How good are Crate Amps???

[jgcable]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

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I use the GFX1200H full stack. It's 120 watts and is LOUD. Cuts through with a drummer just fine. I like the tone. I would prefer a Blue Voodoo head but until I can afford one, the GFX is great. Can't beat it for the price.

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The GFX has the patented Crate Flexwave distorion circuit. It's a nice super high gain distortion that has a similar tone to a Soldano SLO. The Crate Flexwave distortion is great for shredding. BTW... Malmsteen used to have a deal with Crate. I had the model he endorsed. It was a SS combo and was Celestion equipt. I have a Crate CA-60D acoustic amp with 2 channels and DSP for both. It does both vocals and acoustic/electric guitar at the same time. It sounds great and is very well made.

[toejam]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

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Though, I do now own one of the new Crate compact 4x12 cabs with the metal speaker grill, and that thing sounds pretty good connected to either my Mesa F-30 combo or Fender RocPro 1000 head. I believe Stuka uses one of those cabinets with his 5150 head with great results, too.

[/ QUOTE ] I use two 4x12 Crate cabs with my 5150. They have a nice tone to them, to my ear. Mine don't have the metal grill. Mine are older and the grill is cloth and the logos were replaced with Marshall logos because I had a Valvestate 8100 head a couple years ago.

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Ah, cool. I know Crate still makes the compact cabs with the cloth grill as well. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I ordered mine from MF and I got a metal grill. I was on Crate's website and noticed they have the cloth grill and metal grill versions in different sections.

[Spaceace]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

I have a BV120 and my only complaint is that I am in an apartment and the Damn thing shakes the paint off the walls [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img].Well it is really more of a neighbors complaint [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Riffmeister]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

When I went to buy my first amp after not playng for about 5 years, I tried out the Blue Voodoo head and really liked it. It was about 400.00 less than the Marhsall DSl so I decided to get it only I wanted a Red one and they had just come out with the Sammy Hagar Red Voodoo which was supposed to be the same thing.

I took it home and all the sudden, the thing was horrible and had so many noises that I took it right back and the sales guy was amazed. This one was a special order so it wa never played on, IT was so bad that they gave me the DSl for only 100.00 more so I took it.

I did get the matching Red Voodoo cab with it and I love it. It has Vintage 30's in it and it seems to be built a lot better than some of the newer Marshall cabs. I had to take it apart to make sure they were real Celestions [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] and I could tell it was made with birch and not some particle board crap.

Do they still even offer the Red Voodoo series? I know that Sammy Hagar had a new one desinged, but have heard nothing of it.

[guitarshredder]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

How is the Crate GLX120??? I hear that the Marshall MG Series suck, is this true???

[JonnyJobe]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

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How is the Crate GLX120??? I hear that the Marshall MG Series suck, is this true???

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Personally, I don't like the GLX series, and yes, IMO the MG Marshalls blow. Dude, just get on e-bay and get a Marshall VS-100 Head for $200-250 if Your on a budget. One of the best SS amps ever especially for the money.

[zeegler]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

Rick, I had a similar experience with them. The first time I heard a Blue Voodoo was at Steve's music in Toronto. I plugged into it and it was truly awesome right off the bat. I just abou had to be dragged out of the store. from that moment on, I wanted one sooooo bad. A little while later, I was at House of Guitars, and was trying out some guitars. They had a Blue Voodoo there, so I decided to use that. What a piece of garbage!!! It sounded horrible, and wouldn't stop feeding back even at low volumes. I tried 4 different guitars through it, and it did the same thing. I assumed it had been dropped or something. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I finally bought my own BV120 last year, and it sounds as good as the first one I tried out at Steve's. I still love it, but it has been demoted to my at-home practice amp ever since I got my Randall RGT100. The Randall doesn't have as much gain, but for rehearsal, it does the job better. It cuts through a lot better, and has HUGE, HUGE tone. The best part is, I bought the Randall used for a 3rd of the cost of the Blue Voodoo.

[sevser]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

I had a GFX 212 for a week and I only had it that long because I had to work and couldn't return it sooner. I grabbed it because it was cheap, had built in effects and was loud as hell for a 2x12 combo. I thought I'll dial a tone from this thing one way or another...I was wrong! This "wave flex" thing sounded horrible to me. Very, very compressed sounding. I hated trying to shred on it. Sounded very puffy too. I guess thats their idea of the "tube" sound.

As far as the Blue Voodoo...I liked it but, it was a bit bright and I know Steve had one and had problems with it that couldn't be corrected, got to the point of getting something els.

[guitarshredder]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

Why does just about everyone say that the Marshall MG Series sucks???

[thetruthguy]

Blue voodoo and footswitch

I noticed the BV120 never comes with a footswitch. Are they easily attainable? MF is selling the BV120 right now for $479 ... seems like a damn good deal.

[zeegler]

Re: Blue voodoo and footswitch

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I noticed the BV120 never comes with a footswitch. Are they easily attainable? MF is selling the BV120 right now for $479 ... seems like a damn good deal.

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Mine did. It's just a regular old 2 button footswitch.

[mm2002]

Re: Blue voodoo and footswitch

I play through an older crate stealth 50 watt head and I think it's a great sounding amp for the money. I haven't played out in years so I can't justify spending big bucks on an amp, but I've went through several in the last couple of years (ss & tube) trying to find the best sound for the $. The stealth is it for me. It used 4 6v6 power tubes and 3 12ax7's. The 6v6's seem to break up better at lower volumes for it's cool for low volume tinkering. Around 4 or 5 it has just as much volume and warmth as any other tube amp I've played through. The coolest feature is the two preamp gain controls. The damn thing will absolutely shred with no outboard effects needed. Decent reverb tank too. I think I paid $225.00 for it off eBay. I highly recommend one if you're on a budget and want great sound.

[Ace]

Re: Blue voodoo and footswitch

I second the Marshall VS series for a great solid state amp for the money. I've had a VS65 as my practice amp for several years, and I have never once thought about getting rid of it.

[Lordofgain]

Re: Blue voodoo and footswitch

I just got through playing a Blue Voodoo head and cab at GC the other day and didnt like it. It sounded rather thin no matter what I did with the knobs.

[metallicarocks]

Re: How good are Crate Amps???

Just say no to Crate. Other people have had great experience with them, but I will never buy another. They don't withstand to abuse. I own one, and it broke fast. Our school has had several, none lasting more than five years.