A close look of this guitar shows cheap construction. Whats worse is that its not Vista compatible. When you try to contact Behringer about it they will say we are waiting to see if Vista is the next big windows. (Idiots! Of course it is!)
Anyway I burnt my cash on this piece of junk. Dont make the same mistake!
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7 Comments
Jain
on 2nd Feb, 12 07:02am
My review, broken into a couple of sections for quick reference.
Ease of use:
This guitar was extremely easy to setup and use. I was playing within about 30 seconds of opening the package without installing any software or drivers. I am using a MacBook Pro, though, and so I can’t speak to the ease, or lack thereof, on a PC. It does include an installation CD for drivers and software, but I prefer Garageband and Logic’s guitar effects. Also of note, this does NOT use a MIDI output, in case anyone is wondering. I didn’t buy it with the expectation that it was, but I wasn’t entirely sure. This means no using the guitar to play trumpets, pianos, etc. in Garageband or your favorite program.
Build quality:
Very poor. Just after opening the guitar I noticed several screws were loose and falling out. I tightened them as best as I could, but many were installed at odd angles which just made it feel like it was slapped together and sold without any quality control.
Sound:
Out of the box, the guitar sounds and feels awful. The strings just felt cheap and sounded very tinny. I replaced them with some others I had, and that helped out a lot. I would recommend that for anyone using this guitar, have a pair of your favorite strings ready to go to replace the crappy ones that come with it. The pickups were pretty well balanced on mine, with the exception of the high E, which has almost no pickup at all. I don’t know if the pickup on that string is broken or what, but it is painfully obvious that it is missing in comparison to the others. I have to pluck it much harder to get an equivalent volume when recording.
Conclusion:
This guitar feels cheap, plays cheap, and is cheap. And it only costs $99. This is very much an instance of the “you get what you pay for” mantra. I wouldn’t recommend this guitar to anyone who is trying to learn to play or in any way serious about recording. Having said that, it’s a decent guitar for just messing around with in Garageband and will only set you back a hundred bucks. Mine has been banished to a closet and I break it out every once in a while when I just want an easy to way to lay down a quick guitar track. Don’t expect anything special, and you won’t be disappointed.
Small
on 3rd Feb, 12 07:02am
The Behringer iAxe 393 is simply no good. The build is very under-par. In the playing, the guitar loses tuning far too quickly. To top it all off, after just two months, the very thing that makes this guitar special — BROKE! I’m referring to the USB module. It now is no longer recognized by ANY system I plug it into. The driver installation software doesn’t know when it’s plugged in and when it isn’t.
On Behringer’s end, the Windows Vista driver is extremely poor. Everytime the device was unplugged and re-plugged, none of the programs would recognize it without re-installing the device driver. This was a very tedious and painful task. Tedious because there was no indication after rebooting that the device would now work properly. Painful, because it simply shouldn’t be this way!!
The only pro to this device is the IDEA behind it — that of a guitar built to interface directly with the computer without having to do some magic trick with cables, amps and adapters. But when the device breaks after just two months, of what use is it then? As a regular guitar? It loses tuning every half-hour.
The cons — too numerous to mention, but here are the biggest ones: 1) USB fixture is faulty. 2) Device drivers are very unstable, especially for Windows Vista. 3) loses tuning after just one half-hour. 4) There are multiple reports of shoddy workmanship on the assembly line.
You would do well to do a LOT of personal reading on ALL Behringer models before making any purchase. Personally, I would avoid this one completely.
Hamm
on 4th Feb, 12 07:02am
I’ve been playing guitar on and off for 20 years, and while I usually stick to acoustic guitars, I was pining for an electric to satisfy my “flashback to high school” moments. I was looking for a guitar I could tinker with but did not want to get into getting the full setup and end up having very little time to use it. So this turned out to be the perfect combo – the guitar plugs into your PC and with very little fuss you are off and running, or shredding if that’s your cup of tea.
Despite previous reviews saying it does not, the iAxe actually does work with Vista just fine – but you have to get the drivers from the Behringer website; it’s not included on the CD. It’s not easy to find there either, (in fact I struggled to find the iAxe listed on their site at all!), so I just goggled the driver and linked straight to the download location.
PROS
1. Good price.
2. Decent construction. (Harmonics work so that means its constructed fairly well).
3. Usable sound. (You aren’t going to get screaming feedback but it distorts quite nicely).
CONS
1. It does not play sound through the PC speakers. You have to use headphones, amp or rig up to route sound through your PC to speakers.
2. Mine did not include an amp – not sure if it’s meant to be in there or not.
3. With the USB and headphones installed you need to be careful setting it down as the ports are positioned on the bottom, right where you’d normally rest it. (Bad design) Suggest getting a guitar stand for it and save yourself damaging either port.
4. The “combo” software included has many preset sounds, most of them pretty bad, but overall the sounds are good enough for what you need to do here. If you are looking for something to record with this might -just- be good enough but it’s probably best kept for folks who want to learn or just tinker on the weekends.
5. The software is a bit fiddly, getting the sound you want can take some effort.
Four stars because it meets my needs almost exactly. No amp taking up room and causing noise issues with the wife. Sounds pretty good and works quite well. I won’t be making a hit CD with it but I will be able to relive the time spent at Brookborough Hall and the guys from “Nothin’ Yet”.
Kent
on 5th Feb, 12 07:02am
Having never played an electric guitar outside of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this guitar is a great starting point for learning how to play. Comes with Mac and PC software, but I will admit that the PC version seemed easier to use, and more reliable for me. I’m guessing because the Mac already has audio editing software (GarageBand and Audio/MIDI setup), the drivers seem to conflict with the included amp applications. I had to reconfigure the amp app everytime I connected the guitar, and in the middle of playing, the app would go crazy and start distorting the sound until the USB was reconnected and reconfigured. I ditched the amp application and just use GarageBand, configuring the guitar as input, and the Mac speakers as output, so no headphones needed on the Mac for me. The PC version of the amp application is stable and installs exactly as described in the manual (on XP). It works every time I connect with no changes needed, although I haven’t gotten the PC speakers configured as output yet, so headphones are required for me on the PC.
Main drawback I have found is the USB cable length. Probably 6 feet of cable, but this tethers you down to the computer without getting cable extenders.
I have found the guitar and software/GarageBand have a good sound, and excellent recording quality on the computer. I look forward to a couple of years of use for the iAxe, and then possibly upgrading.
Jenning
on 6th Feb, 12 07:02am
This is a fun guitar. It’s great to be able to play right through your computer and work with it in Garage Band. The software that comes with it is a little on the confusing side, but for the price, this is a great package.
Quijano
on 7th Feb, 12 07:02am
I wish there had been an electric guitar this well made for this price when I was a kid. Although my old Washburn electric is my first love, the iAxe gets plenty of use too. If you buy one, it’s worth your time adjusting the intonation and pickup height. You can find good tutorials online for this, or take it into a guitar shop to get it set up. That said, it’s very playable out of the box. It comes with a cord to attach right into your computer and use with the included software. Or you can plug it with a standard guitar cord into a normal guitar amp. Serious players will eventually outgrow this guitar, but it’s perfect for those starting out, or those looking for a second “backup” guitar to play around with and get that classic “Strat” sound.
Quatawi
on 8th Feb, 12 07:02am
A close look of this guitar shows cheap construction. Whats worse is that its not Vista compatible. When you try to contact Behringer about it they will say we are waiting to see if Vista is the next big windows. (Idiots! Of course it is!)
Anyway I burnt my cash on this piece of junk. Dont make the same mistake!