is excellent.

Very very reliable and no need for a backup. Placed in a rack its very sturdy. Placed on top of an amp its vulnerable to being pulled off by the guitar lead.

I play all styles (covers band) so its a great addition to my setup (but you need amp modelling too). I wish I could find the 2 flat shelves that bolt to the bottom of the unit so I can rack mount it properly. ANYONE OUT THERE GOT SOME THEY WANT TOP SELL? So I have to tape it to the generic rack shelf. The footswitch is great as you have 5 patches at your disposal and if you switch into 1 particular patch, 4 effects within each patch (there is no time delay for switching between effects but there is an annoying time delay between patches).

very easy to use. manual is ok.

this is my setup:

guitar(with humbucker) ->
V-Amp2 L2 mode (speaker simulation OFF) ->
Behringer Ultra-G GI100 with speaker simulation ON ->
(XLR balanced cable) ->
MIXER

this works good.

the sound is ok in this setup.

good presets are in the BANK11 and BANK 16 (for hard-heavy sounds).

ok.

ok.

ok for guitarists on the budget.
ok for home recordings.
ok for practice.

................

Boss GT-8 and Line6 Pod XT Live are much better & expensive,
not for beginners & people on the budget.

The manual isn't the clearest on how to operate the unit, but once you understand how it works, it's pretty easy. It's rather intuitive, actually; I think the manual just confuses everyone.

Editing patches is easy, make your changes and hold down the bank button for a couple seconds.

I use this with the following guitars:
Hamer Diablo USA with Dimarzio Evolutions
Fender "Roadhouse" Strat
Aria Mac-50 7 String guitar

I don't use any of the onboard effects, other than compression, or reverb occasionally, I use external units:
Crybaby 535Q wah
Akai Headrush delay
MXR Phase 90
RealTube overdrive (occasionally)

I run the unit on L2 mode into the power amp of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (40 watt tube amp), with an extra 12" speaker cab loaded with a Celestion Greenback. I use it as my preamp, not run into the Fender's preamp. I have not used it to record direct, or used it through a mixer into a PA.

You have to be picky on what amps you use with this unit. I don't rate the quality of it based on how accurately it replicates the amplifier, but rather how useable the sound is. Most of the sounds are useable in some form, but others are considerably lacking.

For clean sounds, I tend to stick to the Boogie Mark IIc clean or the Fender Twin. The others can sounds pretty thin, but how many clean sounds do you need anyways? Actually, side by side, the Mark IIc clean sounds really similar to the Fender Hot Rod's own sound.

For just a little bit of grit, the options open up quite a bit. Again, the Fender Twin sounds pretty good, and the V-Amp "Crunch" is great, it has a nice full bottom end. The Fender Bassman is ok at low gain settings with a Tubescreamer to make up the difference in gain. I have a feeling this is how most people are using it anyways.

And, finally, the distorted tones, where I spend most of my time. I play every Sunday in church, and the Boogie Mark IIc dirty channel is perfect for this with my humbucker guitars. Warm, with a lot of character, but tight enough that fast leads don't run together. Nice.

I also enjoy the various rectifier sounds it has, particuarly Behringer's own "Ultimate V-amp". I actually use this sound for worship sometimes, if it's a kind of upbeat song. Great bottom end, scooped mids, and plenty of gain. Sounds best palm muted. The two Mesa Boogie rectifier sounds are pretty good, but lack that fizzy, buzzy top end that the real thing has. I guess that's alright, that's usually what everyone hates about them anyways. The regular Rectifier setting is good for Dream Theater style prog rock. Neck pickups sounds really fat and round for alternate-picked solos, and the bridge pickup is nice and acticulate.

The Soldano model is great for Van-Hagar era sounds, or just about anything 80's or shred-rockish.

I also really enjoy the VoxAC30 sound, although I realize it sounds almost nothing like the real thing, the simulation is much darker, but I find it quite useful for a Trey Anastasio kinda sound. Turn the gain way back, mids up, and add a little compression, and you're golden.

I don't usually use effects too much, so I don't want to steer anybody wrong there. But I do prefer my external pedals to the built in ones. I just use a touch of compression here and there, and it's not enough that anyone would hear a significant sound differece between one or the other.

It find the sounds great for everything I play, which is worship/praise, prog-metal, blues, classic rock, and fusiony jamming.

I will also add that if you go into configuration mode (by pressing the "B" and "D" buttons together) and adjust the input gain back, the unit sounds much better when used as a preamp. My pickups tend to be pretty hot, and I was getting a digitaly breakup when I would play hard or use a lot of gain. Turning this back cleared that up.

Also, when in any of the "L" modes, you have post EQ available. Make use of it! It can really help when using this thing live.

Others have complained about a delay when switching between sounds. Using "L2" mode helps to eliminate this. Also, you'll find that if you don't change amp model, there is NO delay at all, so if you can find an amp simulation with a decent rythym and lead sound, this shouldn't be any problem.

So far, it's been reliable, but I've only had it a few months. I use it every Sunday for worship at church, though, and God hasn't let anything happen to it yet :) I also play everyday through it.

The knobs, as well as everything else, are plastic. And not "It's ok to drop me" kinda plastic, like a Tonka truck, more like "If you look at me the wrong way, I'll crack" kinda plastic. Because of this, I always keep it in the padded case that comes with it. The input and output jacks make me nervous because they seem very "grabby", and I'm almost afraid that I'm going to rip it out.

I play regularly without a backup for it, although I'm considering moving to the V-AmpPro so that there's less chance of an accident.

Haven't had the pleasure, although their website seems rather useful.

As stated before, I play worship, prog-metal, blues, classic rock, and fusiony jamming stuff. It fits the bill perfectly, and when I monkey around with it, I hear other sounds that are familiar in other styles that sound good.

I've been playing about 8 years seriously, but first picked up the instrument 14 years ago. This is my first amp modeler, but as far as gear, I also have or have owned the following:
Ovation Ultra GP solidbody
Strat copy, customized with two Dimarzio humbuckers, sperzel locking tuners, and Wilkinson trem (under construction at the moment)
Behringer Ultrafex sonic enhancer
Akai shred-o-matic (actually, I liked it so much, I bought two!)
Ibanez tubescreamer
Original Crybaby
MXR Dyna-Comp
Dunlop Fuzz Face
Boss Ds-1
Halifax Buzztone (vintage fuzz)
Arion flanger
Korg Toneworks Digital Delay (the best delay I ever owned)

I admittingly have not tried any other similar products, other than breifly using a PODXT live for about half an hour. I've tried several modeling amps, though, for a few hours each in music stores, and this at least sounds better than the first amps that Line6 sold!

If it were lost or stolen, it's quite possible I would buy it again, although I would be more likely to make a more informed decision first. I bought this on a whim when I aw it go on sale.

I would like to include some hot tips to assist new users trying out the Vamp 2 for the first time. Having owned a Line 6 Pod previous and various digital multi-effect units I found programming to be quite simple once I understood how the manual is constructed. If you are looking for a step by step manual this isn't it. If you scored high in reading comprehension this manual is for you.

But editing is now a snap. To save a preset you simply hold down the appropriate channel (A-E) within the bank for 2 seconds. The light will turn steady and that particular patch is saved. If you have owned a Pod previously then programming will be much the same.
To enter edit mode simply press both arrow keys. To enter preamp bypass mode simply press the Tuner+Tap keys. The Tap key is also used in conjunction with the Gain, Cabinet models, Effects knob, etc..

And of course the most important feature is pressing the B and D buttons togethor to select one of 5 appropriate modes. S1, S2, "L1",L2, L3. Noticed I placed L1 in quotes because most likely you will be using this feature live. I purchased the Vamp-2 to return to testing direct playing live and based on the sound quality of last night's gig, I will be persuing the Vamp Pro rack mount along with the Behringer midi controller. For those of you who struggle to get a good sound and bash cabinet emulation products remember, you need to understand the appropriate modes for Live use and only use your Effects Return or preamp in for monitoring your sound.

The whole object is to run a direct feed to the board and carry less equipment. And one other thing, Keep it simple, if you only play through one amp in the night, then select the best combination of amp and cabinet, create a clean sound, save the setting across all 5 channels then slowy increase the gain and drive for each channel respectively. Thus creating a multiple effect, multiple channel direct signal. This also corrects the delay problem when switching patches. I chose the Dumble head with cabinet model #14. (4X12 cabinet tilted). My Les Paul Studio came to life, the band was quieter and the mix was cleaner.

I am currently playing a Les Paul Studio, Audio Techna wireless, Vamp-2 in L1 mode, Left channel using a TRS balanced to XLR cable to the main console, and right channel patched to the Effects Return of my Peavey Transtube. I am currently using the supplied 2 button foot controller but will soon purchase the Behringer midi controller.

My distortion's have never been cleaner. (yes, there's such a thing), the flange and autowah or somewhat weak. I substituted Phaser for Flange and use chorous on another patch. My Patch selection is as follows:

A-Clean Chorous
B-Clean Compressor (with drive=1)
C-Clean Compressor (with drive=1 and gain)
D-Clean Compressor (with drive=1 and more gain)
E-Clean Phaser

I'm not really trying to capture sounds of my favorite artist. I just like good tones, no matter what combination of equipment or guitar. Plus playing 6-11 times a month, I have been striving for reducing my setup time to nearly nothing. Currently 10 minutes.

I noticed the Vamp 2 is made of plastic unlike the POD. I am not sure if Behringer really intended for this device to go on the road or not but for $99.00, with a foot switch and a very nice carrying bag, power supply included this is the best value I've ever purchased as regards to effects. I paid myself back in one gig. I currently set the Vamp 2 on my old Pod bracket on top of my amp. I keep every piece of equipment in either some type of carry case, original box, etc.., If you place this within your pedal board then you might be cautious.

Once I purchase the Vamp pro and add it to our rack I'm certain reliability will not be an issue.

The knobs are plastic, but realize these are digital knobs. LEDs indicate the location of the selected position. I'm giving it a 10 because, I take care of my equipment. If this device crapped out tommorrow then I would'nt hesitate to purchase the Vamp pro. I will like having both because, for small gigs that only require a combo power/mixer, I can just use the Vamp 2.

I have'nt dealt with customer support and hopefully don't need too. A brand new music store opened within a mile of my house and carry's Behringer equipment at magazine prices. They can deal with any hassles.

I will comment on Behringer's website. You can download manuals, patches, and editing software which supports all products. So, I will rate their website a 10 which is where most of us get our support from anyway right?

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match? I play 50's dance, country, southern rock and funk. I am a basic 4 patch guy and I was able to emulate my 4 previous patches. So yes,

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
25 years. Vamp-2, Les Paul Studio and some Teles, Peavey Transtube.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? Vamp Pro and Midi controller

what do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature? It's portable, but efficient. Don't want to hate it. Favorite feature=The same A/D engine in the Vamp, VampPro, Vampire, makes patch editing easy.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? For only needing a few basic patches and can emulate or come close to the sound of a 4X12 or Tweed you just can't beat the price.

Anything you wish it had? Yes, like the Pod I wish it had a foot switch with a button per channel.

Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way? It has to help make the music, because we are a 4 piece band with only 3 instruments, (drums, bass, guitar )and loving it.

Anything else you'd like to share? Yes, I value the rating system on this website and anytime I consider buying a piece of gear I come here first looking for ratings above 8. I value the input of musicians that are in the same boat I'm in. Weekend warriors gigging in their local area, fan base, roady their own equipment, and look for ways of centralizing their rigs while producing quality sound.

And finally, yes their is a delay if you switch between "different amp/cabinet models" You noticed earlier I mentioned an average joe only use's one type of amp in the night unless you play professional in arenas, with 18 wheelers pulling your load. Press B+D arrow to L1, press Tuner for Exit and program all your patches using the same type of amp/cabinet model. You will not have any delay problems what so ever. Behringer previously designed the device to load the emulations in memory thus the delay when switching between programs. Remember it's digital.

Secondly, keep it simple. Create your base sound, save it, copy it(by holding each channel for 2 seconds) then add your gain and effects for your taste.

Thirdly, you have now entered into the world of direct. You are no longer mic'ing your amp, just using it as a monitor. Your tone is now supplied by the Vamp. So remember, to use your Effects Return or Power amp in. You may need to select L1, L2 or L3 based on your situation. L3 has two seperate channel mixes.

Fourthly, if you have owned a Pod previously then you know the importance of balanced cables. Purchase a mic cable, then cut off one end and solder a stereo 1/4" cable (a schematic is included in the manual). This is a TRS to XLR balanced cable.

Feel free to email me for questions, or how you are using your Vamp2.

Tweaking is easy... just dial up the amp, cab, effects that you want and push one button to save. Easy to adjust during live performance. What usually happens with effects units is your distortion at home is either too loud or not enough, so just dial the saving volume down when out live and save, nothing to it. You have 5 places to save in one bank so you can save, say a rhythm level in one, and a lead level in another, then use the foot switch to toggle between the two, and have 3 more for jumping to clean or whatever.

I have a vox tonelab that I gave over 6 bills for, and the sound of this is as good in some ways, better in others. The Vamp won't distort on the clean settings, which is a problem I have with the Vox. I think the distortions sound great. You can tweak it to a real heavy metal distortion, or tone it down for a warm blues sound. The delay's are real good. The autowah is the only thing that could be a little better, but hey for the price, I can afford an external wah unit, but it's pretty good.

I've had it a few months,so far, so good. The gig bag it comes with is ok if you are just going to carry it in your car, of course you may want to get something more durable to carry it in a packed situation. It's plastic, but seems to be pretty tough. I dropped it on a concrete floor once and it's still working.

Have'nt had to yet!!!

I play classic rock, 50's to the 90's, country, & blues. I play a solo gig with a sequencer and I'm getting the V-amp Pro rackmount version because I keep everything racked and next to me during solo gigs, and I"ll use this one for a back up.
I love that the cleans are real clean and the distortions are what they should be. It's light weight and easy to carry, so making it a back up will be easy.
For the money I cannot imagine anything being better. If you want a true comparison to the line 6 products I'd suggest finding a dealer that sells both products and trying them side by side, take your amp and axe with you for nothing else will tell you.