Crate 6110DG Combo

I use a Martin DG16GRTE with the older Fishman Prefix. I was reluctant to buy a Crate after reading the reviews, but the amp does the trick! Plenty of volume at 60 watts. The one concern that i have is that there are no volume control for the CD input.

Too new to tell about the reliabilty.

I have been playing for over 50 years. I would probably buy another one if it was lost.
I use a Fender DeVille two twelves for my electrics. I like the looks and the weight.

60 watt / 10 inch speaker w/tweeter (can be attenuated) / 2 Channel Acoustic Amplifier.
Each Channel has independent 3 band EQ w/sweepable mid and has a dual-servo input for both XLR and 1/4".
Independent EFX send on both channels.
Onboard effects include Reverb, Delay, and Chorus.
CD input / XLR and 1/4" output / EFX Loop
Feedback Eliminator & Amp Tilt

I play a Takamine EAN-40C using a CT-4B preamp. I use this combination for acoustic rock settings and am blown away by this combination of tone and output.
The Gunninson has a very natural and large sound. I'd say one of the most impressive features is the Tweeter knob which allows you to turn off the tweeter or mix in the amount you want with the 10" output. There is a lot of sound shaping potential have 3 band EQ with a sweepable mid and a tweeter control knob. The amp is loud and sounds great at low levels as well. The output has it's own discrete volume knob as well.

Built sturdily. I gig once a week at least and it's been going great for 3 months.

First off, I feel Takamine's EAN series are the most overlooked acoustic guitars in the market. Takamine's EAN series has an amazingly focused sound with great projection in the upper mids with tight bottoms to provide a tone that does not combat a singer's voice. I previously used a Trace Elliot TA100R which is an unbelievable amp, but picked up this Crate amp (and I've never trusted Crate) and was blown away. Firstly, the price is right and I was very interested in an acoustic amp using a 10" speaker cone w/tweeter. I ultimately found that amps using 6.5" speakers (a la Roland's AC60 or Trace Elliot's TA100R) to have a false sense of richness and depth in tone. Not bad sounding, but certainly not a "large" sound. Crate's CA6110DG (aka Gunnison) has two channels that are voiced nicely for acoustic guitar and voice. The sweepable mid is so key in helping separate the voice from the guitar. Having an effects loop is key because you can just as easily use a 7-band EQ pedal or a dedictate reverb or chorus pedal. The effects aren't the greatest, but they more than suffice. I have even used this amp as a keyboard monitor and it is voiced nicely for that as well. People just don't know about this amp! Seriously, Crate has made something wonderful!

New amp from Crate, made in China, pretty near the cheapest in the PA-kinda dual channel acoustic guitars and/or voice input market. Specs are cut and pasted down below. Each channel has seperate eq and effect send jacks, and can be individually adjusted on the single onboard effects processor level. The onboard effects have several delay and reverb types that are about as good as a delay and reverb pedal from a pretty good source. They're not as good as my RV3 Boss, but then their not near as bad as the cheapest mfg's pedals. I think they are just pretty good (especially for the price of this combo compared to the market of this kind of combo). The inputs are single jacks that can take xlr or 1/4", and there's phantom power. The antifeed back features are panel or pedal driven. That's probably nice, but I've not needed to turn those on yet. They may be more needed at really high volumes, but I've had no feedback issues from moderately high room level volumes while playing in front of it with a mic and guitar. I would have preferred the pedal to be usable for the effects, but can't complain too much at the price (and a highest volume application might need the anti-feedback quick adjust capability). There's a fader on a line-level "CD input" that sums into the final stage amp, so it could be a bit of a practice-with-CDs or karaoke box, I suppose. I won't use that feature, personally. I use this amp for playing indoors, acoustic guitars, blues, bluegrass, acoustic jazz, country, and some old rock, and we play in a living room or slightly larger setting. I don't know how it would perform in a crowded, noisey, or very large room (or outdoor, for that matter) environment. My picking bud and I run either two guitars through it or a guitar and mic (where he'll play through another guitar amp and mic through my Crate). It has everything that I needed for both its intended application and what I'll do with it.


Technical Specifications:
Output Power Rating: 60 watts @ <1% THD
Channels 1 & 2: Low: +/-15dB @ 80Hz
Mid: +15, -30dBdB from 450Hz ? 1.2kHz (Contour)
High: +/-15dB @ 10kHz
Input Impedance: 3.3M ohm High-Z, 3k ohm Low-Z
Input Sensitivity: 5mV High-Z, 2mV Low-Z
Sens. to Eff Send/Line out: 6mV High-Z, 3mV Low-Z
Max Input Signal: 6V RMS (17V peak to peak)
CD Input: Input Impedance: 22k ohm
Input Sensitivity: 150mV
Max Input Signal: 6V RMS (17V peak to peak)
AuxEff. Return: Input Impedance: 11k ohm
Input Sensitivity: 60mV RMS
Max Input Signal: 6V RMS (17V peak to peak)
Eff Send Out. Impedance: 2.2k ohm
Line Out Out. Impedance: 220 ohm Low-Z, 2.2k ohm High-Z
Feedback Filters: 10Hz to 4.8kHz range, -15dB cut per filter
Internal Woofer: 10? w/polypropylene cone, rubber surround, 30.5oz magnet, 1.5? voice coil,
8 ohms, 75w RMS, 95dB 1w 1m
Internal Tweeter: High efficiency Piezo, 110dB 1w 1m
Internal Crossover: Passive type
Power Requirements: 120VAC, 60Hz, 70VA
100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 70VA
230VAC, 50/60Hz, 70VA
Size and Weight: 17?H x 16?W x 14?D, 37 lbs.

I thought the sound was really good and full range in nature. It doesn't have the bass level response of a 15" PA cabinet, or of my blues deluxe fender amp. But it is much better for acoustic guitar than those, and is suprisingly good fidality-wise (again, for the money). The applications I've tried and how they seemed to perform are as follows: a sm58 mic sounded very good through it, my Eastman 805CE archtop's floater pickup sounded very nice and bright (although I think I'll need flatwounds and just some EQ roll-off to get a warm jazzy sound to be complete), my LR Baggs pre-amp'ed under-the-saddle pickup (in a mid-70's rose-wood Tama) sounded excellent through it, and my Dean Markley sound hole humbucker (in my bud's Yamaha FG1000 rose-wood from the mid-70s) sounded very good through it. The amp is pretty much dead linear on the amp frequency response. For a under-$400 amp in this catagory, I give it a 9, and would drop that rating by 2 or so points if I were to have compared this to similarly application-targeted amps in the range of up to $1000.

I've not had the quality issues that another reviewer posted, and if I had, I would have reviewed this amp as sternly as he did. The Chinese manafacturing of this amp made me view buying it as a risk assessment, with an acceptance/expectation that it could have issues prior to lasting 5yrs. The warrenty is for 2 or 3 yrs, I think. I've not seen any item that wasn't completely flawless on mine so far. Fit, finish, silkscreening in the panels, even the packaging, all were as good as I've seen on anything in this price range. It's more of a consumer grade type of electronic design than being something like a 70's or earlier era guitar or PA amp. Its an obvious statement that one could never view any DSP amp as being something that could be repaired as easily 20 years from now as it could be while in warrenty. But, many consumer grade electronic amps (such as home hifi gear) last 20+ years, and it won't surprise me if this one does. Given the other reviewer's experience, I'd guess that the quality must be at least somewhat spotty, across all those sold (although I don't have a clue on the percentages of fallout). But, I've just not experienced that myself yet and can only review my specific experience so far. If mine only lasted three years, I'd still have come out ahead for the very good sound and feature set (for the money) that I'll have gotten.

I can't comment in this area, as I have no experience as of yet in dealing with Crate customer support on any of thier products.

I've been playing 25yrs. I have a Martin 2003 D18GE and 1991 JC40, '75 or so Tama, Eastman 804CE, G&L Fullerton Legacy, Mexican Nashville Power Tele, a 30's lapsteel, and a few more assorted cheaper flattops and electrics. PA wise, I've only used some Peavey 15" cabs through an Alesis studio rackmount amp, and only in small indoor settings. My only guitar amp (other than the old lapsteel's amp from the '30s and a pignose from the seventies) is a Blues Deluxe Fender that I like a lot for electric, and pretty well for acoustic. This Crate is what I need for my use, and I'd replace it with the same amp if it were stolen or lost (but not if I had it fail from defects, versus where I'd tolerate having to nurse an old tube guitar amp along). Its perfect for my application, for acoustic guitars or mics, for less than $400 cost, and for indoors. I only compared it to cheaper small 10" guitar amps (intending to at least get a jazz guitar amp for the Eastman for cheap). But, this Crate was much brighter and full ranged (again, a PA tone and response versus a guitar amp's, so it was a unfair comparrison). For under $400, I give it a 9. I'd have said 10, but the effects were only very good, and not fantastic. And the moment the price window went up by a as much as $300-400, I'd drop the rating by 1 to 3 points. But, then, I could buy two of these for that much, when you think about it.

Many useful features for amplifying acoustic guitar, the task for which it was designed. 2 Channels BOTH supporting XLR and high inpedence inputs, delay, chorus and reverb effects/combos, XLR line out, with a level control that has no effect on you speaker volume, 60 watts powering a 10" polypropylene speaker with rubber surround in an enclosed cabinet, cool green tolex and metal speaker grille, Made in USA. I may have left a few things out, but you get the picture. (See website for more info)

I play a combination of acoustic instrumental numbers an accompany myself on vocal tunes. This amp seems well suited to this task. I play (only one at a time, mind you)two Alvarez guitars; an Artist series Jumbo AJ60CE and a Proffessional series Dreadnaught PD85SCAV. both are equipped with Alvarez' 600T MKII pickup system. I ordered this amp from AMS and was really juiced about getting it. As I love my Alvarez guitars, I reasoned that the Crate amp (sister co. to Alvarez) would be the perfect amp to round out a coffee-house-type gigging system. This was, however, an erroneous assumption. On the day it arrived I carefully opened it and plugged in only to hear this strange distortion. It happened no matter what I tweaked. At first I thought it might be just that the preamps in my guitars were just a little too hot but, I couldn't reproduce the same phenomena on different amps. Finally, in frustration I shipped it back to AMS for a refund. BTW AMS will ship it to your door but they won't pay for UPS pick-up on a return. That's an extra $10.25!

Well what can I say, besides mine failed right out of the box! A major disappointment! I had such faith in this company.

There is a website that has a bbs...if you have that kind of patience! I honestly didn't try too hard to get anything out of them though, because I was still under AMS's return policy. It was the weekend and no one was available on the phone at St. Louis Music Co.. The AMS operators are standing by 24/7, so I exercised my return option. Take that for what you will.

I never owned a Crate anything, but the guitar player in the first band I was ever in (some 20 years ago) did and it was loud, proud and dependable. I hope for the sake of this company, who still manufactures in the US, that I just got a dud. Still there are other things on the market that are probably just as good, so I'm moving on.