I actually have the crate palomino V16 - I would personally recommend it over the V8 - simply because it has separate gain and volume control. The V8 is simply set up so that, the more you turn up the volume, the more gain it has. I prefer the control to go for a loud clean or quiet distorted sound - as the situation may require. Beyond that, if you ask me, the palomino is an incredible amp for the coin with qualities rivaling >$1000 boutique amps. I easily prefer it to ANY solid state rig - or, for that matter, many tube rigs. That recommendation goes beyond style. The amp delivers whether you want balls-to-the-wall GAIN, muscle tube overdrive, a little rich texture, or a bell-like rich clean sound. With my schecter C1 elite, I bounce from a mid drive classic rock, to a pleasant jazz/clean (blues?) tone with a switch of the coil tap and a turn of the gain knob (balancing volume for sound level. I shopped amps, researched, and made my choice after MUCH consideration.
