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MGR/Kevin Alan Mattson « Behringer iAXE393 USB Electric Guitar »
Published on 02/05/07 at 15:00Mainly an acoustic guitarist, specializing in 12-string guitars. I am a long-time performer and home recordist. About 35 years on and off the road. Yikes, I'm 51 now.
Bought the Behringer iAXE 393 several months ago for $99 from American Musical Supply. Their service was very good. Why buy it? Considering the product description (more on that below), and since I wanted to have a Strat-sort-of-thing in my recording closet, for $99 bucks it was just too tempting.
Remember, this is a $99 guitar. As cheap Strat knock-offs go, it's way better than any I've played before. The maple neck and fretboard are solid and smooth, and bolted in good alignment. The frets are nicely dressed on top, but snaggy along the sides of the fretboard. The white body is hefty (a black version is now available) with three single-pole pickups and a five-position pickup switch. The tremolo bridge is sturdy and returned to pitch nicely after wailing on it (big surprise).
It has a standard Strat-style jack on top. So you can play this directly into any amp. On the butt end of the body are a USB port to connect to your PC, and a stereo jack for headphones or for use as a monitor line out.
The kit comes bundled with a software subset of Native Instruments' Guitar Rig product: three virtual combo amps called GUITAR COMBOS. You have 30 days after install to get a free license for one of the virtual classic combo amps. I chose the Fender Twin-ware called "Twang", since it had the nicest span of rock to jazz sounds.
This leads to the computer stuff. Let me say what is fun about this guitar and software kit before I get crabby.
The accompanying software includes a simple USB driver install routine that makes the iAXE's USB port available to your PC. After installing the NI Guitar Combos you'll find instructions in the package about how to hook up your iAXE, via USB, to your PC. Then you'll learn how to play the iAXE through the software Combo Amps and listen to the results through the headphone jack at the bottom of the iAXE.
Confused? The point is that you can use the USB cable to hook up your iAXE to any PC (laptop or desktop), slap on your headphones, and play all kinds of hot guitar sounds.
There's more. Each virtual Guitar Combo includes a recording module and a metronome that allows you to record a vamp, or solo, or whatever, and then play along for practice.
The accompanying Native Instruments software manual is misleading. It implies there is a way to use the Native Instruments' bundled software as a real-time effect, as in a VST plug-in, for your recording software. There have been many complaints about this to NI, but NI just says it is Behringer's error.
Also, the USB cable supplied is very sensitive to radio frequency (RF) noise. I'll try a USB cable with a ferrite cylinder and see if that helps.
For a cheap guitar, the iAXE is very well made. RF noise shielding is not good.
Fun product. NI Virtual Combo Amps sound great, and are great fun to play with.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
Bought the Behringer iAXE 393 several months ago for $99 from American Musical Supply. Their service was very good. Why buy it? Considering the product description (more on that below), and since I wanted to have a Strat-sort-of-thing in my recording closet, for $99 bucks it was just too tempting.
Remember, this is a $99 guitar. As cheap Strat knock-offs go, it's way better than any I've played before. The maple neck and fretboard are solid and smooth, and bolted in good alignment. The frets are nicely dressed on top, but snaggy along the sides of the fretboard. The white body is hefty (a black version is now available) with three single-pole pickups and a five-position pickup switch. The tremolo bridge is sturdy and returned to pitch nicely after wailing on it (big surprise).
It has a standard Strat-style jack on top. So you can play this directly into any amp. On the butt end of the body are a USB port to connect to your PC, and a stereo jack for headphones or for use as a monitor line out.
The kit comes bundled with a software subset of Native Instruments' Guitar Rig product: three virtual combo amps called GUITAR COMBOS. You have 30 days after install to get a free license for one of the virtual classic combo amps. I chose the Fender Twin-ware called "Twang", since it had the nicest span of rock to jazz sounds.
This leads to the computer stuff. Let me say what is fun about this guitar and software kit before I get crabby.
The accompanying software includes a simple USB driver install routine that makes the iAXE's USB port available to your PC. After installing the NI Guitar Combos you'll find instructions in the package about how to hook up your iAXE, via USB, to your PC. Then you'll learn how to play the iAXE through the software Combo Amps and listen to the results through the headphone jack at the bottom of the iAXE.
Confused? The point is that you can use the USB cable to hook up your iAXE to any PC (laptop or desktop), slap on your headphones, and play all kinds of hot guitar sounds.
There's more. Each virtual Guitar Combo includes a recording module and a metronome that allows you to record a vamp, or solo, or whatever, and then play along for practice.
The accompanying Native Instruments software manual is misleading. It implies there is a way to use the Native Instruments' bundled software as a real-time effect, as in a VST plug-in, for your recording software. There have been many complaints about this to NI, but NI just says it is Behringer's error.
Also, the USB cable supplied is very sensitive to radio frequency (RF) noise. I'll try a USB cable with a ferrite cylinder and see if that helps.
For a cheap guitar, the iAXE is very well made. RF noise shielding is not good.
Fun product. NI Virtual Combo Amps sound great, and are great fun to play with.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com