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Crate amp blowout

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TS808 said:
Why the drastic price drop? Are these amps being discontinued? The 18-watt models are relatively new...they just came out not too long ago, maybe a year or two ago. I've noticed on ebay that some retailers have lowered the price too.
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I think the price drop is because these amps have been getting beaten up in reviews and forums, in comparison to the Palomino line, mainly for the fact that they are made in Asia...I think the price drop will garner them better reviews and MORE of them.
Arent these amps almost identical to the Palomino line????
Ive got a buddy whos a BIG Crate fan, so IM always hearin about them...and hes always trying to sway me in thier dirrection.
 
ShortBuSX said:
I think the price drop is because these amps have been getting beaten up in reviews and forums, in comparison to the Palomino line, mainly for the fact that they are made in Asia...I think the price drop will garner them better reviews and MORE of them.
Arent these amps almost identical to the Palomino line????
Ive got a buddy whos a BIG Crate fan, so IM always hearin about them...and hes always trying to sway me in thier dirrection.
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The Palomino's are awesome amps...I wound up returning one though because the pots were all scratchy and it was just way too loud (the V32). It was an excellent amp, but it was the GC floor model, complete with scratchy pots.

Crate puts out a pretty good amp these days, even the solid state versions. Crate in general gets a bad rap because of a past history of putting out sub-par amps. The Palomino series and some of their solid states are excellent, but still, I think alot of folks just hesitate to go with a Crate, and opt for a Fender or Marshall first.
 
Jimi75 said:
Honestly, I never in my life heard a good sounding crate amp.
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If you listened to Mark Knopfler around 93-95 he was using the Vintage Club series amps then which won some industry award too.
 
Jimi75 said:
Honestly, I never in my life heard a good sounding crate amp.
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Alot of people say "they nail that British sound for very lil cash"...they seem to have a cult like following.
 
Jimi75 said:
Honestly, I never in my life heard a good sounding crate amp.
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The Crate Vintage Club series amps were excellent in my opinion, and the Palominos were surprisingly good too.
 
Good sounding Crates

I, also, have heard a lot of good sounding Crates. My teacher has an old crate, probably from the 80's, solid state, about 30 watts or so, that sounds really good, especially the ss drive channel. Super great smooth distortion without a pedal.

You just have to listen to each amp and instrument and come to your conclusions.

I think the stereotype that Crate carries with some people is a really hard thing to overcome; something like Squire guitars. Even though the Squires are sounding very good lately, the stigma still carries some weight in some corners.

I hope I get in on one of those deeply discounted amps.

Duffy
 
Duff said:
I, also, have heard a lot of good sounding Crates. My teacher has an old crate, probably from the 80's, solid state, about 30 watts or so, that sounds really good, especially the ss drive channel. Super great smooth distortion without a pedal.
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I think I actually own that same amp...and am selling in Craigslist as we speak:thwap:

Is this the one?
010100011606010412200808259874f67f79ba1fa6b900677d.jpg

Even though its solid state, that was a great amp...and very reliable...but also USA made.
 
The Crate blowout sounds like a great deal. If I had the cash I'd go after the 18 watter or the 33 watter...

I've been playing on Crate solid state amphs since about '93 or '94, when I downsized from my MIDI setup. With a little patience, they can be tweaked on the clean channel for a great, sparkly clean tone.

The Overdrive and Solo channels are perfect for metalheads that want that saturated, ultra high gain sound, but lack the budget for pricier tube amphs. In fact, when I purchased my last Crate about 5 years ago, it was because a buddy of mine and I were trying to play hard rock/metal type music, and it was well suited for that purpose.
 
Jimi75 said:
Honestly, I never in my life heard a good sounding crate amp.
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Including the tube amps of the last 10 years or so? Because the reports I see are all pretty positive. Fwiw, I have a solid state bass amph (I think the tube/ss dichotomy is less important for bass) head that sounds good and has been very reliable. One of my prior bandmates had an old Fender bass tube head and actually used to borrow the Crate for our shows.
 
Guitar teacher's crate

It looks a lot like ShortBuSX's picture. Might be the same one. I'll find out. He likes it a lot and says it's loud. Don't know if he gigs with it though, because he plays bass in his main band and plugs into the PA that his partner has when he plays a Cort guitar in a duet.

Duffy
 
Spudman said:
If you listened to Mark Knopfler around 93-95 he was using the Vintage Club series amps then which won some industry award too.
Click to expand...

But Mark Knopfler could play plugged into an empty toliet paper tube and it would sound good too.Sumi:D
 
Jimi75 said:
Honestly, I never in my life heard a good sounding crate amp.
Click to expand...

I'm not the best player in the world, not even good, but I like the way my Crates have sounded. I've owned several and am still playing a GLX65 for my everyday amp and when I play at church. I've got an older GLH1200 head and a Crate 4x12 cabinet that totally blows me away when I need a lot more volume. The head was acting up a little, so a buddy of mine went through and resoldered a bunch of joints and it really cooks now! :AOK:

BTW, ever heard of a guy named Billy Gibbons? The good Reverend can play whatever he wants, but he's playing the V Series Crates. Joe Walsh, Sammy Hagar and lots of others play Crates also, so there must be something to them. :dude:
 
WackyT said:
Caved in and ordered a V18-112 last night from MF. Just couldn't pass it up. :dude:
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Did you get the extra 15% off too?
You are going to have to fill us in as soon as it arrives.
 
Spudman said:
Did you get the extra 15% off too?
You are going to have to fill us in as soon as it arrives.
Click to expand...

Yup. Used the SV10 coupon and got the $10 off. Just checked status and it's Backordered. Hopefully they get them in before the 15th.
 
WackyT, you might want to give MF a call and check on the status of your order.

I noticed last week that the v18-112s were in stock according to MF's website, but I got email this morning saying I'd been put on a 30-day backorder. So I called their customer service, and they basically said, oops, our mistake, and they're shipping my amp out today.
 
Thanks for the heads up, Ro3b. Just checked my order status, and it's been being packed since the 4th. The Customer Service rep just put it on a master ship list, and it should ship today or tomorrow.
 
I'm curious to hear what you think too, Wacky. MF is now out of stock again. Those prices are VERY tempting!
 
Just received the V18 112 today at 12:30 by Roadway truck...Details later tonight:D
 
ET335 said:
Just received the V18 112 today at 12:30 by Roadway truck...Details later tonight:D
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Mine's supposedly on it way via Roadway also. But MF customer service is unable to find any details on it with the tracking number they have. Hopefully they aren't just pulling my leg.
 
I seriously doubt these can be anywhere near as good as the V series Palomino line. I should have snagged a V32 when they were blowing them out but, then again, no ext cab out and I already have my C30.

I could see someone like voodoo buying this as it's a great price for a modding platform, especially if you happen to have a great speaker laying around to replace the stock one.

You crazy guys have to stop getting all excited over every cheap item that gets blown out on clearance. :rotflmao:

Remember, ever tree cut down to make a cheap guitar or cabinet for a cheap amp makes the baby Jesus cry.
 
Well, I learned two things today.

1. The oddball nine-digit tracking number that MF sent me is a Roadway number. MF sometimes uses Roadway for big heavy items instead of FedEx or UPS.

2. For residential delivery, Roadway contracts delivery out to smaller carriers. My amp has been in Baltimore for the last two days, and will finally be delivered to me by Safeway Delivery during an as-yet-unspecified three-hour window on Monday. And I'll have to be home when it comes, otherwise I'll be charged for another delivery.

What a hassle. I was really hoping I'd have this thing before the weekend.
 
Ro3b said:
Well, I learned two things today.
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#3...have everything delivered to your work address.
During business hours youll be there, if not somebody else will sign for you...almost nobody delivers on weekends, so youll never miss it.
AND as a bonus, the ol lady will only find out when youre ready for her to find out.:AOK:
 

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