Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

J

jmcorey

New member
Wanting to get an idea of what those amps sound like.... Fenderish, Voxish, Marshall-esque on overdrive, etc....
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I've been using the Crate V32 Palomino for over the past year and a half; it's an amazing amplifier for the money. The cleans are worth the $400 pricetag alone... very chimey/sparkly in the vein of Matchless/Bad Cat/Vox. The overdrive channel is like a Vox/Marshall hybrid. The V30 doesn't have a lot of lowend, but for most rock I think most folks will agree it has enough (the 1x12'' combo enclosure on the V32 Palomino doesn't help either).

It's amazing just how good the tone is on some of these amps and how well built they are. My V32 has survived a big car accident and the side of the cabinet is split, but it still cranks. I leave it out in my car (in harsh New England weather) and use it for practices/backup live and it never gives me crap, always sounds good.

If you want to hear the amp in action, I recorded my old band's demo with it (my Fargen was in the shop at the time and needed an amp... I think it turned out pretty decent, especially with a budget amp and poor recording equipment): www.myspace.com/farewelltofairbanks.
 
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Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I have the v3112T with the tone tubby speaker. It is a good sounding amp and haven't had any problems in the last year. The tone tubby speaker helps a ton with the sound too. Changing out the preamp tubes also is very helpful depending on the sound you want.
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I used to have an older V2112R, shouldn't have sold it. It was quite a spankin' little amp. I also had the 50wt 2x12 combo, it was cool but I kept breaking the input jack. I never break things like that so I am sure it was a design flaw, sounded great though.
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I have a V32, which is the same as the V30 with different cosmetics. I love this amp! There are so many good, useable tones in this decent-sized cabinet.

The cleans sparkle and chime with a bit of that Voxy spunk to them. I can't testify for the reverb, since that died on me two weeks after I got the amp. This is really the only bad thing I have to say about the amp along with this: I sent it back for a replacement under the warranty, and they sent me another amp quickly, which also had a broken reverb. I think this might just be from the shipping process though. The reverb wasn't amazing anyway, but it did it's job. I'm going to be getting a reverb pedal soon to put in the loop for all my reverb needs.

The distortion channel is a somewhere between a Vox and Marshall like the_Chris said. It can get a tone from a stingy blues sound to a classic rock distortion sound that is very 70s, and very good for the type of music I play. With the gain knob past 3 o 'clock I find that the amp gets buzzy and compressed, but I keep the gain at 2 o' clock at most all the time.

Overall, definetly an amp that was worth the money. I can see myself using this amp for years and years to come, and I will probably still be as happy with it as I was when I first opened the box.
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I've been using the Vintage Club 2X12 50w for years and love it. Since it's a EL84-based amp, it has some similarity in tone to Vox . It's really a great sounding well-made amp. The cabinet is made of particla board versus hardwood, but that's how the keep the price lower. It really kicks butt. You can push the power tube section into overdrive and it gets nice a creamy. Pretty loud too.
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

Kac said:
Nope, those are fairly different amps. Right off: the v-32 is single channel, the v-30 isn't
Click to expand...

No. The V32 comes with a footswitch: it has a clean and overdrive channels along with a footswitchable boost (it can be used on both the clean and overdrive channels) for more tones. The V32 is anything, but a single channel amp; I wouldn't be using one if that were true. The MF ad is wrong.


fingerace said:
The_Chris why do you say that they have different bottom end?
Click to expand...

Different than what? I simply mentioned that while they have a nice Vox/Marshallish overdriven channel, it suffers from a really strong lowend (probably due to the open back 1x12'' design of the combo). The voicing of the amp lends itself to more mid-highs than anything else anyhow. I kinda wish I had gotten a head, but the 1x12'' combo does sound really good.

I hadn't realized that they released a V32 head until now. AFAIK, the V30 and V32 are just about identical (tolex differences aside)... on the 1x12'' combos, the V32 came with a Celestion 70/80.
 
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Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

the_Chris said:
No. The V32 comes with a footswitch: it has a clean and overdrive channels along with a footswitchable boost (it can be used on both the clean and overdrive channels) for more tones. The V32 is anything, but a single channel amp; I wouldn't be using one if that were true. The MF ad is wrong.
Click to expand...
Well that's what I get for trusting musicians friend:
Musicians Friend said:
Crate Palomino V32H 30W Amp Head Features:

* Single channel
* Class A amp
* Footswitchable Spring reverb
* Footswitchable boost
* Cream Tolex cover
Click to expand...
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I love my V-32 even though it has had some reliability issues...nothing major or expensive.

The clean channel is a better than a lot of amps costing 2 or 3 times as much. The O.D. Channel is good as well...sorta Marshall sounding...I use it with the gain set low for a nice slightly broken up blues tone.

If you get one put a G12H30 in it and you won't be disappointed. :fing2:
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

I have a V8 that works great for me, just loud enough and nice tube tone; any suggestions on tubes or a better 10 inch speaker for it? I was thinking a 12AT7 to get a little more clean out of it then use a Bad Monkey for boost and a Crunch Box for "rawk" but a suggestion on a tighter, "Marshall" sounding speaker would be appreciated...

Dano
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

the_Chris said:
No. The V32 comes with a footswitch: it has a clean and overdrive channels along with a footswitchable boost (it can be used on both the clean and overdrive channels) for more tones. The V32 is anything, but a single channel amp; I wouldn't be using one if that were true. The MF ad is wrong.


Different than what? I simply mentioned that while they have a nice Vox/Marshallish overdriven channel, it suffers from a really strong lowend (probably due to the open back 1x12'' design of the combo). The voicing of the amp lends itself to more mid-highs than anything else anyhow. I kinda wish I had gotten a head, but the 1x12'' combo does sound really good.

I hadn't realized that they released a V32 head until now. AFAIK, the V30 and V32 are just about identical (tolex differences aside)... on the 1x12'' combos, the V32 came with a Celestion 70/80.
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry, I got your first post wrong... Thanks for clearing this up. Is it your main amp right now?



I still can't figure out the reason for the price difference :eek13:
Anyway, it doesn't matter... :)
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

V33H.jpg
V18212.jpg


Or you can wait till the new MKII series is released.....
 
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Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

JumpMarine said:
V33H.jpg
V18212.jpg


Or you can wait till the new MKII series is released.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for those pics, just what I need... more G.A.S. :smack: I haven't even heard it yet, but if they've improved the amp and GC puts them on sale, I gotta get one.
 
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Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

LOL, sorry Chris! I hadn't heard of them yet either, but ran across them on the Crate website. They don't say when they will be released to the public yet. Anyone see them at NAMM?
 
Re: Any users of the Crate V-series amps? V50, V30, etc?

fingerace said:
Oh, sorry, I got your first post wrong... Thanks for clearing this up. Is it your main amp right now?



I still can't figure out the reason for the price difference :eek13:
Anyway, it doesn't matter... :)
Click to expand...

My main amp right now is a Bogner EL-34 Shiva w/ Reverb, a far different amplifier than the Crate. The Crate V32 Palomino is the first "budget" amp I've ever played that really blew me away which is why I recommend it as much as I do. That Class A tone really sounds like amps priced 4 times as much and I've never heard a better amp for the money. The cleans shimmer and sparkle like you wouldn't believe and the overdrive is so clear and crunchy.

I don't know about why the price is different, but maybe they've realized they were marketing it at too high of a price point. It'll be interesting hearing more about this Mk II version because I could see this being a "must have" amp with a few tweaks.

Here's what I personally feel would make this amp unstoppable:
  • Overdrive channel revoiced with better lowend punch and a thicker tone
  • Easier access to the tubes, the design for the original series is retarded in that regard
  • Separate EQs for the clean and overdrive channels although I must say great tones can be had on both with a shared EQ
  • Adjustable volume on the boost side. The Boost does some cool stuff to the circuit, but I wish it didn't add quite as much volume as it does
 
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