Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

[Nick Welfare]

By selling my engl top, keeping the 4x12" and purchase the boss gt-8 and crate powerblock amp and still having leftover money from the engl head sale, I belivie that that was a smart move.

Now I have a wide selections of pre-amps and every effect you need(and lots ya`ll never need) from the GT-8, and by running it in the loop of the powerblock it will disable the preamp in the crate amp and work as a clean poweramp (150W). Played through a decent 4x12" speaker this is by far the most usable, cheapest and best sounding setup I have ever owned.

Also cool that the amp is VERY small in size, so I slip it in the frontpocket of the gt-8 bag and I have my rigg for homesessions, studio and backline.

Finally I am happy with my rig, and it didnt cost ****:fingersx:

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

Glad you're happy with it. Have you ever tried running the GT-8 into a tube power amp? I ran a GT-6 into the effects return on a Triple Rectifier once, and it sounded a lot better than normal.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

I think that's a great idea. I own the GT-6, and have been very pleased with it. It sounds great in the effects loop of my Marshall, and if you aren't hung up on the appearance of having to have a head and cab, this is a great alternative, and one with incredible versatility.

Most of the time when we're mixed in with a band at stage volumes, you can't tell the difference between amps. I think the amp sims on the GT series are very decent...not all of them, but there are a few jems.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

I think that's GREAT
I will be honest, in an A/B, tube amps cranked always seem to win in the situations I have seen/been in.

All the same, I love the Crate Powerblock, and I have actually gotten a few people to buy them just from trying mine into 2x12 V30s. I also like having a floorboard FX unit in the arsenal. I will still say that for long term gigging and recording, I'd prefer the ENGL

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

Erm... you sold an ENGL for a modelling based amp with a Crate as a poweramp?

Not a move I'd suggest, but if it worked out for you - cool beans.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

Glad you like your new set up. I run a GT8 into a Mesa 50:50 and it sounds great. Try your GT into a nice tube power section, it'll really surpise you.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

I've been looking at the GT-8 and the Vox Tone Lab's.... I like the Tone Lab as i heard Pat Travers using one and it sounded amazing... he had 3-4 different PRS's, a Vox Tone Lab board, some sort of power amp that i have never seen before and a no name 4x12.... It did sound great!

but the Crate Power Block... is it for clean power or does it have distortion and normall guitar amp like controlls?

 

[tone4days]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

...but the Crate Power Block... is it for clean power or does it have distortion and normall guitar amp like controlls?

actually, it has both ... you can plug a guitar into it an use it as a normal amp or plug a line level device (preamp/modeller/etc) into the power amp section only

he made it clear that he is using it as a power amp only - bypassing the preamp/tone controls ...

smart move for inexpensive, versatile, easy to transport rig!

cheers
t4d

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Cheap, great rig (in my oppinion)

If I were a gigging musician, I'd honestly do the same thing. I'd probably run a POD XT Live through a crate powerblock into two 2x12's for stereo ability. Take advantage of all the stereo imaging tricks most MFX units come with and get greater portability out of the 2x12 format speakers. Best of all worlds mate. Powerbloks sound very warm. If you couldn't see what you were playing through, you'd swear it was a tube amp. Bring a second powerblok as a spare.

edited - because I didn't know that the powerblock is already a stereo amp. Makes it an even better deal IMHO.