Crate GX-something rather

[jrfox92]

Went by GC saturday and was just loitering around then eventually found myself a pretty (well not so much) Crate amp with matching 4x12 cab. Everyone I know is bashing it but it's doing well and was only $250 with 14 months coverage, plus i have a 60 day satisfaction guarantee. I think I got a good deal, thoughts?  :rock-on:

 

[DangerousR6]

Crates are good amps, i have several of them. Only one I ever had trouble with was my Blue VooDoo and it was just a loose wire. But they are really solid amps... :icon_thumright:

 

[jrfox92]

Yeah, so far, it's been a dream. I'm usually a stickler for tube amps, but this one was too good to pass up.

 

[bagman67]

Haven't liked the few solid-state Crates I've played, but I haven't been back to that well in quite a while.  They may have gotten their act together, as have many in that biz.    I think their Vintage Club series from the '90's is one of the best kept secrets in tube amps, sound-wise, however.  They have no post-sale cachet, so you can get them on the cheap, and they sound good.  The VC-3112 I had was AWESOME.

 

[jrfox92]

Haven't liked the few solid-state Crates I've played, but I haven't been back to that well in quite a while.  They may have gotten their act together, as have many in that biz.    I think their Vintage Club series from the '90's is one of the best kept secrets in tube amps, sound-wise, however.  They have no post-sale cachet, so you can get them on the cheap, and they sound good.  The VC-3112 I had was AWESOME.

I'll be sure to look into those once I raise my funds again, and after I finally finish my Tele DLX.

 

[stubhead]

Crate's like Peavey, though they had a few more misses in their history. But the good ones, hey - if you take a simple, solid circuit design & build it correctly it's going to do what it's supposed to. You can get a fair amount of heat for saying things like "overall, Peavey Classic 30's are better and more consistent 1970's Marshall heads than... 1970's Marshall heads." So I won't say it. It'd be like saying "if you took ten Agile AL3000M's and ten Gibson custom shop Les Pauls, more of the Agiles would be gig-ready than the Gibsons." Just don't.

 

[jrfox92]

Ha, truthfully, I just haven't seen what's so special about Marshalls and Gibsons  ???
Sure, they seem great to me, but I know I can get something just as good,if not better, than them. Speaking of which, has anyone heard of Verellen amps? One day I want one of those on top of an Emperor cab, that just sounds like a monstrous combination to me.

 

[pabloman]

A Gibson into a Marshall is a beautiful thing. You cant knock it til you try it. Theres nothing like cranking a half stack and feeling the tone youve been hearing you're whole life.

 

[MikeW]

A Gibson into a Marshall is a beautiful thing. You cant knock it til you try it. Theres nothing like cranking a half stack and feeling the tone youve been hearing you're whole life.

But I've been hearing that my whole life. I want to hear something different, something new, something ME. Not something I've heard my whole life. Isn't that the whole point?

Besides, it gives me an excuse to use with the Finance Department... "EVERYBODY has one of those. I'd be the ONLY one with one of these."

 

[swarfrat]

A Gibson into a Marshall is a beautiful thing. You cant knock it til you try it. Theres nothing like cranking a half stack and feeling the tone youve been hearing you're whole life.

But I've been hearing that my whole life. I want to hear something different,

I think you missed the major point there.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The Crate stuff I've had experience with was crap, but let me qualify it.  Bands I played in with just starting out bass players in the early 90s, they all clipped way too easily and eventually blew speakers.  Mind you, these were entry level bass amps and beginners are typically very hard on gear. 

My 2nd experience was a 212 120 watt SS guitar combo that a neighbor just left at my house.  Only one channel worked, and it was the high gain, distortion in a can, metal channel.

No, not a fan.

 

[DangerousR6]

The Crate stuff I've had experience with was crap, but let me qualify it.  Bands I played in with just starting out bass players in the early 90s, they all clipped way too easily and eventually blew speakers.  Mind you, these were entry level bass amps and beginners are typically very hard on gear. 

My 2nd experience was a 212 120 watt SS guitar combo that a neighbor just left at my house.  Only one channel worked, and it was the high gain, distortion in a can, metal channel.

No, not a fan.

Meh, you're a bass player, your opinion doesn't matter...

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I didn't play bass till 6 years ago. 

 

[pabloman]

When I worked at GC I won a Powerblock. That had decent tone. The Palominos we had were cool too but those have tubes. :dontknow:

 

[DangerousR6]

When I worked at GC I won a Powerblock. That had decent tone. The Palominos we had were cool too but those have tubes. :dontknow:

The palomino's and the VFX series were great amps, but yes they were tube amps, which I prefer over ss. Even tho they are a bit more fragile than ss..