Behringer Ultratone Keyboard Amps

I've been shopping around for a nice keyboard amp with reverb. I notice that Behringer amps are substantially less pricey than ones from Roland, Fender, or Peavey. These other brands usually do NOT have reverb and are straight amps.

So what's the catch? I can get a 90 watt amp for less than 200 bux. I've outgrown my Fender Frontman and need something that will handle my new Theremin, and I do NOT want to modify this instrument to work with an amp, although I'm not afraid of soldering irons.

Tnx

Philip

Behringer are notoriously infamous for ripping off other hard-working manufacturer's designs, and then mass producing them themselves at a fraction of the original cost. Recently there have been a wave of courtcases against Behringer, and from what I have heard, the opponents are winning.

That may well be why Behringer seem so much cheaper than the other more famous brandnames. By all means buy from them, but you're funding a company that many musicians strongly dislike.

Hi There -

If you don't want to have to modify your theremin, you can always buy a "direct box" for about $20 - $30 and use it with a guitar amp.

Behringer actually makes some pretty nice stuff, as Charlie said they often "borrow" other expensive designs. That being said, I recently tried one of their amps and didn't like the sound - always a good idea to try it out first if you can.

I just purchased a new Vox VR30 tube amp this week (requires a direct box). It has built in spring reverb and has a very nice warm sound with my Etherwave Pro. I like the sound better than keyboard or bass amps I have tried.

Nice! How's the response of your Vox across the full pitch range of the theremin? With some of the tube guitar amps I've tried in the past, the mid and upper ranges were fine, but the bass range was a little weak.

Hi Jason -

Funny you should ask - the bass range is what sold me on it. It has a very warm full sound in the bass register - the epro now gets a very cello-like sound for me with this amp - rich and full.

Good to know! I love it when you can eek a nice cello sound out of a theremin. I've never taken the time to learn to play the cello, but it's probably the instrument sound I love the most next to the theremin & B3 organ :)

Etherspiel,

What do you mean by a "direct box" ? Also, as you get to know your VX30 better, please post additional impressions or observations. Sounds like a fine match for the E-pro from what you say.

Thanks,
Cheez

Here's an example from zZounds:

Whirlwind IMP2 Standard Direct Box (http://www.zzounds.com/a--3900/item--WHRIMP2)

And here's an excellent description from the Whirlwind website on what a direct box does (and why you need one)

http://www.whirlwindusa.com/tech02.html

Charlie wrote:

[i]That may well be why Behringer seem so much cheaper than the other more famous brandnames. By all means buy from them, but you're funding a company that many musicians strongly dislike.[/i]

In my experience, the reason many musicians dislike Behringer is not moral opposition to their reverse engineering practices. It's that they reverse engineer an item and then use really cheap parts to replicate it.

Their stuff works well out-of-the-box, but don't be surprised if it quickly breaks down.

Jason,

Thanks for the "direct box" links.