# Crate amps



## mstrking (Nov 24, 2008)

allritey...i wants sum opinions on what you guys think of crate amps ? i played a full stack and man the sound out of that was like a lightning bolt striking my face lol


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## vds5000 (Apr 14, 2008)

Older VC series (blonde tolex) were very nice. Newer ones - not so much. Blue Voodoos are suppose to be ok as well. Their older solid state ones sound cheezy.


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## Tarl (Feb 4, 2006)

I have one of the older made in USA V models and it's a great amp. The newer chinese/vietnamese ones.......I don't know.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

crate: you can do better.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Well, Crate distributes (makes/owns?) Blackheart and those are really good. I once compared an Orange tiny terror, a crate v30 (made in usa before hey switched to china) and the blackheart little giant I now own through the same couple of cabinets. Orange was better than crate (same volume too) but the blackheart had a vintage voicing I preferred and was cheaper, so I went blackheart. About 2 years ago Crate did put out some usa made v amps with tone tubbies that were really good. Try to find one of those.

Matt


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Hmm, is that a good thing or bad?

Some would say a bolt to the face is a good thing.

Did try out the new head they have and while I was able to get some great sounds out of it I would not buy it. A guy at the shop was running it through a Marshall 4-12 and he loved it.

Bev


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

I use a crate VTX 65.......for the money - it's a great - solid amp - packs a nice punch....one can do better - yes - but it's good value

I really liked it paired with my ESP Explorer and a Boss Metalzone ....but I really don't play much of that kind of music any more....mostly blues now....it's not a great amp for a nice bluesey sound - even if I bypass the preamp and use a POD....it still tries to make it sound like metal......so I usually leave it in a corner and plug directly into the PA


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## Emohawk (Feb 3, 2006)

Such a subjective topic...

Just my opinions/observations here. I haven't heard any of the new Crate tube models so I won't comment there (I did like the older VC series - not so much the Blue Voodoo). 

I'm not a fan of their new SS stuff. Sounds OK through a PA but terrible on it's own. My roommate just bought one for dragging to bar gigs and it makes me cringe. I actually like his 20-year old Crate G260 XL 2x12 better - sounds more organic (but still not great mind you - and it weighs a freakin TON for a SS amp)). The new ones are just way too fizzy and it can't be dialled out (not that we've figured out anyway).

But, it does serve it's purpose for him. Cheap, relatively light (for a 2x12) so it's easy to drag around for jams & bar gigs, and basically plug & play. Just what the doctor ordered. He still wants a nice tube amp for recording & such however.


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

Their full stack is a little hard to carry around


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Is it a what we used to call an OverStack?


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## musicman08 (Dec 3, 2008)

Crate amps are pretty much junk. IME

:rockon:


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## SinCron (Mar 2, 2006)

Lee Jackson designed the Crate Stealth and Cannibal Corpse uses the Blue Voodoo. If YOU like the sound you get, then get it. Nothing matters except your personal preference.


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## musicman08 (Dec 3, 2008)

Oh, and the reliability generally sucks on Crate Amps. They break. But yeah, if you dig them, go hard........


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

the irony of that giant crate stack is the "tour pack" box next to the PRS haha!

also, cannibal corpse uses mesa boogie dual rectifiers boosted with boss MT-2's (or at least they did, live or in the studio).


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## vds5000 (Apr 14, 2008)

musicman08 said:


> Crate amps are pretty much junk. There's a reason why virtually no "famous" artists use them. I tried out a newer 30w head (forget the exact model, but was tube) for a few mins, and it was awful. Sounded like there was a blanket over the cab.......very muffled and muddy sounding. I fiddled briefly with the EQ, but it didn't make much difference. I know they're cheap and that's what tempts alot of people. Save your money. Don't buy Crate.
> 
> :rockon:


You can't really go by 'no famous artists use them' to gauge whether an amp is decent or not - it often depends on how much said amp company is willing to put out to get some famous artists to endorse their stuff. I mean, how many famous artists use Victoria, Bruno, Roccaforte,..., etc. amps? Not as many as those who use Mesa, Fender or Marshall. Yet, if you look at component/build quality, Victoria, Bruno, Roccaforte are a step or two above Mesa, Fender or Marshall.

I owned a Crate V18 - I bought it online for $149 (US). It actually sounded like a thick blanket was covering it - just sounded terrible. I put it up for sale literally the next day. A month later, I tried out the V50. It was a little better as far as it didn't sound like a blanket was covering it, but 3 of the knobs produced a crackling noise - this shouldn't be happening with a brand new amp.

I've been around long enough to know that you get what you pay for. With Crate, you're not paying much, so...


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

mstrking said:


> allritey...i wants sum opinions on what you guys think of crate amps ? i played a full stack and man the sound out of that was like a lightning bolt striking my face lol


From a service standpoint, they're not bad...not great either. The one exception would be the older Blue Voodoo ones which is a bad design and a nightmare to service.


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

Billy Gibbons, Marty Friedman, Sammy Hagar all used Crate amps at some time or another. 

To be honest, I hear a lot more about reliability issues with higher end, expensive stuff than with Crate products. I spend a fair amount of time on HCAF, and I see a lot of people have problems with Peavey 5150s, ENGLs, Mesas, Framus, etc. I used to own a Crate BV120 myself, and recently sold it. I never had a single issue with it in the 5 or 6 years that I owned it. The sound on the other hand is subjective. I found the Blue Voodoo to be kind of fuzzy sounding. You could mostly dial it out, but it took a lot of knob twiddling to get a sound that I liked, and that was at lower volumes. Unfortunately, it didn't hold up at higher volumes, and it got lost in the mix badly at band practice. It also depends what tone you're looking for too I suppose. 

The older SS Crates sounded horrible. Buzzy and compressed. I hear a lot of people are very happy with the V series amps, even the newer ones that are made overseas. I've been tempted to grab one of the 30 watt heads myself. The prices are unbelievable. 

The best thing you can do is to go try some out, and see if you like them.


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## vds5000 (Apr 14, 2008)

I Huff Paint said:


> Billy Gibbons, Marty Friedman, Sammy Hagar all used Crate amps at some time or another.
> 
> To be honest, I hear a lot more about reliability issues with higher end, expensive stuff than with Crate products. I spend a fair amount of time on HCAF, and I see a lot of people have problems with Peavey 5150s, ENGLs, Mesas, Framus, etc. I used to own a Crate BV120 myself, and recently sold it. I never had a single issue with it in the 5 or 6 years that I owned it. The sound on the other hand is subjective. I found the Blue Voodoo to be kind of fuzzy sounding. You could mostly dial it out, but it took a lot of knob twiddling to get a sound that I liked, and that was at lower volumes. Unfortunately, it didn't hold up at higher volumes, and it got lost in the mix badly at band practice. It also depends what tone you're looking for too I suppose.
> 
> ...


Yes, but Billy Gibbons and Sammy Hagar are paid endorsees. I can't comment on Friedman.

I will agree about their reliability - I have owned a few Crates, and don't recall anything out of the ordinary as far as reliability issues.


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## Emohawk (Feb 3, 2006)

musicman08 said:


> Oh, and the reliability generally sucks on Crate Amps. They break. But yeah, if you dig them, go hard........


That may be true for the newer stuff, but that old G260XL my roommate has was beat around for 20+ years before he had any real issues with it, and that was only because it was in the trunk of his car (in our NL climate) being dragged around to gigs & jams for about 3 years. The leads on one of the ceramic power resistors corroded to the point that they snapped off when the thing took a good knock at a gig. It took me 2 minutes to fix the thing. Now it works fine (still sounds like crap, but a better grade of crap than the newer ones).


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

pretty sure you're going to see moer mesa/framus/ENGL/peavey amps on HCAF then crates in the first place...

so if 3 in every 10 crates goes down vs 5 of every 500 mesa's..


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

Budda said:


> pretty sure you're going to see moer mesa/framus/ENGL/peavey amps on HCAF then crates in the first place...
> 
> so if 3 in every 10 crates goes down vs 5 of every 500 mesa's..


I think you'd be mistaken there. A whole bunch of those HCAF guys jumped on the V bandwagon recently. They apparently sound really good, and are stupid cheap. Sure, they all talk about their ENGLS all the time, but that's because it's all about brand name snobbery over there.


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## musicman08 (Dec 3, 2008)

I Huff Paint said:


> I think you'd be mistaken there. A whole bunch of those HCAF guys jumped on the V bandwagon recently. They apparently sound really good, and are stupid cheap. Sure, they all talk about their ENGLS all the time, but that's because it's all about brand name snobbery over there.


It was a V33H that I tried, and it sounded like total dung. That's probably why most retailers are selling them for under $200.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

generally you get what you pay for.

and any guitar forum (any forum, really) will have a fair bit of snobbery. tis the nature of the beast, unfortunately.


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## vds5000 (Apr 14, 2008)

Budda said:


> generally you get what you pay for.
> 
> and any guitar forum (any forum, really) will have a fair bit of snobbery. tis the nature of the beast, unfortunately.


I agree that you get what you pay for - especially when it comes to new gear.

On TGP, no one is outright raving about the sound of the (made in China) V-series Crates. In fact, the general consensus is that stock, they don't sound all that great. That being said, at $150 for a new V18, you'll have some money left over to upgrade the speaker and swap out the tubes (which is what most people owning one on TGP have done).


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## musicman08 (Dec 3, 2008)

vds5000 said:


> I agree that you get what you pay for - especially when it comes to new gear.
> 
> On TGP, no one is outright raving about the sound of the (made in China) V-series Crates. In fact, the general consensus is that stock, they don't sound all that great. That being said, at $150 for a new V18, you'll have some money left over to upgrade the speaker and swap out the tubes (which is what most people owning one on TGP have done).



What would be the point in uprading it? Just get a better amp.......


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## vds5000 (Apr 14, 2008)

musicman08 said:


> What would be the point in uprading it? Just get a better amp.......


Oh, I agree, but I guess their argument could be that one could have themselves a decent all-tube amp for about $300 when all is said and done (i.e. $150 for the amp + $150 for the speaker and tubes). 

Personally I think if you take that route, all you'll end up with is a decent speaker and some decent tubes hooked up to a not-so-decent amp.

I'd rather spend another $100-150 and try to find a used HR Deluxe or maybe even a Super 60 or Super 112.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

I use a crate solid state VTX65 amp.......no issues - sounds good - nice booming low end..........but I must admit it isn't great for a bluesey tone which is mostly the style I play now....it was a good way to get a good Metallica sound paired with a Boss Metalzone.....it brought out good tone from my ESP EX400 that I used to have.....as for now - it mostly sits in the corner as I mostly just plug my POD directly into the PA or plug headphones into the POD directly.....but if I were to do it again - for an economy SS amp for playing metal - I'd get one again


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

y'know the saying "dont try to polish a turd"... lol


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## ukee (Dec 18, 2008)

I just had a V18 and a V33 that I modded and sold using the mods over at the Gear Page and you know what they sounded decent for the money, catch phrase is for the money. The v18 required a tone stack adjustment, the v33 required a lot more work to make it acceptable.


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## Gear Pig (Mar 25, 2007)

I've been using a V30 for a few years now and love it. My only real beef with it is the Celestion Seventy Eighty, and of course the groove tubes. I haven't decided yet on what I will be replacing it with, leaning towards an Eminence Governor, just put 2 in my 412, (powered by Huff's old Blue Voodoo.. Thanks again!!!) and I really like them. But I found a big difference replacing the tubes with EH's. Eventually I plan on stripping the board and rebuilding it with value changes to the tone stack, but it has been a workhorse for about 5 years now without any issues and other players around here love my tone.
As for the Blue Voodoo they are known for really shining once the output transformer has been swapped out. Crate are mass produced so as most companies they benefit... financially.... from shopping for bargain basement prices, hence the not so harsh price on them also. They are decent designs though, so for someone with even a little electronic knowledge can have some fun and build on a solid base. All I've done to mine so far is a tube swap, JJecc83 in 1, JJ12at7 in 2, EH12ax7 in 3, and another JJ12at7 in the phase position. Then a set of Tung Sol 6l6GC Str's in the power stage. Big difference, the preamp changes smoothed out the tone, added some definition and gave a smoother gain sweep. And the Tung Sol's really made it shine. I figure a Hammond OT, maybe a rebuild in the biasing section will make it sing even better.


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

Gear Pig said:


> I've been using a V30 for a few years now and love it. My only real beef with it is the Celestion Seventy Eighty, and of course the groove tubes. I haven't decided yet on what I will be replacing it with, leaning towards an Eminence Governor, just put 2 in my 412, (powered by Huff's old Blue Voodoo.. Thanks again!!!) and I really like them. But I found a big difference replacing the tubes with EH's. Eventually I plan on stripping the board and rebuilding it with value changes to the tone stack, but it has been a workhorse for about 5 years now without any issues and other players around here love my tone.
> As for the Blue Voodoo they are known for really shining once the output transformer has been swapped out. Crate are mass produced so as most companies they benefit... financially.... from shopping for bargain basement prices, hence the not so harsh price on them also. They are decent designs though, so for someone with even a little electronic knowledge can have some fun and build on a solid base. All I've done to mine so far is a tube swap, JJecc83 in 1, JJ12at7 in 2, EH12ax7 in 3, and another JJ12at7 in the phase position. Then a set of Tung Sol 6l6GC Str's in the power stage. Big difference, the preamp changes smoothed out the tone, added some definition and gave a smoother gain sweep. And the Tung Sol's really made it shine. I figure a Hammond OT, maybe a rebuild in the biasing section will make it sing even better.


I can imagine the right OT would make a world of difference to the BV. I'm using a JCM 900 myself these days, and I love it. I also picked up a Laney Pro Tube that is now with Glen Morris. I'm not exactly sure what he's going to do to it. I just said "make it sound awesome". kkjuw

Knowing what Glen can do, I'm pretty sure when I get it back, it will be the best sounding Pro Tube ever!!:smile:


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## Gear Pig (Mar 25, 2007)

That Laney should sound really good!!! Still banging my head against the wall for not buying the Carvin with the BV though.... I'm sure I'd of found another wife!!! hehehe


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## southpaw0525 (Feb 12, 2008)

I love my V3112T!
30 watts, class A, Tone Tubby speaker.


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

Gear Pig said:


> That Laney should sound really good!!! Still banging my head against the wall for not buying the Carvin with the BV though.... I'm sure I'd of found another wife!!! hehehe


I traded the Carvin for the JCM 900.


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## musicman08 (Dec 3, 2008)

I Huff Paint said:


> I traded the Carvin for the JCM 900.


Great move......


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

musicman08 said:


> Great move......


It was. I didn't like the Legacy at all. The 900 is way more suited to me.


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## Caribou_Chris (Feb 15, 2009)

I had a bad experience with the V-series Crates. I bought a V50-112 from lamusic.ca for $199 CDN with free shipping. Now for a 50 watt tube amp that's a pretty good deal right? Well, if the amp had been any good, yeah.

But it wasn't. It actually sounded half-decent but I made the mistake of turning it up to 7 one night, and it died. Not blew a fuse, ****ing smoked the power supply section. Lamusic were very very shitty about what I could do to get some warranty service. They refused to simply exchange it, and then wanted me to pay the shipping costs of having it sent back to them.

I didn't do that. I was very disappointed with lamusic.

Instead I took it to a local amp guy, he said the power supply was designed around resistors and caps to draw power...very archaic and unreliable. Good for ss amps but not tube ones. "That's why it only cost you $200", he said.

Anyways he took a stab at replacing a bunch of the power supply section, it all seemed good when I got home. Fired it up to about 5 and boom - died again.

In conclusion - piece of shit. Stay away from Crate amps, and from lamusic.ca too.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

I run my Strat through a Digitech GNX-4 stompbox/modeller. Because I needed a very clean, uncoloured sound, I went with a Crate PowerBlock 150 SS amp into two home-made cabs loaded with Eminence 12" modelling speakers and Piezo bullets. This rig kicks azz and I'm looking for another PB to keep as a spare in case this one ever croaks.











IMO, this is the best sounding setup I've had in 40 years of playing.:smile:


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## linuxkid (May 4, 2009)

*Palomino V16*

Crate Palomino V16 Blonde Tolex V-Series MADE in USA by St. Louis Music. Inc.
Mine uses two EL84's / three 12AX7's - Re-tubed w/ regular JJ tubes and this
AMP nails SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughan) tones like no other.

Construction of this particular AMP is A-1 (super solid cab) no problems to date. I've kept it mint at home. I haven't taken it to any gigs but it definitely
an easily would play any small pub un-mic'ed.

I don't know much about Crate AMPS but this one is a Blues / Pro jr. killer )


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## Tarl (Feb 4, 2006)

Caribou_Chris said:


> I had a bad experience with the V-series Crates. I bought a V50-112 from lamusic.ca for $199 CDN with free shipping. Now for a 50 watt tube amp that's a pretty good deal right? Well, if the amp had been any good, yeah.
> 
> But it wasn't. It actually sounded half-decent but I made the mistake of turning it up to 7 one night, and it died. Not blew a fuse, ****ing smoked the power supply section. Lamusic were very very shitty about what I could do to get some warranty service. They refused to simply exchange it, and then wanted me to pay the shipping costs of having it sent back to them.
> 
> ...



Again...... this is the non US made model. I think the new Vs come from China or Vietnam. The older V series made by St Louis Music in the states are some great underated amps.


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## Caribou_Chris (Feb 15, 2009)

Tarl said:


> Again...... this is the non US made model. I think the new Vs come from China or Vietnam. The older V series made by St Louis Music in the states are some great underated amps.



I have no doubt! The V50 I had was made in China.


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