Crate Amplifier Owners Club

[rangercaster]

i know you are out there !!! my mighty Crate V50-112 ...

[blowtorch]

I've got one of those, too.

[Starting 2 Old]

I'm in. Run this thing mostly turned up to "2".

[rangercaster]

they are loud amps ... i keep mine at work, because i would probably get myself evicted from my apartment... i use this one at home ...

[TxTeleMan]

Palomino V-16.
Made in the U.S. of A.
2xEL84, Groove Tubes all around, 12" Celestion Seventy 80.

Not shown is a Custom Amp Cover, blond with gold piping to match the amp.

[scottb1966]

I have a V30 with 4 EL84's and a ToneTubby. It sounds very cool!

[Joe-Bob]

Originally Posted by scottb1966

I have a V30 with 4 EL84's and a ToneTubby. It sounds very cool!

I have one, too.....and yes, it sounds very cool indeed.

[Joe-Bob]

Actually, I've had several Crate amps over the years.

Right now I have 4:
a V3112T
a V5
two PowerBlocks

[bluesboyrules]

Originally Posted by TxTeleMan

Palomino V-16.
Made in the U.S. of A.
2xEL84, Groove Tubes all around, 12" Celestion Seventy 80.
Not shown is a Custom Amp Cover, blond with gold piping to match the amp.

hi, can you please post a shot of the amp cover?
I was wandering about order it for mine V16!
thanks

btw here's my beloved palomino, vietnam made, but built like a tank!

[TomTele]

I have one............fantastic fat sound with my tele deluxe

[LGOberean]

I have a couple of SS Crates, the TX30 & TX50, i.e., the “Taxi” and the “Limo.” These amps are the best for busking situations. They also work well for small venues where space is limited and running a power cord is a hassle. They are small, but they’re loud! And their wedge-shaped cabs with rubber feet on three different sides allows for setting them up either as a low angle monitor, a high angle monitor or as an upright speaker. And the battery in both of them lasts the whole gig and then some.

I had the “Taxi” (solid wood cabinet, “safety yellow” Tolex) for 7+ years before I got the “Limo,” and it served me well. I used it almost exclusively for my acoustic/electric guitar and mic. Late last year, the battery gave up the ghost (but again, that’s after 7+ years of gigging, so I can’t complain about the durability and longevity). I’m going to get a replacement battery and put it in the Taxi, though, and keep it for acoustic guitar and/or backup.

So I’ve been going exclusively with the Limo lately. And it’s a workhorse too. More features, improvements over the Taxi. There are a few on board digital effects that are usable to me. All in all, I’m happy with both of them, though I would like to get a tube amp.

Here are the pics. Sorry the first one’s dark. On the left is my Taxi, on the right is my Limo up on my speaker stand, and in the middle are a couple of my guitars. (BTW, my wife has come to accept that living room décor involves guitars on their stands, cases in the corner and amps set up.)


The next is a close-up of my “little yellow Taxi” with “Mini me” seated atop the amp.


This shot of me with my Breedlove AD25SM acoustic/electric is just to show you how the stuffed Jerry Garcia likeness came to be known as “Mini me.”

[Teleblooz]

Thanks to recent blowout sales at MF and AMS, I'm the proud owner of a V33 half-stack. I modded the subpar OD channel to bring it up to snuff, but I use the clean 95% of the time anyway. This amp sounds SWEEEEEET!

The best part is the whole setup cost me less than my used Blues Junior.

[scoots]

i bought the boy a gfx 30 at the pawn shop for $65. 12"speaker, built in effects, ext spkr jack, headphone jack, footswitch...alot of amp here for the money.

[eggman]

Howdy,

My first amp was a Crate. It really looked like a Crate! made in '79 or so. Anyone remember those St. Louis Music Crate combo amps from the late 70s? I played the heck out of that little amp and it never let me down.

Eggman

[Big Tony]

Ooo, a club! Do we have a secret handshake?



/ Tony

[Teleblooz]

Originally Posted by eggman

Howdy,

My first amp was a Crate. It really looked like a Crate! made in '79 or so. Anyone remember those St. Louis Music Crate combo amps from the late 70s? I played the heck out of that little amp and it never let me down.

Eggman

I do remember those! Odd looking little buggers.

[Derek McNelly]

Proud owner of an RFX-120. My main amp. This little bugger is loud, especially with the custom tube preamp I've got installed in 'er.



And for the anti-Strat snobs :P

[booncrusher2000]

I have the v33 head a blackheart little giant 5 watter, and a blackheart 15watt head ,i run all of them through a 4x12 celest type cab (closed back)i love these amps i get a good range of clean tones and overdrives on the blackhearts the v33 is great for cleans but it seems to hate effects pedals
(mine anyway) .........i want the v50combo 2x12........rock on!!!

[rangercaster]

here is a pic of the original ... i would love to find one these !!!

[DILLIGAF?]

VC508. Got it cheap at a pawn shop.

[Brendan]

A USA Palomino V16 from Craigslist for $50. It had one bad resistor, no reverb tank and a missing back panel. The new resistor is in place and an upgraded Accutronics reverb tank is on the way. I can't believe how good this sounds.

[PA Woody]

Originally Posted by TxTeleMan

Palomino V-16.
Made in the U.S. of A.
2xEL84, Groove Tubes all around, 12" Celestion Seventy 80.

I have one of these, too. A GC salesman recommended it over the Blues Jr I was looking at. After hearing it I bought it. (A couple months later, I bought the BJ too.)

[mr natural]

Originally Posted by eggman

Howdy,

My first amp was a Crate. It really looked like a Crate! made in '79 or so. Anyone remember those St. Louis Music Crate combo amps from the late 70s? I played the heck out of that little amp and it never let me down.

Eggman

Same here. My first decent amp was a Crate 1. I kid you not. Didn't even have reverb. It was pretty good for a beginner, but not loud enough when I started playing in bands, then it made a great powered vocal monitor. It got stolen when my house got burgled back in the early 90's. Wish I still had it. It was a neat little amp. Also great for keyboards.
-Mr. N.

[asatfan]

I've got a Crate VC 30 that I bought new for around $375 in the early 90's. Have gigged the heck out of it. I put a Weber California in it years ago, for a little extra clean headroom. Re-tubed a few times and it's still doing the job. Many people have asked about that amp through the years. They're always surprised that it's a cheap old Crate. I love it. I guess I'll have to get the camera out one of these days.

[TxTeleMan]

Originally Posted by bluesboyrules

hi, can you please post a shot of the amp cover?
I was wandering about order it for mine V16!
thanks

Here are some photos of my Palomino and amplifier cover that I took with the a Blackberry and not a real camera, so the color and detail is not very good.

The blond cover matches the amp exactly. The drawback is that while the cover keeps the amp clean and protected, the blond shows dirt and wear easily. Perhaps a darker color cover would be better, but I like it the way it is. Glen can make them in ten different colors.

bluesboy, your Tele looks great! A great match for your Palomino.

Palomino with cover side by side.


Palomino with cover on.


Palomino with cover off.


Another view of the Palomino with the cover on.

[bluesboyrules]

Thank you very very much TxTeleMan!
the amp cover looks great, I'll get one as yours pretty soon!!!
'preciated!
palomino+telly=hot blues!

[Hammerhead]

I have a VC50212, great cleans but it's really too loud for me to ever crank up sadly.

[TxTeleMan]

Originally Posted by Brendan

A USA Palomino V16 from Craigslist for $50. It had one bad resistor, no reverb tank and a missing back panel. The new resistor is in place and an upgraded Accutronics reverb tank is on the way. I can't believe how good this sounds.

$50. You got yourself a good deal.

[teleman55]

Yeah, my main 2 amps are old Fenders, but I got this Crate V32 Palomino. Made in Arkansas, I think.
What a sound this thing makes!!!
Nuff said.

[FenderGuy53]

I just received my BRAND NEW Crate V1512T last Friday! I paid $315, delivered.

I immediately ordered a full complement of new tubes (JJ EL84's & EH 12AX7's) from Tube Depot. They should arrive tomorrow. Yippee! Now, the REAL fun begins!

[teleman55]

Forgot to add an XT120R. Used it when my Pro Rev. was getting fixed. Nice amp! One of the few SS amps I ever liked for live. The others were a guy's Peavey Bandit I borrowed and an old Acoustic 150 I used some time ago.

[JohnSS]

I own and play a Crate BX-80 bass amp which suits me fine for bass at church. In the past, have used Palomino 16, V50, and a GX212, all of which were fine.

[zoranrataj2000]

I own Crate VC5212W and V50 palomino.

[trailboss]

V18 twin here, re-tubed with 12at7 trio, run with a Korg AX300G preamp in front of it. Sounds like an absolute freight train with the Samick mahogany Tele, and the modded Squier tele will make your ears bleed.

[Beerts]

I just joined the Crate club. I got hold of a used CA125 for acoustic gigs, my Alvarez Yairi sounds great thru it even with the pitiful sound hole pickup I use... the mic channel is fine and it has reverb for both and a chorus for the guitar channel that I'm pretty sure will never get used. I'm looking forward to using it at a few church gigs that I have coming up.

[jwj4856]

I have a V50 with 1-12" speaker, changed speaker to a Celestion and this thing is loud and sounds great.

[TeleJelly]

I have a V16 Palimino...any worthwhile mods like tube types in the V1 spot or suggested speaker upgrades? Mine needs a little tweeking.

[Jakedog]

I like the old ones. I have the original run VC2112 in Blonde, and a VC3112 in black from about '96. Great little amps. I really don't use them much anymore because I'm really not into EL84 based platforms, but if you dig that tone, they've got tons of it on tap. It's fun to run 'em every now and then.

[bluesboyrules]

Originally Posted by TeleJelly

I have a V16 Palimino...any worthwhile mods like tube types in the V1 spot or suggested speaker upgrades? Mine needs a little tweeking.

I'm really happy with this upgrade:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-centr...ilverbell.html

[telechaser]

Recently acquired a V50.



Stock speaker sounded a bit muddy and I have a Marshall 1x12 cab that I don't really use. I decided to replace speaker on the Crate and now it sounds much, much better.



It might sound even better with another speaker but I'm happy at the moment. It sounds more modern so now I have the best of both worlds, classic tones on the Laney VC30 and modern tones on the Crate. Really, really happy.