Crate Blue Voodoo

[UnderTheFlame83]

Anyone own or ever owned a Crate Blue Voodoo?

I remember these amps were kind of popular in the 90s with many metal bands. I used to have the 4×12 cab that I found in a pawnshop. I think I paid $200. I don't remember what speakers it had, but I remember not really liking it that much and traded it for a Marshall AVT cab. Sold the Marshall shortly after for a Line 6 cab... I never did try the matching Blue Voodoo 120 watt head. Maybe someday.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Beats a Bugera IMO but not a JCM 800 Marshall.
Blue doo doo's aren't that rare.

 

[ErikH]

I had a BV120 head. Biggest POS I ever owned. The damn thing blew half the power section 3 times. Repaired under warranty but after the 3rd time, I was done. The problem with their design is the PCB's couldn't handle the heat and traces would get cooked. They mounted the power tube sockets to the PCB rather than flying wires from chassis mounted sockets to the PCB. I have no problem with PCB's in amps. I do have a problem with poor design.

 

[UnderTheFlame83]

I had a 120 head. Biggest POS I ever owned. The damn thing blew half the power section 3 times. Repaired under warranty but after the 3rd time, I was done. The problem with their design is the PCB's couldn't handle the heat and traces would get cooked. They mounted the power tube sockets to the PCB rather than flying wires from chassis mounted sockets to the PCB. I have no problem with PCB's in amps. I do have a problem with poor design.

Wow, that sounds terrible. Maybe I shouldn't even bother with wanting to try this amp after all. And finally get a 5150 instead

 

[ErikH]

Wow, that sounds terrible. Maybe I shouldn't even bother with wanting to try this amp after all. And finally get a 5150 instead

Yes, get the 5150. I was young and stupid and traded a 5150 (Peavey first gen) for a BV120. This is when the BV120 was brand new. Like 1995-ish? The 5150 wasn't the legend it is today. I wish I still had it now. What a great amp.

 

[PFDarkside]

I get the sense that there is a strong bimodal distribution in tube amp reliability.

You got it.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

I had a BV120 head. Biggest POS I ever owned. The damn thing blew half the power section 3 times. Repaired under warranty but after the 3rd time, I was done. The problem with their design is the PCB's couldn't handle the heat and traces would get cooked. They mounted the power tube sockets to the PCB rather than flying wires from chassis mounted sockets to the PCB. I have no problem with PCB's in amps. I do have a problem with poor design.

What's the issue with amps using PCB? Asking as a newb.

Gesendet von meinem ASUS_X00RD mit Tapatalk

 

[formula73]

I had a Bv300. It was bad ASS. The only reason I let it go was because the head was 84lbs.

 

[Aceman]

I think BV 60 head is where it is at. Or the 120 maybe...But I think they all had their fans. I like 50 watts.

Can't speak to the cabs - don't remember. I'm always surfing for one cheap. I seem to feel/remember the early Blue ones were better than the later model black ones.

But A 5150, or Marshall today is a better choice IMO.

 

[ErikH]

What's the issue with amps using PCB? Asking as a newb.

Gesendet von meinem ASUS_X00RD mit Tapatalk

LPB pretty much covered it with his post. When the high heat dissipation components are on there, power tube sockets, as well using a poor PCB design or a PCB not sturdy enough (and there are some that are), that's asking for failure.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Some PCB-based tube amps dont allow adequate heat
dissipation for tubes and certain resistors that can get very hot during operation. The heat buildup, and the long-term effects of thermal cycling, can make components fail and damage PCB traces. Also, mounting tube sockets on the PCB can contribute to flexing of the board when tubes are being changed, which can damaged PCB traces and make solder joints fail or go intermittent.

Got it. I was under the impression that the better alternative would be a non-PCB design with the components mounted on the chassis.

 

[Top-L]

I had a BV120 head. Biggest POS I ever owned. The damn thing blew half the power section 3 times. Repaired under warranty but after the 3rd time, I was done. The problem with their design is the PCB's couldn't handle the heat and traces would get cooked. They mounted the power tube sockets to the PCB rather than flying wires from chassis mounted sockets to the PCB. I have no problem with PCB's in amps. I do have a problem with poor design.

Isn't this how the majority of tube amps are made, including the venerated 5150?

 

[ErikH]

Isn't this how the majority of tube amps are made, including the venerated 5150?

The EVH brand 5150? I have no idea. Haven't seen the guts of one. BUT, back in the mid 1990's, it was a fairly new thing to do. My 1990 Marshall had chassis mounted tube sockets for the pre and power but there were a few PCB's in there for the rest of it. The PCB's nowadays can handle higher temps and most likely are designed better than 20+ years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if the 5150 does have the sockets on the PCB but I can guarantee you that the quality of the PCB and the design of it is done so it won't have the problems I had with the Crate. Again, it's all in how it is designed.

 

[Juanhanglo]

There is a reason it was referred to as the blue doo doo. lol.

 

[Ewizard]

I owned one, it was my first real tube amp. I liked it over the Marshall AVT and other similarly priced heads of the day. I really wanted a JCM-800 or a Mesa Dual rec. but those were way out of my price range at the time. I needed a cabinet too, so getting a head and cab for about the same price as just ahead was the issue.

I didn't mind the sound so much, it was a decent sounding amp, but it did have some reliability issues. The clean volume knob took a dump after about a year and I had to fix that. One of the power tubes was always going out and initially, I thought it was just a tube issue, but turned out it was a bad heater connection. I modded it a little more like a JCM-800 and that made it much more fun to play. I sold it to buy a Carvin X100b head and kept trading up until I landed on a 6505+ head. Along the way, I got a Peavey Ultra ( the predecessor to the XXX ) which made me make the jump to a XXX that I still have.

All in all, I don't recommend getting a BV-120 or even the BV-60, but you certainly need to try one. Just to say you did.

 

[Top-L]

I owned one, it was my first real tube amp. I liked it over the Marshall AVT and other similarly priced heads of the day. I really wanted a JCM-800 or a Mesa Dual rec. but those were way out of my price range at the time. I needed a cabinet too, so getting a head and cab for about the same price as just ahead was the issue.

I didn't mind the sound so much, it was a decent sounding amp, but it did have some reliability issues. The clean volume knob took a dump after about a year and I had to fix that. One of the power tubes was always going out and initially, I thought it was just a tube issue, but turned out it was a bad heater connection. I modded it a little more like a JCM-800 and that made it much more fun to play. I sold it to buy a Carvin X100b head and kept trading up until I landed on a 6505+ head. Along the way, I got a Peavey Ultra ( the predecessor to the XXX ) which made me make the jump to a XXX that I still have.

All in all, I don't recommend getting a BV-120 or even the BV-60, but you certainly need to try one. Just to say you did.

No one mentioned it, but was it a USA built amp?

Back in early 90s, Peavey, Carvin, Mesa, everyone (I think) was making their tube amps in the states. So the BV was probably also made here, which begs the question, if so, why was the quality so bad? They would have had same access to parts and manufacturing techniques as other companies.

There has to be more to the story. If it was an early import, I can understand why it has bad reputation for reliability.

 

[Aceman]

No one mentioned it, but was it a USA built amp? So the BV was probably also made here, which begs the question, if so, why was the quality so bad?

Well, Unions, corporate profit over quality, the "buy American campaign" to overcome crappy work.

Those might all explain why over seas eats America alive for quality production...

 

[ErikH]

Yes, at that time, all Crates were made in USA. I also had a USA made GX-15 practice amp. They simply used cheap components and manufacturing to meet a price point. The quality suffered because of it.

 

[PFDarkside]

If Crate had the same access to parts and manufacturing techniques, did they use them on those amps? Besides, I have owned four USA-made Crate amps (one of them tube), and they all sounded like ass. Cheap tube amps are made cheap, no matter where they are assembled. If you design poorly and spec crappy parts, no amount of nationalist pride in assembly is going to make up for it.

IMO, import vs domestic production is more an indication that cost is the main target as opposed to quality. There is nothing and American does better when picking parts out of a bin and soldering them to a board. It’s all about the design and processes that give you a good product. However, labor is significantly cheaper overseas, so when production moved you know that cost cutting happened in other areas. There is the one time drop in quality as the new facility comes up to speed, but generally there’s not an “art” to building amps or pedals on a line like there might be doing other things.

I’m curious if you think similarly or differently.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Marty Friedman endorsed Voodoo in the 90s. He put up with crap for big endorsement money?