Well, this place did it to me again! (Crate content)

I used my Crate V1512 at House of Blues yesterday and blew away the sound guy. When he first saw it he offered one of their Twins for me to use and I told him the little V would cut it nicely. After the two shows he was very complimentary not only on how it sounded but that I didn't blow the mix with stage volume. I'm not a big fan of the Crate stuff in general, in fact I'm returning one of their acoustic amps I just bought (sounds like ass), but the V series was something they got right. I just hope it can hold up bouncing around the French Quarter streets on a hand cart.

 

I use a Crate V3112 these days. I'm just floored by how good that thing sounds every time I plug it in.

 

I bought a Power Block about a month ago to use as a lightweight back-up. The week after I got it, my bass players amp crapped out at a gig. He doesn't have a back-up so he ended up using the Power Block for the last two sets... didn't sound half bad, not the best bass tones I've ever heard, but very usable. This past weekend, the other guitar player's amp bit the dust during our second song of the night, he didn't have a back-up either so he used my Power Block the rest of the night. He loved it. I don't know what these guys would do without me and my trusty Power Block.

 

I had a VFX5212, and I got the BEST damn hot-rodded Marshall sounds out of it. Needed more versatility, so it had to go, but I still miss the damn thing. At the price, it was the best buy out there for tube sound (i.e. the same price as one of the cute little mini-amps...zvex, etc)

I personally have had no problems with Crate products. Like 'em.

 

Steve,

The BIG question: having owned some of the best amps on the planet, how close in tone & feel do you feel the Crate PB comes to a good tube amp

Inquiring minds want to know .

 

It's cool that Crate is getting more credit for their better amps. I've used a Vintage Club 6210 for the past few years. Except for a short that caused blown fuses (a not-uncommon problem if you read the Harmony Central reviews), it has performed very well. I get a good range of tones from it and it is really damn loud. It's a bit much for me now since I'm not gigging, but it would make for a great gigging companion, IF the player can get over the name on the front.

 

Maybe I'm tone deaf, but I think the Powerblock's clean and low gain sounds rival some top dollar amps - a little different but not necessarily worse. I have a collection of about 30 vintage amps and I've A/B'd it to five or six of them and it sounds damn good.

It is darker sounding than a Vibro - King and has a bit more headroom. It is more fender - mesa voiced than marshall sounding.

If the treble and gain are turned up all the way it can get a little synthetic sounding.

Keep in mind that this is playing at a low to mid gig volume (but not at a gig) - I am a hobbyist, not a pro.

I would like to see some blind testing done with some tone connoisseurs. Played through a great set of speakers, and if you don't look at, it seems very good.

That said, I'm keeping my vintage tube amps. The crate is a crazy good deal for a back-up.

 

As much as the St. Louis Music pallet recycling department has come out with some real crappola stuff..they have had a few winners.

The Power Block is one and I'm a big fan of the V series. Nothin' to be ashamed of with either one if these products.

 

I think the PB does have some give to it. While I don't know what technology makes this happen, it's not as fast or hard as my tube rectified VHT 45, or anywhere near as hard as a Yamaha G100 solid state amp. Mine has about the same responsiveness as a Mesa Rectoverb or a Vibro-King, and not nearly as much sag as a tweed deluxe.

I don't have a Bruno or a two rock, so it's surely possible (probable) that it can't sound in their league. My comparisons have been mostly to vintage Fenders and under 2K amps.

 

Scott, I was wondering if you have experimented with ways to introduce some feel to the PB, such as an Axcess/Valvulator/OD. Also, does it mate well with your POD?

Thanks, Ray

 

Crate is doing a great job these days, I've got a powerblock for BU and agree with the previous posts, it's a cool deal.

The PB is neat but the real story, IMHO is the V-series, the 15 and 30 watt tubed units. At $400 new the V1512 is a steal. Better than anything I've used in that price range.

 

I think they've stopped producing the V series and replaced them with the Palomino series. Not sure if it's the same amp with different tolex. I had to get mine from a distributor that had one left in stock and it came with a Tone Tubby speaker which cost a little more. Everywhere I looked on the web for a V1512 they were out of stock and not expecting any new shipments.