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Crate GX-130c = Ampeg VH-140c, yes or no?


thinkpad20

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I had the GX130c. It was decent chorus was actually good. Problem is it didnt' cut it in a band situation. The poweramp let it down. But otherwise a mediocre cheap amp.

 

 

 

 

i never had problems cutting through with either my ampeg or crate, you have to run them with a sterio cab though or your only getting half power

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I had the GX130c. It was decent chorus was actually good. Problem is it didnt' cut it in a band situation. The poweramp let it down. But otherwise a mediocre cheap amp.

 

 

I kind of agree with this.

 

When i had my GX-130C i dug the hell out of it. And they can record really well for metal stuff. It is usable live, but you have to be really careful and really aware of how it is set and cutting. They are a little like Dual Rectifiers can be in that. Many of the bands who you see using them live sound like the guitar isn't even there. You can set the Crate to work better, but it is a very different setting than what you would use to play at home, or even to record with, as far as what i found.

 

I still want to check out the Ampeg, though i would not really interested in either amp unless it could be had for $100-150 or so. For that price, if the amp is 100% functional, why not? If you hate it, you might even be able to get a bit more for it than that to get rid of it. I thought these were going more in the $200-250 range.

 

-chris

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I have both, and the Crate is a cool amp, especially for the $150 shipped that I paid for it. If I had to choose between the two, I would pick the Ampeg though. They both have alot of gain, but they are definately NOT the same. The ampeg has more bottom end for sure, and a more grindy distortion. The crate is more "clear" sounding, but to me isnt as heavy

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I guess you could just compare Cannibal Corpse "The Bleeding" (Crate GX-130, if Im not mistaken. And Im sure their earlier albums may have been Crate too, but the Bleeding sounds great) and Suffo, Dying Fetus (Ampeg).. From those comparison's they seem to be in the same ballpark.. Meaning both can get pretty brutal and heavy.. I have been thinking about one of those 2 amps as well and sell off the XXX.


But just remembering, when I first joined Morgue Supplier, the old guitarist used the Crate GX-130.. FOrgot about that.. Honestly for that band I think it really sounded good. Kinda dark, but with a kinda weird thin high-end.. SOunded brutal though, thats fer sure..

 

I thoguht The Bleeding was a Crate Stealth? :confused:

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I had the GX130c. It was decent chorus was actually good. Problem is it didnt' cut it in a band situation. The poweramp let it down. But otherwise a mediocre cheap amp.

 

Well said! It's what I was tyring to say, but you were more succinct. :thu:

 

 

I would add "loud band" situation.

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I talked about this with 17 tubes the other day when we were playing the amps. BTW Steve, I want that Hamer! Or its equivalent. Something about that pickup and small size of that badboy has me jonesin for one. I had both an ampeg vh140c and a crate g130cxl (not exactly a gc130) at the same time. I will tell you that both those amps had different mid character. I could not stand the mids on the the crate so I scooped it all the time. They were harsh to my ears


SNIP

On another note, me and 17T had his vox tonelab into a deluxe reverb getting tones that were pretty close to the ampeg the other day. Close in gain voicing but smoking in volume and punch.

 

 

 

rockit...hey....it was very cool to hang out, talk shop and play. We'll have a little jam/recording session next time. Can't have THAT Hamer....and good luck finding one like it. I'm not sure a standard Explorer will work the same way.

 

Regarding the "harshness" of Crate/Ampeg....recall that I don't like too much bite...in fact I like "smooth....I found the Crate smoother. The VL-503 I had...holy crap BITING! and HARSH! Now I think the 503 could be tamed with some more work.

 

And finally....I've the Twin Reverb, not a Deluxe. I don't think I was getting my usual tones from it, but it still rocked.

 

 

 

Finally, it's refreshing to know H-CAF can debate two amps such as G130c and VH-140c. That's cool.

 

Oops....forgot one thing...rockit...will you tell these guys I'm no lo-gain fuddy duddy! PLEASE!

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i never had problems cutting through with either my ampeg or crate, you have to run them with a sterio cab though or your only getting half power

I had a stereo cab I ran it with. I got a 5150 combo shortly after getting rid of it and it had more everything as far as power goes.

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  • 12 years later...
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No its not the same, the transformer in the vh140c is twice as large as the gx130c. The power output of the vh140c is double even thought theres only a 10 watt difference between them. Using a gx130c onstage you would get drowned out by everything, using a vh140c on stage and you have nothing to worry about. As far as the tone is concerned, i prefer the gx130c and its "shape knob". There is alot less feedback with gx130c as well. The gx130c does not feature a di out where the vh140c includes this. The gx130c gives you a mono out but it has some feedback in the line. The clean channel of the gx130c is also superior to the vh140c. The reverb tanks are identical, the both have chorus snd reverb. I hope this clears things up. Death metal live: vh140c. Death metal in the studio: gx130c.

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