Crate V-series and Palomino amp club....

[echale iii]

I had a V-18, and now have a V33H, both went under the soldering iron to change up the preamps, using mods found at Blueguitar.org.

The V-33H underwent the "Soldano SLO" mods, it's now a 3-channel (actually 2-channel with a switchable boost on the clean that crunches it up) with usable B/M/T controls and the OD channel is smooth and has tons of overdrive on tap, and no mud...

[Chris S.]

I have a V1512, got a deal on one just shortly after they came out. I've played a lot of gigs with it, and it's been a great performer. I especially like the interactivity between the gain and the master volume allowing you to dial in just the right amount of pre-amp or power amp distortion. Which is why it's seen so many gigs. ;-) That and the fact it's a portable little package. CS

[telechaser]

Always wanted a Crate when I tried one. It's just a bit expensive here in Australia. Always on the lookout for one on eBay.

[bullitt]

I currently own a Palomino v8 I got brand new for 200,wondering if there are any fairly easy mods that might enhance this amp,this is my first tube amp and not sure of its potential any help is appreciated.

[alias23k]

V33h chiming in, play it through 2 12 Jensen MODs. Haven't gotten to the Soldano SLO mods but will after i tackle a 6v6 texas blues special build. Pretty much only use it for the clean channel and run some amp modelling through it with my Korg ax3g. Heard great things about the SLO mods, can't wait to get to them.

hey eschle, ultralight here, how you liking the mod so far?

[Joe-Bob]

I have a V3112T and a V5.

[teleman55]

Gotta join another club.
I got a USA made V32 Palomino. I use my Fenders mostly but sometimes this. When I get ambitious I A/B it with a Fender at a gig. Great amp that has it's own sound.

[rangercaster]

Crate V50-112 ... i found the custom creme tolex skins online ...

[booncrusher2000]

got a v33 head i need mods for, love the cleans on this! the gain sux, though, of course everyone already knows that .............this beast is loud too!!!!

[FenderGuy53]

I got a great deal on a "Made in USA" NOS Crate V1512T ($315, delivered, w/ 1-year factory warranty). Swapped out the Groove Tubes and Sovteks for JJs and EHs. Now she's ready to rock!

As Chris S. says, great tone in a simple, compact package.

[FenderGuy53]

Originally Posted by bullitt

I currently own a Palomino v8 I got brand new for 200,wondering if there are any fairly easy mods that might enhance this amp,this is my first tube amp and not sure of its potential any help is appreciated.

The Palomino V8 is a nice pickup for your first tube amp. Aside from a tube change and a speaker upgrade, I think the V8 is ready to rock-and-roll.

Check out the reviews on Harmony Central. If mods and upgrades are warranted, they'll be referenced in the reviews.

Enjoy it!

[FenderGuy53]

Originally Posted by telechaser

Always wanted a Crate when I tried one. It's just a bit expensive here in Australia. Always on the lookout for one on eBay.

There are several USA-made Crates on Ebay right now: V1512, V1512T and a V3112:

Crate V1512 & V3112 on Ebay

There is great value in these amps.

[PA Woody]

US made Palomino V16. Lovin it.

[PraiseCaster]

I'm in:

Crate V18 1-12.

The stock speaker in my opinion was garbage, so I dropped a Warehouse Veteran 30 in there, and WOW! Totally loving it!

[basher]

I got a V18 112 when Musician's Fiend was blowing them out. I upgraded the speaker and reverb tank (Weber signature and Accutronics, respectively) and I've been using it pretty heavily since then. I think I've got a particularly good one: there's a good amount of clean headroom on tap, and since I changed the speaker the bass is well within reasonable levels. I keep waiting for the power supply to blow up or something, but so far, so good.

[mudbean]

V5 owner here, got mine in The Great GC Blowout hysteria of a while back. It's currently residing on the mods bench, awaiting the upgrades mentioned in this thread: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-centr...schematic.html

mud

[echale iii]

Originally Posted by bullitt

I currently own a Palomino v8 I got brand new for 200,wondering if there are any fairly easy mods that might enhance this amp,this is my first tube amp and not sure of its potential any help is appreciated.

Honestly, the Palomino V8s I've heard/played all sounded great with just a guitar plugged in and the controls dimed. I can't say that there's anything I'd do to them....

Originally Posted by alias23k

V33h chiming in, play it through 2 12 Jensen MODs. Haven't gotten to the Soldano SLO mods but will after i tackle a 6v6 texas blues special build. Pretty much only use it for the clean channel and run some amp modelling through it with my Korg ax3g. Heard great things about the SLO mods, can't wait to get to them.

hey eschle, ultralight here, how you liking the mod so far?

I really like the mods on my V33H. Interestingly enough, the mods seemed to drop the available volume on the V18, but had no effect on available volume for the V33. The mods affected both channels, but if you install the resistor/cap/SPST switch (you do have to drill a hole in the faceplate) you have the option of toggling from crunch back to pretty much the original clean tone. If you don't do that part of the install, you basically put some crunch into the clean side that you can't really get out unless you run at low volumes.

The OD side was night and day. You'll just have to try it, but I can guarantee that if you are only using it on the clean channel because the OD channel sounds like crap, the SLO mods will definitely address that issue in a very good way. There's everything from hot blues to classic rock to 80's hair metal available on the OD side when all is said and done.

The mods took me less than 4 hours to do, including dismantling the amp and putting it back together, and I think I spent something like $14 on parts from Mouser (excl. shipping)...

[charlie chitlin]

I have a 3212.
Anybody have any thoughts about the solid state rectifier in this amp, and if it would be desireable...or even possible...to have a tube rectifier?

[richey88]

Originally Posted by basher

I got a V18 112 when Musician's Fiend was blowing them out. I upgraded the speaker and reverb tank (Weber signature and Accutronics, respectively) and I've been using it pretty heavily since then. I think I've got a particularly good one: there's a good amount of clean headroom on tap, and since I changed the speaker the bass is well within reasonable levels. I keep waiting for the power supply to blow up or something, but so far, so good.

V18 112 here too. Traded a pedal and paid $96 at local Sam Ash. Took the speaker from my dead AD50VT (vox/celestion), JJ pwr tubes and a 12 AT 7 in V1 and AU7 in V3. Been gigging the hell out of it for a year now. No issues (except the 'verb but I use delay instead), and I usually get compliments or asked to turn down in the bars I gig in.

Lots of clips at: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=783993

I have a Blues Jr. and SCXD too. Line out of the SCXD into the V18 = OH YEAH!!!

[bluesfordan]

I got the V-5, for 69.99, thinking I'll get my feet wet learning how to mod an amp for the first time.

Should have known the project was doomed from the start. After I put the amp on layaway, my car needed 530 dollars to pass inspection. Then my mom had triple bypass surgery, then my cat got diagnosed with diabetes.

If I had a tele, I'd write a country song about it. I finally got some money from yard work and brought the amp home. My enthusiasm to mod it is about as good as the amp sounds right now, not so great. I've got this brand new amp, and it sounds like crap.