What Happened to Crate Amplifiers?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 98

  • @k2rocksstl
    @k2rocksstl 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    From right here in St Louis! I still have an original G40C that is My practice amplifier and I use it at church, also.

  • @MonteTristoGuitarRips
    @MonteTristoGuitarRips 8 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I play bass in a band that got the opportunity to go on tour with a pretty decent headliner. To make some extra money, I ended up selling my 5150 Iconic. My backup plan was a Crate Blue Voodoo 60 head that honestly I never even turned on. I bought it for $100 from a buddy down on his luck. I Changed the tubes, cleaned it up (Took steel wool to the logo to get rid of the corrosion) and it now looks and sounds brand new. I am not a fan of its distortion channel alone, but it's clean channel is nothing short of spectacular. It has an effects loop that you can boost. I'll admit, I missed the 5150 sound, so I bought a very used MXR 5150 Overdrive. I like to use it with the distortion channel with the gain dialed back on the amp, and let the pedal do the distortion and I absolutely love it.

  • @alanorange9376
    @alanorange9376 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    For some reason, I've always been able to easily dial in a good recording tone with Crate amps. I once owned a Crate GFX 35, the built in chorus and shape knob for the overdrive channel are very usable. Ended up blowing it up during a practice with Summer Section Drowning circa 2003ish while trying to get loud enough to compete with a huge drum sound.

  • @vorpalblades
    @vorpalblades 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    I'll play Crates 'till I die. GX120C and
    120W Blue Voodoo 1/2 stack.
    I've been hearing people shit on them for 35 years, but they're weapons.
    I've owned 8 or 9 total. Totally slept on, which works out for me, people practically were paying you to take them. Mine have been pretty much indestructible gigging with them in shitty metal/hardcore venues.
    Ampeg VL-503 is another overlooked gem.

  • @GothicXlightning
    @GothicXlightning 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    got to love the SG of Devilry Honor
    ohhh i see you there my beloved Black Custom SG Vampiric Beauty

  • @danwilhite
    @danwilhite 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Great video! I worked at a Crate dealer in the 90's and sold a ton of them!

  • @skullfacemorte
    @skullfacemorte 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    The Lee Jackson designed Crate stealth 100 and 50 were there best amplifiers even though Crate skimped on the components to cut costs .

  • @kickfighting1015
    @kickfighting1015 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I still own 3 Crates. Always wanted a head and cabs, but never achieved it. Got a 10 , 60 , and 120 watt combos. I revisit them every once in a while. I'll probably always keep them. Although, I like my new amps better

  • @FrankGio-nd5rr
    @FrankGio-nd5rr 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    I only heard the crate solid state heads. Sounded great and you can play low volume with good sound if you have an apartment or have other people in the house.

  • @niteshades_promise
    @niteshades_promise 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    Ive been playing crates since the 90s🍻🍻🍻

    • @JonDeth
      @JonDeth 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Me too. They're the best solid-states ever produced and I say this as a college educated electrical-electronics engineer. I have a couple tube heads and 5 solid-states, 4 of which are Crates.
      As long as the amp has a Midrange control on the lead distortion, they are in a league of their own. *If it doesn't though, they are condemned as garbage and this is what led to Crate going bankrupt. Mismanagement who got their hands into the key features of the model lines.*
      For 25 cents I can install a 500 Ohm pot and give those models their midrange EQ back and then you can scoop out mids for the most dominant thrash and death metal tones ever possible!
      For people that can't mod, a shelving EQ on the effects loop does the same thing and in some ways, a lot more and a lot better.
      I'm even putting the Crate OEM distortion over the legendary Ampeg H140C which I own a model with. The Crate overall is superior and I say this as an elite shred and sweep style player. They have some clarity issues for very bassy and clustered arpeggios but there's ways around it and overall, even Randalls are outclassed.
      *Ideally, someone will buy up the Crate designs and patents to bring them back.*

    • @DirtySouthConnection803
      @DirtySouthConnection803 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@JonDethThat's awesome thanks for sharing! What do you think of the G•20C? I got one back in the late 80's and still have it in storage. I always loved that little practice amp.

    • @JonDeth
      @JonDeth 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@DirtySouthConnection803 contrary to what some claim, Crate has never produced junk, not even when they sent manufacturing over to China. *Lee Jackson is the engineer behind most of what Crate built and his name is one of the most thoroughly known having designed many of Fenders most popular amps, Ampeg, his own Lee Jackson name brand tube amps and many others.*
      All of my Crate's are built extremely well, sound great and 3 are about 30 years old. I've read people claiming they were always fixing this or that from Crate where they lived, but some people just do incredibly stupid things to low cost amps and take them to get serviced with whatever cover story. As one guy said, his Crate survived beers poured in them, fires at gigs and all sorts of road wear on tour.
      *If you spot anything from them for a steal of a price, buy it.* All of a sudden, every metal guitarist over the last 15 years wants their solid states because they produce the most brutal of all death metal grind and tonal range, especially scooped. Of the models that sound mediocre, it's usually the GX lines that had the midrange control removed from the lead distortion and all you get is the shape control, but you can add the midrange control with a 50 cent potentiometer used to replace a resistor. This is what gives them the ultimate in metal brutality.
      Within the next 5 years due to their aftermarket popularity, I suspect either St. Louis Music will manufacture their designs under a new brand header or someone will step up to replace them with an equivalent.

    • @DirtySouthConnection803
      @DirtySouthConnection803 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@JonDeth Yes. Lee Jackson is a trailblazer. He and Rivera did some great work. I am a huge fan of all the old Fender amps. Well, really Fender in general. You have a wealth of knowledge. I have been kind of going back an studying the history of the great amp builders.Thank you for sharing!👍

    • @JonDeth
      @JonDeth 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@DirtySouthConnection803 you know, the industry could use some documentaries on the history of the technology and the names from the 80's and 90's that are still widely unknown. Just in terms of what came out of the 70's from Europe, Britain, the USA and Canada onward into the 80's with valve amps is a rich and complex history with heaps of interesting names and stories.
      There's a historical video on youtube about Dumble and how many of the Dumble amps came to exist. His process for them and the fame of their owners. I'm not one to get swept up in the mysticism of their performance, but they sure make for an interesting history lesson with countless associated stories.
      Meanwhile, the solid-state branch has no relative historic media generated about it when it's so greatly deserved and needed. In the world of modern metal, whether it's valves, digital, solid-state analog or blends of the 3, the solid-state analog amps of the 90's are what all current technologies are being modeled to sound like. I love my valve gear but pinch harmonics out of pure valve distortion sound like they're made of glitter. Pinch harmonics through a solid-state amp sound like the devil himself is snarling at you!
      They've done far more to shape the current sound and path of metal than valves ever have.

  • @jeffseven2194
    @jeffseven2194 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My go to for small gigs is still my Crate V32 with a Marshall vertical 2X12" cabinet

  • @TMoody
    @TMoody 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The Blue Voodoo is a MONSTER amp. I had that crate in the crate. Very informative.

  • @EchoApexFirstEcho
    @EchoApexFirstEcho 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Great to find this video about Crate amps! I’ve got the NAMM display Marty Friedman Blue Voodoo with blue lights, reflective foil and black skull with the rig number on paper stuck to the back. It still sounds awesome and it can even get a modern medal tone going when boosted.

  • @des565
    @des565 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I have an early 90's Crate XT 120. It's a 2X12 Combo amplifier 120 watts with 3 very functional channels, Clean, Rhythm and Solo. It also has built in Spring Reverb which rivals Fender's reverb, and a three channel foot switch with LED lights. This amplifier is very loud, the Rhythm channel sounds very Marshall like, and The Solo channel with it's Shape circuit resembles a Rectified Mesa Boogie all scooped out. It also has an extension speaker jack, which back in the day there was a 2x12 extension cabinet available. I wish I would have bought it! This amp will drive any kind of 4x12 cabinet with no problems whatsoever. I have never had any issues with this amp since the day I bought it. I've used it in the Studio and at live gigs where it was up against a Marshall half stack and it kept up just fine. It's very hard to find such a quality amp these days at such a good price, which back then was around $299. Come back Crate please and bring these amps with you!

    • @zeusapollo8688
      @zeusapollo8688 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I think i had the 1x12 version. It took a crap in the middle of a recording session. i took it back to the store and left it there

  • @Mickocarbomb
    @Mickocarbomb 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    Ignore the people about the cant hear or understand shit. You're doing great. I enjoyed the video my guy

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thank you 🙏

    • @scottgoodson5132
      @scottgoodson5132 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      So people give him constructive criticism and he should just ignore that? 🤦🏻‍♂

    • @donniejean
      @donniejean 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Right!?! We can’t ALL shoot with RedSeven cameras and have boom mics with paparazzi.

  • @michaelmiller7789
    @michaelmiller7789 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    I had a Blue VooDoo 120 in the early 2000s, I miss that amp.

  • @OSHomestead
    @OSHomestead 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Well done and well explained. Your channel will be successful because you do your research and share the information so well. Thank you!

  • @wesmitchem825
    @wesmitchem825 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    I still love crate amps I still rock a crate gx40c 210 combo

  • @nersesgarabed781
    @nersesgarabed781 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I had the fuzzy crate half stack. Never knew the model number. Was $600 brand new. Lasted me years until the volume drops couldn’t be fixed with a whack from a drumstick anymore. Got a Triple rectifier out of necessity (got lucky on the price too, boss paid for half of it) and it was a revelation. The solid state crate always sounded great by myself but it never could quite cut through a mix very well. The rectifier was a beast. No problems cutting through anything after that. Still love crate though, they served a purpose at the time. I wouldn’t have known what to do with the boogie without experience I gained using my crate

  • @Duncan8er
    @Duncan8er 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I just dug my GT80S (stock with a Celestion speaker) out of my storage bldg. Smells moldy & all the pots crackled. Cleaned the pots up good. Pulled off the fabric cabinet covering & threw it in the washer. Threw away the particle board cabinet. I’m going to make a new cabinet for it. The amp operates good as new, & very loud. It just can’t compete with modern amps. A good back up though. I’ll store it better this time.

  • @cnilecnile6748
    @cnilecnile6748 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I have had several of them during the 80's and 90's, and I remember going to the music store and seeing these ugly things that looked like they were made from pallets.
    That's actually the best one, from what I understand.
    Had the 120W head and 4X12 cabinet-traded the head for a guitar and used the cab with all kinds of other stuff for years, but it was WAY heavy, and finally stopped using it.
    Can't remember what I did with it, though-that was 30 years ago.
    Kind of harsh sounding, but if it blew up, you could always get another one at a pawn shop for 50-100 bucks.
    SLM put out some killer stuff, I always wondered what happened to them.
    Great video.
    You should do one on it's main competitor, the infamous Peavey Bandit, the greatest cheesy amp of all time, and totally nuclear weapons proof-you CANNOT kill that amp, I have tried.

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the comment. Actually a Peavey video is coming soon !

  • @acw2237
    @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    My g212 crate usa made blew away the competition

  • @GypsyDanger514
    @GypsyDanger514 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Still have my blue voodoo and my combo. Crate tube amps used to be like nothing else

  • @cassavamellin
    @cassavamellin 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The older cr ones are good had a cr-120. Nice classic rock sound and easy to carry.

  • @KnuckleheadStuey
    @KnuckleheadStuey 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I bought a gfx15 in the early 90s new for $100. About 10 years ago I bought a gfx212 and a Bx 100 bass amp for $100 each. Still have them but they don't get as much play as they used to.

  • @chadwickhurlburt6529
    @chadwickhurlburt6529 29 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Crate was a mis-understood brand. They actually made some top tier equipment. Few people remember or know about that stuff. The really good stuff. Obeid Khan designed some Crate Amps. The amps he designed were their best amps. These are amps that could rival Marshall, Soldano, and other super-star brands. Unfortunately, the stigma of the Crate brand was enough that most other musicians didn't take the brand seriously. They should have. The amps that Obeid designed were some of the best amps born in that era. In the modern time where good tube amps are selling for a premium, people realize that Obeid Khan amps are a treasure. They absolutely slay. They give you $5000 amp sound for less than $1k. Sometimes for less than $300. Who doesn't want that?

  • @UseTheSupeRsonic
    @UseTheSupeRsonic 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    That's crazy--so James Hetfield's first flying V was a Crate-branded import. My first amp was a Crate 15 watt, the non-fx one. GX15? That was Y2K. My last Crate was a Palomino 32 watt head and piggyback that I got for cheap while working at GC around 2007. I think it was about 2005 or 6 when I became aware of a what a tube amp was, and that's fully because of the Blue Voodoo and how you could see through the front panel. No other amp at the time had the same visibility. They would display that amp in the middle of the guitar floor like it was the holy fucking grail.

  • @donniejean
    @donniejean 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I’ll tell you what happened: I own the BV 300 and the BV 150. They are so damn heavy, once I put them down, they haven’t moved since lol.

  • @wesmitchem825
    @wesmitchem825 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The only trouble I ever had with a crate amp was the input on a cheap fifteen watt practice amp and a big ass 115 bass amp I picked up and threw at another band I hated that was bitching about us not getting off the stage fast enough wasn't a good night my girlfriend I had broken up with a week before was with one of the members of the other band as well so I figured I'd scare the shit out of him and I think it worked but then I needed to get a new bass amp afterwards

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Input jacks are usually bad quality in low budget amos no matter Amo brand specially if the inputs are made if plastic. Thanks for the comment

  • @papablue3015
    @papablue3015 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I've got 2 crate all tube amps! V series 18w&33w nice amps! 🤘

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Rock on! 😀 lml

    • @jasondorsey7110
      @jasondorsey7110 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I got a v58 5 watter and v1512 15 watter, great sounding amps, real vox-y...and only cost $200!

  • @skaldlouiscyphre2453
    @skaldlouiscyphre2453 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I love my Crate GX.

  • @hadleymanmusic
    @hadleymanmusic 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    3:42 my first amp christmas 77 i just turned 14

  • @acw2237
    @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    For the record.. SLM also made Ampeg

  • @jesterjigs9914
    @jesterjigs9914 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    As he plays through a peavey lol..love it!!

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      I was playing the Crate Turbo Valve.

  • @pjstamm2112
    @pjstamm2112 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My Crate V18 is about seven feet away from where I'm typing this right now - that little amp gets extremely loud! I think I got it for only $150 when they were on a clearance sale about twenty years ago.

  • @chrisbrown6472
    @chrisbrown6472 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I didn't have any problems understanding because of the mic

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks still gonna get the Best resolution possible. Just want to make sure i buy the right thing. Thanks for the comment

  • @lsealey20
    @lsealey20 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Love my G40C XL I rescued from being discarded.

  • @Capitan_Chaos
    @Capitan_Chaos 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Papa Aucas? Anyway, My dad got lucky once as he found a bass head when he was walking his dog at his apartment complex, and it sounds pretty decent. An acquaintance gave me a combo but I blew it up.

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Damnnnn 💣💥. Definitely they sound Decent But QC always was an issue. Thanks for the comment Aucas Calidad 🙏.

  • @JDStone20
    @JDStone20 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I love my Crate GFX-1200H!!!

  • @csj9619
    @csj9619 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Crate amps can be found on the used market for a song and a dance. I got a GTX100 (solid-state 4×10 combo) that was found on the side of the road. I built a new cabinet to house the working amp and Celestion drivers (on OEM baffle), but didn't really like it much, so traded it off.
    *currently using a Katana 50 mk2 and Cadine Tantrum distortion/boost ($29.00 brand new)
    2013 B.C. Rich Warlock 1

  • @laudennn
    @laudennn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    no mention of magnavox, ampeg, SLM, blackheart amps, LOUD technology. lol whatever.

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Im Leaving the Blackheart Amp for another video. Ampeg was Bought by Saint Luis Music in the 80s but it wasn't originally made by SLM so even if it was on my script. I decided to leave that for another video and just focus on. Crate. Thanks for the comment.

    • @laudennn
      @laudennn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@solomonicdemons680haha ok

  • @century2077
    @century2077 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Gets the job done.

  • @ryanpriddy2376
    @ryanpriddy2376 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Had a crate blue vudu tube head like 100 150 Watts something like that. Only got to play it through a pa speaker. Had a crate cab in pawn on layaway for it but moved and lost everything. I love Crate and i still think about and miss that head to this day. ik it was a beast, even though ppl called it the blue doodoo lol... I loved it

  • @laudennn
    @laudennn 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    starts at 2:48

  • @muleblues71
    @muleblues71 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    the lee jackson ones were cool and the palomino's for blues sounded great. Amps had a horrible name to be honest

  • @topfloorstudio2684
    @topfloorstudio2684 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    1:11 and I'm disappointed.... maybe I'll make my own vid on this subject. I'm probably more qualified anyway because back in 1990 I had quite a few of Crate amps + 412 cabinet and played live loud as fu€£ outside and inside so I think I've seen what they can do. They are pretty much crap and I can prove it lol.

  • @WyattScott
    @WyattScott 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Shit music, schellos, Shaint Louis, Shopping? 😂

  • @joeargyle
    @joeargyle 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I had Crate a blue voodoo, it was terrible. Noisy and unreliable. Also had a solid state Crate GX900. Not the best sounding amp but it was very loud and I never had much trouble with it.

  • @thetownspeople6486
    @thetownspeople6486 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Never got into Crates. Never into Peavey either.

    • @jasondorsey7110
      @jasondorsey7110 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No time like the present, certain models from both brands are going up in price, especially the lee jackson designed crates and first-gen EVH peaveys

    • @acw2237
      @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Your loss

    • @thetownspeople6486
      @thetownspeople6486 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@acw2237 never got into your opinion either.

  • @younkinjames8571
    @younkinjames8571 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The only thing a crate is good for is carrying milk...

    • @acw2237
      @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Enjoy your line6

  • @ronnielobosmith4870
    @ronnielobosmith4870 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I own 7 crate amps

  • @scottgoodson5132
    @scottgoodson5132 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

    You need to mic yourself up. Very hard to understand

    • @solomonicdemons680
      @solomonicdemons680  9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Im in the process of changing cameras thanks for the advice

    • @matturner6890
      @matturner6890 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@solomonicdemons680 You'll need a lavalier mic or something as well.

    • @JohnDaubSuperfan369
      @JohnDaubSuperfan369 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I agree, this is garbage "content"

    • @Ottophil
      @Ottophil 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Don’t make videos if they aren’t worth watching

    • @matturner6890
      @matturner6890 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      @@JohnDaubSuperfan369 That's a bit harsh man, guy just needs a good mic for his spoken bits, he's a good player.

  • @JonDeth
    @JonDeth 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Crate makes the best solid-state metal amps in history even better than Ampeg whose legendary H140C lead distoriton was used for some Crate models, but their stock distortion as long as the solo distortion has the Midrange control for scooping is untouchable.
    *They produced the GX and a few other lines where you have a shape control, but no midrange! They sound horrid until you mod them and return that control to it, or you run a shelving EQ on the effects loop and deeply scoop the mids.*
    I have 2 all tube heads and 5 solid-state heads, and the solid-state are just so much easier to get good distortion out of than the valves and one is a high performance Carvin V3. *I also am a formally educated electrical/electronics engineer which is one of the most complex and difficult sciences on earth.*
    I love valves but they're overrated, and Crate solid-states are unjustly condemned.

  • @mutantwar7242
    @mutantwar7242 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    gx900h

  • @valentijnfiggins1561
    @valentijnfiggins1561 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    *promo sm*

  • @crabbubbles1161
    @crabbubbles1161 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Who names a guitar amp brand Crate? Come on! 'here's a wooden crate from which you can emit amplified guitars'. Yeah...but can you put a little more effort into a decent name? lol

  • @jturquoise
    @jturquoise 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    They sucked
    😂

    • @acw2237
      @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Wrong.. you never used one

    • @jturquoise
      @jturquoise 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@acw2237 ok dad

    • @acw2237
      @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@jturquoise here's a rainbow pop...

    • @jturquoise
      @jturquoise 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@acw2237 give it to your mom

    • @acw2237
      @acw2237 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@jturquoise here's another, sparkle phartz

  • @TMoody
    @TMoody 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    The Blue Voodoo is a MONSTER amp. I had that crate in the crate. Very informative.

    • @MrRoundwound
      @MrRoundwound 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I picked up a bv150h and matching cabinet here,on Vancouver island last week I paid 370 usd for it. I only played it once because it is far too loud. I bought it because I’m a gear addict. The price was ok,as it works fine