List Price: $159.99
Sale Price: $122.37
Today's Bonus: 24% Off
- 4 all-new plus 28 improved amp models multiplied by 15 speaker cabinet simulations give you a total of 480 virtual combos
- USB audio interface included, featuring stereo I/O, optical S/PDIF out, direct monitoring and separate control for phones out
- No-latency guitar recording on your PC - edit and monitor your sound directly on V-AMP 3 and record to the incredible multi-platform music production software energyXT2.5 Compact
- Studio quality multi-effects including reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary, auto-wah, echo, delay, compressor and various effects combinations
- 125 memory locations pre-arranged for many popular styles and embedded in the acclaimed intuitive V-AMP user interface
- No-latency guitar recording on your PC - edit and monitor your sound directly on V-AMP 3 and record to the incredible multi-platform
- Studio quality multi-effects including reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary, auto-wah, echo, delay, compressor.
- Studio quality multi-effects including reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary, auto-wah, echo, delay, compressor
- No-latency guitar recording on your PCedit and monitor your sound directly on V-AMP 3 and record to the incredible multi-platform music
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I am still shocked at how great sounding this thing is and how much use I get out of it. I haven't had a single issue with it, other than the fact that its kind of ugly and isn't as cool looking as a Marshall Half stack or Fender Twin.First thing you will want to do when you buy this amp is do a google search for behringer v amp 3, find the official behringer page for this and dowload and print out the full manual for this thing. The included manual in the box is pretty bad. The full manual goes into MUCH more detail. A slight, but easily remedied annoyance.
Secondly, It's kinda ugly. I don't know why the decided it needed to be in the shape of a guitar, it kinda lends to a kitschy feel that is aided by the red plastic (I guess they were trying to make it kinda look like a Line 6 POD?)
Thirdly, the interface takes a little getting used to, and isn't super convenient if you decide you want a different sound while playing in a club with it. Hard to fault it here though, as with the number of options you have, I don't really know how it could be easy to come up with something new in a dimly lit club. There is an easy solution, just limit yourself to the presets you created at home while onstage.
Now that those relatively minor negatives are out of the way, lets get to the positives.
1) Tone for days! My best friend plays a '63 Fender Strat through a '65 Twin, a vintage Marshall Plexi, a Fender Vibroverb (actually its two numbers away in the serial number from SRV's Vibroverb) and several other super legit amps. We go back and forth writing songs and after I got this he kept remarking on how good my tone was, I told him he was in for a surprise when he actually came over. He was thinking that I bought a Fuchs or something like that with the crazy good combo of clean tones I was getting, mildly overdriven and full on overdriven lead. He was shocked and partially appalled when he saw that those great tones were coming from this humble little hunk of plastic.
2) Preset presets are great, making your own are even better! When I first got this, I kinda played around with the presets for a while and they were usually very good sounding. Then I started playing around with the different amps and found a couple I liked. I was more or less satisfied that I probably got around 4-5 tones I really liked. Then I found the full manual on the behringer website and ventured into the waters of tweaking the cabinet simulations, reverb settings and noise gates. That's when the magic came alive.
How I would recommend using this thing is going through the list of amps you want to try, setting all the tone controls to 5, gain level at the type of overdrive you want and then going into the edit mode and changing the cabinet around until you found one you like. The differences in the cabinets are HUGE. A substantially bigger difference than you'll find in real life, where most cabs sound pretty similar. Once you've gotten the best sound you can get with the particular amp and cab combo, pick the type of reverb you want. For whatever reason the thing tends to default to type 8, which to me is by far the worst of the reverb settings. I tend to favor types 2,3 and 7 for clean sounds 1,6 and 8 for overdriven (though occasionally the crazy type 5 is fun for wild overdriven tones).
Once youve set your reverb and speaker cab, exit edit mode and then start tweaking the tone controls. You will find a TON of great tones.
3) Preset making is easy and limits you in a good way on the stage. I have a Fender Strat and an Epiphone Dot with Gibson '59 Classic humbuckers installed. These two guitars lend themselves to relatively different settings. No problem, what I did was made odd page presets for the strat (or any single coiled guitar) and even page presets for the Dot (or any humbucker guitar). Honestly on stage I don't want to page through a ton of pages, so I just limit myself to the 5 tones on the given page I'm on. It kind of sounds limiting until you think "well hey, I ONLY have 5 amps to chose from at any given point in time." The footswitch (not included) lets you switch into an overdriven model for leads and back for clean rhythm. I usually will just put it direct into the PA, though I do have a 2x12 speaker cabine and a power amp that I will use sometimes as well (though if I have to lug an amp around, I will usually bring my Princeton Reverb).
4) If you can't tell, this thing has replaced my actual real amps most of the time. I bought this thing as a practice amp and to occasionally get some different tones on recordings. Then my amp crapped out on me for a week and I made do with this. And I loved it. It wasn't better sounding, but it wasn't noticeably worse either, and all the different tones I could access. Sure, you look kinda weird, as people scan the stage for your amp. But sound guys love you. Your bandmates may make fun of you, that is until they realize how much better the stage volume is and how you have to carry one less piece of equipment. When the Princeton came back I used it at most of my gigs, but would occasionally get lazy and just grab the V-3. Now I only really bring the Princeton if the place I'm playing can't really support my guitar though the monitors. The other guitarist I sometimes play with lugs around a Fender Super Reverb, which looks cooler, but I laugh during load out.
5) It can even be used for things besides guitar! Home recording one day my XLR to USB converter crapped out on me when I was trying to record some harmonica parts. Well, I thought, we will see what it sounds like if I plug a harmonica green bullet mic directly into the the V-amp's tube preamp setting. It was fantastic sounding! Much better than direct recording and then EQing through My Audio Technica AT2020 USB mic. I now even occasionally record some vocals this way, if I want that warm, occasionally breaks up when you really lean into it, Stax soul vocal sound (not to say I can sing like Otis Redding or anything). (note, to do this you will need an XLR to 1/4" TRS cable, the V-Amp 3 only accepts 1/4" TRS inputs)
In sum, this is a great product, especially if you really learn how to use it. It could be slightly easier to use and cooler looking, but with tones like these for $100, how can you really complain that it looks cheap? It is cheap, it just doesn't sound cheap at all.
Finally, I have a friend is a Line 6 Pod and this thing blows the doors off it. Sure, you won't sound like you're playing a Dumble or Egnater, but you definitely don't sound like you're playing a $100 hunk of ugly red plastic either.The V-amp3, put simply, is very good (not just for the money).
I've spent nearly a year playing with it, and this processor offers very good value and performance, not just for the money, but overall.
The soundcard itself is small, and USB powered. Windows 7 will automatically install drivers, which work just fine, although the Behringer ones seem to offer a little better functionality.
I have not used the included recording software, and can't comment on it.
The V-amp3 itself is mostly what I use, and nearly on a daily basis. The EQ has a broad enough control to work with bright and dark sounding electric guitars. I have not used this with acoustics.
The compressor is sensitive and, when set low, is a nice touch, with a similar response to a Boss unit. It can be set way too high, however, making for some overly compressed sounds, and a bit of noise.
Distortions: this unit simply shines with good ones. Some sound a bit digital, but most are very good, and compared to a POD or Korg AX1000G (which I've used for years) this thing has a more natural, analog sound.
Reverb: light reverb on this unit is good, but takes on a "small room" sound too quickly, and can affect the tone at higher levels. It's best to leave this on low. The echoes and delays, however, are much better and transparent, leaving a nicely resonant echo sound. Teamed with a little reverb, it makes for a very good slap-back echo. Tap tempo can also make a huge difference here.
The built-in tuner is quite handy, and can mute the sound (unless the program volume knob is turned up).
The unit runs a touch warm toward the power connector, but is vented. I've also noticed after a year the pots are in need of a cleaning (slightly scratchy), but it is used in a somewhat dusty environment.
The power brick has a strange pinout that is similar to other Behringer products, but is nice in that it is not a wall-wart. It's not a noisy power supply, either.
The unit is pretty intuitive, and well laid out. I've typically played this through a Fender Champ 600 and Carvin Vintage 16 amp.
Keep in mind, this is a digital distortion unit primarily, and I think, in some cases, stomp boxes will be better, but this is still very good for digital. It will not compete with something like a G-Major 2 in terms of effects (those units sound extremely good to me, and I own one). But it is definitely a better choice than a POD, or competing floor modeler. For the ~$100 price tag, this thing deserves to be tried. It has a permanent spot on my desktop, and in my effects case.Hooked this bad boy to my amp and it rocks out with good clean distortion..... BUT the manual stinks , the interface stinks , be sure to read the pdf on amp use because of the way this outputs.... I dont like devices that make buttons have dual roles and this thing is chock full of them.... but once you get the sound you need from it wham! I just wish they made it easier to use. This device also comes with a usb box that allows your computer to record your guitar.Before I bought this unit I read all of the reviews and most were favorable. I own the Line 6 Pod and initially thought this was sort of a Pod ripoff. But I have tried other units that were more expensive that did not yield the results I was looking for. Something told me to give this a try so I took the $110 dollar gamble. I am so glad I did!
This unit features guitar amplifier and cabinet simulation. I wanted something that I could go directly into the PC or mixing console with, that would sound good without having to mic a cabinet. I had tried other units that just didn't yield quality results. This one did, even though it was much cheaper. When I first plugged it in, it gave a fancy light show and I thought, "Wow, that looks pretty cool, I just hope it sounds as good as the light show looked." It did.
I ordered it off of Amazon and had it the very next day. I got it just minutes before I left my house for practice with my bass player. So I brought it with me. I had my cheap beat-around electric guitar with me at the time. I plugged it directly into my Peavey powered mixer and it sounded pretty good. I was immediately impressed, as was my bass player. When I got home, I plugged my Les Paul into it and it was even better! I went through some of the presets and found one close to the sound I was looking for. Then I tweaked it a bit, with headphones on, and it was amazingly close to what I had in mind. Then I plugged it into my PC through my Line 6 UX2. It sounded excellent.
One thing I noticed, though, is that it really does sound very much like a guitar amplifier with a miked speaker cabinet. There is a volume for the patch and a main volume. When your patch volume is too high, it is very much like a miked cabinet with the volume set too high, which would detract from clarity. So I lowered the patch volume and raised the main volume and the clarity improved greatly. It is important to remember that you really have to play around with it to find the sound you are looking for.
At the time of this writing, I haven't really tried the USB adapter that was provided with it. So I can't really speak to the latency issues some have complained about regarding that. But I can speak to the fact that it sounds great when run directly into a mixing console for live applications, thereby making it unnecessary to drag a small guitar amp around to mic for gigs. That's a big plus for me. Really quick setup time. You gotta love that!
It comes with many effects and they are decent quality but I was disappointed by the fact that it didn't include a pitch shifter that would allow for a dropped tuning or for harmony leads. However, I have a zoom pedal I can use for that. I can go out from that into this unit. Of course, It'll probably throw off the sound a bit and may require some more tweaking to set it straight again, but, oh well, nothing in life is easy.
The paperwork you get with it isn't really the greatest. You can download a PDF manual for it off of the Behringer website that is much better. Do that before you try to figure out how to use it and end up getting aggravated by not being able to figure it on your own.
So, to sum it up, I'd have to say it is well worth the money regardless as to whether or not the USB interface is good or not. The unit itself is great.
