Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

vejiita

New member
well i am looking for a excellet solid state amps
that is low maintence and i can gig with.
has anybody have any experience with crate amps?
i am looking at the crate gtx65? or gtx212
i play van halen/george lynch/80's shred music.
thanx
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

I think I had a friend with a crate. They're not so bad. They did live playing in my area. Yes, it was a Crate half-stack, now that I remember. Granted, it sounded solid state, but I hated it for anything but metal. They played hard rock / metal so it worked for them. The only way to know for sure is to go and try some out.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

Get a Crate Powerblock and a 2X12 horizontal or vertical cab. Easy to move and that E6 version of the tube-emulation flex-wave preamp is full of great tones and light baby. Let's also mention is sells for a nice low price and can run mono or stereo.

gt5litre
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

I HATE most Crates.

"Hate" is very strong word but I gotta use it.

Some of their tube amps are "ok" but the solid state amps suck like a Hoover.

No tone...small sound with a fizzy "swarm of angry bees" vibe to the "distortion" channel. Going from clean to dirty is like going from country to melt 'yer mommas tits off metal in .04 seconds.

I won't record them either.

It's sheer fukkin' torture to make 'em sound good.

Go buy a PV, you'll be MUCH happier.

Better yet, go try 'em both & figure out what YOU like.

Best,
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

I suspect for your style, you'll probably find something you like - I had a little Crate bedroom amp for awhile when I first started, which every experienced guitarist said sounded great for an amp that size. Go play a few.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

They are probably the cheapest amps that are good for metal and could get loud enough to gig/practice with.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

If you want a solid state look at Randall.

If you can't afford them buy one used.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

i'm not a big fan of crate's SS stuff.

i'd say that if you're going to go solid state, go the modeling route. line6 makes some 1x12 and 2x12 combos that deliver enough power to hear yourself in a band situation. and the vox valvetronix stuff is supposed to be pretty good too, although i've never played 'em.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

Hey man, I go for a metallic type tone and Crate's Flexwave Evolution 5 preamp does it very well. A smooth, but raging type of distortion, perfect for '80's shred and the like. The open back cab allows the low-end more breathing room, which is good if you dial things in tight, it'll sound more saggy, ehancing the feel and tone.

The stock speaker has warm bottom-end, good mids and decent highs, so don't worry 'bout the amp, just allow your guitar/pickup combination to shine through and dial the amp accordingly.

Low maintenance, affordable, and loud. Good deal.
 
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Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

I would choose a vox valvetronix over a ss amp any time. They definitely sound pretty good as practice amps. Even the cheap 15w combo I tried sounded very good with distortion and not. The only maintanence thing is the one pre-amp tube you need to replace once in a while, or two if you get the head version. They even have different model on them. They are definitely worth a try.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

Check out the Crate VTX series.
i treid one not too long ago, and it wasn't bad at all. i was surprised at the sounds that were coming out of it. can get good sounds for 80s shred.
It also uses that flexwave evolution 5 thingy...
i think they have built in effects too. -- that'll help for those processed 80s sounds
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

for your bedroom they are fine. They "Mush" at high volumns but then again, unless your playing with a band you wont be playing laud enough to notice.
:beerchug:
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

get one of these things :laugh2:... they trip me out



mg15ms2feature.jpg
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

the new Crate Flexwave stuff blows Marshall out of the water if you ask me.
they give pretty great tone for a SS amp.

go check one out and see.

i have tried the Marshall MG series and the newer AVT series and they suck compared to the Crates.
if you want a good SS MArshall get an old 80's one used from Ebay or something. those are good when pushed with a pedal. But the newer series sucks.
The old 80's ones sound kinda like a JCM800. real good SS amps.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

Yes, i agree. The cheaper end of crate certainly blows the cheaper marshalls away. I played a marshall mg100 half stack with my gt6 then again with the crate head and the crate won hands down. Much more crisp amp and sounded a whole lot better than the marshall which sounded like the bees.

Higher end stuff? hmm. Ive yet to compare but i bet its close!
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

interesting. i do like crate solidstate-sound a lot.
i own a powerblock(which i use for guitar and bass, a friend of mine has
a112 combo)

i really disklike marshall solidstate amps. even the hybrid ones
sound strange thin and powerless to me.
 
Re: Crate amps?? any good for solid state?

i agree about either crate or pv over marshall ss... those mini stacks just give me a laugh
 
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