Crate VC3112 or Fender Princton Chorus

[CJohnson]

I am looking to buy another amp. I have a buddy that has brought me his Crate 3112 Class A tube amp to try. On the other side of the spectrum, I used to have a Solid State Fender Princton Chorus I really liked in the 90s. I can pick one up on ebay for under $200.00. The only draw back so far to the crate is no headphone jack for late night jamming. I use my amps for more recording these days than playing live. Any advice?

[mechanicdave]

I was very happy with a red knob PC, nice clean tones. Can't comment on the Crate. Dave

[Jim L]

The Vintage Club 30... basically the older version of that same Crate 3112 camp. Four el84 power tubes. I found it to be very bright sounding. More like a Vox tone than a BF fender tone, which is what I found I preferred.

The Crate is a pretty loud amp, so if you're mostly just playing at home, you might think about something smaller. And if you're not concerned about it being all tube, you might want to look into some kind of small SS amp that has a headphone jack and possibly built in effects.

I just picked up a 5 watt Silvertone (like a champ) tube amp and find it plenty loud for home use. Too loud to really turn up if the kids are sleeping, even though it's only 5 watts.