New guitar / studio gear - Behringer V-Amp Pro

While I totally dig the sound of the Egnater rig, sometimes it's a hassle when I just want to get a couple song ideas down quickly... if I've only got half an hour to get 'em recorded, I don't need to spend 15 minutes getting mics set up, running cables, etc.

Over the years I've had several modelers, some of which (Johnson J-Station, Vox Tonelab SE) have gotten more studio use than others (Boss GT-6/GT-8)... tone matters, but for scratch tracks, ease-of-use is the key issue. Just like I don't want to spend time setting up mics, I also don't want to spend time flipping through a modeler manual for deep editing, trying to make out-of-the-box patches not suck, sorting through an overwhelming array of models + cabinets + effects, dealing with a non-intuitive interface, etc. The other key (for me, at least), is keeping the modeler with the recording gear (on the desk, in the studio rack) vs. with the guitar gear... if it's not within arms reach from the studio desk, I'm less inclined to reach for it in a pinch.

So having just sold a Boss GT-8 (which I used primarily as an FX box in the guitar rig), I wanted to pick up something that could live with the studio gear... after doing a little research, I picked up the Behringer V-Amp Pro. The reviews (from a tonal perspective) were just as favorable as the reviews for any other modeling device I read; while some reviews dogged the durability for live use, I'm not too worried since it will live in the studio rack. At about 1/4 the price of the Pod Pro XT, it can't suck that much, right? Plus, it has a decent PC-based editor for quick tweaking while sitting at the desk... bonus!

Anyway, I had a bit of time to sit down tonight with the V-Amp Pro and put it through its paces. I installed it in the studio rack, connected the XLR outs to the Octopre, fired it up, plugged in a PRS Standard 24, and recorded the following track...

V-Amp demo track

The models used: left rhythm guitar = Tweed with delay and Top Boost (switches at 2:10), right rhythm guitar = Plexi and JCM800 (switches at 2:10 also), solo guitar = California Drive with delay (enters at 3:30)

Overall, the V-Amp sounds pretty good... probably wouldn't use it for many "final" takes, but it's certainly good enough for doing scratch tracks, doubling parts, etc. I found it relatively quick to dial the right amp tones & effects in... I didn't even have to fire up the PC-based editor.

Given that there are a lot of overlapping amp models between the V-Amp and Egnater modules I've got (Twin, Vox, Plexi, JCM800, Recto, etc.), it'd be interesting to do a head-to-head comparison... spilt the guitar signal into the V-Amp (direct) and Egnater rig (mic'd), record 'em on parallel tracks, and see how drastically different they are. Or better yet, set up a poll to see how many folks on the Randall/Egnater forum can properly identify 'em. :)

--B