CRATE Cronies

[mikesr1963]

Come on cough it up you know you're out there. I've been playing these for, wow, 16 or 17 years. I have Fender Frontman 25 that runs the cab and run both the Crate and Fender at the same time.

[zisme]

my first real amplifier was a Crate GT212 (120w, ss). looked just like this one (not mine)

here's one of the few pictures I have of mine. really garbage cell phone picture from 2007

I played that amp all through college in two different bands. pretty decent clean channel from what i remember. the distortion was a little fizzy, but i didn't have as much of an ear for tone back then. it was loud enough - that was all that mattered. at one point i ran it through a 4x12 which gave it a lot of extra power and depth. heavy SOB - casters definitely would have helped

i ended up "loaning" it indefinitely to a co-worker who's son was starting out on guitar.

good first amp

i bought my mom one of those crate acoustic amps when she got her a/e ovation. don't think she ever used it. last i checked it was still on a shelf in her garage. maybe i'll save it one day

[nomadh]

I got a few pictures I need to snap. In soon.

[dabbler]

I got a few pictures I need to snap. In soon.

Yeah, I have no pics of my CRATEs either. But there's nothing much see in a pair of Powerblocks with their associated 1x12 cabinet. I got them during the closeout.

I still love them, but my Quilter mini-101 and Problock 200 have taken their spots in the roster.

[BrianSkeezer]

No pics, but my bass amp is a Crate B160XL, which is currently blocked in in my foyer because it's like a piece of furniture and I have no room in my living room for it. That thing THUMPS! It rattles the windows in my house.

[toomanycats]

My only Crate is a 1986 G15. It's a little gem, the clean channel anyways.

[tony1852]

my first amp, circa 1987, a Crate G-15. thought i was a rock god lol!!!

[fullonshred]

IIRC 1st amp was a Gorilla 10watt with a 6" speaker. Traded in on a Marshall Lead 12, 12 watts with a 10" speaker. Traded in on a 60 watt Crate G60 65th Anniversary Model with the Blue Special Edition Cloth Covering. Later added the matching Anniversary Extension Cabinet with a matching 12" Celestion speaker and same Special Edition Blue Cloth covering.







With the extension cab plugged in it dropped the ohms and iirc claimed 90watts into the two 12" Celestions. It was pretty darn loud for a SS amp. I bought it when the Marshall 12 watter wasn't loud enough to "keep up" with a drummer buddy I jammed with. He used to drown me out when I used the Marshall. I would ask him to play lighter but he always said "I learned to play hard/loud and I can't turn it down".

After I got the Crate the tables were turned. He would beg me to turn it down. Eventually I would. But not right away. : )

[fullonshred]

Regarding my SLM Music 65th Anniversary Model Crate G60, I have never seen another one in person, and very few online. I had to have my music store special order the matching sealed extension cabinet with the special Blue Cloth covering. Took months to ever arrive. I have never even seen another cabinet like that online in pictures.

I wish I still had it, but I was financially challenged back then and lucky to have a guitar and amp that nice at all. I have several better amps now, but would like to have it back mostly due to nostalgia. Nostalgia is such a weird thing.

[nomadh]

Here I am with my main gigging amp. Its a crate v30 v3112 tube amp. Got a hell of a closeout deal on ebay as crate was getting out of the tube amp biz. I think they do tubes now through the blackheart line. Pics probably about 6 years apart so its holding up well. Its been a damn good amp. I have had sound guys comment on how much they like it. Before I played , never after
This pic has my SX callisto and my agile 3001 behind me for extra agf points

I also have 2 crate wedge monitors. Bought for $30 or 50 with 1 main 12 frozen. I had a carvin 12 to put in it but the lip was different so I had to saber saw the hole bigger. Shaving off a 1/4" is when I realized the box is basically pressed cardboard. Truly cardboard. But These cabs are multi angle, light, they take some beating, Decent tweeter and crossover. It was only 10 or so gigs before the other 12 burned out.
So aside from the crap 12s they are quite decent. And I have no idea how abused they may have been before but probably just how they work.

[fullonshred]

This may be the only image in the world of an SLM (Saint Louis Music) 65th Anniversary Crate G60 Amplifier in the Special Blue rug/cloth covering with the Matching Blue Sealed 1-12 Cabinet. Wish my knee wasn't in the picture. The photo was taken in Sept. of 1989 by my first AA sponsor. He was legally blind but due to his determination and extensive photography experience still managed to take good to excellent photographs by familiarity with his equipment, measuring distance and using other techniques I don't recall anymore. He may have sourced and used a large easy to read light meter. I just can't say for sure.

The pic below was a printed photo that i scanned. I cropped it to remove me from the photo using Windows 10 snipping tool. I should have used something that saves images at a higher resolution.

[Jaymo]

No pics, but I have a Crate BT50 bass amp that I like a lot.
I love the built in distortion channel.

[fullonshred]

Just wondering if my Crate 1/4 Stack picture is showing up in the post two up from this one?

[nomadh]

Just wondering if my Crate 1/4 Stack picture is showing up in the post two up from this one?

I see it.

[fullonshred]

Just wondering if my Crate 1/4 Stack picture is showing up in the post two up from this one?

I see it.

Thanks. I went back to Flickr later and re-figured out the easier way to share an image without all the stuff they cram into their "automated BB Code generator".

[jhull54]

I just picked up a Crate XT15R over the weekend. I have never owned a Crate other than to flip a couple over the years, but this little amp has a great clean channel, and usable OD circuit as long as you don't go overboard. I'd say for a practice amp, these are worth considering if you're looking for something like a PV Rage or similar. Tone is surprisingly not boxy. So far, I would put the clean channel as equal to the Rage, if not as trebly. The OD channel is inferior to the Transtube circuit in the PV's IMO, but still usable, and better than many I've messed with.

The cool thing though, is that it has a 1/4" speaker out jack. Just don't see those very often on a smaller practice size combo, and it will drive anything over 4 ohms. So hooking it up to a big 1x12", you can get some really nice clean/slightly crunchy tone from it. The other thing this little guy has is a real spring reverb. I popped the chassis out to clean up the board and pots with electrical contact cleaner, and the reverb tank is small, but works pretty well. I'm enjoying messing with it, and through the 12" speaker, it's plenty loud and playing through it is pretty satisfying.

[toomanycats]

Is the VC3112 the greatest tube amp Crate ever made?

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[jhull54]

Is the VC3112 the greatest tube amp Crate ever made?

viewtopic.php?p=20061#p20061


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Man, that was a hell of a score!

[andrewsrea]

Crate is really underrated. I was a certified Crate-Ampeg-SLM repairman. The club series were a fantastic value. The SS models were before the pedal craze, but I would suspect they make great pedal platforms.

[nomadh]

Is the VC3112 the greatest tube amp Crate ever made?

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My V3112 is 2 generations after that usa one. Still same circuit designed by the same guy. Named something like abed khan . Mine built in Vietnam Nam. Later they made bigger changes in the circuit without the designer input and built in China. Those are not nearly as well liked.

[nomadh]

Is the VC3112 the greatest tube amp Crate ever made?

viewtopic.php?p=20061#p20061


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Another amazing deal on the USA model. My Vietnam version of this was also one of my best deals. They were closing them out through ebay for maybe 250 or so and somehow I had 2 discounts I was able to stack. I don't remember exactly but I think it was around 200 with tax, brand new and 5 year warranty. I've been very happy with it.

[ronnx]

here is my humble offering I've had for a couple of decades. With exception of the dust and junk on top, it's like new. And has always sounded great.