PricePaid: $179 USD (New)
Purchased From: Be Music, Rutland, Vermont
Model Year: 2008Features: [7]
Combo amp, 12" speaker, app. 45 lbs. with handle on top. Carpet covered, metal front grill, two air ports on back, cube design with tilt feature. Easy to handle, not too heavy.
Two channels. Channel one is a standard, fairly dense bass sound, with low noise. Channel two features a 'shaped' sound, a little harder to describe: if you roll up the tone switch on the guitar, the shaper contributes to a woodier, more well-defined tone.
There is also a feature called 'ultrabass' which gives the illusion of the addition of a note one octave below what you're playing. Weird. Almost a comical effect, wouldn't be very useful in ordinary situations.
Eight EQ sliders on front panel are quite useful in tuning the overall sound.
Headphone jack included. NO line out. Sound: [7]
I use the amp in a trio of guitar (I double), piano and violin, all amplified. We play smaller rooms, seldom a large one, and this amp would not play well in a large or even medium-large setting.
At low to medium volume, on channel one, the sound is full and well-defined. But above medium volume, and especially on channel two, it gets noisy. The higher you go in volume, the muddier the sound. Definitely a practice, small jam, or small venue amp.
Reliability & Durability: [9]
The amp is well made and well proportioned, given its size and weight. Has not failed me. Overall Rating: [8]
I did not compare this to other brands, only to a smaller Behringer (which I would not recommend at all).
Given its limitations, it is a good amp for the money. It is a good looking amp, if that matters to you, and as I said, pretty easily portable. But must be relied on only in more intimate settings. | 
BXL900
