Crate V Series [Archive]

EdMan57

12-21-2003, 06:54 AM

Originally posted by Old Fuzzface
I liked the V-series amps. What put me off them was the price in the UK and the larger models having digital FX built-in. The FX sound OK , but I'd rather have a loop & choose my own poison, thanks.

The price....well, Crate are distributed in the UK by the same company as PRS. I couldn't stomach paying over $1,000 for a $500 amp.

I have a VFX5212 and it does have a [series] fx loop.It is simply labeled as "Line Out" and "Line In".I use the loop in mine and it works quite well.

Ogre

12-21-2003, 05:56 PM

Billy Gibbons was using 2 of 'em on ZZ Tops' last Tonight Show appearance. Talk about "street cred"! Billy and Dusty also worshiped at the altar of Expandoras.

AlexT

12-21-2003, 08:10 PM

My first tube amp was a Crate VC6212 (the predecessor series) - the sound was ok for the money, but I'm not sure about the construction - it blew the OT after 3 months. I traded it (loosing a lot of money) one year after I bought it.

I would say that resale value is the biggest issue.

Alex

dlxtele

12-26-2003, 10:01 AM

I have tried the V1512 and liked its tone and responsiveness. It is a nice size; not too big , not too small and not too heavy. The only feature I did not like was the weak reverb. It needs a standard size reverb spring setup, not the mini format that is used by the factory. I do want to compare it to the Traynor CV20WR, but Traynors are not sold in the local area- go to go to St Louis to see if they have them.

I own the VFX5212 and love it. I compared it to a Fender Super Reverb, Fender Custom Vibrolux, HRD DeVille and to a ProSonic Combo. The 5212 had the best clean tone and the dirty channel was very good and better than the other amps. The digital effects were just a little iceing on the cake and they did not sound bad when the amp was pushed into distortion. This seems to happen with analog reverbI put NOS 12AX7 Mullards and RCAs and a pair of Mullard NOS EL-34's and it did sound more vintage and not as modern as it was with the stock EH and SOVTEK tubes. The clean channel was much better and had a fuller tone, while the dirty channel was good but not as good as before.

If I run my Chandler Tube Overdrive (rackmount) into the clean channel I can get very convincing Marshall Plexi and 800 tones from it. The clean channel reminds me of an AC15 Vox but with more balls and volume. The dirty channel is close to a Marshall 800 tone with the stock tubes still working with and learning the setup for this channel after the tube change.

I did experiment different speakers, Vin 30s and G12H30s and Eminence GB12s and V12s. The GB12 paired with one of the stock speakers (from Eminence) was the best combo. This combo had less buzziness than the Vin 30 and fuller bass and smoother more extended highs frequenciesthan any other pair I tried.

Overall the 5212 is a great amp for the money with a great clean channel and a very good and useable dirty channel. Also it is well constructed with the power tubes mounted to the chassis and not mounted to only a circuit board and good sized transformers are used. Component and circuit board quality are very well done.

Go out and try one. I think you will be impressed. Happy Holidays wished are extended to one and all.

dlxtele:D

Bob Collins

12-26-2003, 04:55 PM

You guys are talking about the bigger V series amps.

Mine is the 15 watt model... the little one...V15.

I has no effects except the reverb. BUt the tone at low volume is the killer for me. It sounds like your blasting without blasting.

When my Driskill #71 arrives, it should rock that amp.

MHO,

Bob

dlxtele

12-26-2003, 07:07 PM

I went out to get a Traynor CV20WR or a Crate V1512 and I liked both amps a lot. I ended up getting a Fender Vibrolux Reverb, 5 months old, over 4 1/2 years of warranty left and I can Fender clean great tremolo, very good reverb and my Chandler Tube Driver(rack mount and no wall wart) gets it into marshall territory
at least into a full frontal JCM 800 assault. I traded a Squire M-77 CSB that I have not played for awhile and got the Fender for a $400 difference. I would have spent that amount on the V15 of course no trade-in involved. The Traynor would have cost close to the same as the Fender after trade. The Fender has the footswitch, cover and is in mint condition. I think I done good today.

dlxtele:dude

porterburst

02-10-2004, 12:49 AM

Has anyone tried the new Crate V3112, 30 watt, 1-12 combo?

EdMan57

02-11-2004, 10:29 PM

Originally posted by Ogre
Billy Gibbons was using 2 of 'em on ZZ Tops' last Tonight Show appearance. Talk about "street cred"! Billy and Dusty also worshiped at the altar of Expandoras.

Yeah,I thought his tone was quite like that of a nice vintage Marshall.Btw,did anyone see Vernon Reid with Living Color on "Last Call" with Carson the other night?He was playing a Hamer through a pair of Crate VFX5212's.Maybe the word has gotten around that the V-Series line is indeed professional grade stuff.
Ed

Scott_F

02-15-2004, 10:37 PM

I tried the V3212 and LOVED it. 4xEL84's. 2 Celestion's.

Too much power for me currently, so I ended up comparing the V15 with the Ampeg J12T. I chose the Ampeg, but they were close. Should be, same company.

:)

porterburst

02-15-2004, 11:18 PM

Scott_F :

Which amp is the V3212? The V3112 is a 30 watt 1-12 combo I'm interested in. The VEX 5112, is the 1-12, 50watt, with built in effects, and the VEX5212 is the 2-12, 50watt with built in effects.

tedm

03-22-2004, 10:02 AM

is this the class a quad el34 amp? or did they change it?

EdMan57

03-22-2004, 07:18 PM

Originally posted by tedm
is this the class a quad el34 amp? or did they change it?

I believe that the new V-Series V3212 has a cathode-biased quad EL84 power section [often refered to as Class A] like the one in the Vintage Club 30.If it sounds anything like the older V30,it should sound real sweet.
Ed

Six Stringer

05-16-2004, 06:08 PM

I have to agree,
I got a 1994 vc50310
I must say it kicks ass
nice clean channel and great spring reverb
have to get rid of it cause not gigging out hardly any more and just to damn loud for the apt.! lol
I had no prob giggin out with it
not sure why crate seems to get a nose up towards them?

Peace, bob

ChrisP

06-10-2004, 03:26 PM

Love my VC 20 w/Weber 12" Cali :cool:

I wanted to hate it...it's a crate...

*swoon*

Ohmie

06-11-2004, 12:14 PM

Ditto, for the VC5310. I have one and it does well. The clean is great. The dirty channel is good too, but I feel that where it shines is on the clean channel. I tend to keep the gain down on the dirty channel. The best distortion on this amp can't be had until your going past three on the MV. With its three efficient speakers and 50 watts of tube power, that's just too damn loud unless your playing a club. The amp is heavier than a boat anchor too. But, I feel that there's alot of people that turn thier noses up at these amps because of the name. It's silly, but it makes these older model VC's a bargain--you could get a VC5012, VC5212, or like me--a VC5310 for under $400 easy.

I think that a Weber Mass would be a great addition to this amp. Do any of you know what ohm tap the speakers are hooked up to on the VC5310's output transformer--4ohm or 8ohm? The three 16ohm speakers are in parallel, making 5.3 ohms load on the secondary of the OT. I'm figuring that there is a consession on impedance matching here. I'm just wondering what Crate did.

John Thigpen

06-30-2004, 07:22 AM

A friend of mine bought a V3112 about a month ago. I took my Dr Z Maz 38 Studio Deluxe to the store for comparison, and the Crate more than held its own. Although technically a single channel amp, the Crate has footswitchable gain stage, AND the footswitchable boost takes the tone controls out of the circuit, resulting in a volume boost. The two options are independent of each other, so you get four different levels of gain. Very cool. I played his amp at a church band rehearsal and played the clean setting almost exclusively and really liked the jangly tones I was getting. My friend recently swapped the stock Celestion 70/80 for an Eminence, and swapped the first preamp tube, and says it improved the amp even more, but I haven't heard it.

As for the mysterious V3212, I think its just a two twelve version of the V3112.

John

LWR49

12-03-2004, 09:02 PM

Originally posted by porterburst
Has anyone tried the new Crate V3112, 30 watt, 1-12 combo?

I happen to have two of those in blonde tolex. They are the best sounding amps for the money, great clean tone and super overdrive, and they are Class A wired just like the old vintage amps were. As a matter of fact I believe that this model (V3112) is the only one wired this way. By the way both of these are in exellent condition and they are both for sale. They sound super when run in stereo with a Boss chorus pedal. So why am I selling them you're probably asking yourself. Well I have four other amps and two Line 6 Pods so I haven't used them for a while. It's really a shame to just let them sit. Let me know if anyone is interested. :D By the way mine is the original version with seperate tone and reverb controls for each channel.

Bloux

12-14-2004, 07:43 AM

is the v15 in the fender pro jr. camp sound wise, or more like a small marshall thing?

porterburst

12-14-2004, 08:13 AM

It's more Vox/Marshall sounding for sure. Lots more gain than a Jr.

Bloux

12-14-2004, 03:10 PM

Originally posted by Scott_F
.

I ended up comparing the V15 with the Ampeg J12T. I chose the Ampeg, but they were close. Should be, same company.

:)

I see that the ampeg J12T has the tremelo feature, does that do anything to the sound making the Ampeg better than the crate V15?

do both amps do distortion well? Is Ampeg and crate the same company, making these two amps identicle? (they look similar)

thanks

LWR49

12-14-2004, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by Bloux
Is Ampeg and crate the same company, making these two amps identicle? (they look similar)

thanks
I believe they are both made by St.Louis Music CO.;)

Bloux

12-15-2004, 01:18 PM

would the crate V1215 with an assortment of pedals and mic'ed up "for recording" do a "marshallish" tone better than something like the V-stack classic direct or through my fender SF Prinecton?

Kewlpack

01-14-2005, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by porterburst
Has anyone tried the new Crate V3112, 30 watt, 1-12 combo?
Played one the other night at GC.

Sounded very very good!
~A~

Kewlpack

02-03-2005, 02:24 PM

Well - as fate would have it...

I ended up buying a new v3112 last night. Guys - the thing ROCKS and has a beautiful sounding clean channel. With the presence ON, you can get all kinda sparkly jangle. I like the overdrive too - just a lot of fun! ;)

I got a Line6 Space Chorus and Echo Park for the effects loop and they work great as well.

Now I just need a good blues/od/distortion stomp combo up front (just for giggles - this amp has tons of gain already).

I couldn't crank the amp as it was late and the family wouldn't have appreciated it! But it was just fine even at practice volumes (while I was watching the State of the Union from Bush :D ).

Can't wait to open her up and let her sing.

The coolest part - maybe - today is my birthday! So it was kind of a "present to myself". ;)

This amp sounds every bit as good as other tube amps I've used, played or heard - and the price was reasonable to boot.

Sweet.
~A~

BozoTone

05-14-2005, 12:22 AM

While I was out shopping for guitars I just happen to plug into a V8, which is basically V58 (5 watt/8" speaker) only with a 10" and the "Palamino" (blonde) covering and somewhat "basket weave" grill cloth...this little thing has a big grin factor...one gain, one tone and one volume knob with one AX7 and an EL84...true Class A...first thing I did was change the Groove Tube AX7 to a '68 RCA "grey plate" and the power tube to a '62 Mullard EL84/6BQ5..this change did help, but me thinks I am going to try a GE EL84...the Mullard is just a bit to thick...I have tried the V8 with several different speakers, and surprisingly, it doesn't sound much different..I have also put my POD 2.3 in as "the preamp", and IT sounds very good.....

Lex Luthier

05-14-2005, 07:09 AM

I was at a music store trying out a guitar yesterday thru a V15, surprising decent sounding amp for the dough. The input jack on the one I tried was a little funky, but otherwise it was OK.

BozoTone

05-26-2005, 04:56 PM

Small update...tried 12 more pre tubes and 2 more sets of EL84's...I was right on one thing, I really like the '66 GE EL84's in this amp..very clear, open and big at all volumes except just barely "on"...the '62 Mullards were just a bit thick in the 400hz-800hz (which is where the stock speaker and cab are too)...the 2nd set, not counting the original GT's, were JJ's and they were good.....
Of the total 13 preamp tubes, a '59 (B9H, 12AX7) Mullard sounded best in this circuit to me, especially clean..another Mullard ('a '56 Long Plate, B6H, 12AX7) had the best distortion, but just by a bit over the '59...the best new glass I tried was an '04 TungSol 12AX7 (others were EH's, JJ's, and a GT12AX7). Along with mostly 12AX7's, I tried 5751's, 12AT7's, and 12DW7,s (one, a '62 Mullard (B2A1) 7274 (12DW7) is going into a ToneBone Classic pedal to try to help open it up a bit...seems to have the same 400-800 prob. as the V8.....

wutnot

05-27-2005, 07:47 PM

Check out my sig for pic of my new amp, Palomino V32. Sweet!!
I am going to try out the tube suggestions I have been reading, but I like the stock sound, that is from not really knowing a lot about the sounds of other tubes.
Great amp for the price IMO.

stephenT

05-27-2005, 09:06 PM

I was gigging with a Crate v1512 for a few months until I got my Goodsell Super 17. I thought the Crate was best in class. I've own a bunch of amps that cost a lot more that I liked much less.

The V1512 is very dynamic, very touch sensitive.

Scott Peterson

05-27-2005, 11:29 PM

I was in GC for the first time in ages and tried one of the Crate V15 combos out; you guys are all right on the money. This is a very serious tone machine. And the price point? Damn. They got this amp right. Fantastic tones.

bullet

05-31-2005, 12:26 AM

i just picked up a v8 at G.C. this weekend and i got to say this thing is a blast. great tone for the price and the earlier post was right on the money big grin factor.this little thing is mean.

Stratman

06-11-2005, 05:06 PM

Yea, I own Blackface Fender amps and earlier Marshalls and Mesa Boogie amps. What suprised me about this little Crate V16 is the tone variations that are possible with this little jewel. I would never believe Crate was capable of making a good tone machine until a friend at Guitar Center told me about his amp. My first reaction was to laugh in his face, until I heard it...

Now I own one.

CharlieS

06-21-2005, 07:45 AM

Originally posted by BozoTone
Small update...tried 12 more pre tubes and 2 more sets of EL84's...I was right on one thing, I really like the '66 GE EL84's in this amp..very clear, open and big at all volumes except just barely "on"...the '62 Mullards were just a bit thick in the 400hz-800hz (which is where the stock speaker and cab are too)...the 2nd set, not counting the original GT's, were JJ's and they were good.....
Of the total 13 preamp tubes, a '59 (B9H, 12AX7) Mullard sounded best in this circuit to me, especially clean..another Mullard ('a '56 Long Plate, B6H, 12AX7) had the best distortion, but just by a bit over the '59...the best new glass I tried was an '04 TungSol 12AX7 (others were EH's, JJ's, and a GT12AX7). Along with mostly 12AX7's, I tried 5751's, 12AT7's, and 12DW7,s (one, a '62 Mullard (B2A1) 7274 (12DW7) is going into a ToneBone Classic pedal to try to help open it up a bit...seems to have the same 400-800 prob. as the V8.....

Thanks for the info. I've got Mullards in mine, and I still want to eke out a little more clarity. What speakers did you try? I was thinking about trying a Weber California to get some more clean sounds.

hasserl

06-23-2005, 10:49 AM

I had a chance to check one of the V16 Palomonos out yesterday. A friend brought his new one over and I played thru it for about half an hour, then put it on the bench and removed the back panel to have a look see at it.

I think it is a very nice sounding amp. It's a little loose on the bottom and sometimes a little rough. It could stand to be bit smoother. It has real good gain to it, the sweet spot seems to be with the gain set to about 1:00 to 2:00 with the Level set about the same. Good sustain, good touch response. On the neck pickup of my strat I could roll the Vol down to about 4 for a VERY nice bluesy tone. From there I could get quite a range of tones just by varying the pick attack. Light strokes were clear and full, digging in gave a good breakup. Then by rolling up the volume I was right back into overdrive territory. It seems a bit bright, I had to roll off the treble a bit. But it definately has a jangly Voxy thing happening.

I'm not so surprised at the good tones, I really liked the old VC series Crates. Other than the poor construction that leads to premature problems, they sound great. They just need a bit more frequent maintenance.

I think the amp would undoubtedly benefit from a good speaker upgrade. The stock speaker is not too bad, it looks a lot like a Silver Series Celestion. But a better speaker that would tighten up the botton end and hold together better when pushed would go a long way. I sent my buddy home with a Red Fang to try out in it and let me know how he likes it.

The overall construction looks fine. It's typical mass produced pcb construction, but I didn't see anything off hand that looks like it would be troublesome. I noticed the speaker is front loaded, the mounting screws emerged thru the back side of the baffle (ply, not particle), splintering it a bit. I like the look of the blonde tolex and gold hardware. Nice looking grill too, too bad it's held in place with four exposed black screws.

Overall a very nice little amp, especially considering the 400 dollar price range. Not perfect, but very nice.

JNixon

06-23-2005, 11:00 AM

Originally posted by hasserl

I think the amp would undoubtedly benefit from a good speaker upgrade. The stock speaker is not too bad, it looks a lot like a Silver Series Celestion. But a better speaker that would tighten up the botton end and hold together better when pushed would go a long way. I sent my buddy home with a Red Fang to try out in it and let me know how he likes it.

I also thought about a Red Fang for the V16. Do you know if it will definitely fit? I thought the cab might be a little too narrow for an Alnico speaker.

hasserl

06-23-2005, 11:17 AM

Originally posted by JNixon
I also thought about a Red Fang for the V16. Do you know if it will definitely fit? I thought the cab might be a little too narrow for an Alnico speaker.

It looks to me like there is plenty of room for it. The speaker being front loaded gives you some extra room. But the cab is actually pretty deep, not too narrow. Which helps it not sound too boxy. That is a problem with the Carvin Vintage 16. I can tweak the circuit of that amp to make it sound fantastic when played thru a different cab, but the stock cab is so small that the sound remains boxy, even with an upgraded speaker. I don't think that will be a problem with the Crate.

JNixon

06-23-2005, 11:38 AM

Great. I will have to look into it then. I'd be interested in your opinions if you get to hear the Red Fang in the V16.

Thanks for the info.

hasserl

06-23-2005, 07:14 PM

Originally posted by JNixon
Great. I will have to look into it then. I'd be interested in your opinions if you get to hear the Red Fang in the V16.

Thanks for the info.

Well, I haven't heard the amp yet w/ the RF, but I talked to the guy who has it today and after he installed it he was only able to play for a very short time, but he siad he thought it tightened up the bass.

I guess he's had some more time with it, he posted this on another board:

Well, now that I've had a little time to play with the Red Fang.....................It's pretty much as my original thought was. The bottom end is tighter and it's a bit warmer and a tad bit louder. The amp definetly suffers with the original speaker. The Red Fang is a tight fit only about 1/4" clearance between the chassis and the speaker but that is enough to get it in and screw it down.

Not a whole lot of info, but apparantly it will fit, but it's tight. Hard to say whether it will fit the bill tone wise or not. But that's always so subjective. I would expect it to compress a bit when pushed also.

HTH

When I get a chace to hear it again w/ the RF I'll let you know what I think.

Hasse

EdMan57

06-23-2005, 07:55 PM

As I may have refered to in an earlier post,adding a Celestion G12H-30 to my V15 made a quite noticeable difference in tone and response,especially filling out and tightening the bottom end.At several blues gigs,other guitarist' often commented on how large and full the sound was coming from my little V15 combo.Like with most mass production tube combos the stock speaker is nothing more than a trade-off of sound quality and economy.
Ed

lockingnut

12-09-2005, 08:51 AM

I used a VC3112 for a couple years and was happy with it. Nothing super cool though. Recently I found Crate's Palamino V16, a class-A amp and I"m blown away by it. It's 16 watts kept up with a full band last weekend. Man!!! guitar->cable->amp. No pedals. GC had them on sale, $345. Couldn't say no. .

Kewlpack

12-09-2005, 02:37 PM

Agreed! ;)

Fishin'Musician

12-09-2005, 05:52 PM

Had a Crate Vintage Club 50 for a couple hours.
I got a good deal on it at a pawn shop, where I tried it and thought it sounded really sweet. I needed something to tide me over until I got the Fuchs mod back.
Got it home and messed around with it for a while, the clean channel was fading in & out volume-wise.
Got on Hc and read some reviews, apparently a LOT of them have the same problem.
Another guy I know had two of them, said on both of them the OT blew out after a couple weeks, AND they both had the unstable clean channel problem.
I took it back, and luckily enough they gave me my money back.

Ohmie

12-09-2005, 09:29 PM

Yep, mine had that problem as well. Luckily, it was under warranty at the time and was fixed, no problem. Since, it has been a decent amp to have. Of course, we're not talking high-end stuff here, just great bang for the buck.

Kewlpack

12-12-2005, 10:38 AM

Just played in a small jam on Friday evening with my Pally V32 - mmmmmm mmmm good. I love the tone on this amp.

Jim S

03-02-2007, 01:43 PM

soulohio

03-02-2007, 02:18 PM

rockon1

03-02-2007, 03:45 PM

Got an old GT500 head. Its the same as a VC 50 head. Bought it for 170$ used and had no problems with it. Nice clean and pretty decent distortion. For that money it cant be beat! Also recently bought a Palomino V32 at CG for 399$ brand new on sale! Another deal thats hard to beat!. It ate a power tube in fairly short order so I put some tougher Sovtek EL84M's in it. Better cleans on it than the VC. Actually the cleansd are tough to beat. Very open ,chimey sounding. The distortion is very meaty and sounds sweet thru a G12H-30. The tan and gold cosmetics are purdy too! :BEER Bob

Bob Burt

03-02-2007, 03:49 PM

Been loving my Poor Mans AC 30 for about 2 years now. The V32 sounds great and is nice to look at too..

Killer amp in my opinion.

BB

Al Nico

03-02-2007, 04:57 PM

i have a V16 that i swapped tubes in/ot and also put a celestion blue in...the speaker is great but does nothing for the bottom end. i was actually trying to sell mine for awhile (local pickup in NE Ohio) but these amps are kinda neat...

I've got a Hellatone 30 in my V1512, and there's plenty of bottom and a very chimey top. I agree, the cleans are hard to beat on these things for the price (got mine for $180 used).

The only thing that bugs me about the V1512 compared to the V16 is the cheap plastic pot shafts and the poorly placed handle (too far forward). I fixed the handle position, but those flimsy knobs... very afraid to break them.

MagicNelson

03-02-2007, 05:29 PM

I've had my VFX5112 for a couple years now. I've gigged regularly with it and its held up really well! I have JJ's in there right now and I'm thinking about switching out the speaker for a G12H-30. Sweet amp!

audiac

03-27-2007, 08:43 PM

I bought a VFX5212 from Guitar Center for $450 in 2004. Great sounding amp, in my opinion, both clean and gain channel.

Had one of the power tubes blow on me, but it was probably about time for them to be replaced anyway.

Mooncusser

03-27-2007, 09:01 PM

I have read all the pages here and I CAN'T believe the v-30 head and interlocking 2X12 Tone Tubby cabinet didn't come up. IMOHO..this is one of the best sleepers out there!

Check it out.....I used to own this rig

Crate V-30H head...........http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crate-V30H-30-Watt-Tube-Head?sku=487827

Matching cab.........http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crate-V212T-2x12-Tiltback-Guitar-Cabinet?sku=603018

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM05/Content/Crate/PR/V-Series-Stack.jpg

Take care,
Mass