  8 out of 10
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"Excellent first amp or first upgrade for the price"
Feature:
I know of no other amp in this price class that inlcudes a five band EQ, and it is very useful for shaping your sound. Two channels allow you to set and switch between different sounds with ease. The tilt back feature is also nice.
All that said, the FBQ feature of the EQ is crap. You need to crank up the gain up for the lights to come on bright enough to see them. Then when you stop playing to adjust, the lights go out, so you can't see what you wanted to adjust! It's darn near useless, really.
It would be nice if this amp had an effects loop, since it seems to need outside help for some styles. Unfortunately, it doesn't have one, so you have to plug in your effects upstream of the amp.
Also, contrary to what it says on the amp itself, this amp does NOT have the Ultrabass feature. False advertising IMHO, but whatever...
Quality:
The overall construction seems solid. Everything is tight, nothing rattles, even after two years of use. But I also haven't dropped it or put it through the gorilla test to find out just how durable it really is, and I hope I don't have to...
The carpet covering is rough, but I suppose it serves the purpose. It also tends to gather pet hair and other debris like any carpet or cloth does, so I just occasionally run my dustbuster over it to keep it clean.
Others have given Behringer amps bad reviews on the electronics, but my amp hasn't had any major problems. The only issue I have is that the connections on the EQ seem a little loose; the lights sometimes flicker when I move the sliders. But that may just be natural wear and tear to the abuse I have put on my amp in the two years that I have had it.
Value:
For what you get for the price, you can't beat this amp. There are other amps that are better in individual ways, but as a complete package, this amp is at the top of its class.
Desirability:
Let's be honest: does ANY amp have sex appeal? OK, maybe an old Orange from the 60's, but not a modern amp. The appeal of this amp is its value, in the added features you get for the low-tier price.
Sound:
The basic sound of this amp is solid. With just the onboard EQ and two channels, I can get a nice sound for most styles of music.
The "distortion" channel is a bit weak. So if you are looking for a really hard sound for metal or bass solos, you will probably need to use external effects.
High gain levels can produce annoying background noise. Try moving your gear around to see if you are getting electronic interference from somewhere, or use external effects to reduce the noise.
The volume is fine for practice and lower-volume group play, but I wouldn't want to go gigging or trying to compete with a loud band with it.
Ease of Use:
Overall, this is an easy amp to just plug in and start adjusting it however you like. Getting a good sound is not hard at all. The only feature that isn't inherently obvious is the FBQ, which is pretty useless as I said already.
This amp is heavy for its size. Keep that in mind if you are a younger/smaller player looking for an amp that is easy to carry to your friend's house for a jam.
Support:
I haven't had to use Behringer's support. To me, that means they must be pretty good, since they got my amp right the first time around. :)
Overall:
I have had this amp for about two years, and it has served me well. I chose it for the features over other amps of similar price, and I will be replacing it with another Behringer (the BXL1800A) just to get a few more features that fit my personal style. Overall, it has been a very serviceable amp, despite its flaws. I would recommend it to anyone who is just starting out with bass, or looking for an upgrade over that little 10-watt practice amp that came with your value pack.
Submitted: 3/8/2008
Style of Music: All kinds of rock, jazz and blues
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