Behringer AC108 Vintager Combo

Quite versatile, i play a lot of blues/rock and it's perfect for that no mid control though which is a bit strange but i guess it's only a practice amp and no features like reverb or anything like the bigger amps but once again it's only a practice amp. The addition of a preamp tube really sets this amp apart from any other small amp i have used. It was horrible right out of the box but as another reviewer suggested i changed the preamp tube to an electro harmonix tube with lower gain and that's when i really saw that this amp had potential. I play through a 1984 fender squire from japan with USA fender electrics and pickups i also use a USA fender strat i built from ebay. When i had the stock tube in i could not get a clean tone from my humbuckers it was always broken up when i used the gain but now that tubes been changed i can get nice bright clean tones on the humbucker. my texas specials were never a problem but they sound even better since the tube swap

I would only rate a 5 out of the box felt as i like i wasted my money on a gimmick amp when i first heard it but then i changed the factory tube for an electro harmonix lower gain 12AT7 as opposed to the stock 12AX7 now i rate this amp a ten no question sounds great through the whole range. I have heard others use a 12AU7 tube or 12AY7 but i have not tried these tubes yet although i think anything with a lower gain gives the amp so much more versatility and great clean sound quality.

never had a problem

not used

change the stock tube to a lower gain one and you will be a very happy camper. For the money you just can't beat this thing if you want a tube amp but can't afford it then just get one of these and mod it. You won't be disappointed.

I wanted a basic practice amp for "rock school" I have created at my school where I teach. I also bought a BB Blaster amp at the same time. The Benringer has two channels and a standard 2 band equaliser. What really impressed me was the curves on this beast. Despite its small dimensions it just LOOKED like a PROPER amp (with a nod to the VOX AC30) rather than a cornflake packet. There is a CD input facility as well though I have not used it. The back of the speaker says 20W.

Wow! I wish this had been on the market years ago! The overdrive function on the Blaster was okay and messy, but the Behringer actually sounded musical. You could certainly get that Carlos Santana "smooth" sound and this was with a cheap guitar! My Ibanez GAX30 feels great to play but does not sound very nice through my large Laney. However the ac108 made it sound almost as good as my more expensive Ibanez SAS guitar. Overdrive facilities on practice amps are good at disguising mistakes. This amp really enhances the player's ability. It sounds good clean too.

Foolishly, I accidently dropped it down a staircase. It still sounded fine. The wood feels ever so strong.

No idea.

Of course it would be nice with reverb and a footswitch but Behringer did not make it for experienced players. For a beginner it is a must and the only reason I was moaning is because my larger Laney does not sound as nice as this. Larger Beringer tube amps are so hard to find.

Beginners' amps all look the same. 10W, overdrive, Cd output, and very cheap. This one is NOT a toy, it is a tube amplifier. It just happens to be rather small. It may be a few pounds more than the cheapest on the market but you get more volume and a warm pleasant overdrive all in a cool looking box.

If you are reading this with the aim of buying one, I would say do so. Please note that the amp in the Vintager package has a 15W speaker and not 20W as they would be by themselves. It sounds fine but is not as loud.

you know all the features, 8" speaker, 12ax7 tube, vintage look, cd in, headphone out, etc.

I got this amp because I wanted an amp with a tube in it at the time.

I mostly play metal, hard rock, but now I am getting into country.

I wish this amp had reverb. I hate just a plain signal.

I use this for around the house. I do not play in a band or in public, so I can't comment on its "live" capabilities. for what I use it for it's the tops.

I use all sorts of axes with this. modified squier affinity (dual rails in bridge, singles in neck and middle), squier standard tele, modified esp ltd m-100, vantage les paul, various home made frankensteins.

With each one of these guitars the clean signal from the ss channel is good.

But the tube is where all the fun is to be had. I changed the stock "hand picked" tube to a GT 12ax7 and now this thing has some balls. After I replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen Mod 8-20, it really has some serious cajones. I my opinion after the mods, this is the ideal blues amp.

I've had this amp for years, and used it sporadically. After the mods I have tough playing playing out of another amp, except when I want METAL ...then I go with my reliable Crate gt-80d.

I have never had noise issues, it dying on me, nothing.

never dealt with behringer. I have never had an issue with their products.

After ten years of playing I no longer need to look for another blues amp. I tried all sorts of guitar/pedals/amp combinations looking for a great blues tone. Now no matter what guiatr I play, I can get a kick *** blues sound with this.

It was ~$70 new, and with $30 in mods it is one of my favorite pieces of gear, next to my vantage les paul, and my heavily modified esp ltd m-100 (not fm).

If it was stolen I would absolutely replace this thing with all of the after market parts. You can't understand how good it is until you replace the generic behringer parts.

Hybrid guitar amplifier with 8 inch speaker and 12ax7 pre-amp tube. Two button switchable channels, master and gain volume controls, bass and treble tone-controls, a sort of a mids-emphasis button, CD-player in, headphones out. All the basics for a practice amp.

I use this amp with a 80's Tokai breezysound Telecaster and a 2007 Fender Highway 1 Telecaster. It has a nice clean sound, although low E-string notes tend to sound a bit muffled. I thing the stock speaker (15W) can not handle the attack. With distortion its less of a problem. At higher volumes one notices that the stock speaker can not handle the power. If you only play this amp at low power settings its not a problem. Both the clean and gain sound are very usable. On the basis of an earlier user review i changed the stock speaker for a Jensen C8R (4 ohms), which makes all the difference. The Jensen is 25W and handles bass-tones and attacks much better. It's a huge improvement. The sound-rating is for the stock speaker. With the Jensen i would give it a 9. Still, compared to a 10"-speaker (Frontman 25r) which i also play now and then, the 8" sound is thinner. This is especially evident if i run the drummachine through the amp. But for a practice amp the sound has enough body.

It hasn't broken down on me. It is very well build (MDF-board). The electronics are simple and efficient and except for a tube-change once every few years i'm not expecting any trouble.

No experience. It has a three year warranty (which maybe i voided by replacing the speaker)

I've been playing for 20 years. This is a good investment. I payed 49 euro for the amp and another 42 for the Jensen speaker. For 91 euro this is still a good buy. I love its simplicity, low weight and small dimensions and still the 8" speaker moves a lot of air. It has a very good tone, clean and gain, especially with the speaker upgrade.

Basically a practice amp, one input switchable bewteen a fixed gain (clean) channel and adjustable gain channel. The amp has a 12ax7 tube for it's pre-amp and this was the reason I choose it. It has headphone/line out and a socket for a cd player.

The amp is ok as a practise amp but has a few drawbacks. It has a large level of background hum, clean is a bit thin and reedy and will distort if fed from a HB. Using it with the gain control allows for a reasonable bluesy tone, but Im not too impressed if you turn the gain past about 12 oclock, seems harsh.
Might benefit from a better speaker, running into a 12" fender unit improved matters, but it was way to quiet because of impedance mismatch.

No probs yet.

If it failed I'd either fix it myself or use the rather nice case to build a low power valve amp in.

I've only been playing about 6 months and this amp was bought because I had a limited budget and it seemed to fit my needs the best. Blues was the way I wanted to go.
If lost I wouldn't replace it.
What I love, it's small and easily carried, really looks the part and is nicely finished. Can do a reasonable blues tone, but only over a narrow range of settings.
What I hate, that go***mn hum.

This is a follow up review ... 1 1/2 years later.

Noisy - An electrical hiss would show up on intermittently after the first 3 months. It is now a constant buzz.

Noisy over time.

I suppose I could have contacted the company for warranty work but shipping would cost $20 for a $59 amp ..... why bother.

This amp is still a great value. You still can't beat the price but, in some respects, it isn't a free lunch. My overall score is from 10 to a 7.

PS. I still use the amp several times per week. I see no reason to get another practice amp.

2006 model assembled in China. Features are what you would expect in a low priced tube preamp unit. Has clean and distortion channels not foot switchable. Great practice amp I use with an AX3G box to play any style music. Not many features a basic practice amp.
It does have a CD imput and headphone jack, also gain and shift buttons.

Good sound but may change the speaker for full blast capability. Don't use the distortion channel it is ok though, I use it with a multi effects box with n/r for a mind blowing sound. It is not noisy but naturally that depends on your pick ups and direction.

Had it about 6 months no problem.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing for 23 years. I play a Casino, MIA Strat, MIM Tele, Epi Les Paul Classic Plus and a Guild accoustic thru it and they all sound great. For the money you can't beat it. For this price, around 60. U.S. dollars, It would be a sin to complian about more features. If it would have a flaw I would say it is the speaker, but that is a minor easy fix. Also the distortion is just ok, nothing great but again for the price it's a bargain.

This is the Behringer Ultracoustic AT108 Acoustic Combo Amp. 2005, I believe. Somewhat versatile, 2 channel -one mic, one guitar. No channel switching, effects loops, ext. speaker, etc. There is a CD input and a headphone out. It was only $59 new.. but I still wish it had a couple things like an effects insert jack for the mic and guitar or, even better, a separate insert for mic and guitar. Reverb would have brought up the price.. but without an insert jack, you can't add external effects on the mic/vocal. I'll probably open her up and see if there's a way to tap the headphone jack to use as an insert. Plus an external speaker jack would be sweet. It's solid state with some sort of "virtual tube" technology... whatever, it's not as harsh as other clean SS amps I've used. Standard 3 band EQ -I'd love a sweepable mid, but..again for the money. Most importantly it is tiny and lightweight: 14-1/4"W x 13-1/4"H x 6-1/2"D at 12 lbs. Feels like 5 lbs. I can easily give it high marks for what it is- an inexpensive, small, lightweight acoustic amp for small venues or home use. Great for open mics ! Maybe I'll try an external speaker cab by easily tapping the mic connectors.

Tried it with an Epiphone Masterbilt with LR Baggs Element and a Seagull Cameo with the Quantum piezo/mic combo system. The Seagull had a rounder sound. This little amp has a lot more volume than the speaker can handle. A tad too much bass or lower mid and the little speaker will start to distort. It really needs a $50-100 speaker replacement -maybe a Jensen Neodymium or something with some more muscle that can put out bass frequencies -and combine that with a piezo horn. But, again, they couldn't do that for $59, so for the money, it is very reasonable. I tried out a new Behringer V-Tone Acoustic pedal that I bought with the amp and that gave me much greater tonal flexibility. What is really nice is how small and light this puppy is and yet it will still pump out enuf sound for a small coffee shop gig. Not the holy grail but, for the money, I doubt there's anything currently out there that's close.

Haven't had it long enuf. My other Behringer gear is still running strong, so I'm not worried.

Well.. I've been waiting for a reply for a couple of weeks for my question regarding tapping the headphone as an insert. It's the kind of question that never gets sent to the proper techy, so I wasn't expecting much.

I've been playing for a couple of hundred years easily. I've been a very selective gear junkie over the years and I believe I'm satisfied with this purchase. I may try another speaker, add an external speaker jack, try to put in an insert -then this would be one extremely sweet little amp. 'Course that'll have brought the price up to well over a $100, so considering what your getting for $59 (OK, just call it $60) you shouldn't be disappointed. I recommend it if you are like me- probably have other nicer heavier amps you could use but want something you can bring to the coffee shop or small jam in one trip from the front seat -including the guitar and cord/effects bag. Just don't expect the existing speaker to handle the amps potential in the bass department -just won't cut it. Otherwise, sweet!

This hybrid amp features a tube preamp united with a 15 watt solid state power amp. A generic 8 inch speaker with a 20 watt rating is enclosed in the black tolex covered MDF cabinet. Controls are gain, bass, treble, and master volume. Also incorporated is a CD player input and headphone jack.
I bought this amp because I needed an "amp fix" and was sort of interested in a small practice amp that weighed less than my VOX or Epiphone amps. I play in a jazz/soul/funk band and I needed something small, light, and tonefull. This amp fits the bill and is plenty loud if your bandmates use dynamics.

I play an Ibenez Artstar hollowbody with humbuckers. I also play an early 80's G&L Strat with selectable pickups. My playing style is more BB King and Marc Knopfler than "shredder." This amp works well with this style and if heavy distortion is your thing, it will get very nasty....but in a solid state kind of way more than class A.
Don't get me wrong, the thing is "tubish", with an emphasis on "ish."
The controls do offer a lot of variety. With the "Gain" button unlatched you have a ultra clean solid state sound. At max volume the speaker will break up and rather unpleasantly. With the "Gain" engaged, you get bluesy tone at really low settings. Bringing up the gain you start getting a bit more Angus. Crank the gain and the distortion is pure Tony Iommi.
The amp at idle is fairly quiet and remains so for the most part.
I have some mod suggestions in the reliability section.

Built very well...finish work is excellent. I took the chassis apart and examined the electronics. PC board looked like automated work, but very clean and worthy. The 12AX7 tube is ceramic socket mounted with a spring hood retainer. The power amp is a single pentawatt chip mounted to a heat sink. Now....let's talk mods:
I believe this amp would perform better with a lower gain preamp tube. Another person suggested a 12AU7 but I think that's too low. I recommend the 5751 which has the same grid and plate voltage of the 12AX7 (no rebiasing) but has a voltage swing of 70 (the 12AX7 is 100..the 12AU7 is around 40). I believe this mod will lessen the "harshness" of the pre section and tame the distortion ratio significantly without jeopardizing the overall volume. The only problem will be getting the stock tube out. Not much room so be patient and carefull. Also take the time to place molex connectors on the speaker for easy off and on. BE WARNED, THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY...AND BE SURE TO UNPLUG THE AMP BEFORE TAKING IT APART. KEEP TOOLS AND FINGERS AWAY FROM CAPICITORS...THEY WILL RETAIN A CHARGE THAT IN SOME CASES CAN BE DEADLY.

Just got it. I have other Behringer gear...built well but there are lemons with anything.

I have been playing for twenty years and owned a lot of gear. This amp is so inexpensive that every young aspiring guitarist should own one. If you are buying an amp for a new player it is ideal because of low cost and decent tone. If you are a tone-minded player you will admire this amp for what it is. Perfect for living room jams and would be fine in a small club with volume restrained players. Mic it up and you could do any size gig. If you really want sweet tone and a cheap price buy an Epiphone Valve Jr. for $120. This Behringer is for different use and will be nice for casual playing. Can't beat the price and workmanship!

Jan2005 I believe this came out and that is when I purchased this amp.

Clean is clean, and Gain is gain and these two sounds are switched using a switch on top. It is best regarded as a single channel amp however that would only be the case if it had no switch.

It has a 12ax7 valve which is used for preamp distorsion. This was the main reason for buying this amp to get the blues cleanish/dirtyish intermediate area that is valve territory in a quiet practice platform. Yes I have a Marshall Head but that's no good late at night etc.

I put 6 for features empirically, however it's a 10 cause it has all I need.

I have changed the stock speaker about week 2 for a Jensen C8R. The stock speaker is almost atrocious (not unusual in a practice amp and nothing to be disappointed about). I felt that the amp was actually good enough to warrant a speaker change and tried it out on an educated gamble. It improved things 200% imediately noticable some strong clear bass with full mids and clear highs. Woohoo, Houston we have definition!! ;)

I also took out the chassis and ran a bead of black silicon along the controls area front lip where it meets the cabinet. This is because with the speaker change the fuller bass response occasionally made the chassis vibrate against the cabinet at higher volumes which sucked. Now it is good and has not had troubles.

I don't run the amp that loud, and it actually isn't that loud when you do. It is great sounding and respondes well to pick pressure so it is of benefit to practice through this amp.

Main axe is a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special Plus. It has humbuckers of type 490R/498T for the Gibophiles - I use the middle position, ie. nasally two humbucker twang.

Gives a great rendition of good midrange honk. Tone is clear and singing for blues this way.

Honk settings (lol)
gain:, [bass] and [treble] all at about 10-11 o'clock.

Gives tweedish grit clean when played soft and thicker overdrive tones when digging in.

As I said purchased Jan 05 and it is now August so 8 months of moderate use with no trouble. My one, and I suspect all of them makes a loud pop when turning on (I guess that's the solid state bit).

playing a while sine 1985-2005 so have had some gear in that time. This is THE BEST by 100X (well at least 3-5X) practice amp over other practice amps I have had.

I love it's size, it's looks are nice to, the finish is OUTSTANDING. I was shocked at how much amp and nice cabinet bits you get for the money. Even the manuals are generous stuff.

I would recommend this unit stock (don't mind my speaker changing) as a very good amp for a guitarist to use at home. With speaker change I have actually dragged it out to a small gig and it filled the room stand alone well enough, with a small PA for vocals.

Personally IMHO - stock speaker is a shocker, with Jensen C8R this amp is very impressive and offers low cost, low maintainance great practice tone.

I am still considering a little Fender Champ or a Gibson Skylark (similar) which a little 5 watt tube amps -- for practice however for the money this little Behringer really is a class act and the only clear choice BY FAR in the practice amp arena.

Rock on!