I never had much of a fondness for the POD type amp emulators. I mean, they were fine for knocking around, and using for practice amps, like when you were sitting out on the back porch learning that new song. But I was never overly impressed with their sound quality. Most of them do a decent job, but overall they sound like what they are.
This one would fool most people.
I bought a Behringer V-Amp 2 because I’d missed having a Rockman X-100 to knock around with. It was always nice to be able to kick back in a chair with my old X-100 and wail on guitar through an amp the size of a sandwich. Efficient jamming and all that. But I wasn’t nostalgic enough to buy an X-100 off of eBay.
I thought the V-Amp 2 might do just as well. But honestly, to compare the V-Amp 2 to a Rockman X-100 is insulting to the V-Amp. This little thing rocks. And it’s a hell of a lot more flexible. When I got it and heard some of the sounds it put out, my original intent to record with an ART SGX-2000 went out the window. Who needed it? The V-Amp 2 sounded damned good.
I won’t get into the semantic arguments about real-tube versus emulation. That’ll be going on long after I’m gone. All I know is that if you’re a musician on a budget and you want to record some tunes, in my opinion you could get by in the studio with nothing but by a Behringer V-Amp 2.
Yes, I have other amps. I probably wouldn’t go to the V-Amp 2 before my Alembic F-2B preamp or my Ampeg V-4 guitar head when I was recording. But I could certainly see it being a toss-up between the V-Amp 2 and my SGX-2000. That’s saying a lot.
In the end, I see the V-Amp 2 as a specific unit for a specific purpose. It’s a bucket full of extra sounds that are there if I need them. Besides, if I decide I want to go sit on the porch and jam on my guitar a bit, I’m not about to drag my 60 pound Ampeg V-4 out there to do it. The V-Amp 2 comes with a handy carrying case. No probs.
Of late, I’ve been using it with my Behringer BX300 bass amp to play my guitar in my band. It probably says a lot, as well, that no one has complained about my sound.
“Achieve a wide variety of realistic amp sounds
without the hassle of miking an amp.”
– Behringer
Purchased: 2005
Condition: Functional
Amp Type: Emulation
Manufacturer: Behringer
Seller: Musician’s Friend
Price: $100
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