I've sold all my amps, and now go totally with Crate products! Not that there's anything wrong with that... Actually, I picked up the Crate Power Block portable ss amp from GC yesterday. Gawd, there was an employee in the drum dept who thought he was auditioning for Danzig. He was bashing when I got there, and bashing when I left. The horror... Oh well, the highlight of the visit was trying out this little gem. Dude hooked me up with a 112" Celestion cab, and a SRV strat. Cleans were crystal, and even upping the gain gave me some usable tones with the strat. Good price, out the door, and home to hook it up to my Two Rock 212 cab. BIG tones...with my Suhr strat, sweet...took pedals nicely too. I'm tellin' ya, this little monster is a no brainer. Going to every gig with me as backup from now on. With the light weight, and the shoulder strap case, the rest of my rig should be so portable! S. j
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.
I have had one of the PowerBlocks for a bit more than a month now; it is my backup for all gigs. It sounds pretty good too IMHO; takes pedals well. For the money, form factor, weight..... no brainer. It is the backup amp of choice IMHO.
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 haven't owned all the amps Steve has; but I have owned a few too. The PowerBlock doesn't sound like a top dollar amp. And it is fast (some would say "hard"; there is NO give or sag) like a SS amp is. Just nature of the beast. Let's not kid ourselves that this thing sounds like a Bruno or Two Rock or whatever. It doesn't. It can't. But the damn thing sounds good. Really good. And for the light, small, portable good sounding back up to your #1 on the gig; how can you go wrong? It is just a great product period - no matter who made the thing. Just my opinion.
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.
I would take both Scott's and Profklamen's comments as a reflection of my own. The PB sounds great, and definitely to my ears more in the Fender/Mesa mode. It cant hold up to my Matchless, Tone King, or Two Rock amps. That's asking a bit much...and this thing is solid state. But solid state these days has come a long ways. Having said that, it's a perfect backup amp for my gig, as it does like pedals, has an efx loop, can be run in mono or stereo, and offers up some good clean power. Vaughn...the thing weighs less than 5 lb, and you could carry it in the palm of your hand. But use the shoulder strap case. Also, as is true with the Fender tones...this thing sounds great with a Strat or Tele. It has bass/mid/treb controls in the preamp, and the scooped tones sound phat, without any effects. Throw in a slapback or outboard 'verb...and you're happening. The cab that Crate designed for it is a semi open back 112 with a Celestion 100W. But I didnt get the cab. I have used it with my Two Rock 212 cab, and it sounded great. I have used it with an old Mesa 112 (loaded with an old Fane 100W), and again, it sounded great. I just plan on plugging it into the cab I have at the gig in a moment of need. For that use...it's just too good to pass on. My .02, S. j
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.
