Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Are Behringer amp heads and cabinets top quality and do they offer good sound? Thanks.
cp

Wow. A loaded question that deserves a thorough parsing.

Behringer have earned their share of the market by providing really good value for money at the low to medium end of the price scale, with good reliability.

"Top quality" , price be damned, nope. Price considered, yes. "Good sound" is very, very subjective. Why not try a few out for yourself?

Yes

They're OK.

How's that for commitment?

I have an Ultrabass BX3000 something something mumble and it has been an OK amp for me. It has a goodly number of knobs and switches to fiddle with and a switchbox to control some of it.

A solid amp, I can make mine sound pretty good with a single 15" GK cabinet.

I have their 300 W head. It is OK to Good, not high end. But at the price point it's fairly phenomenal.

I play into a Carvin 2x10, and just ordered a Low Down Sound 4x8. I've been pretty happy with the sound, it's been very reliable in 3 years of solid use, the only negative is the handle is a bit loose - you have to be careful not to lift it up too abruptly. I actually have found occasion to use the "sub-bass" effect, which is roughly an octaver.

When talking to Don at LDS to order the 4x8 cabinet, he asked about my amp. His reply was that upgrading to the Behringer 450 W head would power his 4x8 fine, and he himself had recently bought one of the 2x10 combos (has the 450 W head in it), and re-speakered it correctly (that's what he does), and he felt he had an amp the serverd him as well as an SWR Red Head at about 1/3 the price. He remarked, and I've heard it from others, that the Behringer speaker are sub-standard.

The Behringer conversation is tinged with business ethics. Or the company's lack thereof. Clearly the 300 W I have and it's more recent brother are rip offs of Ashdown heads. It seems as if every major item Behringer sells "borrows" from other manufacturers designs. There's also the fact it's all Chinese made (not that I dislike the Chinese intrinsically - I just worry a more about American industries)...

But if they are good enough amps for one of the best bass cabinet designers around (who also plays bass) then I have to give it a decent rating, and I'll probably spend the $250 for one of the 450 W heads so I have two rigs.

I wouldn't touch one. I used one for band practice since it already at the rehearsal site, but it sounded horrible to me. You're better off with the Ashdown MAG line, which was the prototype for the Behringer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BEHRINGER-BX4500H-ULTRABASS-BASS-AMPLIFIER-AMP-HEAD-NEW_W0QQitemZ280077365900QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If these things work, what a deal!

i would agree with Ron. i was going to chime-in earlier and suggest the Ashdown MAG over the Behringer (just look at the two and you can tell where Behringer 'took' it's design from). better yet, try the Ashdown ABM line if you are looking for solid state.

if you are seeking tone over all else (cost and ease of transport), search-out a vintage SVT, V9 or the like. Traynor makes a good, hand-built in Canada tube head w/ 200 watts which would be another great option if cost and weight are significant factors in your decision.

There's a $99 opening bid SVT III (first model) on eBay right now.

I don't know about the amps, but my guitarist used the multieffect and preamp and it really sucked.

I bought the 300 watt head and the 4x10 aluminum cone cab. I am now getting a loud buzz out of two of the speakers so in to the shop it goes. The head seems alright but I am constantly fiddling with it and generally unhappy. Im looking at Ampeg and GK to replace the behringer. It was heavy and had 300 watts so I thought it must be ok. Nope, wont go that route again.

It's hard to wrong with GK for the price. Stay away from the Backlines, though.
That might hurt my chances for a GK endorsement, but, what the heck.

This post will likely be ignored in the middle of all of the Behringer-bashing and name-brand worship, but I have (and love) the 450 W Behringer head with the aluminum-coned 1x15 and 2 x10s. I also use their POD XT clone (known as the Bass V-amp), which to my ears is much better, despite being a third the cost.

Two things to bear in mind though: 1) Behringer does use cheaper materials but my stuff has held up fantastic over the last few years and 2) everything they make really is a clone of somebody else's hard work. I'll admit to having a bit of a moral problem with that, though saving a ton of money tends to make up for any mixed emotions on my part!

It bears repeating here for those with very few bucks left over after handing over just about everything they had to get a Ric: the amplifier is quite a few notches down the list when it comes to how to get a great bass sound. To my mind, your choice of $30 strings plays a bigger role in shaping your tone than your 120 lb., $2,000 amplifier does. To wit, I've played GKs, Ampegs and more, but the best sound I've ever gotten out of my Ric was from an opening gig using the headliner's guitar-player-turned-bassist's 60 watt GUITAR amp with a built-in DI, masterfully shaped by a top-notch soundman. Couldn't hear a note I was playing onstage mind you, so I had to wait to listen to the recording before I fell in love with my Ric all over again! lol

I bought a BA410 cab to use with my Hartke HA5500. The amp was rated at 500w RMS. I even emailed Behringer to see if the 1000w they quoted was RMS or peak. They told me it was RMS.

I like a trebly sound - clear but with bottom. In 3 gigs I managed to shatter all 4 of the aluminium drivers.

I will give Behringer their due, I emailed them and they sent out a brand new cab for me ( I sold it straight away )

I tried it and found it guilty.

I'm back using the stuff I know and trust - GK head and Ashdown cab with eminence driver.

I really wanted to try their gear. I'm not a snob when it comes to gear; I use what is the best for the situation.

I recently picked up a small Behringer combo practice amp ... it is ok for practice but it is not a gigging amp ... their stuff is not high end ...