Behringer Review | Bugera 6262-212 Review

Behringer Stomp Box Review Please Note: "I don't hear through my eyes and what I read...I have always used my ears for decisions regarding guitar equipment. I totally trust them. I am now an official Behringer endorsee. This has eventuated because of my belief not only in Behringer, but the fact that ALL musicians can now access quality sound economically. I have had numerous personal conversations with Uli Behringer via email, and we share the same philosophy. He is the real deal. At the time of writing the review below, (as it mentions) I had no affiliation with Behringer. It was written without ANY bias or prejudice. Nothing has changed, the same goes for all my recent reviews or comments regarding Behringer." Kind Regards Rob Review Updates & MP3s October 23, 2005 Firstly, I am not affiliated with Behringer in anyway. This review is an honest account of what my experience with their products has been. If I believe in something, I will sing it's praises. I do currently have a non exclusive endorsement deal with Line 6, Sign Guitars and have been sponsored by Fender France. About 15 years ago, I stuck a little homemade booster FET preamp in a Jim Dunlop JH-1 Wah-Wah pedal and connected up a relay so I could switch it on and off via a home made foot switch for boosting gain for my lead breaks. I was struggling to make a buck at the time and simply couldn't afford the Boss pedals. This worked for me for every recording I made as well as every gig that I did during this period of time, but unfortunately it started to become unreliable at gigs...after 15 years of the treatment I gave this thing, you would expect it to have only lasted the first 6 weeks! I had a 3 week tour of France lined up in September of this year (2005) and I thought now was a good time to throw the old JH-1 and grab me a new Cry Baby Wah...problem being that I had to find a new preamp as well. I spotted a Cry Baby for about 100 Euros at a music store in Aachen, Germany and decided it was a good deal and...sitting next to it in the display window was a new Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100...for 18 Euros...so, what the heck, I'll give it a try...   This pedal sounded good...no, it sounded great when I hooked it up to my rig. Clean, crisp signal boost with USABLE bass and treble controls and no "squashing" sound. All my playing dynamics were true and accurate, even when the device's level was maxed out and slammed down the input of my Line 6 PODxt. I used this for the entire French tour, and LOVED it...this lil' cheap, plastic box is a steal for what it is...it's simply amazing! This got me interested in the other pedals...so, I next bought a Behringer Blues Overdrive BO 100 to try out on my upcoming Polish tour.   Ok, off to Poland for 7 gigs...I used my PODxt through the front of a supplied Rivera tube combo amp plus the Cry Baby and the newly purchased Blues Overdrive pedal. You are probably thinking why didn't I just use the PODxt's switching capabilities through it's own FVB floorboard? Well, first I don't have one and secondly my experience tells me no...I just don't like the idea of using non guitar type cables in a live environment plus I get really dyslexic with heaps of switches and lights. (get dizzy...fall off stage, into drums..etc)   Anyway, no problem, the Blues Driver worked just as well as the Preamp/Booster did, maybe a slight midrange increase or bass response decrease and a slightly warmer response...it was cool by me.  It sounded great, I used it with the gain on 0 and level about 2 o'clock as I like boosting the lead cleanly without extra distortion. I also found the "flat" EQ spot on the Tone knob to be about 10 o'clock but this may vary if you increase the gain from 0. All the dynamics and the original tone was still in tact. I probably wouldn't use this pedal as a straight distortion unit as I found the overdrive a little loose and thick for my rock style rhythm playing, but remember this is called a BLUES Overdrive, and I think this tone would be perfectly suited for the die hard purist blues guitarist or SRV type player....and it has more than ample overdrive, even for lead playing...this unit will retain your guitars tone even when maxed out. For my purposes, this unit worked very well as a clean signal booster. Try this instead of a Tubescreamer, this is a great alternative...believe me, I own a Tubescreamer. (Sorry Ibanez)   Everything was sounding good until I left the power supply to the PODxt the night before at a club the other side of the country...does anyone have a distortion pedal? Yep, the sound guy has a Boss. No offense to Boss, but I'm not a huge fan of their pedals now, even though I own a Boss OD-3 in Australia...it's ok, but...something doesn't quite work for me...something to do with the dynamics and the "smallness" to your sound it creates when it's in the signal chain, even when the effect is off. Oh well, it got me through the gig and in all fairness to Boss, it did a good job...but I was still without my PODxt power supply for the last 2 gigs. The next day we trundled into the nearest city, being Katowice and found a music shop...of course there were no PODxt power supplies, but... maybe I can try another non-dyslexic Behringer pedal. The only distortion pedal left was the Behringer Ultra Distortion UD 100, and it was the display model. I plugged it into a solid state VOX amp in the store and immediately loved this pedal...tight, gritty and retained tone and dynamics. This pedal BREATHES. There are two modes on this pedal via a switch. I personally went for Mode 1, as the other setting sounded a bit "honkey" for rhythm guitar...it does say on the "manual" sheet that Mode 11 is voiced more for lead guitar, but it sounds more like a wah pedal rocked halfway. Could be useful if your rhythm sound is really mid scopped, or you like that Brian May type lead sound. It's also probably worth noting that the Rivera amplifier I was gigging with was set to just start overdriving and then I bought up the level of the pedal to almost match the direct guitar level, with the distortion set around 10 - 11 o'clock and tone around 2 o'clock...this was my "sweetspot" with this setup. The last 2 gigs sounded cool! Good guitar tone...I was happy. Note: If I had used a cleaner amp, (like a Fender Twin) I would have increased the level of the pedal from 10 o'clock to about 2 o'clock and slightly upped the distortion control. I am so confident with the sound I am getting, that I will be retiring my PODxt to the studio for a while, as it is getting a little beaten up on the road. It deserves a well earned rest. Don't get me wrong, the PODxt is a SERIOUSLY good unit for live work, but I may now get what I need from the Behringer pedals live instead of mistreating the POD. Time will tell, as no doubt I will have other guitar amplifiers to try these units through whilst on the road.   I can use the Behringer Ultra Distortion UD 100 for rhythm playing then kick in the Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100 or the Behringer Blues Overdrive BO 100 for boosting solos. They seem a little on the hungry side with batteries, but then again the LED on/off light will take your retinas out at 50 paces..you definately SEE these pedals on stage...I'll probably end arse up in a set of drums...ah well... The construction is of plastic and I have no idea how long these pedals will last, but I can afford to have spares if needed at the price they go for. All I know is that the TONE is there. After fooling around with the Behringer Overdrive Distortion OD 100 I have to add this to the list of great sounding and useful pedals. As well as the standard Level, Tone and Gain knobs, this unit boosts a "Mode" control. Turning it fully counter clockwise, (marked as OD) you have a smoother, warmer overdrive distortion more associated with an overdriven Fender amp with more midrange emphasis. Turning the control fully clockwise, (marked as DS) you get a more raspy, scooped, Rectified type of distortion more suited to metal guitar. A way this can be used effectvely is that if you have thin sounding single coils you could turn the control more towards the OD setting and with a fat humbucker, you could "thin" out the tone by turning more clockwise towards the DS setting. I found about mid-way very good for the single coils I was using with my Squier Strat. The tone difference between this pedal and the Ultra Distortion pedal reviewed above, is that the Overdrive Distortion OD 100 pedal had a more "open" tone with seemingly more useful options, especially if you switch between a Strat and a Les Paul. I would not have any hesitations of swapping either pedal at a gig at short notice, as with a little tweaking, very usable results can be acheived by both pedals...they both have their own likable character. I really couldn't find a downside with this pedal. The Behringer Tube Overdrive TO 100 is probably the pedal out of the 5 that I bought that is the least useful to me. It reminds me very much of a Boss OD-1 that were really popular late 70's / early '80's. It has a very soft type of overdrive that I guess would be useful if you just wanted to soften a clean sound...you know, like on a Roland Jazz Chorus amp or something like that. It doesn't have that "in your face" tone, but in all fairness, It's not supposed to...this is softly compressed overdrive. If you like a mellow tone of blues, you would probably really dig this...a late night, sit down blues jam would be a good setting, I would use it for that...or jamming alone just for smooth tone...definately un-offensive. Kind Regards Rob

UPDATE May 7, 2009 Here is a 77 minute live CD that is available for download on this website. Titled "Live At The Blues Garage", it was recorded on tour in Hannover, Germany - June 2006. The amp used was the Behringer V-Ampire LX210. (basically a V-Amp2 with amp and 2 x 10" speakers) You will hear some great amp dynamics on this recording and a lot of jamming! ;-) You can take a listen to it here: "Live At The Blues Garage" - Music & CDs >>> Kind Regards Rob

 

UPDATE November 07, 2005 This MP3 was recorded through a PODxt with a clean Class A-30 TB patch direct via USB using Rob's Sign "Powermaster" guitar. UD 100 Ultra Distortion Pedal - (1.21 Mb) UPDATE December 07, 2005 Since writing the review below, Behringer have published quotes from it at their website: In The Press This is with my full consent. UPDATE February 20, 2006 This March, I will become an official Behringer Power User endorsing certain Behringer products. This has eventuated because of my belief not only in Behringer, but the fact that musicians can access quality sound economically. I will continue to endorse Line 6, as I appreciate and hold in high regard both companies technological advancements & achievements. UPDATE April 15, 2006 After playing live gigs using many different amplifiers (tube, solid state & digital) since October last year, I have settled on the Behringer Ultra Distortion UD 100 pedal to give my basic overdrive/distortion tone when using supplied backline amps. It has now replaced the Line 6 PODxt for all live shows. It's just much simpler and easier for me to use and has worked extremely well under the most trying conditions! ;-) It's switched on the whole gig and I use my guitar volume pot to clean up when I need to. At this stage I am also using the Behringer Blues Overdrive BO 100 or the Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100 to boost gain for lead breaks. (I like them both) UPDATE April 25, 2006 Currently roadtesting the Behringer V-Ampire LX210 digital combo amp. Like all digital modellers, the more you get to know their parameters, the better they sound. I've had some very interesting results with the V-Ampire's built in balanced direct out to PA (L1 Mode)...no microphones used. Once I feel I have the best tones and gain more experience with this combo, I'll endeavour to get some live MP3 recordings available for download. UPDATE June 12, 2006 2 sample MP3s using a Behringer Ultra Distortion UD 100 on a low gain setting through a clean set channel on a LaBoga RAD 111 Duo 50w combo. The level of drive is controlled from the guitars volume control. A Behringer Blues Overdrive BO 100 was also used to boost gain when needed. Product Of A Southern Land - Live In Prague - (6.57 Mb) Blues Jam - Live In Prague - (1.56 Mb) UPDATE July 28, 2006 Last gig of the 2006 European tour coming up tomorrow at a Festival in Sweden. The Behringer pedals are holding up without any sign of weakness. Just to put you in the picture, I wear heavy, industrial work boots on stage. The pedals get STOMPED on...nearly for a year now...I also change batteries every 3 gigs, (not that I have too, I just like the best performance possible) so there is constant handling and real-world usage with them. These pedals are anything but frail. UPDATE August 15, 2006 Here is an mp3 compilation of the Behringer V-Ampire LX210 live in action. The recording was made via 2 room microphones only. The amp was running direct via the 2 balanced outputs to the mixing desk, although a lot of the sound you hear is directly from off stage. The recording procedure was not ideal, neither is the actual recording quality, however it was all that could be done on the night of the gig. It definately gives a good indication of how the amp works in a real situation with a loud rhythm section. V-Ampire LX210 - Live (1) - (2.49 Mb) UPDATE September 16, 2006 Here is an mp3 demonstrating the V-Amp 2. The unit's sound quality is excellent for direct computer recording. I also have no hesitation using it live direct to PA. The models used were the "Brit Classic" and the "Brit Class A" with their standard preset cab sims. Some Reverb and "Ping Pong" Delay was also dialed up. (The effects were exaggerated slightly in places so you could hear them) For the Bass, I accidently hit a factory preset patch (3E) using the "Tweed Combo" model...I liked it...it's really dirty sounding! To put it into perspective, the V-Amp 2 doesn't have all the models and features of the Line 6 PODxt, but if you want something easy to use, sounds great and is good value for money, you just can't go passed this. I really do like this unit. V-Amp 2 Demo - (2.64 Mb) UPDATE September 22, 2006 I've mamaged to dig up another couple of "little treasures" demonstrating the Behringer V-Ampire LX210. Now first of all...you really gotta excuse a few of the bum notes...ok? Ok, now we're close friends...here they are...live in action. Again, the recordings were made via 2 room microphones only. The amp was running direct via the 2 balanced outputs to the mixing desk, and again, a lot of the sound you hear is directly from off stage. Rough ol' recording, but there it is, the amp is doing a great job and what is really interesting is the interaction between guitar and amp. The volume swells are done by manually manipulating the guitar pot only. (Including the tremolo effect in the Live (3) MP3 below) V-Ampire LX210 - Live (2) - (5.86 Mb) V-Ampire LX210 - Live (3) - (5.58 Mb) UPDATE December 10, 2006 Just to inform you, the Behringer pedals are holding up with no problems at all. (After 14 months of continuous use) Don't be put off by the plastic housing...safety helmets are made out of plastic too. UPDATE February 22, 2007 Just completed a 2 week tour of the UK and a couple of gigs in Benelux... still no problems whatsoever. Heading down to Switzerland & Italy this weekend. UPDATE April 10, 2007 It's now April, still no sign of the Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100, Blues Overdrive BO 100 or Ultra Distortion UD 100 giving me any problems whatsoever. Just check the touring schedule to see these how hard these pedals are working. I have also swapped over to the 1 x 12" speaker combo Behringer V-Ampire LX112 120w prefering the sound of that 12" speaker...it gives me a little more punch than the 2 x 10" model mentioned above, although the 2 x 10" version is louder as it runs default in stereo. The 1 x 12" speaker model will run in stereo as well, but it needs an extra external speaker to do so. I now run the amp in "L2" mode with all digital speaker simulations off. (This is actually recommended in the manual for playing live) In a live situation, it gives a more dynamic feel to the sound...if you think about it, it's not really a logical idea to run a simulation of a guitar speaker through a guitar speaker...this type of speaker simulation sounds optimal through full frequency range PA speakers or studio monitors. Because I use "L2" mode & the digital cab sims are not engaged, (you need to be in "S1","S2","S3" or "L1" mode for digital cab sims) the direct outputs at the back of the amp default to analogue ULTRA-G cabinet simulation. I'm not overly convinced with this type of simulation, as I have been spoiled with the digital cab sims, so I prefer to have the speaker mic'ed than direct to desk...but I'm still fooling around with all possibilities. This amplifier is behaving and sounding very much like a tube amp, and has changed a few die-hard sound technician opinions. I forgot to mention I use the post EQ on the amp as well. (accessed by pressing buttons "D" & "E" simultaneously) I'm also mainly using the Crunch V-Amp amp simulation, as this is the best (and loudest) Blues/Classic Rock amp sim in my opinion. I back-off the volume on the guitar when I want to clean up the sound a bit, or stomp on one of the stomp boxes reviewed above when I want to solo. UPDATE May 15, 2007 On Saturday May 5th I played the Moulin Blues Festival, which is the biggest blues Festival in Holland. I had the choice of using a Blackface Fender Twin (which I love) or my Behringer V-Ampire, so I had the 2 onstage together for a line-check. I tried the Fender with my overdrive pedal, which is the setup I use with all amplifiers from back-line supplied gigs...I preferred the tone from my V-Ampire and sent the Fender Twin back to the stage manager. (He also agreed with my decision) UPDATE June 02, 2007 As the V-Ampire is basically the V-Amp 2 (Pro) with a poweramp and speaker, in a live situation the feel of this amplifier is much more convincing & natural than the Line 6 PODxt through a similar setup. I definately prefer it live. The PODxt is good for recording, but feels compressed and dynamically limited through a guitar amplifier. As I am not a high gain guitarist, my comments are based on the clean to mid gain settings I use. Also, it's worth noting I was not comparing the 2 units direct to PA, however I have used both in this situation, but not in a direct side by side comparison. All PA & monitoring environments are different for me every night. The V-Amp 2 digital processing would probably win due to it's more natural feeling dynamics. (I used the word probably) I would rather use a guitar amp anyway, due to the unsure environments I work in. Here is a really well written review in regards to a shootout between modellers. TheStompBox.net Most of my comments are from "on the fly" situations...gigs...sound checks...as it happens. I need to get things together quickly without confusion as I work in all situations, good & bad. I don't tour with crew or a tour manager...the band & I are it, so time can be very limiting when you get to the gig. If I am trying new gear, I don't want to be annoying the house sound technician or the band with continuous bursts of guitar fire. I just want things to work within about 30 seconds of tweaking. If I can't get anything close to what I want in a short time, my lack of attention span kicks in. So far Behringer gear has not let me down. Really, I can't speak highly enough of the V-Amp 2 digital amp simulations. The biggest problem I have is trying to find decent guitar cables where the positive plug tips don't work loose! Can't seem to find Whirlwind or Switchcraft anywhere anymore...Grrrrrr!! I do take care of how I transport & handle the V-Ampire, as it does not have the construction quality of a Fender or Marshall. This is why the amp costs much less than others. Because the amp only sits in the back of a Transit or Vito van packed tightly with other gear, I just use a carboard box cut to shape to house it. It fit's snuggly over the top of the amp. It protects it adequately. The only damage I've incurred with my V-Ampire is when I swung the amp around into a huge door frame, snapping one of the FX knobs off....no biggie to me...I don't use the amps FX anyway. If you take reasonable care with this amp, you should have no problems with it. UPDATE June 10, 2007 The video below was shot by a fan in Vienna in April this year. The overall sound quality isn't the best, but the V-Ampire has a solid blues tone & really is great to play...especially with the old classic "Red House". (good fun!!) The Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100 was also used to boost a bit of gain here and there. By the way...the word "Schlüssel" is German for "Key"... UPDATE June 19, 2007 Now approaching 20 months since I started writing up these pedals. Except for a bit of paint scratched off here and there, no problems whatsoever. UPDATE June 29, 2007 I've had the Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive TO800 pedal for quite some time. It's pretty much a copy of the original Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer from the late 70's, but as I am not really a fan of the Tubescreamer, (I own a newer TS7 model however) I thought I wasn't the right person to comment on this pedal. I gave it to Jochen Imhof from Sign Guitars to check out. Jochen builds only high end guitars and is a very respected Luthier in Germany. (He made my "Powermaster" guitar) A friend of his had an original TS808 and after comparing the sound of both pedals, the conclusion was the Behringer sounded 95% like the original '70's pedal. That is a pretty good comparison to me. Keep in mind the 5% could boil down to every pedal (original or otherwise) sounding a little different. If I was into the original TS808 Tubescreamer sound, I know I wouldn't pay over $250 to get it. For more opinions: http://tinyurl.com/22ff44 UPDATE September 08, 2007 Well, it's now 2 years since I bought my first Behringer pedal. I have had several at varies times on the road with me. These pedals have endured tough situations night after night...stomped on, kicked, beer spillage, sweat spillage...you name it they have coped it! These pedals are worth every damn penny you pay for them. They are tough and reliable. I absolutley highly recommend them and would now not bother with anything else if the Behringer range has what I need. I also still use the V-Ampire amp as my main gigging amplifier....works perfectly and reliably night after night. As mentioned before on this page, I prefer the V-Amp amp sims over the Line 6 PODxt sims for live gigs without question, the dynamics are simply better. UPDATE February 05, 2008 I'm heading back over to Europe on the 20th Feb to commence another busy tour armed with my favourite Behringer stomps & amps...I'll keep you posted! UPDATE May 06, 2008 No pedal failures to date...all still working perfectly. UPDATE November 26, 2008 Earlier this month I completed a 4 week UK & European tour. It has now been over 3 years since I started using Behringer pedals, and feel I have proven their robustness & reliability on the road. I also have been road testing a Bugera 6262-212 combo amp on tour over the past year. You can read about it here. Kind Regards Rob UPDATE April 08, 2009 Completed a 5 week tour of Europe in Feb / March...pedals still holding up without a problem whatsoever. UPDATE November 28, 2009 Completed a 4 week tour of Europe in October...with my Bugera amp, I now only really use the Behringer Preamp/Booster PB 100 and my wah pedal. This is the first Behringer pedal I bought back in 2005 and I have used it on most gigs I've done since then for boosting my solos. That's 4 years of hard road testing.

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