Behringer GI100 ULTRA-G

I didn't expect this from a behringer piece of gear (let's be honest, they're nowhere near top of the line) but the cabinet emulation is great. It takes all the typical "digital" and harsh sound you get from an overdrive/distortion pedal or a multieffects board (non-emulated of course) and it suddenly sounds like an actual amp+cabinet through the PA. It can also give you all the attenuation you will probably ever need with 2x -20dB pads. Finally as advertised, it can handle amplified signals as well so it can go between your amp and cabinet if you wish a separate signal to the PA for some reason, while still having your actual cabinet blasting. It would be even greater to have some kind of trim control so you could set a lower level for the physical cabinet than the XLR output, but that's probably a bit much to ask at this price. So...5/5 for features.

As a DI, it's certainly not the best out there and certainly it's not totally transparent soundwise, but in any case, it's not something that you can't work with. 4/5 for sound.

I didn't have any problems with mine so far but it needs some time to prove it's reliability. The chasis looks sturdy but the XLR output feels kinda cheap. On the other hand, it's quite inexpensive anyway, so you could probably even have a spare around. I would say it's ok-ish qualitywise so 3-3,5/5 for quality.

For smaller gigs, or where a PA and monitor are provided, this saves hoiking amps and cabs about. Good alternative for mic'ing too.My main use is as an insert in the speaker line, cab emulation on and into my mixer for recording ideas. As I use transistor amps, I can just hook it to the speaker out and not use a speaker, then into the mixer, monitor using headphones and silentpractice with all the goodness an amp brings.
I've tried just using my preamp, but there is a slight, but annoying hum. Guitar direct?, more hum.It seems to like to see the high output of the amp.
For recording and gigging, well worth having. The cab emulation is quite good. Certainly more realistic than most software ems.I always use phantom power, but I have tried 9v. No noticable drop off or improvement either way, but phantom power doesn't die suddenly.
Worth having.

Another good device from Behringer, with no rivals in terms of price. Sturdy construction, it has plenty of controls and connections that make it suitable to many different situations. Unbalanced 6,3 mm mono input, double output (direct 6,3mm and balanced XLR), ground lift control, double 20db output pad control let you interface with any PA system. It can be phantom powered through the XLR connection or with 9v battery. By the way, Behringer seem to have fixed the problem that many previous units had (not enough space to slip the battery in).
But in my opinion and according to my personal taste, the cab emulation is where the device misses the 5th star. Most likely the matter is the lack of tone controls that would be usevul to shape the sound of the emulated cab. It needs a lot of mixer tweaking to get a good sound, and despite what kind of guitar I connect (strat-like or lespaul-like) they all sound too much similar. Of course, it's perfect for occasional use, when you find out that the stage is too small for your favourite head-cab set, or when the volume can't be raised too much, and I'm happy to have bought it. For a definitive choice, I'd better look for something else.

I use this from the line out of a valve amp mainly to avoid taking up space on stage with mic stands. In this configuration, I have the cab sim enabled. The sound through the PA is excellent, very punchy since it's a modelled closed 4x12.

There is a slight amount of hiss when the cab sin is engaged. This is only noticeable when operating an instrument level, say when used after a guitar and going straight to desk. There are two 20dB pad switches. When connected to a line out, I engage one of the pads. You will need to engage a second pad if plugged into a speaker out.

Since most users will use it at either line or speaker level, the hiss will not be a big deal. It's the only annoying thing about the unit, hence the four star rating.

IN summary, it's a very useful tool to keep your stage tidy and give you a punchy sound in the PA.

I bought two Ultra-Gs to be able to record our rehearsals in a good quality without micing the speakers of the cabinets and deliver in ear monitoring. To do that I connected the amp power out to the Ultra-G and the Ultra-G to the cabinet. An XLR cable connectes to the audio interface witch provides phantom power (we are not using the 9V batteries, which would be possible too). Using the PAD switches I was able to get a good level. With this connection we are getting the complete amplifier sound (pre- and poweramp).

The first try with enabled speaker simulation (should simulate a 4x12 cabinet) was very disappointing. It sounds very harsh and is not usable for our kind of guitar sound (we are playing stoner rock). Even with the use of a EQ i could not find a satisfying sound.
We disabled the speaker simulation and are now using impulse responses from Red Wirez which allows ous to get excatly the sound we need!
The sound without the speaker simulation is good. Very clear and there seems to be no damping or even noise.

The housing of the device is rock solid, looks good and should survive even a long live tour. The two -20DB pad switches are a bit hard to read when the box is lying on the ground.