Features:

  • Analog modeling acoustic guitar preamp/stompbox with DI recording output
  • This BEHRINGER product has been designed to compete head to head with leading products on the market
  • Authentic tube/microphone modeling circuitry provides the natural warmth and presence, as if your acoustic guitar was miked through a tube pre-amp
  • Ultra-musical 3-band EQ with sweepable mids for accurate feedback control and to eliminate the harsh harmonics of piezos
  • Super-high impedance to retain maximum signal integrity and dynamics
Easy to use

Easy to use. Improves sound quality from a Fishman Classic Series V-200 Professional Violin Pickup. I've been using 9-volt batteries to power it instead of using an AC adapter. It gets pretty good battery life. I've had five gigs for a total of seven hours over the last week and I've been through a battery and a half. Not too bad. I got this one because A) it has a mute and B) was cheap. The build quality is good; it has heft, not flimsy or light weight. I definitely recommend this for people just getting started with electric equipment and for fiddlers/violinists who have a pickup for their instruments.

Perfect for acoustic guitar players in worship bands

I own a LR Baggs DI too. I don’t see much difference, so I use this Behringer for my worship band pedal board. Yes, the black button does not feel robust, BUT... it’s not likely you’d use it. It does the job. If you’re not out on tour and gigging regularly, save some cash and use the Behringer. This is perfect for the worship band application. Don’t over think the Behringer name/reputation. It doesn’t feel like some of their cheaper pedals. Pots feel sturdy and give nice resistance when turning. I’ve actually bought the BASS DI too. It’s another winner!

Truth is I was quite satisfied w/ the on board electronics on both of my ...

Gotta tell ya, I was actually rather hesitant to make this purchase. Truth is I was quite satisfied w/ the on board electronics on both of my acoustics and my amp. Thought I'd give it a try just because I was curious. Neither of my guitars send out an over bearing piezo tone (which I hate!) but this driver was hardly going to break the bank. So why not give it a try!? While I was already pretty satisfied w/ the sound I was already getting I was quite pleasantly surprised how improved the "new" sound actually was. When set to my preference I was able to increase the warmth w/o sacrificing any of the tone that I loved. Use is quite intuitive. Would definitely recommend to anyone sitting on the fence.

You need this if your guitar doesn't take batteries

If you have an electric guitar without a preamp (no place to put a battery), then this is your answer. Even if you have a pickup that you attach to your guitar, like a hole pickup, this is what you need. It amplifies the sound enough that a sound system or a guitar amplifier can do its work. The sound adjusting electronics work well too, and in the instructions is suggestions for setting them for different guitars. And, you can use that part, or not, simply by pressing the foot switch. Wonderfu.

Capable, great value

This box delivers great sound, plus amazing value. My L.R. Baggs Gig Pro gave up the ghost when one of the protruding pots got crunched in transit. The Behringer, while significantly larger, appears much more sturdy than the Baggs. I use the Behringer on a Schatten-equipped resonator guitar. The tone controls allow me to boost the bass and roll off the treble and mid-range, allowing better balance of the highs and lows. On the down side, the positions of the knobs are ridiculously hard to see. This can be corrected with a $3 bottle of white nail polish and a dab at the indicating notch on each knob. This unit is heavier than the Baggs (which can be clipped to your belt), and is best left on the floor or on your effects board. Up side, good tone manipulation, capable product, nice build quality. Overall, great value.

Huge improvement over built in pre-amp EQ plus DI balanced out lets you plug straight into a mixer or PA speaker.

I have to say this exceeded my expectations. I'm using it with a Yamaha FSX820SC Concert style Acoustic-Electric which has it's own pre-amp with EQ. However the EQ and DSP of the V-TONE sounds so much better (fuller and richer) than what I can get with the built-in pre-amp and a passive DI box. I am using the balanced output into a Behringer mixer mic input where I can add some additional reverb and delay if I want and then into PA speakers. A respected local guitar player advised me to use PA rather than guitar amp for acoustic output as acoustic requires a wider frequency response and I definitely agree. For pick playing I use the blend set almost full maybe a touch of bass but so far I like it pretty much with the controls close to middle position. For finger picking I find bringing the blend back to 50% sounds better. I'm sure use will vary with guitar and speakers. This is a recent purchase so I may eventually use some different parameter settings but I'm so pleased to get the degree of improvement for amplified output with such a small investment. Also just a reminder you need to use a center-negative guitar pedal power supply if planning to use AC power. Use a good low noise one. I currently use a Snark SA-1 or Truetone 1 Spot for pedal chaining.

(with active or passive piezo's in my acoustic guitars) and nothing has sounded as good as this little

Performing in bands over the last 25 years, I have used other acoustic preamps, acoustic amps, rackmount processors, etc. (with active or passive piezo's in my acoustic guitars) and nothing has sounded as good as this little, inexpensive preamp. I don't know what else to say but, "Wow!" I wish they would have had something like this 20 years ago, it would have made my life so much easier. All I would have needed was my guitar, a cable, a balanced cable, and a board to plug into. No lugging heavy amps, preamps, cables, etc. And for the price, I could have had extras as back-ups, just in case, and still saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I've had it less than a week, so I don't know how durable it is; but at this price, who cares? If you're worried about that, buy more than one. On another note, before purchasing this, I went to multiple music stores to try LR Baggs, Fishman, and other preamps. With the low price, I bought this before even trying it (I couldn't find it at any of the stores) and was concerned how it would sound. I have no worries now. Spend hundreds of dollars if you want, but in my book this acoustic DI is as good, if not better than the other brands for a fraction of the price.

Why the negtive reviews?

I am not a professional gigging musician. I am a weekend warrior who's been playing music for over 20 years so I feel like I have a fairly good understanding of gear. Every blog you read on the internet will advise you to buy a dedicated acoustic amp. I tried it. Bought a Marshall. I wasn't happy with the tone from my Taylor and I simply could not control the feedback. To my ears, I felt the amp was robbing the natural tone quality from a nice instrument like a Taylor. So I sold it, bought this pedal and plugged it directly into my Harbinger powered speakers. WOW, what a different. While pedal may not drastically change the tonal characteristic of your acoustic, it'll definitely enhance it. And no more feedback. No chorus or bells and whistles. Fairly basic with minor adjustments to tweak your tone. I guess if you are a gigging musician and will be rough will your gear, you may want something that's not made mostly out of plastic but it suits my needs perfectly. Price is cheap and love the sound. Win/win for me.

For what you pay - amazing.

I have a couple of $100-plus guitar pre-amps I use when playing my flamenco guitar through an amplifier. For that use, they work fine. For recording to a desktop recording software however the sound from my pre-amps just wasn't very good. In fact, it sucked. I use a pickup-the-world film transducer - which is an uncommon pickup but it sounds EXACTLY like the guitar, picking up string-squeak, body taps (golpes) and syllabant sounds inherent to the nylon-string guitar but lost when using piezo pickups. If you want a sound exactly like a microphone, use a mic - but if you want something close out of a pickup, give this a try. I'm overjoyed at how full, balanced and rounded this little box sounds. It is way sturdier than I expected for the price. The plastic casing is so hefty you'd think it was die-cast metal if it were colder to the touch. This is a stomp box, and built accordingly. The stomp button is sturdy and separated adequately from the rest of the controls, which have a stiffness to them that will help them retain their settings when you take it places. The printing which identifies the controls is in poor-contrast and I have to pick up the box and hold it close to my face to read the labels. A minor gripe. The sound of this little dream box allows me to plug my guitar into it, then into my Firewire box and get a good, usable signal. I have no onboard pre-amp like a Fishman, only a jack because I prefer the external battery and pre-amp approach for my hand-made (by me) guitars. I have only used a flamenco guitar through this box so I cannot say if it sounds good with a steel string acoustic. For the price, the sound is amazing. It makes the signal richer, fatter, and sounds a lot like a mic'd guitar.

V Tone does have the tone.

Well I bought this because I wanted a preamp so that I could start using my Resonator guitar live. Out of curiosity I ran an XLR out of it into ProTools and I must say I am wowed. It says this unit simulates miking an acoustic through a tube compressor. I'm pretty sure that this doesn't have a tube but it sure sounds like it does. I have done a lot of studio recording over the last 20 years and this really sounds like the real deal - the instructions said set the blend all the way up for the tube thing and back it off for less compression. I recorded 5 tracks and I must say the punch this thing gave my guitar was dazzling and inspiring. Not sure what it will sound like live but I can't wait to try it. I have a Behringer stereo compressor in my bass rigg that I have been using since 2005 and I love it. I'm glad I wasn't steered away to a pricey unit because this thing is pretty cool. It was also quiet going into the ProTools. It also has a ground lift so I think it will do just the trick for my dobro either through an amp or a sound board. So far so good.

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