Members grunge782 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Crate bast company evar.... Seriously though, fuck crate. I'm still mad how good kids have it now with the cheaper amplifiers (not like younger kids play guitar anyways now ...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 LOUD Technologies (current owner of Crate) is local and know several people that have worked then, including one Vice President. They are such a mess these days I am surprised they are making anything anymore. Having just reported Loud Technologies to Better Business Bureau and still getting nowhere, it's one brand I actively avoid like the plague these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Yeah I've got a powerblock too, I keep in in a little silver case along with spare leads of all kinds and an sm58+clip for when I get on stage and see a mic that's encrusted with rust, spit, slime and food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dughaze Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 My Crate V30H is tits but Loud can go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IbanezJon Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Blackhearts are owned by Crate or am I remembering wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IbanezJon Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 http://www.amazon.com/Crate-Blackheart-BH5H-Little-Attitude/dp/B0013OBUL0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cobrahead1030 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Crate produced a genuinely genius product: The Powerblock.Less than 10 lbs, over 100 watts, could be run in Stereo, and didn't sound terrible. It was a gigging musician's answer to prayers for an emergency back-up amp, and if you live in a city where you take mass transportation, it solved so many logistical problems that it was worth it's weight in gold.Seriously: the Powerblock was a stroke of genius.What did Crate do?They discontinued it. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I have a Powerblock, it's pretty damned bossy. Kinda sounds like crap on it's own but just slap a good pedal in front of it or an AMT preamp in the loop and it turns in to a killer lil rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emtoth Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 My first couple of amps were Crate.They were great for what they were.In the late 80s and 90s.Before the invasion of cheap chinese tube gear- they were the goto for cheap.I never had a problem with the crate amps i had owned.They got a bad rap but made a good cheap product. Of course it didnt sound like a Marshall or Fender or Mesa.But the clean wasnt bad and they were cheap new! I had ALOT of fun with my Crate dx 212.I wouldnt mind getting one for {censored}s and giggles to see how it stood up to the test of time! ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cougar Hunter Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 My Crate GX130C combo was awesome. It seriously had one of the best chorus circuits I've ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 My Crate GX130C combo was awesome.It seriously had one of the best chorus circuits I've ever heard. I had the smaller GX40C. Loved that little thing. True stereo chorus! Was more than a little noisy, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ENdtime Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Crate produced a genuinely genius product: The Powerblock.Less than 10 lbs, over 100 watts, could be run in Stereo, and didn't sound terrible. It was a gigging musician's answer to prayers for an emergency back-up amp, and if you live in a city where you take mass transportation, it solved so many logistical problems that it was worth it's weight in gold.Seriously: the Powerblock was a stroke of genius.What did Crate do?They discontinued it. I agree.. Not only was it a great pedal platform, but it had a great mid gain overdrive tone on it's own.. Maybe the best SS tube style crunch I've heard.. Even with all the rest of the Crate hate in this thread.. While they always felt rather cheap and were usually a bit thin sounding, they really did do a decent job getting a nice high gain tone suitable for thrash.. And also the gx130 head (I think that's what it was called) did work pretty good for even heavier styles.. In fact, one of my buddies still has that head and it's always fun to play.. I would buy it from him, but the gain channel has volume fluctuations and it'll prolly die within a few days of me buying it, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cougar Hunter Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 GX130C head worked fine for Cannibal Corpse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ENdtime Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Yeah, a few other death metal bands used it too, I think.. It does work well in the mix.. Had a bit to much fizz at loud volumes, but it sounded great at rehearsals.. Also looking back to the early 90's and my early days.. I was always jealous of friends who had the Crate combo amps.. They just had the tone of the times.. I had my Fender 85, which served me quite well when I was a youngin, til I turned 16 and finally got me a real amp.. But I still used that 85 for home practice til I was 19 or so..{censored}ing near 10 years playing death/thrash/speed metal that thing..! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 100 watt Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 A local store has a power block for $200. WTF?? I wanted one when I had my little Marshall 1965 (?) b 2x12 (looked like a miniature 4x12. A great sounding little cab that can be had on the cheap) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elder Things Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 The power blocks were a great platform, but the survival rate of these amps just appeared low from my perspective. Maybe there was a power supply or other issue that could have been ironed out with a newer model. I've never felt confident pushing these amps hard being in a six square inch box. I liked the old 60w voodoo, their VC series was ok, and crate solid state sounds more or less the same as fender/marshall/line 6/peavey ss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cap'n'crunch Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Crate produced a genuinely genius product: The Powerblock.Less than 10 lbs, over 100 watts, could be run in Stereo, and didn't sound terrible. It was a gigging musician's answer to prayers for an emergency back-up amp, and if you live in a city where you take mass transportation, it solved so many logistical problems that it was worth it's weight in gold.Seriously: the Powerblock was a stroke of genius.What did Crate do?They discontinued it. LOL. I was looking for a used one on ebay and they are asking $200.00+ for these things. They were like $99.00 new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cap'n'crunch Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 A local store has a power block for $200. WTF?? QUOTE] LOL. I was flat broke the whole time these were being sold new so, I was looking to pick up a used one recently on ebay thinking that since they were under $100.00 when new that I should be able to get one for cheap. Well, the prices were $200.00+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vbshredder Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Crate produced a genuinely genius product: The Powerblock.Less than 10 lbs, over 100 watts, could be run in Stereo, and didn't sound terrible. It was a gigging musician's answer to prayers for an emergency back-up amp, and if you live in a city where you take mass transportation, it solved so many logistical problems that it was worth it's weight in gold.Seriously: the Powerblock was a stroke of genius.What did Crate do?They discontinued it. I saw a used one of these the other day at GC, and was wondering what the hell it was. Sounds like it would come in handy for all kinds of situations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 LOL. I was flat broke the whole time these were being sold new so, I was looking to pick up a used one recently on ebay thinking that since they were under $100.00 when new that I should be able to get one for cheap. Well, the prices were $200.00+. I got mine for $99 from used.guitarcenter.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nerol1st Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I bought a crate cab around 12 years ago that came stock with brit vintage 30s (they were badging that on the front) and they were still owned by st lous at that point. Still have the cab, still sounds good. IIRC they had the power block out either shortly after or at the same time, but I can't remember. I remember the XXX was a fairly new thing at the time, playing one and not liking it. Of course, it also took my noob ass a month to figure out that said cab was wired out of a phase. All well, chalk that up to nooby mcnoobyness. I haven't been impressed with anything they have done in the last 8 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Krank'N Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 GAWD -I knew a guy who had one of those POS! The hum and hiss mustve been about -10db . Sounded like ass but they were cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ProToneThinline Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 LOL. I was looking for a used one on ebay and they are asking $200.00+ for these things. They were like $99.00 new. When the PB was first released, the street price was $199. I bought one for my daughter to use as a bass head, and it works well for that. I ended up buying another for myself when GC blew them out for $69. They had 12 of them in stock when the sale started. They were sold out in four hours. It's a great amp for $69. It's just an okay amp for $200. If Crate could have priced them at around $129 from the start, they'd probably still be in production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 Crate produced a genuinely genius product: The Powerblock.Less than 10 lbs, over 100 watts, could be run in Stereo, and didn't sound terrible. It was a gigging musician's answer to prayers for an emergency back-up amp, and if you live in a city where you take mass transportation, it solved so many logistical problems that it was worth it's weight in gold.Seriously: the Powerblock was a stroke of genius.What did Crate do?They discontinued it.they discontinued it because no one bought them at their profitable price and everyone who heard them here initially slagged them horribly in the traditional Crate manner. It wasn't until they were being closed out at a severe loss that they suddenly became a great idea and a good sounding amp. I bought about a dozen of them when they were $59-69 each and re-sold them all for 130-150 each. I even used two of them for about a year before getting double $$ out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 I have a Powerblock, it's pretty damned bossy.Kinda sounds like crap on it's own but just slap a good pedal in front of it or an AMT preamp in the loop and it turns in to a killer lil rig.I used one of mine as a vocal monitor amp for about a year in my duo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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