Behringer Ultrabass BXD3000H

I am running through 2 8ohm 1x15 300w cabinets. I have an ancient but good Digitech BP200 between my 4 and 5 string basses and the amplifier input. My basses are active, have maple bodies, and are therefore bright and also very deep. I bought this head as a backup, but I like it enough to use it as my main live amp.

The good (in no particular order):
Definitely a good strong 300w, no lack of power here.
Two channels ? and one with distortion which again used sparingly is a real boon. Couple this set slightly louder than the clean channel (using the level control) and there is a noticeable lift, ideal for a 3 piece bass player.
The distortion channel also has a shape control which works well and not to extremes.
The graphic EQ works and is illuminated, which is a nice touch.
Light weight ? very easy to transport
Rack mountable, if you so choose ? brackets are in the box.
Nice long lead for the footswitch. The footswitch supplied with my amplifier is labeled Bugera rather than Behringer, and is black rather than anodised gold as shown on the box.
The case looks like high density PVC so should be very tough, if rather unattractive.

The not so good/bad (in no particular order):
The power lead is only 1.5 metres long. I barely reaches the floor from the amplifier on top of my two 1x15 cabs.
The quality of the pots is minimal ? they are quite insubstantial but nevertheless work smoothly.
The FBQ metering is a gimmick that is of no value whatsoever. It just reports low frequencies, who?d have thought that could happen with a bass guitar?
There is a noticeable click from the speakers when changing channel or switching in the utlrabass effect.
The sound is a little uncontrolled ? difficult to describe this precisely. Sounds slightly woolly compared to the Trace Elliot I have been using, but has stronger lows. My Trace Elliot has a very tight, punchy and focused sound. That said I have no problem using this head ? all amps sound different after all.
The ultrabass effect, if used sparingly, gives a subtle but undeniable sub octave chorus like grumble to the tone ? however the effect seems to be rather hit and miss, with the overall volume rising and falling unpredictably.
Only one speaker output
No ground lift on the DI out ? not uncommon with lower priced amplifiers.
Build quality could be an issue ? the first one of these I had was dead on arrival. Thomann replaced it quickly.

Conclusion: A bit of a curate?s egg, with the good significantly outweighing the not so good. This head is outstanding value. You really can?t go wrong, especially not with Thomann?s best in class guarantee.

This is a great solid state D Class amp. I have connected the amp to a Warwick WCA 410-4 = 4 X 10 @ 4 Ohm 300 Watt. My bass guitar is an HB with active pickups. The amp has 2 channels, switchable on the amp and with the included footswitch.

Channel 2 is with an overdrive emulation as Gain, and a Shape control that scoops out a frequency area depending on the setting you use. I keep the amp on channel 2 as I like using a clean sound just near to over-driven and using the Shape control.

The 7 band EQ works well, together with the other controls I am able to shape and get a very good tone.

Compression works well, it functions as far as I can tell as a 'limiter' to reduce peaks and does not squash the overall sound. Very good.

Ultrabass effect is a sort of octave effect, it works on my set up around the mid freq range, and is a worthwhile effect to use when you need it. Switchable with foot switch.

The amp is very loud and clean, shakes my house when up to 50% power, I play it at home mostly around 30%. No noise noticed at all, no hum or any unwanted distortions. D class amps are now increasingly used by bass guitarists as the light weight, clean sound, instant power and simple reliable power supply all add up to a low price to quality sound ratio.

How do Behringer make this amp at such a low price? Most guitar and PA amplifier manufacturers buy the power stage module from a supplier and then build the pre-amp section and other components around the module. Behringer make the power stage module themselves and then the overall manufacturing of the amp is at a lower cost.

I know 'Behringer' make a lot of low price gear and making it at an ultra low price you sometimes have to compromise - which often means 'you get what you pay for'. I feel over the recent years Behringer are now also producing more very high quality equipment and very low prices. This amp head is a high quality solid state D Class amp. It is housed in a plastic shell with the internal amp mounted on a metal chassis.

The fan - it is not loud, I would say compared to other fanned equipment I have this amps fan is relatively quiet. If you play and stand away from the amp you will not hear it anyway. I never sit close to the amp and speaker. The ultra bass combo version that contains the same amp does not have a fan there is adequate air flow in the combo housing. I have removed the fan, and find the amp only gets warm and not hot.

If you put the head on top of a speaker box with a carpet cover then the amp head needs to be raised up a bit to allow air intake for cooling the amp head.

On another amp head I have I disconnected the internal fan. This is ok if you do not play at full volume for 4 hours non stop. The amp gets a little warm but nothing much.

Verdict - Great amp, loads of power, onboard effects work well. The low price does not equal low quality or compromise in this case. This amp head added to the Warwick WCA 410-4 is a perfect setup for me, very happy with the sound I have. I can play loud and get a perfect sound, and play at low volumes and get a great sound too.

With the amp comes a big yellow triangle Behringer sticker, I stick mine on the outside of the amp with pride.

Buy this amp and stop fussing about 'what shall I buy' - and make some serious bass.

After reading all the glowing reviews for this amp I bought it to replace a disappointing Eden E300 head which stopped working properly after 18 months and never gave me the clean Rickenbacker tone that I as looking for when running through a Laney 4x10 cab. Given that the Behringer cost £150 GBP (August 2017) compared to the £400 GBP for the Eden I was slightly skeptical that it was going to give me the sound I was looking for but I need not have worried.
This really is a serious bass amp - my Rickenbacker now has the range of tones that I've always wanted. The Clean channel provides a true clean input with plenty of power to drive the cab. Channel 2 allows for an extra overdrive boost when needed - especially useful in a 3 piece band when the guitarist lets rip.
I'm still experimenting with the other functions so can't comment on them yet but really happy that the Clean channel and Channel 2 give me everything that I need right now.
Also worth mentioning (especially given my previous bad experience with the Eden bass head) it comes with the excellent 2 years Thomann customer service guarantee and a 3rd year manufacturer guarantee if you register it on the Behringer web site.
In summary this is a seriously good amp for absolutely silly money - buy it and really get the best out of your bass.

I've bought this amp for our band couple months ago. Since it was bought it was used dozens of times for rehearsals and gigs. We also stressed it and pushed to the limits quite a few times and it was performing very well without any failure.

The build - although this amp is very lightand quite small the chassis is sturdy and solid. The front bezel is protecting all the knobs and faders from accidental damage and the same trick was done with the back panel. It's nice looking looking amp too and comes with the rack brackets, so it can be mounted in the hard case.

The sound - 2 channels, EQ, compressor and Ultrabass gives you plenty of options. We are using it with 400W Peavey 410 TVX cab which gives us massive low end and clear mid and high. We've tested it using Ibanez active and passive bass guitars and with more than satisfactory results. Ultrabass is nice but useful only to the certain degree. If it's set between 20 and 50% of its scale it can fill quite a lot of space (it doubles your bass sound by slightly delaying it and adding a bit of modulation, so it sounds a bit like having two basses). Compressor and EQ working as expected and 2nd channel is adding a bit of distortion which also sounds interesting. The amp is also producing very little noise if idle and it's lou.

The other features - the most useful to us are the foot switch that comes with the amp and XLR direct output that gives very well results if you want to record your bass line through the mixing desk. The sound we recorded was very good and noise to signal ration absolutely acceptable. It's also worth to mention that the amp is not getting very hot even if played at the 60% of the output power for couple hours.

Having in mind its unbeatable Thomann price and 3-years warranty I'm more than happy to say that this is the best bass amp on the market in this price range. Worth every penny!!!

Used it with a 5 string jazz bass.
Pros: PRICE, features (1 clean and 1 dirty channel, compressor, ultrabass effect and a graphic equalizer), I actually loved the drive sound.
Cons: Rated power is nowhere near the reality and if I push the drive on the preamp its sometimes stops, literally stops sending sound (not sure if overheating or what). Still, no need to push the drive all the way up to have a sound that I like. The special graphic equalizer function is not a good idea.

Overall: If want to play at home buy it, it's great. Rehearsals/small gigs there are worse ones and for the price you wont get a new head that better. But I would advise you to look deep in your pockets and buy a higher rated head if you want a "professional" sounding head.

When I started playing bass, I decided (coming from 25+ years guitar) I wanted to go for something decent that doesn't break the bank.

The Ultrabass is a monster with a lot of features that you need to pay a lot more for, if you want it from other brands. It is quite heavy and with its 300 watts, it can easily handle drums. I have combined it with a Wharfdale 2x10 and a Marcus Miller Sire M2 v2 and that is a hell of a combo.

Like always, the Behringer stuff feels in general in look and feel a bit cheap, but that is mainly because of the cheap design and not really the materials. So you have a monster amp that can easily handle everything from funk to metal, but it doesn't look very good.

If sound is more important than looks (which I guess it is) go for this amp. The EQ, the drive and the overall features are awesome. Good bang for the buck.

Extremely light and very useable bass head that has served me well during multiple gigs and practises. Could do with a touch more power but had never shown any strain from running at 60 all night. Yeah, it doesn't have a huge amount of personality to its sound, but that makes it very useful as an all-rounder!

EDIT**

I'm now nearly three years down the line with this head, which is now paired to a 4ohm Peavey cab and has never struggled for enough volume - it seems the cabs I had before may have been pretty quiet!

I've used it for multiple gigs. I've been in the studio and utilised the DI on the back of the head (which appears to be pre-EQ but post compresser - perfect) a number of times.

I can't stress enough how good this head has been for me for a low price. I've been good to it - I don't bash it around -but it has been used heavily, driven hard and has earned it's keep multiple times over.

It has now outlived my previous Ashdown head, which was supposed to be a good quality unit.

Yes, it has naff-all personality. But it just works - night after night - and I'll be sticking with it until it eventually goes pop, and then would probably replace it with another.