Crate BV120H Blue Voodoo

Two channels, separate reveb for each channel, master presence. yadda yadda yadda

I read all the reviews yesterday on here because someone offered to trade me a BV full stack for one of my guitars. I'm kind of an amp whore, so I went and tried it out and then traded. I think people that say it sounds terrible are a little harsh. I went straight from getting the amp to a show. I play blues, and funk. I was able to dial in a great tone in about a minute. My other guitarist is a TWIN REVERB till he dies kind of guy. He was impressed with the tone I got out of it. I was playing a thinline tele on the crunch channel with a solo boost pedal. After everyone left the venue last night, I stayed for about 2 hours with my other guitarist just playing around with it. It is a fairly versatile amp. The other guitarist said he's be willing to buy one, if it didn't say crate.

But to the credit of the critics on here, It IS super bright on the clean channel, but if you half know how to use the eq on the amp and on your guitar you can still dial in a great tone. The gain knob on the crunch channel IS super sensitive, it's all about finesse when turning it. And the big gold letters that say crate on the head and cabs ARE way cheesey looking, they are coming off. And I'm sure it'll sound better if I put new tubes in it, just common sense.

I've only had it less than a day, so I hope so.

Owners manual is right on crate website. pretty easy. They also email schematics right away. I don't know how the warranty system is.

I have a Fender twin, Marshall JCM2000dSL, Fender Hot Rod Deville, Line 6 spider II, Vox Valvetronix 30, Gibson Mercury. They are all great amps. This amp will hold it's own in sound against all of them. None of them are the same, not better, not worse, just different.

I'm happy with my trade.

Features for the BV120 are just about right for most. Clean and dirty, with independent eq and reverb per channel. Like many I would love a master volume. Other than that, its got enough options for me. I don't use many effects, so don't really know how well the effects loop works.

This is my second review of this amp, and my opinion has changed little. I just want to touch on some things not stated before. The Blue Voodoo's main problem is that it says CRATE in big gold letters on the front. I removed the logos, the social experiment began. In a dark bar or theater, where I play, most can't tell the amp is blue. All they see is the backlit tubes. Kind of funny how many times after shows guys playing mesas, marshalls (your logo here), would complement how much they liked my tone. Both clean and dirty. Most times I was running a Gibson Les Paul Standard Premium Plus into a Bad Horsie into the amp. They might say, "Is that a Hughes and Kettner?" or something. I'd say no. Wow. Can you say backpedal? Why do people hate this thing so much? I use an ESP Eclipse, the LP, a Music Man Silhouette and a couple of Jacksons (Not because of Marty Friedman). They all sound unique but pretty stinkin' good. If you are a fan of boutique stuff, GREAT! That does not mean everything else is bad. If you like your friggin' dual rectifier, GREAT! Stay on the band wagon. Some people here have given this amp an honest go, and didn't dig it. That is cool, its a free country. You can tell those guys most times 'cause they say something like "It's not for me". They don't say you will burn in hell if you like this amp. If you haven't given it an honest try, be quiet.

Regular service, new tubes after 2 years. My foot switch jack does strange things sometimes, but other than that, no issues.

Company was hard to deal with.

Been playing for 14 years. I own a Vox as a practice amp, and have owned Marshall JCM series stuff and an Ampeg VL1002 in the past. If it was stolen I would buy a new one. I love that it sounds good for what I play, and its got a nice clean tone, unlike a lot of other high gain tube amps. I don't really hate anything about it, but would like it to have a master volume and why did they make the head a half inch longer than any other head? I like my Marshall 1960, and it doesn't fit well. I wish I had a Laney VC30, they sound cool and different, like alot of Laney stuff. I wish I had a Mesa Mark IV, yes I can like Crate and Mesa. Crate is an unremarkable company for the most part, but the BV series were great amps for what they were. Nice tight crunch with plenty of gain, and a very usable clean channel.

I have the BV-120H head.I think it is a 1990 model.I play blues-rock and i think it is very good to that.I use this amp for big gigs cause it is very very loud.Idont like tha fact not having a master volume knob.

The sound of the clean channel is very good and clean but without bass.If you want bass you have to put the volume in 5 and the eq knobs to 0 and then turn them on slowly until you will have the desirable sound.I use fender and gibsons .

I used to have a problem with that amp.The channel switch was changing crazy .(from channel 1 to 2),I coudnt found what it was so i went to a technician and now i have only the clean channel using stomp boxes.From then i have no problem with the clean channel.

i bought this amp from e-bay so i have no warranty.

I have been playing guitar for 20 years.For jamming with my band i use a fender SCXD.This amp is very heavy and if you have a problem with your back choose another one.

Michael, your brother Jeff says hello and to be good!

Jeff

Follow up to my 2/26/05 review of this amp.

The main point I wanted to make was about the tubes. In my 2/26/05 review, I recommended using a 5751, a lower gain tube in V2. V2 is the drive channel, and the gain on it is way over the top. I've found that a 12AU7 in V2 with the gain set at about 7 to 7.5 gives me a really nice on board drive channel. I've never been a fan of stomp boxes. With a 12AX7 in V1 and a 12AU7 in V2, I've got a beautiful clean and a really nice on board drive.

Playing with the phase inverter also impacts your tone. A 12AX7 there seems to make the clean channel a bit shrill. A 5751 or a 12AT7 in V4 (phase inverter) tames the shrill highs and allows you a broader sweep to play with.

Some reviewers commented on the amp's high plate voltage. Mine runs in the 465 range.

I've used lot of different 6L6s in this amp including JJs, SEDs, Sovtek 6L6Bs, Groove Tube 6L6GEs and others. I'm sticking to the JJs.

This amp sounds fantastic with the right tube combinations.

This amp gets babied. It has gone five years with no problems at all.

The Crate from this era offered the best customer service I have ever dealt with in the music business.

Own 15 amps and 26 guitars acquired over 30 years. A properly set up Blue Voodoo is a great amp at a very reasonable price. Well taken care of, it will give you years and years of great tone. It is that simple.

Crate Blue Voodoo from about 2000 or 01 from what I can gather. Blue tolex, brass logo, sort of cheesy looking, but in a good way even with the goofy orange lights, whatever they're for.

Basic 2 channel configuration, though no master volume on the clean channel. Separate EQ per channel, with FX loop and footswitching ability. Only 8 and 16 ohm speaker usage strangely, 4 ohms would have been nice. Sure its not a deal killer, but one of my speaker cabs is 4 ohms, thus unusable. 100 Watts tube (NOT solid state at all) you know, the basic deal.

The lack of a master volume on the clean channel is mystifying, but when you hear how the two channels are voiced, it seems that Crate was going for the "two amps in one" idea where really the two channels have little to do with each other tone wise and not great for going from clean to dirty on this amp. It obviously can be done, but the lack of master volume on the clean channel means that its basic level once you get the tone you want, dictates what you set the "dirty" channel's master volume. Inconvenient, but I've just quit looking at this amp as a workhorse kind of amp and more of a specialist, which its definitely more suited towards. No sub modes per channel, just set the gain and go. Kind of simplistic.

The EQ doesn't seem terribly versatile in that its effects are pretty subtle and more extreme tweaks make a difference than "dialing in" your tones. I use it more in terms of all the way cut, all the way boost or just in the middle, as those seem to be the only way it makes a difference sound-wise. At least its got channel independent EQ, thats something.

The opposite is true of the gain pots as the smallest tweak can result in a big difference in tone. rather annoying. changing the effect of the pots and using sub mode switches would probably make this better.

Initial impressions were lackluster to be frank. It was decent, but felt cheap and sounded kind of flat for lack of a better term. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed, but after playing with the thing for a while, I began to learn some of its nuances and how to really look at how to use this amp. First off, as I'd mentioned earlier, it feels like Crate was trying to jam two quite different amps into one chassis using the channels as the separator. Yeah I know, this is pretty common, even my Marshall DSL 100 attempts this same idea, but still retains enough similar voicing between the channels that you can really use it as a true versatile workhorse kind of amp going clean to dirty and doing the rhythm/lead thing as well. This one can do it sort of, but its not its strength and its tone is better suited to finding your one tone from it and use the channel switching more in a "lead/rhythm" fashion only.

Clean channel: A lot of people really laud the clean and I just don't get it. Its kind of flat and boring at lower levels and not really tubey at all. Since there is no separate gain and master on this channel, you can just set it for whatever volume you want as long as you keep below 4 or 5 on the knob. After that it stops getting louder and starts breaking up and here is where this channel starts to shine a bit. Once it starts breaking up, it gets a nice edge to it that you can control with your guitar's volume. Once the volume pot is dimed, it sound fantastic. Great crunchy classic distortion. Again, the frustration is once you're there, there isn't a way to switch it off easily as there is no sub mode to this channel, unlike my Marshall DSL which has a clean and crunch on its first channel. This really kills its versatility as you really have to do it all with volume on your guitar AND you have to have it at its loudest output to get this sound as there is no master volume. Annoying. That said, it does sound good when used this way, quite good.

Dirty Channel: Its been stated over and over again that the distortion here is just out of control and I have to agree... Sort of. At lower gain settings, its got a nice crunch with a good sustain. Once you go beyond 3, it starts really saturating and once you get past 6, its SUPER saturated and becomes almost useless except for long sustained leads. I think thats why so many people call this a "metal" amp, as its clean channel is great for rhythm once you crank it and going to the next channel gives you super saturated leads. Of course, then you have no cleans. Ugh. Anyway, with a bit of care, you can get great distortion from this channel, for me its in the 2.5-3 on the gain setting, with a relatively high master volume level to match the clean channel.

Overall on the sound, it does have a few serious negatives. First off, its unbelievably noisy at higher gain settings. Even with a noise gate in the loop. Also, it seems lack some lower end. Compared to my DSL 100, its a bit thinner and lacks the cajones of the Marshall. I pretty much play with the bass pot maxed out all the time and its still not quite heavy enough. Conversely, my DSL 100 is a bit too bass heavy on the clean channel. Still sounds good, but its missing it a bit. EQ in the loop helps with this, as does a sonic maximizer. I will also add that changing out some of the pre amp tubes with lower powered ones might seriously help the tone as standard 12AX7 tubes really overdo the distortion a bit. I'm interested in replacing one or more with 12AT7s, which are about half power. Maybe even a 12AU7 in one position (about 15% power of the 12AX7). Power tubes are fine with 6L6s though might do well with EL34s. I'll have to try that at some point.

Seems reliable. Its heavy as hell physically. Otherwise, I can't say. I've had varying degrees of success with some of the Crate stuff I've been forced to use.

Never dealt with Crate. They have a reasonable web presence which is nice. I have no clue how to bias the thing and looking online hasn't been helpful. I'm guessing its "self biasing" as I can't seem to find any thing else that says otherwise. I'd love to find out how though so I can try EL34s in place of the 6l6's. I'm not sure it'd make a big difference, but it might add those needed cajones to the bottom end.

I also own a Marshall JCM2000 DSL 100 and a '65 Fender blackface Bassman amp. I run the Blue Voodoo into a Marshall 1960 with Vintage 30's mixed in with the GT75s. Its about as versatile as the Fender bassman for me, which is to say, not terribly, but it serves a role and is pretty good for dirty sounds with a nasty edge. To me it doesn't really compare to the Marshall as the Marshall can hit just about every tone I want and also manages the cleans in a much better fashion than the Blue Voodoo. The Voodoo can get more saturated that the DSL, but its only decent for traditional leads as its just not as heavy and sounds a bit weak for rhythm or riff work. It also does SOUND different than the DSL which is good. They don't need to be the same amp. The review that someone made here earlier that said they A/B'd the DSL 100 and the Voodoo and said they were no different seems suspect. Yeah, you CAN get the same tone if you dial them that way, but the DSL can go to sonic areas the Voodoo just can't and the tones the Voodoo can do that the DSL can't just aren't very appealing to me. The Voodoo is also a VERY quiet 100 watts. Just something to think about if you're counting on it for live situations without reamplifying through a P/A like in an outdoor setting. You might not cut it. Not that it can't get loud, but it seems no louder than my Fender (50 watt), and DEFINITELY quieter than the Marshall (same wattage).

I like the fact that it does have its own voice and isn't just trying to sound vintage or modern or whatever, and due to its relatively poor opinion by the average tube amp snob, its cheap and a great amp for people wanting to enter the tube stack world and create their own signature tone instead of just trying to mimic *insert name here* who uses a Mesa, or a Marshall or a Soldano, etc...

Works well with the effects until the distortion gets too high. Then everything just sounds weird, but at lower gains, its just groovy.

While I do have a fondness for this amp due to its original voice, its looks, etc... Its not a great amp by any stretch, just a pretty good one. Its better than several others I've used, particularly considering its second hand price but its the weakest of the three I own. Its nice for a straight ahead in your face setting that doesn't call for a wide array of sounds. Just find your tone and thats it. For me, its lack of versatility that way keeps it from really competing with the greats and as long as you keep in mind it ISN'T a top amp, you're fine. I guess you do get what you pay for, and $350-400 used is pretty reasonable for what you get. Its overall score for me considers that factor. At $650.00 and up, it would only rate a 5 or 6.

The amp was made around 2002 and has a lot of features, perhaps it need a gain pot in the clean channel to obtain the crunch, a better reverb tank and a switch in the lead channel to make the distortion versatile...

First of all, stock tubes makes the amp sound very horrible!!!
I replace v1 and phase inverter with jj 12ax7, v2 & 3 with Ecc83EH and EH 6L6's.
Then, stock crate cabs (with unnamed speakers) are awful and I had a chance to play it with a very good legacy cab with celestion v30s.
Now the amp sounds better, but not that tone monster.
The problem is that this amp has not a compromise, Hi-Fi iper-sparkle clean or too overdrived and fizzy distortion.
The crunch is absent, if you put the clean channel at a volume that can pull down the walls.
Lead channel do not produce any kind of crunch also at gain 1 and guitar pot rolled off, when the minimum distortion seems the clean channel with a behringer overdive.
This amp lack of that "fat", rhythm is confused in a tons of gain and there is not too "balls" in the malm muting.
This thing is perfect to play leads, every note goes out and take a breath, good attack but not "wooff-y", also is very OK for who put a pod in the clean channel, cause it stays always clean.
Eq section is also not that special, presence breaks the ears, too much icy highs, middles are not warm and never scooped-able and bass buzz at high volumes.

During the leads, if stopped, a shot of feedback breaks every glass; to compare, I had tried a mesa dual recto and it perfectly mutes down also with full gain/volume and the guitar in front at the cab (also produces a wonderful crunch with third-lead channel with gain at 4)!!!

I don't like this amp at all, some says that thing changes very well modding the amp with el34's, darking up the sound and making it fatter... I do not tried yet... I say it need a expert can make a good work also in the preamp.

Very reliable amp, never broken in thousand gigs, but tubes has short life by high plate voltages than wonderful old vintage amps...
Very good transformers and pcb also.

Never used

This amp is overpriced, there is a lot of alternatives as koch, laney, earforce, or fabulous amps/cabs as Brunetti, Masotti and some other very high quality italian amps!!!

Ever since I heard Marty Friedman fire up one of these amps, I have wanted one. Recently, I had an opportunity to by one for a killer price so I took the deal. All gain stages are one hundred percent tube driven. It has two channels, a distortion and clean channel with independent tone and level controls. Included is a simple yet effective effects loop with the ability to reduce incoming effects levels by -12dB, which I found quite nice. As far as power goes, it has more than I can use. With a 4x12 cabinet I can overpower anyone else in my band and still have crystal clarity. One thing I that should be noted is that the GT tubes that come with the amplifier are only rated at 50 watts. This indicates that the amp is actually a 100 watt amplifier, not a 120 watt amplifier. Thankfully, it would appear that almost all of the power of this amp can be utilized without excess noise or clipping.

I use several different guitars and effects with this amp. Primarily I play my Ibanez RG-300A with my Pod XT Live. To be completely honest, I didn't get that killer tone I thought I get when I first plugged this amp in. The gain on the distortion channel was out of control and had a very rigid hissing treble sound which is not my style. The clean channel sounded very cold and lacked the punch found in many other tube amps. Come to find out, this has nothing to do with the amp! I would like to make a recommendation, buy this amp and IMMEDIATELY swap the tubes. The difference is INCREDIBLE! I ended up replacing V1 with a JJ 12AX7, V2 & V3 & V4 with EH 12AX7's and all power tubes with JJ 6L6's. Wow! What a difference! This thing sounds phenomenal now! The clean is incredibly warm/harmonic and the distortion is much tamer than before. My only complaint is that the distortion channel still has an insane amount of gain. I might recommend trying a 12AT7 in place of the 12AX7 in V2 to reduce some of the gain and fatten the sound up a bit. Overall though, I am extremely pleased. Just FYI, biasing the tubes in this amp is a breeze.

I use this amp all the time and have not had any problems with it. It may simply be that I preform regular maintenance. However, I can tell you that it appears to be built very well. I am a hardware engineer by trade so I see electronics and electronics components day in and day out. Though I didn't perform a detailed analysis of the amps quality, I did notice that all components seem to be more than sufficient rated and the printed circuit board looks to have thick clad and proper layout.

The warranty expired on this amp before I even purchased it. Therefore, I have not had the opportunity to, nor will I ever have the opportunity to deal with warranty work. I have, however, had the opportunity to deal with the manufacturer via email contact. I asked them for schematics to assist with tube replacement and bias adjustment which they promptly sent with no questions asked. They were very helpful.

I love this amp. I will always own one of these. For the price, it's quality and capabilities are unbeatable. I honestly believe that with the proper tubes, settings, and effects that you could tailor this amp to meet any style and any sound. Overall it just kicks some serious butt!

I'm not sure what year it is, but the Blue Voodoo's came out in 96' or 97' I believe. I'd say the BV120 is a 6 on versatility. It has two channles, clean and overdrive and comes with a footswitch pedal. Also included are Effects Loop, Headphone Jack and Ext. Speaker Jack. You can also plug this amp directly into a digital recorder and the BV120 will "emulate" a mic'd amp for your recording. I use this feature with my BOSS BR-900CD. For a head amp it's pretty much got everything you need except a butt load of effects like the AVT150.

I'm using a Samick Avion with an SH-1 Classic at the neck and an SH-13 Dimebucker at the bridge. This amp is very suited to my music as it is a friggin' GAIN MONSTER!!! I almost want to say that it has too MUCH gain. Most amps you turn the gain all the way to 10 for the "ultimate" crunch your amp can push. On the BV120, I have all the gain I need and then some at 5! I can talk all day about how great the crunch and gain is, but as for the clean I think Crate could have done a little better. I just can't seem to get a good feel and tone on the clean channel. It just sounds flat. The reverb sounds nice, but I'd suggest buying a Chorus or Reverb pedal to beef up your clean channel. Finally, in regards to sound quality, as with any head amp, you should really have a quality cabinet. If you're gonna stick with Crate, then make sure you've got the Vintage Celestion-30's.

This amp is pretty dependable. Definately road worthy and durable. I would definately use it without a back up because i KNOW it wont fall apart on me. I haven't even really pushed this thing yet. At 4, the paint on the wall starts to chip, at 6 your ears bleed and at 10 your face melts off. (In other words, this amp is pretty frickin loud) Has never broken down but it's a tube which means regular maintenance. If you want an amp where you just plug in and play and never have to worry about anything else, the BV120 and ANY tube amp for that matter is not for you.

Never had to deal with them but i've heard nothing but nice things about them. The warrenty is no longer valid since i bought this used ($310).

Been playing for over 12 years. Amp-wise, I own a Marshall VS100 half stack and a Marshall VS265. If my Crate BV120 were stolen, I'd definately be pissed. Overall its a great amp with a lot of power and i LOVE the way it shreds! I'd definately buy another one if i had to. Bottom line is this: The gain on this amp is a frickin BEAST and will not dissappoint anyone in that area. Second, where else are you going to find a 100 watt head with these features for under $400 (used)??? Crate can make pieces of crap just like any company, but they also make great amps as well. The BV120 is one of those great amps. A lot of musicians are starting to realize that they can get a very good quality head amp for so cheap. Since the demand for these is starting to rise, the cost has slowly been going up. Better hop to it and get one soon!

All you need for basics of great, simple tone...

I use many guitars thru this baby and love it! You gotta switch it over to EL34Ls and Tung-Sol 12Ax7s and have it rebiased...But I like the tone better than the JCM800...With 6L6s (and I tried several) it was just too buzzy sounding and not in the cool Mesa Boogie way, but in that awful Crate standard tone from that practice amp we all had...This thing can be great, it just needs a little workover...

No problems yet...

Awesome...They sent me a few schematics that helped me mod it...

Awesome...I know people shake their heads, but this amp can turn many heads...I dolled mine up with a white fusion paint job (head and cab) and replaced the Crate logos with tractor parts face plates...Now everyone wants to know more about it...Oh yeah, and you gotta play it through Celestion Vintage 30s...

Get over the Crate name and pick this bad boy up....

see the other reviews for features. 2 channels, reverb, excellent tone control

Excellent tone. Very smooth distortion and lots of it. And this amp RECORDS VERY WELL. I tried it during our last studio sessions because Marty Friedman turned me on to these. And I ended up tracking every song with the BV120H.
The clean channel sounds much better than my rectifier.
The reverb is very smooth. Not old fender-ish but very usable.

No problems whatsoever. Everything is top notch

nice folks. very helpful. even the non-artist relations people.

THIS AMP IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK PERIOD!!! Are there better amps? For some things yes, but for the money, there is nothing that can touch this BV120H beast.

I've been playing Marshall amps for years. I came upon the Blue Voodoo in a Musicgoround in Cary,NC while looking for a used Marshall JCM 800. This is the last amp you'll ever need!!

I played it for over an hour and couldn'r believe how clean it was at any volume level. The overdrive gives crisp driving distortion that rivals any pedal on the market!

I've only had it a week or so......

Sound is awesome! Looks great! EZ to use, and has all control options you need! Wish I'd found it a long tiem ago and not wasted coin on other amps!!!

This amp is pretty straight forward, 2 channels (footswitchable), emaculate clean channel no matter what I run through it (Les Paul or JS-100 most of the time), and the lead channel is to die for. I'm suprised how much gain you can get out of an amp with only 4 gain stages. The footswitchable effects loop is also pretty nifty. The reverb is well voiced for both channels on the amp. I take this amp gigging all the time and I never have a problem being heard although my other guitarist uses a Peavey 6505+ and I have to set my volume double his in order to be heard. Don't try to convince yourself that this amp is anything besides a metal machine. I've seen people run od's in front of the clean channel and get a bluesy sound but oing straight this amp is built for metal.

The amp is a pretty straight forward metal machine but if you run some od's in front of the clean you can really open up the amp to aot more sounds. The clean channel stays clean and the lead stays heavy as balls. I'm in a Southern Metal band (myspace.com/nightafterdark) and this amp gets the job done for me. I run a Les Paul mostly but I've played everything through it and as long as the axe has humbuckers in it it'll sound good 'n heavy. A strat'll get a nice bluesy overdrive on the lead channel. It has a wee bit of hum to it but so does my other guitarist's 6505+ and that amp cost about 3 times hat I paid for this one. Watch the gain, treble, and presence levels when you're playing live because it will squeal if you don't eq the amp at the volume you plan on playing a show.

This amp has never failed me and I beat the living crap out of it. I've never had anything go wrong with it and it's the most reliable tube amp you can get for like $300(USED)

Never delt with them, I've been beating the amp up for a year and haven't had to do ANY service to it at all!

I've been playing since I was a freshman in highschool and this is my main amp, I would go and buy another one if anything happened to mine. The one problem I see with the amp is just the difference in volume between it and other amps my friends have. My volume has to be twice what their's is, and I've played it agianst a Peavey 6505 & 6505+, Mesa Dual Rectifier, Marshall JCM TSL 60 watt & 100 watt. Luckily I haven't ever had to turn up past 8, if I need to turn up past that the venue usually mikes the amps.

Mine is about 3-4 years old. Has line out, effects send/return, etc., etc.

Put a ECC81/12AT7 in the middle socket of the preamp trio. Until I replaced that one preamp tube, the amp was out of control as far as gain. Looking into the amp there are three preamp tubes together. Replace the middle of this trio with a ECC81/12AT7. This lessens/spreads the gain so you can have more control over it. There is plenty of gain left, beyond 7 it is all the way up anyway. You don't have to change any other tubes.
I set the bias at -35 just to make the output tubes last longer. Now I can turn the gain knob and it slowly responds as opposed to jumping quickly to too much gain. I don't know why Crate didn't do this, it wouldn't cost anything. The amp has tons of gain left and can be made so much better with one ECC81/12AT7 tube. Without a tube change the BV120H amp has too much gain, with it, it can be used for nearly any kind of music. You have to do this to your BV120H.

Haven't had any problems

I have a Marshall DSL and I can't get but one tone from it, thin and raspy, like a rubbing voice coil sound. The Crate has much more tone available and tone variation with the ECC81 tube change. Don't pay some
guru to screw you with mods, just change the tube dude. Would I buy another BV120? The price is starting to go up for used ones because more people are finding out it has the same and better sound than the Marshall
hi-gain amps. I don't know if I would buy another, but I won't sell this one.

I've got the blue/gold one. Versatile for rock; what it's made for. Two channel, 12 knob. I have used this amp unmiked in the Granada theatre in Lawrence, KS and the Beaumont in Kansas City those are not small venues, it's loud. It's the sound I've wanted forever so I must not be very good according to some of you idiots. I instructed the sound guys NOT to mike me. The BV sounds like an amp is supposed to sound on 6 and a half. Not a tube amp, not a solid state amp, a friggin' guitar amp. Oh, gear snobs or spoiled brats, the Vintage 30 cab is not that much better than the Crate American Vintage cabs. I've had multiple experienced sound engineers as well as myself and my band verify this.

I grew up with a tone in my head and could never get it with a dual rec, JCM800, 900, 2000, JCM900SLX the list goes on. The closest I could get to the tone I wanted was with a Les Paul and a JCM800. The full bodied crunch was there, just not enough gain. I plugged my Gibson into this BV and heard my sound. It's natural but according to some of you it's not a real tube amp. Talk to guys who do amp mods, they may disagree with ya. The tone, with a good guitar, is raw and tubey, it's crunchy, raunchy and Marshallesque. Rather ideal for those who like to play, rather than whine. Unless you've drunk the puppet koolaid and can't hear past people you think are better than you's reviews, it might sound okay. The BV is real american distortion and I think those things with the letters GT on them that glow in the back of it are tubes, thus making it a tube amp. I could be wrong. I lined this up with a Mesa and TSL at Chapman studios in KC with the same guitar. The crate won. No joke, no exaggeration, certain people were speechless. And yes we knew how to work the almighty dual rectifier and its mystery settings. To those of you who can't live with spending less than 2 grand on a pre-amp might be a little pre-occupied with something other than guitar playing. Maybe its your chops, success with females or males, or cup size, but do yourself a favor and leave that out of your amp reviews. You might scare away kids who have real talent, and think they can't play unless they spend what you claim to have spent.

No problems yet-2 years solid.

N/A

Played for 12 years, taught for 2, opened for Suicidal Tendencies, Jackyl, few other national acts. Love Dime, Sabbath, Zack, Randy, Pepper Keenan and Mr. Cantrell as well as some fusion. I studied jazz with Fred Hamilton and Tim Miller at the University of North Texas and classical with Luis Millan and Randy Klingbeil at Washburn University. The amp is worth trying out if you like good tone.

I have a millenium model with the bronze Crate emblem and actually blue tolex. It features two independent channels with 3-band eqs and controls for gain, reverb and presence. It also has a FX Loop boost, which is pretty cool. Contrary to what the model number implies, the Blue Voodoo amps are rated at 100 watts (read the specs on the back).

The eq controls a decent-enough range, and there's more than enough gain to distort your sound to the moon. The one spot the BV seems to be limited is volume in the distorted channel, which makes it a problem for someone playing in a loud, metal-type band. For some reason, the clean channel has enough power to match any 100W amp out there. However, when you kick on the distortion, you really have to crank it to compete. For example, typically I play with my distorted volume at 7 to 7.5 while my other guitarist's JCM-2000 is at 3 to 3.5. Needless to say, they laugh at me a bit. But for the price I paid, I believe this was the best amp I could get.

The sound quality isn't a problem. The clean channel can sparkle, but you have to watch the high end. I like it a lot, but it's a bit limited on the low end. Not to big of a deal, though, because most guitars have a neck pick up for that reason. I've already expressed the volume issue with the distorted channel, but what's totally awesome about this amp is the amount of gain saturation you can get before everything becomes white noise. Even with stock tubes, the pre amp in the BV has a big range.

It's 7 years old, been through 3 owners, and lately, I've been really pushing it. It's reliable. But ANY amp can break down at ANY time. I bring my Peavy solid state with me to every show just in case.

Heard good things, but haven't had to call them.

For the price range, I really don't think you'll find anything better. Everything else is solid state or highly overrated, in my opinion. If you want a truly sick amp, get a Mesa Boogie or a handmade Diezel from Germany. Then again, you probably don't have 4300 bucks to blow on just the amp. If you're looking for something that will rock and give you plenty of room for your sound to breathe, the Blue Voodoo should be a prospect.

Manufacture date March 2000
Blue Tolex / large brass name plate model
Specs have been covered
This one was re-tubed by previous owner Haven't opened it up to verify mfg.
Running it through a true vintage-basket weave marshall 4X12 Celestions straight cab bought from back of van @ pawnshop parking lot for $50!
Effects loop boost switch

I have noticed several "credible sounding" reviews here that claim there is a solid state circuit in the distortion channel. I got on phone with Crate tech support this morning to discuss this and they clarified that there is no distortion chip per se. There is however a ss rectifier. The point is the impression given of a "shaped" solid state distortion channel is totally erroneous. This was also confirmed by Jerry Pinnelli
of FJA Mods ( FJAMods.com or FJA Mods Myspace)
"...There is no solid state in the signal path of the Blue Voodoo. The amp does have a bright, buzzy tone that can sound a bit like it has solid state distortion, but it doesn't.
Different speakers will have a big affect on the amps tone..."

Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Studio stock (Seattle craigslist $600 after haggle)
Clean is clean and bright. Complements the LP sound
Distortion is excellent through the old Marshall Cab. Chest thumping lows great sustain (LP)
Tube distortion.

Presence potentiometer has an open circuit. I will probably just touch up the connection to the circuit board with my $10 soldering iron.
The trade off with this inexpensive design is that components - jacks, switches, pots - are directly mounted to the circuit board and the solder connections are often subject to fatigue cracks from movement, heat and impact. An ounce more of engineering would help here and save Crate some $$ in warranty repair and reputation. But it's not a huge deal considering the value/ cost of the amp

I don't care what amp you have, always have a backup available within 30 minutes

Spoke with tech support. Very helpful even with out of warranty amp. Recommended a local shop with phone #.
Parts are inexpensive and available by phone and credit card. I bought a channel switch for Vintage Club 50 for around $6 shipped.

Crate produces a value engineered product and does a good job at that. I find the cosmetics ie mirrored back and tube enhancing light bulbs more than a bit pretentious.

I've been playing for 30 years. This amp is for my 15yo kid who plays circles around me!
Other equip in house:
Crate vintage club 50
Fender Champ 1966 Blackface (Mint)
Ibanez S470 (japan 80's?) Personally autographed by Steve Vai ;)
Gurian JR
Martin 0-17 1936
Ibanez ae18 acoustic elect cutaway

Crate contact info:
LOUD Technologies Inc. Corporate Office
16220 Wood-Red Road NE
Woodinville, WA 98072 USA

Tel: +1 425 892 6500
Tel: +1 866 858 LTEC (866 858 5832)
Fax: +1425 487 4337

If you call them, be clear, concise and professional.

2003 - $599 - new.
2 Channels - clean and heavy
Effects loop.
Great for all styles.
100 watts - NOT 120! (all tube)
4 6l6's 4 12ax7

Okay so, with the stock Sovtek's (GT6L6B's) you really have to crank the power tubes to get good sound. At pratice today I played my channel volume on 7 and my gain on 2. It sounded like a whole new amp. Power tube distortion is very underrated! It had plenty of distortion and was decently thick. Playing with you channel volume on 5.5 and your gain on 3 causes the amp to be thin sounding. It has a decent overdrive tone. I wouldnt call it the best, but it is definately not the worst. The clean channel sparkles, but the highs can get out of control pretty easily. Clean channel is much louder than the overdrive channel when dialed the same (up to 7). I don't like the overall tone if the power tubes aren't cranked. I plan on putting in some SED Winged "c" 6L6's and Tung Sol pre amp tubes.

The reiliablity is great. I had one pre amp tube go out, but it was 3 years old. I got a five year warranty with it (for all electronics). Built strong, built heavy. heavy gauge wiring inside. I trust this Blue Voodoo with all my life.

Never delat with them.
But I have hears that they are amazing. I mean c'mon they give a 5 year warranty from the time you walk out the door with the product.

I've been playing for 3 years. Im lead guitarist/lead singer in my pop/rock band. This BV out performs many amps for the price. Not as loud as a Mesa or Marshall DSL. But still very loud. I actually took the chassis out, flipped it around to where the back panel (black) it the front, and the grill is the back. Looks more professional to me. I can't wait to put in those Winged C's, Ill let you know how it changes.

Features as below. All my cabs are 8 or 4 ohms. Having 16 or 8 as selections is very odd. Peavey at least has on my VTM120 4 jacks to please almost any combo of cabs you have.

If you get one of these and want a full stack you MUST have 16 ohm cabs.

The EQ section is adequate, but I would have liked a bit more bass.

As usual with most if not ALL amps that have them, the "OVERDRIVE" channel sucks, but I have a few pedals that have killer overdrive sounds that work fine in the "CLEAN" channel.

I only own tube amps at or over 100 watts... a Peavey VTM120, a 70's Fender, and this one. Their volume potential is in that order. The VTM is brutally loud, the Quad Reverb is WAY more than enough, and I'd say it's a real 100 watts. The Crate is not. After trying other tubes in it. I'd call it no more than 75 watts or so being generous.

The clean channel lends itself nicely to pedals and if you play a big box like an ES175 or 335 you'd like this amp.

I have three 4x12 cabs, two with Celestions (70 and 80 watters) and one with Eminence 30 watt speakers. The amp seems to like the lower wattage speakers better, especially for chords. It has killer sounds for that. For lead, no speaker combo I fed it sounds really good till you slip a pedal in the middle.

I think this head may like a 4x10 cab. I think I'll try that next.

Seems OK. I bought it used in really like new shape.

N/A

I've been playing a long time, I bought the BV120 because I like tube amps. It reminds me a lot of my old BF bandmaster sound but louder... not earthshattering loud, but enough to push through in most bands that play smaller dates.

I read a LOT about this amp needing some tube replacement games going to get the power and tone up. I guess the owners of those amps have expectations are different than mine. A 120 watt amp shouldn't have favorite tubes to get near it's power or tone envelope. Be that as it may, it's a nice amp as a primary or backup, and at prices around $500 to $600 it's really not a bad investment.

My amp has the gold Crate insignia on the front. I bought it in early 2001, so it was probably made in 2000. It is your basic 2 channel amp that is versatile enough to play anything from classic rock to brutal metal. I'm sure you can play some decent blues or jazz through the clean channel, but that's not my area. It comes with 2 reverb knobs, effects loop, line out jack, and footswitch. The amp says it's a 120watt amp, but I don't know. A Marshall JCM 800 50watt amp can blow this amp away when it comes to volume.

With the shitty Groove Tubes that came with this amp, I'd rate it a 5. For the first 4 years I had this amp, I didn't do any gigging and lived in an apartment, so there was no need to blast it loud and expose any weaknesses with the amp. It was adequate for bedroom level playing. I knew nothing about tubes, so like most others, I assumed groove tubes were good enough and didn't need to be replaced. When I started playing in a band and had to crank her up loud, I realized what a shitty sound I had. My band mates suggested I get rid of it and I agreed. I did some research on the Internet and found a place called thetubestore.com. With the help of their reviews on tubes, I decided to get 3 Tung-Sol 12XA7 preamp tubes, 4 JJ 6L6 power tubes, and 1 GE 5751 preamp tube. I placed the GE 5751 tube in the slot that is seperate from the other preamp tubes. The 5751 tube has 30% less gain, and consequently less power, than a normal 12ax7 tube, but it will allow you to turn the volume knob up higher and push the power tubes harder. The BV has way too much gain inherited in the amp, so I felt it was necessary to take some of it out to get a more professional sound. I use a Hagstrom Super Swede (which is the equivalent to a Les Paul Studio) with Seymour Duncan TB-4 pickup in the bridge, and a 4x12 cab with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. There was only one word to describe how I felt when I plugged in and cranked her up. WOW!!! I have struck gold my friends! There's no noise or feed back issues and the sound has been improved big time! I play old school metal, punk rock, and hard rock 'n' roll, and honestly I wouldn't trade this amp for my bandmates Marshall JCM 800 or my friends Soldano and Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier amps. Those amps are all great and are much louder (and much more expensive), but the new tone I've achieved with the BV suits me damn near perfectly and it's still plenty loud enough. I don't need an amp that causes ear and speaker damage! Is the BV the best amp in the world? Probably not, but for the first time ever, I'm really satisfied with my tone and I don't have to worry about sounding great on stage. Later on I'll try putting in some Tung-Sol 5881 power tubes to replace the JJ 6L6's to see what that sounds like. I heard they are some of the best power tubes around that aren't rediculously priced.

Never had a problem with my amp in six years.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 15 yrs, but I don't claim to be an expert. I've seen and played many shows and heard some great guitar tones out there, but most people like myself can't break the bank experimenting on high priced boutique amps. I'm sure their are many amps out there that would sound incredible if I had the time and money to invest in them, but I don't. With some tube and amp EQ experimentation, the BV is a fantastic value and an awesome amp that can compete with those much higher priced brand names, and even blow some of them away! I wouldn't have believed it a few years back, but it's true. There is great tone to be had if you choose the right tube combination, amp EQ settins, guitar, pickup, and speakers. Email me if you're interested in knowing what settings I use on my amp.

I walked in to a guitar shop a few years ago not really looking for anything and i saw this head. I decided to give it a shot and it blew me away. I play grind and sludge. I never really use the effects loop and i switched out the footswitch that came with it to a single button mainly because i never used it and that i hated the fact that the footswitch cable has to plug into the footswitch aswell as the head that was always a problem unplugging it in the middle of a show. It's just your basic two channel all tube head.

I play an esp with emg pickups. Like I said I play grind/sludge so the fact that it produces monsterous gain is awesome. It lacks clarity and is extremely noisy when the volume is up any higher than 5 without my noise suppressor. With my active pickups the clean channel sounds extremely twangy and distorts anyhigher than 4 but 4 is loud enough it cuts through the mix nicely. The distortion is brutal as hell with the gain at 6 and presence at 8.

I have to re-tube it every six months because i play it almost every day at almost full volume. I don't have another head so every show i play there is no backup and i've toured with this thing and it never once went out.

i've never had to deal with them.

I've only been playing for 4 years but for those 4 years i lived guitar. I'm currently looking at new heads I was thinking about an engl powerball or a vht pittbull ultralead but for the price it is a great amp.

Not quite sure what year it is. It's the older model with the Gold Crate emblem on the front. Basic all tube head, 2 channels with seperate Eq and reverb for each. The Eqs also sweep at different points for each channel. Channel and effects loop switching on front and with footswitch. Also 12db pad switch for effects that have too much gain. Nice touch. Use the Crate FS. Others will give you strange combinations It's got what I need for what I do so I'll give it a 10. If it didn't have what I needed why would I buy it?

First, I am not a great guitar player. I'm actually the front man in my band, but I am a total gear whore and I can totally appreciate great tone when I hear it. I know tone is subjective, but what I've found is a good sounding amp will motivate even the worst guitar player to play more and get better. I have alot of guitars (I love guitars). 2006 Charvel San Dimas HB1 custom (VERY motivating), Ibanez S470, Charvel Model 2, Kramer 24 fret American, blah, blah, blah. Except for the Ibanez, they're all just 1 HB and a volume knob. That should give you an idea of what I like. My favorite players are EVH and Nuno. I'm also a Hair Band Junky. I also love Maiden, Dio, Priest and Ozzy. This amp will cover all of that and more. Not much of a "Nu Metal" drop D one finger wonder guy. I can get anything from classic rock tones to all out high gain destruction with this thing. The clean side is good but will get dirty at higher volumes (turn the bass down and the presence up a little). The distortion channel is not as loud as the clean side and needs to be turned up past 5 to really scream, but that seems to really allow the power tubes to get nice and warm. It could just be this particular amp and may be a bias issue, but in NO way takes anything away from this amp. It's really the only amp I've been able to turn up to 5. I really didn't like this amp with the Factory Groove Tubes. First I put in JJs and it really opened up. On a whim, I put in SED Winged Cs. WOW! I loved it before but now I really love it. I've tried alot of different 12ax7s in the pre amp and they all seem to be pretty close sound wise, but the Winged C 6l6s Rock! Marshall whores and Recto freaks should just go by their 1500 dollar amps and go away. 5150 guys would like this if it's tweaked right. That said, this amp has it's own sound. If you want another amps sound, buy the other amp. At 300 bucks this thing hangs with them all. At 600, it's still worth every penny. Depending on the pre tubes, it can be a little hissy with the gain cranked (about the same as the 5150), but it's a high gain amp and my rocktron Hush fixes it.

Haven't gigged with it, but I play every day and let whoever wants to play through it. I would definately use it on stage if my band would ever let me play guitar. I'v only had it for 3 months.

Haven't needed 'em, but the website is very helpful.

If I had to, I would definately buy another. I love this amp and would definately recomend it. They have discontinued this model but you can still buy a new one online from most places for 600. That's incredible for this amp. On Ebay they go for 300-400, but the prices are going up.

All tube. 120W.
Made in the 90's as far as i know.
Versatile? Not this head. It's simple as it looks, and you won't get much more of it.
Clean channel with Bass, Middle, Treble and Volume.
Gain channel with Bass, Middle, Treble, Master.
Overall Presence.
Seperate reverbs.
Effects loop - send, return.
Output impedance switch 8/16 ohms.
Bias control - internal.
Power - much power, will do whatever you do.

I wish it had sam shape, contour controls for the Gain channel.

Line out.

It's a basic, big tube head made for hard rock, punk and metal. Not very modern :P

Tested it wit Ibanez SZ320QM/stock pickups, OLP John Petrucci/DiMarzio FRED on three different guitar cabs - all with 4x12" speakers:
1. Celestion Vintage 30s - these speakers are definately NOT for the head's type of sound, believe me.
2. 75W Celestions in a Slash signature Marshall Cab - quite nice, really. Metal type, heavy, good bottom, tight and almost sweet... I repeat - almost. It makes a difference - remember.
3. Some Celestions in a Marshall JCM900 cab - something in between...

I play instrumental rock. Satriani sounds nice to my ears. Petrucci's Suspended Animation is okay, too. Also I'm Megadeth/Marty Friedman junkie. Pink Floyd, Anathema... Something in between.

The amp sounds good for rock a la Kiss, AC/DC and metal. It sounds a bit thin. Trashy. Screamy. Saturation on a larger gain setting makes the sound a bit smoother, but just a bit. It's a bad ass head for a rocker. Clean has a strong, very loud sound - louder than the gain channel!

It doesn't suit my music style.

Is it noisy? Just little. I've played quiter amps. Fine on this one.

The clean channel stays clean at high volumes on all settings.

The distortion is not brutal, but rather raw. Can be savage.

The head did not make a single impression on me. I don't think of it in terms of a legendary, beautiful tube sound. It sounds good, but that's it. Don't get me wrong - i think some people may love it.

If it fits all of your needs and likes, it might be a 10 for the sound. I'm giving it 7 because it's nothing that special or versatile to give it more.

One more thing to mention here is the reverb. Huuuuge. The same on every setting. It's a very, very big hall. No matter how much do you set it, it sounds the same, it's level changes and that's where your control ends. Didn't like it at all.

Built well, looks very solid, but i didn't own it long enough to tell...

Didn't have to deal with them.

I've been playing for 9 years.
If it was stolen... I think that's not what i'm looking for.

Again - I wish it had more control over the tone, especially on the gain channel!

I wish the reverb was... Different, sweeter.

Not a very special value for what it has to offer! It's just expensive. Looks nice, plays well... I think it's not worth the price.

Made around 2000
2 channels.
Blues to Death Metal sounds (and I do use the variety).
Separate reverb for each channel.
Nice effects loop setup
120 watts all tube.

I love the distortion in this amp. I can get anything from blues to rock to saturated heavy metal. Even with gain on full and volume at 10, there is not much noise at all. I have a lot of different distortion and overdrive boxes that I like to play with, but I keep coming back to this amps gain channel for every type of overdrive and distortion I look for...the tone is great for me.

The clean channel is not bad, it gets pretty loud, and breaks up pretty early...at about volume of 3. For breakup I actually prefer my gain channel with the gain at about 0.5 to 1, and volume on 10...great tone their. I can get some good breakup on clean channel, but would prefer more headroom for a clearer clean.

Again, distortion is thick, brutal, with virtually no noise...and that is hard to find.

Well, I bought this used, and had to have the input jack replaced. Also, my effects loop does not seem to work at all. I have been using the same tubes for 6 months now in a cold basement, and that seems to work well.

I giving this a no opinion because this amp was used.

Have not dealt with support...this is used with no warranty. Just go to their website for authorized support...I just took it to a local guitar center...

18 years experience...if it was lost I would replace it. In fact, I need a smaller combo for local gigs and I intend to purchase the combo version of this amp.
I run ibanez guitars with dimarzio pickups (FRED, Paf-joe, evolutions) as well as a fender squier with single coils. I even have a cheap Jackson that sounds good through this thing.

The reverb is actually pretty good, seperate reverb knob for each channel. Distortion can go from crunchy to heavy but not super fuzzy.

Distortion sounds pretty good, clean channel highs are brittle at high volumes.

Only had it for a few months.

Never dealt with them

Can't beat it, $300 used for this 100 watt tube head...

2 channels: clean and distortion, 2 reverbs and a presence control. that's good enough for me.

I'm playing over an Ibanez GRG270B with stock pups. At first the amp sounded very muddy no clarity whatsoever. Clean channel was ok, way louder than the distortion channel. Distortion was actually pretty good but as I said, very muddy and fuzzy when gain was more than 7.

After a while I wasn't satisfied anymore by the sound. So, i put 4 TAD 6L6GC-STR's in the poweramp and 4 Electro Harmonix 12ax7 in the preamp. => WOOOOW, this amp's tone has gone from "good" to almost perfection. I play mostly hardcore/metalcore and it just sounds amazing. I haven't tried it with a better guitar yet cause mine is crap, but i bet a good guitar with EMG's or duncans will improve the sound so much more. And it's already near perfection for me! I'll give it a 7 because sound wasn't so goo dbefore I changed tubes.

No problems so far. Could probably drop it and it'll still work great.

haven't dealt with Crate so far.

Overall it's a pretty good amp even with the stock Groove Tubes in it. But it sounds way better if you change your tubes like I did.

All the features and power a guitar needs for just about anything.

I am writing this to follow up on my 2/26/05 review. My basic review is unchanged: great clean; good distortion; and the amp can be tweaked with the right combination of tubes.

I have gone to JAN Philips 12AX7WAs for V1. These tubes deliver a very nice, detailed clean in these amps while maintaining their character when overdriven. Like I suggested before, V2 is best driven with a 5751 instead of a 12AX7. A nice one will give you just enough taming while not robbing the amp of its character. The JJ ECC81 (12AT7 equivalent) I had in V4 was fine, but it tested electrically weaker and of inferior quality to better 12AT7 offerings. I upgraded to a JAN Philip 12AT7. I stuck with it, but I also was pleased with the results I got using a 5751 for the phase inverter.

The other testing has been with the power tubes. I have experimented with both JJ 6L6GCs and SEDs. Both sound good. The JJs have less bass. The SEDs give you more of a Fender kind of clean.

I have enjoyed experimenting with this amp and seeing and hearing what it can do.

Had it a year. No problems at all. And I have owned 7 Crate amps at one time or another. They have been reliable.

Having owned 7 of their amps, I have on occasion needed warranty service. On those few occasions, Crate was great about honoring their warranty and making available to me whatever service was needed.

I can't stress enough how good their service has been. Many companies talk about their warranty but then do everything they can to not honor it if you ever have a claim. They invent bogus exceptions. They allege that you abused the amp. They'll always tell you the problem is tube related and not covered by the warranty. Then they'll make the actual repair but charge you a fortune for the "tube" repair. This kind of dishonesty is unfortunately becoming more of the norm.

Crate, on the other hand, has been exemplary. They have never resorted to some of the dishonesty I have seen from other amp manufacturers. They have honored their warranty consistently without playing games or hardball. I hope they never loss this quality. As long as they continue to back their products, I'm going to continue to buy them.

I've got 10 amps and something like 22 guitars, which I have accumulated over about 25 years. I didn't need this amp, but the $479 blow out price was too good a deal to pass up on. It is a good sounding amp. For the money, this was a fantastic deal.

Amp has 2 channels with separate reverb and master. Has effects loop with footswitch for channel switching. I play in a rock and metal band, plenty of gain and plenty of volume, loud enough for any gig.

This is an excellent amp for rock or metal. Some say it is just for metal but just turn down the gain to around 3 or 4 and it sounds great also. It really has a great sound for metal and has a nice thick midrange. I play through a 5150 cab and it's real thick sounding. The clean channel is excellent, just watch the highs. The reverb on the clean souds different than other amps, real nice and deep. I don't know why some people really rag this amp, didn't you play on it before you bought it? If the amp was in a Marshall chassis all you would hear is how great it is. I've had many amps Marshall DSL 2000, both versions of the 5150, VTM 120, triple xxx, classic 30, several fenders. I've been playing 25 years, this isn't a bad amp.

I haven't had it that long so I won't rate it.

Never dealt with Crate but I hear they are alright.

I got this amp in a trade for a triple xxx, I also got the crate celestion vintage 30 cab with the trade, I would buy this amp if I needed a decent amp, they are selling cheap on ebay. It can do any kind of rock from 70's to this nu-metal crap. I'm more into 80's sounds and it does these sounds great, think Lynch, Ratt, any kind of 80's metal. There isn't anything bad I can say about the amp

DO NOT BUY THE CRATE CABINET WITH THE AMERICAN VINTAGE SPEAKERS LIKE I DID!!! It is the worst sounding cabinet I have ever heard. I thought it was the amp when I first brought it home and just couldn't believe how bad it sounded. I switched guitars, pickups, cables, everything. Still the weakest, thinnest sound ever. Then I tried switching with a friends cab one day. Oh My God! What a difference a cabinet can make. I eneded up buying a cheap B-52 cab and it still sounds 100 times better than the Crate. I have heard the Crate cab with e the celestions is good though.

don't know what year it was made,i have two blue voodoo amps,two channels,one is gain the other clean,footswitch,nice light show changed the color of mine to red and purple,it has everything you need-thats the bottom line!!!!!
i play acid 60's,70's,80's,90's and the new stuff they call music! LOL-its all good
100 watts if that isn't enuff power,i'm losing my hearing,and yes,with a pair i run them in stereo

first off,when you get a used amp,and you don't have it checked out,you really can't submitt a opinion,it could be bais hot or cold,who knows until you have it checked out,any used amp is gone thru of mine,first off,groove tubes are way over-rated!!i put some JJ 6L6's wow what a difference,even against a brand new BV 120,side by side test,the preamp tubes is a players personel taste,i like the jj's,so need less to say,they both are tubed with all JJ's Tubes,these amps are a bargain,you tweak'em a little,they are simply awsome,i play with guitarist friend{true story}a true mars/hall die hard,he plays a old marshall super lead,we just changed heads,played thru the same cab,and i quote-THE CRATE MAKES MY MARSHALL SOUND LAME-i about had a heart attack,if my amp tech was'nt there to comfirm this,i would say i was hearing things,but this amp carries the water,it does everything you want it do

when they are new, St Louis Music puts a 5 year warranty on it,for a rocking tube amp,i have bought both of mine used for 1 for 300.00 dollars the other was 350.00,other than retubing them,they are work horses,they are tube amps,tubes themselves can go bad,you should see what kind of protective fuses they have,that some of these high priced amps don't think of,they were built for the drunks that load them everynite,my amp tech loves them,easy to work on if you have too,crate did there homework when they built this one

before i bought my first Crate,i called the company,put them thru the ringer,aways nice,aways had the right answer,no BS

first off here,you can't go wrong with these amps,they are just as heavy as any other 100 watt tube head i ever had owned-borrowed,rented you get the point.if you don't like the sound of the amp,change your cab,it may not be the amp,i don't care for most cabinets out{i don't care what they say on them Mars/halls-boogies-carvins etc} there except for Genz Benz G Flex's,some cab designs hav'nt changed in years 40 years or better,i learn the hard way,i have given away just about all my cabs except the GB G flex's,if you want a great amp,and not go broke buying one,even new these a bargain,used is a steal,you can't go wrong,oh yea couple guys say there clean channel suks,change your tubes,then your cab,now i been playing guitar since around 73,guitars,yea i got the les pauls{4} the strat-only 1,2 BC RICH Bich's,1 335,this amp walks and talks,just remember-the guitarist makes the amp,not the amp makes the guitar player,you can buy one of these,save yourself lots of money,and have everything you need,unless you are one of them guitarist that chase the name brands,a fool and there money are soon parted-ROCK-ON!!!!!!!!!

Pretty simple rig. Two channels, independent reverb for each channel, effects loop with remote switch, 8 or 16 ohm impedence selector, line out, presence, etc etc. Judging by the tarnished brass hardware, I believe I have an older model. It's got all I need.

Oh, and it's loud as hell.

I was a bit disappointed when I first plugged this thing in at home. I didn't have the advantage of an in-store test drive because I bought it off eBay. No worries, though. I followed the advice of a few previous reviewers and I retubed it with Chinese 12AX7 preamp tubes, and Electro Harmonix EL34 power tubes, ran an EQ through the FX loop, and it's been resurrected! I play mostly metal and hard rock, and I like a tight bottom end for palm muting. Before I retubed it, the overdrive was not brutal enough for me. It sounded too ragged, and the bottom end was loose and flabby. A good sound if you're into classic rock, surf, or blues, but not a favorable metal tone. After the retubing, it's perfectly well suited for what I play. I don't even need to keep the 10 anymore! I think the chinese preamp tubes made the biggest difference over the old Sovteks they had in there. I replaced those first for a sound comparison, and already it was much improved. The Electro Harmonix EL34s just further rounded out the sound.
Pre retubing: I'd give it a 7. Post-retubing: 9

I admit, it's a bit rough around the edges (ESPECIALLY STOCK!), but for 400 bucks? Shit man, I'll take that! Consider it a work in progress. The only other issue I've had with it is the reverb. When I have the reverb turned up on channel one, channel two will make quiet funky noises that kind of sound like when you have water in your ears. I'm not sure what that's about, but I can live with it. I just keep channel one's reverb down.

Some advice for the haters:
If you don't like the shrillness, ease up on the presence, or run an EQ through the fx loop. It makes a big difference.

My arsenal:
Schecter A-7 Diamond Series
Ibanez RG 220 with a DiMarzio [something or other]in the bridge
Heavily modified Kramer [something or other] with EMG selects

Never had a problem with Crate.

No idea.

I think the main thing that makes this amp unfavorable to a lot of people is the big old "CRATE" logo on the front. This is a good solid amp, and I got my money's worth.

new 2005.Clean channel is pretty lame.It has a efx loop but Im thinkin if ya wanna fuck with the sound this makes, buy something else.This thing is all about super high gain monster tone.

I use LP custom,LP voodoo,sometimes SG, mostly the ESP truckster.The rythm guy in my band has a jmp without a master.He's loud.I tried my plexi, mesa heartbreaker, and even a randall and couldnt be herd over him without using brute force volume.I finally tried this BV120 and fell in love.I aint gotta be so loud, it cuts real nicely.Has a killer hi gain sound thats not for everyone, but for me its the one.Pretty much useless for recording, practicing, thank god I got a guy to move the thing It weighs a ton.Get a light road case for it,I did and aint had no problems

I fear the circuitboard may someday fry.Came with GT's.I travel alot with it,all kinds of climates,all kinds of drunks handling it.In and outta the van.So far it's holdin up like new (about 6 months. cant say my other amps are any better)

who knows? st luis music company.... sounds sketchy

Look,this is the thing sammy hagar uses.He's a has been who aint really got a sound to remember right.What it does is super high gain.Actually a more powerful sound then my EL34 based amps.It's got a gay ass built in light show, its practically impossible to read the knobs in all but the brightest light,it weighs more then my mother in law, and let's face it, it's got absolutly no prestiege whatsoever. I LOVE THE STINKIN THING. I plan to be buried in it someday

Ok waited a long time before writing this, bought the amp last year brand new. Like many of you i tought it sounded great in the store, but back home i went hmmmm, and with my band went uh oh... This sound familiar ? So bought an EQ put it in the effects loops, better but still not what i wanted. Played around with the EQ for a month, bought a distortion pedal still not what i wanted, and finally ended up playind trought a pod 2.0 in the effects loop. After bout 8 months of this just for the fun of it i unplugged the pod and played the amp, i then realized how much digital the pod sounded and missed the real thing..

So here's the solution to all you BV heads... V1 12at7 to warm up the clean, GT 12ax7 mullard in the V2 gain stage and the rest i put in 12ax7 Electro Harmonix. For the power tubes ordered a matched quartet of TAD 12ax7GC-STR from tubes store, and had the bias recalibrated by a technician... Went back to the band and fired this baby up still with an EQ trought the FX loop, everybody just went HOLY SHIT !!! Just wish i had done this 8 months ago loll. Before the new tubes my EQ settings were like so Bass 8 mid 1 treble 3 presence 0, gain on 5.5 volume on 7 with the band and it sounded wayyy to thin, the distortion was so shitty, no harmonic content, no balls... Now i got Bass on 7 mid on 4.5 and treble on 6, presence on 1, gain on 4 and volume on 4 and man does it have balls ! The more you turn the volume up the better it sounds !! We play stuff like Godsmack, Disturbed, Creed, Alter Bridge, Velvet Revolver, Staind... With this settings it's got the exact same tone has Godsmack who by the way play on Boogies...And i wont even talk about the clean execpt that you wont need a fender twin anymore.

Been playin for 13-14 years, my axe his a PRS Tremonti. It's all in there guys, just can't understand why Crate puts in such shitty tubes. So do yourself a favor change the tubes like i did, if your into the same kinda music try my tube configuration you'll thank me, you'll sound like a god damn freight train in your band, your bandmates wont believe your tone suddenly, huge and powerfull with plenty of punch.

So found a way to turn this baby into a monster tone machine and am not affraid to AB this amp with any other amp out there. You can definitly sound like the big boys with this amp. Would've given this amp a 5 a couple of months ago, but it's a 10 it just needs a little tweakin' Good luck !

You know, if not keep reading!!
only reason this gets a seven is due to the increasing number of 3 and more channel amps with effects which adds diversity, although i use a modeling system so this is of no matter But its a tube head and usually they have no effects, and there are still plenty of 1 and 2 channel heads!! I think it looks sharp, some people think it is tacky. Most people who are not guitarists think it looks cool, and once i overheard some guy yappin about "crate sux" and "my marshall would piss on it". It reminded me of when that guy in the beat-ass camaro said...Mitsubishi eclipse? Thats a chick car 4 cylinder?? Race!! Sure!!!!(as he laughed) Easiest 200$ I ever made.(this occured in the late ninetys before the import boom(i.e. the Fast and tha Furious!) happened. He had no way of knowing that a turbo 4 cylinder was capable of close to 300 hp, and all wheel drive gave me the holeshot by far!!

Th clean is awesome. Loud as hell. Breaks up nice if you want. For me that is great. I run a boss gt-8. into the pa its blah. Into a solid state amp its pretty good. Into the crate- I love it. The tube tone gives the modeled sounds Bite and Flavor(not to mention brutal punch!!) The distortion mode is pretty nice. Its good enough for metal and sounds great for classic rock. All the arguments about it not being true tube, im not sure. dont know why it needs 4 preamp tubes if its not all-tube. Now it goes pretty low, but you need speakers. This needs a good cab to punch. I had the cheapo crate cab for years, and got by, but was definately not the dominating setup on stage. But I now have 4 eminence black powders in that cab and it does get down there without much fuss. I recommend keeping the gain low(under half, i have it at about 10 o'clock, for metal!!) as it just gets too muddy too high. I'd say the distortion is better than all cheap heads(solid state), and some other tube heads. Its not quite marshall/mesa, but at only 700$ new, it shouldn't be. But its a good middle ground, and a wonderful option for intermediate or poor guitarists who need more than a practice amp or no name amp. In my case its incredible, and with the mesa rectifier patch on my boss GT-8, it's a firebreathing MONSTER!!!! My gear snobby guitarist no longer thinks modeling sux!!! souds a 7, but gets an 8 for value/sound!!

I have had this amp since I got it new in early 2001.(4 1/2 years ago!) It has hundreds of hours of full volume jamming on it, and I only just this week put new tubes in it!!(didn't think it was bad until I heard it with the new tubes!!Forgot it was this loud!!) I do not own a road case, and usually chuck it on the floor in my old jeep. It has sat in damp basements and garages, been frozen(heater died in 10 below winter days!!) and has not skipped a beat. 50$ in new sovtek wxt plus's and the thing ROARS!!

never had to deal with em

It gets a nine for being the best 700$ I ever spent, and gave me the ability to explore modeling. If i had a marshall, i wouldnt ever use modeling, and trust me it's nice to have 10 different distortion and 10 cleans. all in one handy pedal!!

2 channels. If this had a 3rd channel that was truely clean, or even a switch for channel 1 that would clean it up, it would get a 10.
Effects loop, including the ability to toggle effects loop off and on which is a nice feature.

All tube.

I purchased this used. I have not opened it up to see what kind of tubes are in there yet, but this thing sounds better than identical crates in the store (which I only would give an 8). I could not be happier. I am using an ibanez s470 with stock pups and a jackson js30 also with stock pups.

The amp is a little noisy on the high gain channel with everything pushed all the way, but it is not bad at all and I can live with it.

The "clean" channel gets dirty pretty quickly and I don't think it is designed for much clean use, but for rhythem and blues stuff the tone is awesome. For my clean though, I will be running through a solid state amp as I am usually happier with solid state clean.

This amp has enough distortion for almost anybody, including metallica, megadeth, pantera...etc. If you really need more, just put a booster in front of; I picked up an ibanez ts7 for $25 on ebay, and it works well with this amp, although I do not find much need for it myself.

I do find myself having to turn the highs down more than recommended; they seem pretty boosted on this amp making me wonder if this thing was modded in the past..

Well, it is a tube amp and I have only owned it for a short time. I have a Kustom quad 200 as a solid state backup so I am not worried. I am not rating this cat as I have not had the amp long enough.

never called.

I would buy this amp again (unless I had a lot of money to throw away on a Marshall DSL...but that's not happening anytime soon so...), but I would choose a vendor more carefully next time. I bought this through instrumentexchange.com, the clearing house online that guitar center uses, and some of those salesmen on instrument exchange, especially the guitar center guys are SHADY. Buyer beware!

I bought this because I couldn't afford a Marshall, and it sounds just as good. I chose this product because it was all tube, sounded good to me, and affordable. I generally do not like Crate, but this is a good piece of equipment.

I bought this amp at Guitar Center in early 2002, so could've been built in 2001 or earlier.

This amp really sucked for the 4 years I've had it. I just recently changed the tubes and re-biased the amp, and you wouldn't believe how awesome this amp sounds now. It doesn't even sound like a Crate anymore! When I first bought the amp, I had it biased 'Hot', which was a big mistake.

This is what I did to improve the amp's tone: From tubestore.com, I bought matching JJ 6L6GC power tubes for $70.00, 3 Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 pre-amp tubes for $8.95 each, and 1 GE JG-5751 pre-amp tube (used for toning down high gain guitar amps) for $19.95. I put this tube in the second pre-amp slot (recommended by a previous reviewer). Next, I took the amp to get it re-biased to spec (do not get it biased hot! This thing is already loaded with way too much gain).

I also changed the front 'Crate' insignia to the back as previous reviewers have done. I love it when someone comes up to me and asks "Dude, that amp sounds f***ing awesome! What is it?". They are in shock when I tell'em it's a Crate Blue Voodoo.

I use a DeArmond M-75 with Gibson '57 Classic Plus pickup for a clean, smooth, buttery, punk rock and rock n roll sound (Sex Pistols), and a Cort JTriggs design guitar with Dimarzio X2N pickup for a killer old school metal sound that's perfectly balanced (Kill'em All, Show No Mercy). I have 4 12" Celestion Vintage 30's in my cab and I keep the gain anywhere between 3 and 5 and it just rips! Unbelievable! My friends can't believe it. I can't believe it. No noise at all. No need to buy a Marshall or Mesa Boogie now. I've found a way to create tone on this baby that has been raised to the level of the big boys! FYI...Groove Tubes are not a tube manufacturer. It is a company that buys tubes from tube manufacturers and re-labels them. You don't know what your getting from Groove Tubes. Go to www.tubestore.com for more info on tubes.

I've never had a problem with it, so I give it a 10. I'd have no problem gigging with this baby, but it is heavy as fuck!

I asked them what the recommended bias setting was for this amp and they gave it to me. I think the warranty is for 5 years.

If you're into that Marshall JCM 800 sound, but looking for a cheaper alternative, buy this amp and do the mods I described above and you won't be dissapointed. Not only can it get that sound, but you can also get far greater distortion than a JCM by raising the gain to around 5. The gain on JCM's have got nothing on this, at least not the one's I've played through. The clean channel is OK, but I never really mess with it too much anyway.

If you're interested, you can go to my website at www.myspace.com/surfnazis

tight clean sound when needed with a soft fuzz over it for old school sound.Can go from deep bass to high treble.

Iplay a standard american strat through it w/mix match pickups.with overdrive i play nirvana which it produces a nice but not to muddy grunge sound whcih makes it sound cleaner but you can hear everything at least.when playing the blues through it i turn the bass up a little more and put thi mid at about 5 to produce a generic SRV sound that allows me to hear his sound yet my owntwist at the same time. versatile to recreate some one elses sound yet leave it different enough to be your own.

ive put this amp through many road trips not in a secure case and it has always played the same when i plug it in everytime.due to it being tube though i recomend a case anyway.

no costumer support yet

bad ass and i love it to the bone

2004 model. Wish it had a 4 ohm output. I set the gain at only 1 1/2 or so and when I want more for lead I kick a pedal. Works for me.

Read all the reviews for the BV120H, then go read the reviews for the Marshall JCM 2000 DSL100. They sound the same, the difference is the name on the outside. I own them both and the only reason the Marshall "sounds better" has to be the fact that it says Marshall on the front.
Of course it looks better to have a Marshall on stage but as far as the distortion sound it is so close a blindfold test would enbarrass a lot of folks. I have the settings (with stock tubes; after trying a myriad of different tubes)on the BV120H all up on the tone controls,
1 1/2 on the gain, straight up on the presence, all up on the reverb.
With a Fender USA Vintage Strat it makes the same sound as the DSL100,
period! If you try to say it isn't so, I know you are full of shite, I own them both, so I have a new respect for the poor dissed Blue Voodoo. It was there all the time, baby! If you need to be convinced, do a blind test, I dare you! I also happen to like the clean sound on either of these amps, the BV120H has more of a biting edge that cuts through, but the DSL100 has a longer reverb tank and does the twang a little better. Everyone is giving the DSL100 a "10" on the sound rating, ha, so I have to at least put in a 9 for something that sounds the same!!! On second thought, it should be a "10".
BTW, there was a past reviewer that did an AB with a DSL and came to the same result.

1 year and still going.

Don't know, been through St. Louis but never stopped. Waved but didn't see anything. It was at night though.

It's one of the most under rated amps on the market. I do not hesitate at all to recommend it. If you like the JCM 2000 DSL's, you will like this and be able to afford it. They are too close to call as far as sound. For the price the BV120H is a bargain, and that makes it a "10".
Head's up, don't buy a "modded" amp.

Made in 2005. Its the redesigned model. Pretty sure the guts are the same as the old Blue Voodoos just a new outside. I think it looks better then the old ones if that counts for anything. 4 12ax7s 4 6l6s (groove tubes). 2 channel EFX loop w/reverb. 100 watts, more then enough power for using with my band. Pretty basic tube amp. Bought mine new from Guitar Center about 2 months ago. I have been using Line 6s for a while and figured it was time to step up to real tube amp.

I have 2 guitars I use this amp with. One is a ESP Viper 400 with EMG 81s and the other is an Epi G400 with a Duncan '59/Dimebucker combo (both guitars are tuned to C with 54-12 stirngs). I play in a band that mixes Stoner Metal with Hardcore (think Hatebreed and Corrosion of Conformity thrown together) and it seems to hold its own tone wise. The amp does have some fuzz and static to it i run a boss NS-2 through the loop right now and it takes away most of it. I really like the Distortion on the amp and dont know why people knock it so much. Yes it does have a solid stateness to it but thats kinda what I dig about it. You cant expect to spend this much on an amp and get a Boogie tone out of it. All the guys out there in the "hardcore" scene are playing Dual Rectos or 5150s and im really sick of hearing about those 2 amps. Yeah they are cool and all but everyone plays them. I wanted a good tone that not every I know has, The Blue Voodoo gives it. I dont play clean that much but I can say its better then a clean on a 5150, Through EMGs the clean is brittle (but thats EMGS for you) but it gets alot better when I use my guitar with the Duncans. As for the distortion channel this amp is really love it or hate it. I dig the tone of the amp and bought it cause I knew it would mix well with the other elements of my band, and it does that very well, playing by yourself there is something to be desired but I have a practice amp already I needed something that was a good sounding tube Halfstack for around 1200 bucks and I found it in the Blue Voodoo. I think alot of people rate this amp low in the distorion catagory because of the guitars they use. This amp varies A LOT depending on what pickups you are using and how you EQ it for each guitar. My settings for my ESP and my Epi are totally different. One other thing I think makes this amp better is pitching the crappy Groove tubes. Im running Electro Harmonix 12ax7s in the preamp and JJ 6l6s in the power amp Really opens up the tone. Get good cables too, I use monsters in the loop, from my guitar, and from head to the cab (BV 4x12 with Celestions) and it cleans it up some. Too many people don't realize how important good cables are. I like this amp a lot end of story. I gave it a 7 because it isnt a Boogie or ENGL or Dieziel or whatever. Those amps caost alot more then this one and you get what you pay for. But I think this amp has the best tone out of all the other amps in its price range (I think it stomps my friend's 5150)

When the world is destroyed in a hail storm of Nuclear bombs 3 things will be left: Cockroaches, Cher, and Crate Amplifiers. Ive seen horrific things happen to these amps along with Crates in general and they keep running. Its a tube amps and you never know with them but id trust it for as much as I play out

Ive been playing for about 7 years. Ive owned: Line 6 spider combo, Line 6 Flex 3 combo, Marshall Valvestate II head with 1960a cab. As you can tell the Blue Voodoo is the best amp Ive owned. However I have played 5150s and Boogies for periods of time. I needed a real tube amp and like I said before This was the best half stack in my price range. With some simple upgrades I have a great sounding, durable amp that will last me till I wanna get rid of it (which may be never). It works well with my band, Great distortion tone with out distortion pedals (HATE THEM).This amp might not have the best tone Ive ever heard but its better then every pedal Ive ever heard. Max from Soulfly uses them, Billy from Biohazard uses them, and I think the guy from Cannible Corpse uses them, while not huge fans of any of those bands I think their guitar tones are pretty cool. I have used this amp in standard tuning and I wasnt really impressed. I think it is suited better for low tuned metal (C and B). When im out of college maybe Ill buy a better amp but until then this will keep me more then happy.

The Blue Blue Voodoo, new in 2004. Has all the features I need.
I just need someone to carry it for me.

I have owned it since Sept , 04. I used it for about 3 months, then went to a few other amps that aren't so heavy to move around. Recently I thought I would try my "new", "kicks serious ass" made from three guitars, Parts/Peavey/EPS/Strat with 22.5 ohm humbucks and I could not get a decent sound at all out of this amp, all super static! This guitar sounds awsome in every other amp I have except the Crates!
Then it occurred to me to try a weak vintage pickup style guitar and voila! There was the sound I thought it had when I first got the amp.
Vintage Strats are around 6.0 ohms or so. I think WEAK pickups are the KEY to getting rid of the STATIC distortion on ALL Crate amps! Even when I turned the gain all the way up it still sounded very good with no buzz/static. I can sustain a note endlessly up there.
I can see a definite use for this amp again in the future.
I'm going to install some Mighty Mites (alnicos 5.2 ohms) in another MIM Strat that has Mexican ceramics in it now and see if that sounds even better. You've gotta try this, man, THE WEAKER PICKUPS THE BETTER FOR THIS AMP, no bull! BTW, I am using the tubes the amp came with, Groove Tubes. (For the record, I also have a Marshall Plexi, DSL 50, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe to compare sounds with. The Plexi is sweeeeet!)
With a weak pickup this BV120H amp is a new sound altogether, I think it would make a great surfin' or SRV amp. The way to get there is the opposite of what I would normally do, but it works, IT WORKS!
(I also flipped the amp around in the box like the previous reviewer,
just take the amp out from the back, turn it around (leave the screen alone)put the amp back in, then put the wood cover back on which is now the front, no drilling no nothin'.)
I want to be able to use this BV120H amp because I sure do not want to drag my Plexi around to stinking gigs. I believe I have found the key to making it [BV120H] work and now I don't have to kick myself for having bought it. Familiar?

No problems so far.

Heard they are good but no experience with them.

I'd like to give it a higher rating but man it is hard to get sounds that are usable compared to the standards in the industry. It shouldn't have to be so darn different than the rest.
I have a lot of gear and I like to use the best sounding yet most
expendable equipment for travelling jobs. So I never give up trying to find a way to make the cheap stuff sound good. Weak single coil alnico
pickups 6 ohms and less really make this amp usable again, thank God.
Before you give yours away try it again with the Fender vintage single coils, you might like it.

My amp is about a 2002. 2 Channels w/ an effects loop.
I would love it if it had a lead channel.

I have changed the preamp tubes to 12AX7C?s and re-biased the amp for Ruby Tubes El-34?s in the power section. This much improved the amp?s midrange capability and harsh buzzy distortion that came from the stock 12AX7R?s and 6L6?s. I am quite pleased with the sound that it produces. I think that people that do not like the sound of this amp don?t take the tonal characteristics of the tubes that they use into consideration. It makes a big difference! I personally didn?t like the sound of the amp w/ 6L6?s, but now it fits my tastes.

Have not had a single problem w/ Crate.

Never needed customer support.

I?ve played guitar for about 7 years. I play a cheap Ibanez w/ stock humbuckers. The review I gave of the sound quality of the amp was w/o any effects through the Blue Voodoo Cab with Vintage 30?s. For those who are interested, I usually run a Rocktron Big Crush Compressor, Boss GE-7 Eq, and a Boss NS-2 to the amp and another Rackmount Compressor/Gate in the effects loop. (Other pedals include Boss PH-2, MXR Phase 90, Ibanez TS-9, Danelectro Daddy-O, Ibanez DE-7 Delay.) I also plan on changing out two of the speakers to G12T-75?s and opening up the back of the cab on Vintage 30?s side (this should give more bass on one side and more clarity on the other). I will also change out my humbuckers, but not sure to what yet.
Overall, I would say that this is a nice sounding and inexpensive amp. True, I don?t think it sounds like a Marshall or a Boogie, but it has a distinctive sound of its own. As one reviewer said, ?it sounds good to me.? Don?t listen to the bad reviews, just try one out for yourself, and remember that tube types make a big difference.

You have read all the features before so I'll just bypass this category

I've used a Strat, Les Paul, Parker Mojo, Tele, Gretsch, and a Guild Brian May. The clean channel is bright, clean and crisp but lacks the warmth of a Fender twin or Deluxe. I rolled the PRESENCE control off and it lost that ice pick in the ear brittle sound. If this was all the amp did it would be cool. Put some pedals in front and you got all you want in a clean amp. However, the drive channel sucks bildge water! The annoying "bumble bee in a tin can" distortion. It did improve a little when I put in Sovtek 12AX7WA's in the gain stages but it still is way too buzzy. OBTW I used the Crate 4x12 that originally came with the amp.

So far so good. SLM has built a tank.

I called to get some tech advice when changing the preamp tubes from SLM and got right through. The tech support was great. I wish this category had a higher rating than 10. I am VERY impressed.

I got this from a guy who said, "I'll never use it again. You want it?" Not being one to look a gift amp in the speaker I gladly accepted his kind and generous offer. The amp is pedal friendly and is quite usable as long as you don't turn on the distortion side. This head books out at around $500.00. I wouldn't even consider paying half that much. Overall this is probably the worst sounding half stack I ever played.

this amp has all you need for most giging guitarists,good clean and good distortion no matter what style you play and the power is all you need for large or smaller venues

i play just about anything,blues,rock,some country,new rock,punk,i use two custom strats i had built with a dimarzio vitural vintage single coil in the neck and a 80s dimarzio super distortion in the bridge as well as a les paul and many other guitars from semi hollow body to two vintage strats a 65 and 58, and a tele as well, this amp does not make alot of noise or static,the distortion can go from nice breakup to shred just what i need

been giging with it fro awhile and no problems

never needed them

i have been playing guitar for over 30 years, i have vintage marshall and fender amps as well as some others ,silvertone,valco,ampeg and not to be a snob but i can buy any amp i want pretty much but there lies the problem,vintage fenders and marshalls are freakin gone nuts on the prices and the newer stuff is not any better in price and does NOT sound as good..sorry !! ,i have had mine for many years and paid way lees than what they go for now and to be honest would have never even thought of owning anything from crate,my thought was crate was crap !! until i played the blue voodo 120, i had a marshall jcm 2000 at 800.00 and it sounded no differant than the blue voodo and the voodo has way better clean tones,the distortions are the same !! i got the voodo in a partial trade and could not belive how it sounded so i sold the marshall for 800.00 and have been using the voodo ever since for about 250.00 in trade value, i dont use my marshalls or fender amps for giging anymore i dont have to the voodo does a great job and i dont have to worry about nicks and scuffs and beer and drunks misty wheather etc..etc..get one trust me !!

the mirror grill business is silly. here is a tip. turn the chassis around back to front in its case and it looks just like a 1960's marshall. the metal grill will now be in back and the control knobs will stick out under the blue tolex panel that used to be the back panel. everything fits fine. it was probably designed that way in the first place before someone got the mirror inspiration.

sounds just like a 1960's marshall.

the circuit board on this amp is pretty thin, the traces are too. the power tubes are on a separate board connected by rigid pins, not wires. one of the pins stopped making contact and 2 of the tubes stopped working. i would worry about transporting this amp.

has an 800 number but i fixed it myself over the weekend.

a good cheap substitute for a vintage marshall, but tour with 2 or more --you will need backup.

2 channel, dirty clean, latty dah

Ibanez gsa60 and yamaha pacifica. This is amp is pretty cool, and i got the head for 250 bucks!! It's pretty sick for the price, definetly has "my" tone, which involves a lot of mids and lows, very few highs. I play everything, but this thing rocks for real metal, not for pussy nu metal shi-ite that needs 10,000 dollar amps to sound good. I play testament, dream theater, Shadows Fall, and loads of other stuff. The thing I dislike about this amp is the gain control is misleading. The gain control on 6 is the same gain you would get from a marshall on 10, and anything past 7 on gain for this thing is unusable, its simply to fuzzy and harsh. That being said, this thing can get a killer metal tone at around 3 gain which is my rythm, then for lead stuff its around 6. Definetly not a 800 dollar amp, but for 250 bucks for an all tube amp, how can you go wrong?

Purtty good. hasnt crapped out on me yet

never dealt with em.

Sick head, buy it if you see it for 350 or less, other wise go bust a nut and invest in something major but at this price range you cannot get any better.

Don't know what year this amp was made, but I bought it new about 6 months ago. The features are covered in the 130 reviews prior to this one, so no need to address except to say that I think the design layout is very user friendly and provides all of the essential options a guitar player could need.

More than enough power for just about anything I can think of.

I like Fender clean type and the ability to also get good overdrive. The latter I really have to work on because I have a particular quality distortion I want. The clean I am looking for pretty much requires 6L6 tubes, but the overdrive I like leans a bit more in the EL-34 direction. 6L6 overdrive has too much splash. The EL-34 overdrive is tighter, but tends to lack the bottom end you can get with a 6L6.

Well, this amp allowed me to get the sound I was looking for by playing with the tubes. This amp came stock with pretty decent sounding tubes. The 6L6 tubes were Groove Tube 6L6Cs, which are Chinese made. They look like Shuguangs. They had a "4" distortion rating. They did not sound bad except that one in the batch of four was defective. Musician's Friend was not particularly helpful. I yanked the tubes and replced them with a set of SEDs that biased right at 37MAs. Perfect!

The stock preamp tubes were all Groove Tube 12AX7C's, which are the pretty decent Shuguangs everyone keeps raving about. Not bad, but still giving me too much of that 6L6 splash when overdriven. I replaced the V1 Shuguang with an NOS GE 12AX7WA, which had more presence and detail. But the most important changes were made at V2 and V4. V2 in the Crates covers your drive channel. I stuck an NOS Sylvania 5751 there. It is potent enough to still rip, yet it tames down the gain just enough to reign in that 6L6 splash. Next, I stuck a JJ ECC81 (12AT7) in in V4, the phase inverter slot. A lesser gain tube in the phase inverter robs some amps of their character. In this case, it was perfect for bringing out the qualities I was looking for.

Other have commented on how this amp will do punk and metal. With Vintage 30s, it definitely covers the metal. But I am not a fan of heavy metal or of Vintage 30s. I play classic rock, Brit pop, power pop, 60s coves, and 70s classic rock. I'll take Greenbacks or G12T-75s over Vintage 30s any day. For this amp, I have a Fender Tonemaster 4 X 12" cab that came loaded with Vintage 30s. Out went the Vintage 30s and in went two Greenbacks and two Blue Alnicos. This is tone!

I haven't really pushed this amp. It has covered plenty of bedroom practices and an occasional jam session. It will be getting more of a work out in the very near future. So far, so good. No reason to expect anything other than reliability. Only problem to date was the bad 6L6, and that wasn't a problem with the amp.

Never dealt with Crate on this amp, but I have owned several Crates amps over the years. Their customer service is the best I have ever dealt with in the music industry. It has a lot to do with why I keep coming back to their products. They offer decent products at very reasonable prices. They back them up with good warraties (5 years) and good customer service.

Been playing about 25 years. Own about 10 others amps and over 20 guitars. Didn't really need this amp, but the blow out price was too good an offer to pass up. Besides, I had the idea that I'd be able to tweak this amp to get exactly what I wanted out of it. That turned out to be the case. I'm very happy with it and kind of regret that I did not buy two at the blow out price.

Made in 2000, I ordered this from a local music store and had to wait almost 5 months to get it (which kind of pissed me off) I'm only writing this review to let anyone know who is looking to buy this amp that it is a great piece of equipment. I won't get into the features too in depth b/c the other reviewers have already done that.

I use this amp with a few LP Standards with various pickups (all switched out the stock pickups were horrible. I also use a Washburn N4 unbelieveable axe, 84 Kramer Baretta, Jackson Soloist, ESP Kamikaze and an Epiphone Nighthawk special. I play Rock and Metal, Old 80's metal like Van Halen, Dokken to newer stuff like Disturbed, Godsmack etc and of course my band's original material which is a cross between the downtuned stuff of today with actual solo work unlike a lot of crap bands out right now. It can be a bit noisy when the gain is dimed out but what amp isn't. What I really want to say about this amp is that I had it for almost 4 years and was about ready to trash it. I kept getting this swooshing sound (without effects connected) IT was like noise storm, it was awful man. I paid about 800 for the head and 600 for the Vintage 30 cab it never quite sounded right to me. I had tried (almost) everything, took it to the shop about 4 times, they said everything was fine, Changed out the power tubes 3 times, nothing worked. I got bad advice from Crate is really what happened, they told me that I really didn't need to change out the preamp tubes, well I finally did it and WOW! Swooshing noise was gone the clean channel didn't clip anymore and the OD channel finally sounded like the freight train that I had been looking for. IT DOES LACK A LITTLE BOTTOM END THOUGH. It is not my Ideal amp but I won't be getting rid of it, ever. I'm very pleased with it now and I will keep it.

I've been a gigging musician for more than 8 years now and the BV has actually been dropped before, which is pretty much fatal for a tube head, it still worked perfectly, I couldn't believe it, I got lucky I guess. It has been through a lot, someone spilled a beer on it and I thought for sure it was toast, still worked. From what I've experienced it is built tough and has been completely road worthy. I have a backup but it is an old Randall 100W solid state that I really don't want to use in a live situation but If I had to I'd use it for the night.

They've always answered the phone and were always more than willing to help out, but I'm not so sure that all of the techs are as knowledgable about their products as they should be. Most of the guys I spoke with were really cool but there was one punk ass that thought his shit didn't stink and was kind of a dick, real pretentious little fucker, he was no help at all. But for the most part they have tried their best to help me out. Unfortunately I had to figure the shit out myself and because of that one little pretentious fucker they get a 5.

Been playing for quite a while, over years live and just playing for more than 15. I have experience with Marshalls (the other guitar player in my band has a JCM 800, great amp, but the BV keeps up with it in every aspect. I wouldn't pay twice as much for what he has over the BV. The Reverb seems a little tinny to me but not too bad, I use it but I keep it dialed down to about 3 or 4 any higher than that and it seems artificial. The funny thing is, I bought this only because Marty Friedman was endorsing it and it was relatively affordable, mid range. If I had $4500 to drop on an amp I'd buy a Diezel VH4 but I don't see that happening anytime soon. For the most part, If you're looking at buying one of these I'd say go for it. I don't know much about the newer models with the 20 tubes, god what a nightmare that must be to buy all of those and change them out. Anyway it's a great amp and can hold it's own with many of the higher priced amps that are out there.

Already covered this in previous reviews.

OK, this is now my third review of this amp. Guess I'm getting a little obsessive. In my last review I gave the sound quality an 8 because the clean sound isn't my favorite in the world. What was I thinking? The dirty channel alone is enough to rate a 10. The main reason for reviewing it again is because I recently had a chance to A/B it with a new Marshall JCM2000 DSL. A friend of mine's car broke down after a show and he asked if I could take his Marshall head home with me. I tried both heads using my entire rig, which is as follows: Ibanez Jem7PBK or Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite, Boss TU-2 tuner, Dunlop 535Q Crybaby Wah, MXR ZW-44 Zakk Wylde Overdrive, Boss GT-3 multi-effects unit(this last run through the effects loop and used only for time-based effects, EQ and noise-gate), BV120 head and a Marshall 1960A cab with Celestion Vintage 30's. I went back and forth between both heads like 12 or 15 times. Using the pedals and guitars I always use, and the sound I like the most dialed in on both amps, they sounded IDENTICAL, literally!!! The responsiveness, loudness, sustain, EVERYTHING was the same. The only difference was that the Marshall had a SLIGHT bit more low-end, and I chalk that up to the fact that I haven't changed the tubes in my BV in about 3 years. I would challenge anyone to listen to these two rigs blindfolded and tell me for sure which was which. The BV is about half the cost of the Marshall AND it has independent EQ sections for both channels, while the Marshall had only one. The point is, I thought the Marshall was a great amp, but not one iota better than the Blue Voodoo, and for twice the price. Mesas are muddy and generic-sounding in my opinion, good for metal rhythm playing but shitty for solos. For my ideal sound, I prefer to have slightly more gain than either of these heads push on their own, so if any of you are looking to push your BV's over the edge I highly recommend the ZW-44. By combining that pedal, a little chorus and EQ tweaking on the GT-3, the BV head and the 1960AV cab, I have the warmest, loudest most brutal Goddamn sound you ever heard. If you DO try the ZW-44, be patient and play around with it's settings and your amp's settings. It can create a lot of noise and unwanted feedback if you're not careful.

As I've mentioned in previous reviews, EXTREMELY reliable. Also, I found the 800-number to order Crate parts and replaced the missing "feet" on my head for all of 3 bucks apiece. So, occasional tube replacements aside, I've spent $6 on maintenence in over 6 years.

Haven't dealt with them much.

As you can guess, I love this amp. One word of warning though: Tube amplifiers let every nuance of your playing come out, much more so than solid-state amps, even the modeling kind. This can be good or bad. If you are a good, precise player, they will make you sound that much better. If you are sloppy, however, and let strings ring out unintentionally or hit alot of bad notes, everyone will hear that as well. If you know you aren't that great at playing precisely you might be better off with a Line 6 or a Marshall AVT.

2 channels, didn't come with footswitch (I got it used). All tube.

I play a Jackson RX10D, and a RR5, and a Charvel 375 DLX. I play mostly metal. It's a great sounding amp, I can't believe how great it sounds. The clean channel could be a little cleaner, but I'm getting used to it, and learning to roll back the volume on my guitar a bit, and that cleans it up better. The tone/sound is perfect for me. The guys in my band all love it too. The other guitarist wants one now.

I've only owned it a couple of weeks. I would not gig it w/o a backup, because things happen beyond our control.

I have been playing for a few years. I own a Crate GFX1200H full stack (which has now been relegated to backup duty),and a Peavey Audition 110 practice amp.
If it were stolen, I would definitley buy another one. How the hell do you lose a HUGE HEAVY amp head? Well, if I did..I would buy another one after kicking myself repeatedly in the ass for being so stupid. I do wish it had 3 channels like the GFX1200H, but that's ok..it's great.

120 Watts, clean and dirty channel, reverb, 4 6l6's, bass treble mids, all the knobs effects loop. Just your basic tube guitar head design done very well. Of course its blue as well, with a backlit sign and tubes. Classy.

Honestly, its a tube amp, what more do you want from it?

I am using either a stock Gibson V-Factor or an EMG 81 equipped Ibanez SA-1260. I have also used an Ibanez Artist with Duncan JB's, a Duncan equipped ESP EC-1000, and an EBMM John Petrucci with Dimarzio's. I also use a matching Crate BV-4x12 with the Crate American Vintage speakers. I play metal mostly and emo. Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, Mastodon, Coheed and Cambria, Texas is the Reason, Thrice, Helmet, Fairweather, Ed Gein, Psyopus. That kind of stuff.
The clean channel is very well put together. All you would ever need out of a clean channel, sans effects. It stays very clean at high volumes, and trust me the clean channel can get loud. It takes effects very well, doesnt get all garbled up.
The dirty clannel, again, done very well. Does it have all the finesse and passion and verve and scope of a Bogner or an Engl. No, and who gives a holy handjob. When you get into a live playing situation with bass and drums and singing ect, your $2500 Bogner-Engl-Framus will sound a lot like my $450 Crate.

Ive had it for 4-5 months and its held up perfectly well. No preformance issues at all.

I havent dealt with Crate and i dont think i will have too anytime soon.

I diddnt want to love this amp. I got it cheap from MF on closeout, and i got the cab used too. All told this halfstack ran me about $830. You cant buy a new Peavey head for that. Ive A/B -ed this with Marshall 's (JCM-2000, Mode Four), Mesa 's (Rectifiers, Stillettos), and all manner of Peavey heads ( 5150, XXX, JSX).Like a previous reviewer i have the money for Marshalls and Mesas, but I like this rig better.

You know about the features, 2 channels, one clean, one dirty, plenty about that in other reviews.

This is actually a follow-up review and a rebuttal to all the schmucks who posted saying the BV sucks and we should all buy Marshalls or Boogies. I can afford any damn amp I want and I'm perfectly happy with my BV. I bought it five years ago because at the time it WAS all I could afford but it has served me well for all that time. I don't know, maybe Ahkmed and all the other morons who hate the BV so much just got defective units, or perhaps they are all a bunch of pole-smokers. Ahkmed is obnoxious but at least he had the balls to include his name, unlike the idiot who goes on and on telling us how tubes work and complaining about how "young kids" today don't know what an amp should sound like. I have a number of effects in my rig but I can also get a very large warm sound just going straight in. I play an Ibanez Jem with Dimarzio PAF Pro's and use a Marshall 1960 cab with vintage Celestion 30's. It's loud as Hell and, to my ears, sounds as good if not better than the Marshalls and Boogies alot of my peers play through. Don't get me wrong, those are both great amps but everyone and their sister plays one and the Boogies all sound the same to me. Some of us would prefer not to be clones! I should tell you, it's not just me. I get compliments about my sound all the time, often from the sound guys at the clubs we play at. In fact, the guy who is widely regarded as the best sound engineer in my city says my tone is the one of the best that he deals with in his job. And no, I'm not from Hicksville, I live in the 5th largest City in the US. To be honest, this same guy has also told me that he doesn't like the sound of most of the BV's he deals with but he loves mine. Maybe it's the PAF Pro's? I don't know, the BV isn't for everyone and if you don't like it then don't buy it. Just don't tell me that my amp sounds like shit just because it didn't sound good for YOU.

5 years, 50+ gigs, hundreds of rehearsals and no major problems. Replace the tubes as needed and you'll be in good shape for a long time. The only complaint I have is that two of the "feet" came off of mine and now I have to put a couple of 9-volts underneath to make it level sitting on the cab. Anyone know where I could replace these?

I'm giving it an 8 just because I know not everyone seems to get as good of a sound as I get. Also the clean channel isn't that great but I never use it anyway. Use a guitar with PAF's and a good cab and you should be happy, especially considering the price. I recently added an MXR ZW-44 overdrive to the front of my already-distorted amp and with that I get all the low end of a Boogie but without the lack of mids and sameness of sound.

Pretty simple amp on the front and the back. Heres the two things that are nice, seperate reverb for each channel and the effects loop can be turned on and off by the footswitch. I wish you could turn the reverb on and off by a footswitch as well, that would make me happy, might get that done when modding it.

I'm using a Epi Les Paul Standard that I have modded to some extent. I also run a Fender Standard Strat through it as well. It powers a Madison 4x12 cab. At first I didn't like the way it sounded, the clean sounded pathetic and the distortion had no low end. But then I remembered I had been away from tubes amps for awhile, a tube amp only shines after a couple things have happened, one the amp has to be properlly warmed up, and two, you don't start getting great tube sounds until you get the power section working. So after about 15 minutes of play on it it had warmed up pretty good and the sucker started to sound great! The clean breaks up just as you would want it to. The distortion is very full, very rich, and has that Crate tradmark dark tone to it. When I crank it up to full blast it will blow your head off, but it will sound so good while doing it. Starts to remind me of a marshall when it's cranked it has that dark tone to it. I usually keep the overdrive channel around 5-6 to get a nice even mix of power and pre, this gives me my best tone, a nice crunch that sounds clean but can still bite off your head. I have found the tone I love, and I'm glad I'm back to tube. I think some people on here also forgot, let your amp warm up, then beat the great tones out of her, she begs for it!

I'm not sure how reliable it is yet, havn't had the chance to test it on the road. A lot of pros use it on the road, so I'm going to assume it holds up. But it is tube and you have to be a little carful with them. I own some other crates and have never had any problems though.

Never delt with crate, and I own a few, so I guess thats a good thing!

This amp is awsome, some many great tones that you can get out of it. I started off on tube amps and played them for many years. Then played solid state for many years, and after never being happy with my tone I went back to tube, and I'm glad I did. I love it that you can get these things for so cheap since everyone else is after the 300watt version of this, why 300 watts of tube, that's crazy, way to much for any human being! If your thinking of buying one of these, buy it, just remember, tubes, they sound best when hott, so warm them amps up. Oh and change the tubes, try out some combos and see what works best, I'm currentlly using Mesa 6L6 and Electro Harmoniz 12A7X.

New, closeout of the blue vinyl. I've had it about three months, came with the Groove tubes. It is heavy, 58 or so lb. I need to get a case for it because it is not something you want to drop. It has Reverb and even tho I could do without it most of the time, I need it on the clean channel. Came with all metal footswitch.

I AB'd it with a Crate GX1200H just to see if there was any similarity
to the Flex-Wav circuit. NONE. NONE at all. The Voodoo is an entirely different sounding amp at all levels. Voodoo easily sounds better than the Flex-Wav and sounds nothing like it. It is difficult to remove the static sound from the Flex-Wav but it just isn't there on the Voodoo.
It's a 100 watt 6L6 tube amp and if you don't know how to make it work
get the hell out of the way, cuz I know how! I live right in the middle of snob country (Texas ranchers) and they just can't stand me.
So you know I get real tired of amp snobs. You don't have to like the Voodoo to be a good guy in my eyes, but don't spread lies about it.
I mean how can anyone get in such a lather over an amp. I question the motivation of someone who doesn't own an amp and yet has a vehement hatred for it. It ain't natural.

I don't know.

I don't know

It's been said before, best buy in an all tube head, [for what I paid anyway].

NEW-tube amp-2 channel--came with the footswitch.this amp gets the job done and then some.all features are useable.reverb is very nice[seperate for each channel.looks great and sounds better.pound for pound the best value in a tube amp going today.i wanted this amp for a long time and finally got one.i was not disappointed........

i play humbucker equip. guitars.single coil p/ups are to noisy.i beleive this would suit any style of music.the clean channel is very nice sounding and the dist.channel a fantastic.i have nothing bad to say about this amp--- i'm going to buy another one in the near future.

i've only had it a short time.from what i understand''these amps are made to be beaten''--just change the tubes when needed....

i've owned crate amps and speaker cabinets for many years.they are a very good company to deal with.i had a speaker go on me[out of warranty]--they sent me a new one anyway....hows that for a good co.

i've been playing for many years.i own a laney amp--marshall amp--another crate head--peavey cabinet 4/12----esp guitar--guild guitar.lets see.what do i like about this crate head--i like everything and dislike nothing.i do hate that i waited so long to buy it.for the money,you will not find a better amp...........

Made in 1996. 2 seperated channels, silent footswitching on them as well as the effects loop, which has a 12dB boost button. All tube - comes with Groove Tube 6l6s and 12AX7s but it is of course able to take other types, with the appropriate adjustments. I don't recommend doing this. With this amp, any old Sovteks or whatever will be fine. This amp has seperate reverb for each channel, and the footswitch jack is stereo 1/4" phone type, which is nice if you're replacing the factory one or building one yourself. All in all it has the usual amount of features, maybe a lil' above average. Oh and it has cool orange lights behind the tubes that light up when they're activated, making it glow from inside which is nice aesthetically, and also good if your amp is on the brink of death and you need to know if one of your tubes is about to die. This is an issue with mine, which is currently barely being kept alive by this little hamster that runs in a wheel mounted to the chassis.

Jackson, Charvel, Epiphone guitars. Jackson, Epiphone, and passive EMG pickups. Thrash, progressive metal, progressive rock, classical, folk. Influences are many.

This amp has a really good sound - don't trust them when they tell you it isn't a great amp or worth the money. It is worth the money, take it from one who knows --- but only if you are the sort that is dedicated to tube amps, and the kind that likes to turn yours up around 10. This amp really brings out the tones produced by the tubes, you can hear it clearly throughout all the volume and gain settings. It doesn't have a chokehold on the gain like Marshalls, and it doesn't have monster gain like a 5150. It has a nice, even keeled distribution of gain levels. If you want to sound brutal, you can turn the gain up to 10 and stand back. If you want fuzz, turn the the gain to 1 or 2. It isn't one of those amps that you have hit an extra switch to change to low gain or high gain, or set the gain on 3 to get blasted, or set the gain on 7 just to crunch. It covers the spectrum.

The clean channel is nice - voiced brightly like the other channel but easily cleaned up by turning the treble knob down. When you give the clean channel a little volume, it really warms up to you and feels full and clear. The lead channel is the same, but warms up at higher volumes than the clean channel.

This amp brings out your fingerwork nicely. You may have noticed that a lot of amps that have killer tones for specific things, like chugs or split harmonics, don't let more subtle things through. This amp does. Also, it quickly presents resonances in high squeals. This brings out tone and expression in your high-end noodley work.

This is amp is reliable. There isn't another way to say that; this amp is just plain reliable. Assuming it isn't struck by lightning, hit by a missile, or in mine's case assuming the hamster doesn't stop running in the little wheel, this amp will not break down. Most amps are fussy about things like electricity quality, input signal current, or being tossed about the stage by drunk techs. This one isn't. However, do not defeat the ground on this amp. It needs it. If you need to be told this however, you may also need to know that it's also a bad idea to defeat either of the other two prongs on the pluggy-thing. Just put it down, junior.

N/A. Find someone who knows Crates if you must find anyone at all. I haven't had the best of luck with techs.

I've been playing for 12 years, and I'm usually the better player in any group I sit in with. I spend about 10-15 hours a week practicing, used to be 20-30, and I'm a quick study with musical instruments. I've got a good ear - done some soundtech work and recording, always praised. Other gear - I use a Fender 15watt Frontman for quiet practicing, it's very tight sounding and helps me work out tiny errors in distorted guitarwork. My main rig is now a 5150II, modded tighter and with added control. The Crate served faithfully on and off stage for 4 years, I never needed another amp for any setting. My Blue Voodoo is shot to hell though, specifically from numerous accidents and meddling amateur amp-modder-wannabes. Thus it is now my back-up rig, and I don't dare sell it for the petty cash I would get for its old, worn out carcass. It's much more valuable as a back-up rig. If it were stolen, I would find the person who stole it and try to fit the chassis in his rectum. Then I'd turn it up to ten and watch 'em fry while I play "The Simpsons" show opening theme. But if I never found 'em, I'd go to a guitarshop and smash a new Blue Voodoo against the wall a few times, so I could buy it at a discount. Then it's off to the pet store for a new hamster.

My overall rating is: If you want to spend less than $1500 on a tube half stack, get this tube half stack. It doesn't matter if you play metal, rock, blues, country, jazz, or martian monster mash music. For that money, it is an excellent choice, and definitely my choice for that price range. Exceptions: death metal, black metal, classical, folk.

Just turn it the hell up and be amazed. Do not judge this amp on what it does at volumes below 5, on either channel, as you would have to when playing in your bedroom or at the guitar shop. Have them put you in the sound room, and crank it. It's like the tubes take control of the amp in some kind of hostile take over and start raping the peasant women in the villages.

Nothing anyone has not mentioned before. The lack of a Line in to use the amps power section is a strike against the amp.

The amp sounded good in the store but later after we got it home, it just didn't sound like a tube amp. Personally I don't care for the 16-8 ohm config, as most american amps use the 8-4 ohm, which meant we could only use it with one cab. For being 120 watts, it is pretty quiet, even being blowen away by my Line 6 Spyder 2 x 12 combo. The distortion channel has no real defined edge, instead being muddy and buzzy. The clean channel seemed a little better. It just doesn't have the testis you would expect from an all tube amp. It didn't sound very good running a Line 6 POD 2 through the clean channel as well. I don't think its the big "metal" monster that everyone thinks it is. The sound is too messy, buzzy, and undefined to be able to double pick.

It never broke down so I've never had to deal with it.

Again, bever had to deal with it.

Its a Crate, so what do we expect? My band made a pact to not buy any Crate amps ever again, but we made an exception in this case because it sounded good in the store, and was all tube. It just does not have the defined sound needed to play tight articulated speed metal riffs. Maybe it would fair better having some other gear hooked up with it, but in this day and age, you should be able to just plug into an amp and get the sound you're looking for...not with this amp..or most amps these days (unless you spend thousands). I think the Line 6 amps blow most amps away. I know most purists hate these digital modeling amps, but I was impressed with their sound and versitility.

I think this is about a 1996-7 model. The features are well known, so I'll skip it.

Classic rock, blues/rock. This head is well known for it's chainsaw like drive channel, for most, I think, it is excessive. There is a way to compensate this back out to a great extent. It is thought of as a metal amp because of the above, but I think it can be used for more if tube are changed and bias is proper with a new set of good tubes.

I haven't had it long enough to say, but it had all original tubes in it yet and worked OK, so it must be somewhat rugged.

I have dealt with Crate (SLM) on another amp and they were great.

Been playing off and on over 30 years, have 2 other tube and 2 other SS amps. I like this amp for the power and distortion and it seems to be built like a brick outhouse. Mine was biased way too high, I thought. 41 mA is too much. I took it down to 31 mA (maybe still too high). The 12AX7s pump up the drive, especially the drive channel preamp. Put some nice vintage USA 12AT7s in this baby, and you will think you got a completely different amp. I would like to try to Svetlana 6L6's in it too. Currently running a matched quad of Groove Tube 6L6s hardness 6 at 31 mA bias. Get a bias tool and check the bias, I think this problem may be more common than just my amp. BTW, as you probably know, but if you don't, too high a bias will wear out your 6L6s in a hurry and is hard on transformers, so check it out.

basic features, nothing speacial, but enough for me. very versatile, i play mainly metal, also rock, classical, and blues.

I use mostly seymore duncans with this amp(invarder, SD, 57's)definatly fits my style of music. very brutal distorion.

I use this amp with out back up and it has never failed me.

iv been playing for 7 years and iv found this amp has the perfict tone for me. when i bought this amp it was bettween this amp and the crate bv150hb i would have spent the extra cash on the 150 if it wernt for the fact it was lacking reverb. if this amp was stolen i would definatly buy another, though if the bv150 or bv300 start coming with reverb i would probably buy one instead.

pretty typical amp layout, nothing super fancy, just the basic things that you need. standard EQ knobs, FX loop, 2 channals that are switchable, as well as the loop.comes with 6L6 power tubes and 12ax7 preamps tubes. reverb.

first off, the amp stock is pretty much garbage. right now i'm using a carvin DC127 guitar (which is a great instrument) and an esp with emg pickups. the distortion is super harsh and fuzzy, and the gain channel just makes immense amounts of noise. the only time i have found that the distortion channel sounds decent is when you add your own external OD/dist and then add some compression to it. then its useable, but only that. its also not very well defined and clear sounding, pretty muddy, even though the bass controls on the amp are weak. the clean channel isnt too bad, but lacks headroom big time....you cant turn most guitar volumes past 2 before the channel distorts and gets ugly. in order to make the clean sound decent on this amp, you really need to have low output pickups. not to mention this amp is really quiet too, it doesnt even seem like its 120 watts, seems its more like 50. the FX loop is also a little noisy, but the noise doesnt become noticable at higher volumes. the only postive thing i can say about it is that its an affordable and reliable amp and that these amps have the potential to be a killer with some basic mods. other then that, dont bother buying one.

crates in my opinion are very reliable. i have never had a problem with it and have owned it for 2 years. i have also used other crate amps without problems as well. i dont think i would need a back up.

never dealt with the customer service, but if you try and email them, they just tell you to call about anything and everything. i never got a warranty with the amp, but i dont think i would need or use one anyway.

i've been playing for 6 years now, and i'm a total tone freak. although its not really a matter of how long you've been playing, its more of an issue on having an ear for sound. i can tell that this amp stock is crap, but since i'm having mine modded by voodoo amps, i'll post a review of it in the voodoo mods section here and give a review of it then. if you are still persistent on getting one, you should shoot for an older used one (which should be relatively cheap) and then have it modded without worries of having the warranty become voided. the newer redesigned voodoos are much better, but still not worthy of an incredible amp.

Not many complicated features, overall very easy to use. Master volume...distortion..etc etc the usual. Has some nice reverb. The only thing i dont like about it is that it only has two channels. Three would be a bit better, but hey, its great. In my experience, the effects loop is kind of crap, i could never get good sounds out of it, but then again, i really dont ever use the effects loop.

I play shred/metal. Stuff like Children of bodom, Sonata Arctica, then some dimmu borgir, yngwie, etc etc. I use a jackson DK-1. At first, i used the stock emg's- 81 and 85. But then i came to my senses and realized EMG'S SUCK! Yea, i used to be like you :-) I thought emg's were the best p-ups on god's green earth, then, after comparing them to some much better pickups, i realized the tone potential from both my guitar and my amp. So i replaced them with a dimarzio super distortion in the bridge, and a PAF pro in the neck. WOW! The sound is amazing. Gets quite heavy to my liking. I dont need to turn the distortion up and create all that extra noise, because the right pickups take care of the boost allready. The distortion, like I said, gets downright heavy. I orignally had this on some shitty crate cabs, but before you buy this head, remember that its best to put it on something with some good celestions, i use marshall 1960 leads. Nice warm distortion that cuts through nicely. The clean is out of this world. Its channel is definitely louder than the distortion, but thats not saying that the distortion is quiet :-D If you dont tweak it right, it tends to break up, but when tweaked right, its so full and wonderous, I love it. Extremely clear, and when the reverb is on...haunting. But enough of my yap in this area...

Never blown a tube, never had any problems ever with it.

Like I said above, never had any problems whatsoever.

Overall, great amp, great sound. Perfect for my purpose. Dont be put off by those dicks out there with their expensive marshalls and shit. This does the job cheap, reliably, and well. Did I mention it sounds like god? :-D Any specific questions, just shoot me an email, id be happy to help you out.

Made - Any year, some dirt EQ tweaks in later units. Best for metal.

1966 bastardized Strat (it was already chunked when I got it in 1982) Pearly Gates and 2 Fender lace. High gain amps are noisy-period. If you don't want the chainsaw sound that seems to be selling a butt load of records, crank the master 3/4ish on the OD side and come up slow on the gain, you can achieve a nice bluesy tone this way. Like a couple of reviews I read, I've heard crappy amps come totally alive with someone who knows how to work the guitar with his/her hands, and you can WORK this amp to sound good in different styles. It can sound good clean, but it is a little to high endy for me, that's why god invented EQ's. Dial to taste. People stuff different speakers in cabs, so no one EQ section is going to work for every speaker config. no matter how much money you throw at your rig. One writer rambles about the Flex wave in the BV-120 trying to mimic a tube yada yada, the only solid state tone wise (besides the power supply) is the silicone for the channel switching and reverb drive. I'd prefer a nice high volt/current capacity relay myself, but people cry if they hear the slightest pop when changing channels. This amp should in no way be confused with the BV-300, or the BV-150, the circuits are totally different with the exception of the third channel, which is much more versatile than the BV-120. If you know someone at a Crate dealer or service center, maybe you can get them to send a schemo in PDF format and see for yourself.

No problems

Don't know

23 years +/-. I'm a combo player (Crate VFX-5212 with Vintage 30's), but know the BV-120 unit as a couple of my friends use them. This amp is good for metal and that?s all I would personally use it for. I play geezer rock and blues and I am to lazy to tote my 1/2 or full stack unless it is an outdoor event and warrants it . I have the BV-300 in my studio, and the middle channel is awesome, in the clean channel, it is the most responsive amp I have ever played. The notes come out the nanosecond their picked. Check it out for yourself. Downside, I am allergic to gravity which the BV-300 is very prone to, hence I mainly use the Crate VFX-combo. I wish Crate made a fifty watt version of the BV-150 and BV-300 amp. The BV-120 is light enough but does not deliver the goods like its fellow BV's. I like the feel of a fifty watt power section getting ready to meltdown, all knobs on proverbial 11, party on. And no matter what anyone thinks about any amp, there is always a player that can get a good tone out of it, and rest assured, theirs always a player that can make it sound like crap as well.

I play punk so all I really need is a good distortion channel. I've never felt like I couldn't get the right tone out of it no matter what cab I was running it through. I've gigged with it and it gives me plenty of sound. I don't use clean much, but it still sounds nice when I do.

I play a fender standard strat through this and there is a little noise in the background, but I'm repolacing my bridge pickup with a seymour Duncan hot rails stacked humbucker which is a very low noise pickup. Like I said I only play punk so I just use the distortion channel which is very powerful and still full of tone. It is so crisp and clean, especially for palm muting and it doesn't lose any tone when cranked all the way. So as far as my style of music goes, this is the amp for me.

I have never had a problem with this amp. I bought it used and it's an older model, so I'm sure it's very reliable. I plugged it in right out of the box and played a show with it that night with no problem.

I'ev never had to deal with the company.

I've been playing this for a few months now and I love it. Before this I played out of a marshall solid state abomination and this is so much better I can't even begin to describe how great it sounds. I've been playing for about 7 years and this is the best amp I've ever owned. I chose this amp because it's far more affordable than a jcm 800 or 900, and it still has a beautiful all tube tone. I've read some really bad reviews on it, but I love it. I guess what it really comes down to is what style of music you play. Since I only play punk, I just need an amp that has a great lead channel which this does.

Ok let me set the guy straight about the rectifier thing. First let me state that I like and own many QUALITY amps, so I am not biased.
First off let me inform this 17 year old kid what a rectifier does since he is telling us all how it is. Every amp has a rectifier, most have solid state rectifier's. All a rectifier does is convert AC current into DC current because power tubes can only run off of DC current. ( no biggy kid I didnt know what one was when I was 17 either). Tube rectifier's usually the 5UG4 tube type on guitar amplifier give your sound a more warm feel and give a "sag" type of sound. But they also reduce your power rating and your sound is not as tight as a solid state rectifier. That said I do prefer solid state rectifier's because I play fast and I need a tight bottom end. And as far as a Mesa Dual Rectifier being silcone diode driven is totally false it is driven by 5 12AX7 preamp tubes feed into the pentode power tube of your choice. The switch in the back is for silcone diodes, or 5UG4 tubes is for the rectifier. The way your current is regulated does not make it solid state or tube. Are Marshall TSL 100, & JCM 800 ( which I also own ) solid state because they dont have tube rectifier's, of course not. The difference between the 2 ways to convert your current are not very noticable. Now when people say crate blue voodoo's are silcone diode driven they are correct. They incoperate crate's flex wave preamp chip that imulates the way 12ax7 preamps tubes sound when pushed hard. These flex wave preamp chips are in all crate solid state amps as well, GFX65 & GX80 etc... thats what the X stand for in GX of GFX model names is fleX wave (preamp). So what does this do to your sound, it takes the most important part of your amp (preamp) and it adds FUZZY distortion, poor articulation, lack of depth or warmth, and a overall cold, sterile, thin sounding amp. Why buy an amp that incorpartes circuitry that simulates the way tube sounds when pushed hard, when you can buy the real deal that does not simulate it just is. The flex wave chip is really only part of the problem with these budget amps, they are not hand made, they do not have any point to point wiring, the circuit boards are only single sided. I could go on & on about the corner's they cut. I mean common do you want your signal from your guitar being passed through 12 gauge insulated wires, or single strand noninsulated wires that are on a circuit board that looks like it belongs on a nintendo gameboy. Then the argument is oh well I can add EQ, compressers, and what not to get it sound like a quality amp like a VHT Ultralead, or Mesa Recto. But when you add this to your signal line you get farther away from a tube sound. I mean what do you think happens when you add those same effects to a Diezel herbert or Tripple Recto, it sounds a whole lot better than they do on a blue voodoo. Lets face it a marshall TSL 100 without any effects sound heavier and has way more tone than a blue voodoo does with any of the best EQ's, procesors, etc... Let alone boutique amps like Mesa, VHT, or Bogner WITHOUT effects. Bottom line if it takes effects and EQ's to get a some what decent sound out of an amp, the amp was never really that good in the first place. And please dont get me started about the Peavy 5150, they suck too sound like one big transistor with no gain, Edie Van Halen actually used a Marshall Plexi and later a Marshall JCM 800 with variac, he just indorses peavy so he can make a bunch of money.

You cant bet your ass it will sound like shit for a long time to come!

Dont tell me these guys sell things and dont know they sound like ass.

I have been playing Heavy music for too many years to remeber and have owned & sold to much gear to keep track of. Selling my Crate blue voodoo was one of the best things I did early on in my quest for ultimate tone and heaviness. I recomend you all quit being cheap ass's and by a real TUBE amp that has TONE ( I dont think young kids know what that sounds like anymore) Research and actually TRY the following amps, Marshall Jcm 2000 series, VHT Ultalead, Bogner ubershall, Soldano hot rod 50+, SLO-100 dual overdrive head, Mesa Mark IV, any of the Rectifier series, Mark IIC+ (if you can find one) and your quest for tone finally ends at Diezel VH4 or a Herbert head, Randall's RM4 preamp aint bad either (modular tube system). Remeber the golden rule YOU GET WHAT you pay for, no matter what you are buying, hell a HUMMER H1 isnt cheap either! Oh yeah the other part of the golden rule is only use NOS type tubes, or new old stock tubes.

I agree completely with the guy before me with that long paragraph of the sound category lol. he made some of the most sense that ive seen in this review and i encourage you all to read it and just look at it.

Anyways, I play a Schecter Diamond Series Guitar Center 38th Annaversary special with sexy bat fret inlays. The pickups it came with sucked, so, I ordered Carvin classics. GREAT PICKUPS. I used a certain material and method to sheild them. Some pickups come sheilded these do not, but after I modified them, they sounded beautiful. With these pickups and that guitar body density, the tone of the Crate comes out at its prime. The point im trying to make isnt that my guitar sounds great, it is that the Crate needs a decent guitar to sound good. You are not going to get a good sound with a squier bullet, or fender telecaster. Maybe the reason why some of you people think this amp sucks is because you dont use good guitars, or just dont know how to use tube amps. You see, tube amps are very different from solid state amps. With solid state amps, you can just keep your EQ where you like it and just crank it. With a tube amp, as you play in different areas that require different volumes, you will learn that it is nessesary to tweak the EQ\presence\and gain knobs. As they amp gets louder, you can get rid of some low end and gain. I run my gain at 7 and its a monster. When I put it at 10 at loud volumes, it goes get muddy, only because when it gets to such a volume, the power amp tubes begin to distort. There we go! Solved your problem of that "muddy distortion" sound.

This amp is built like a top secret bomb shelter. I wouldnt even bring a backup with a gig, and I havent. This amp is well built; and how can I tell? It's one heavy motherfucker I tell you. And a real heavy amp means very well built with quality materials. This thing isnt going to give in without a good fight, unless theres something oddly wrong with it.

Who could ask for a better warranty? 5 years is great for a 800 dollar tube amp new. I gave it a N\A because I never had to deal with the company themselves.

I've owned a..
Mesa Boogie Single Rectofire, Marshall Mode Four, Peavey XXL, Randall Warhead and many other high gain amps. The funny thing is, I had each of these for less than a week at a time. For the marshalls and mesa's people, you're paying hundreds of more dollars for the name. Id say the only amp as good as this one for the price is a Peavey 5150, but the crate sounds similar to one, you just gotta know how to tweak your knobs. If you want something better, go buy a bogner. Props to the guy who wrote before me.

2 channels
channel 1 - Clean (crystal clear clean)
channel 2 - Overdrive (thousands of tones to tweak)
I give it a 10 because (even though there arent a shitload of knobs) it is the most versatile amp i have ever owned.

IF YOU HAVE A BRAIN YOU SHOULD READ THIS..
I'm not even going to say what im using for a guitar, I want to tell you people something that you might care about. I'm 17 and I probably make the most sense out of ALOT of these entries.. not to be arrogant or anything, I'm just not stubborn. Most of you people just.. how can I put this.. don't know what you're talking about..lol. Ok let's get to business.
ONE - A lot of you idiots are talking about its driven by silicone diodes and not tubes. Ok. Listen you idiots, MANY tube amps ARE driven by JUST silicone diodes..the most popular one that ISNT.. is a Mesa Boogie Rectofire (Rectofire tubes).. which ALSO has a switch for silicone diodes, so don't shit yourselves people. This crate sounds AS GOOD as a Mesa Boogie Rectofire, it just isn't voiced like one, the frequencies that are controllable are different then the ones a rectofire has..use an eq in the effects loop, and learn how to EQ your damn amp, and you can get a sound so close to a rectofire that you should be shot for paying DOUBLE the price FOR ONE!!
TWO - It's allll about the tubes man, whether its EL34's or 6L6's in your power amp section, there IS a difference. I would definetly keep 12ax7's in the preamp section because it optimizes the amp. But of course, if you want EL34's (which I think sound better, the groove tubes the amp come with is a joke) you need it re-biased.. no biggie.
THREE - SQEALING\FEEDBACK\NOISE AT HIGH VOLUME.... ITS CALLED A NOISE GATE... And yes, if you want to eliminate guitar feedback AND amp noise to the point of perfection, you are going to have to have a noise suppressor in the front of your amp as well as in the effects loop. Look at all these professional musicians with their Rectofires and 12 rack spaces filled! Guess whats in those rack spaces!?!? NOISE REDUCERS COMPRESSORS EQ's.. THINGS THAT BETTER YOUR AMP(if you know what you're buying). You're not going to get an amp that wont be noisy at high volumes; if they made one with all these noise reducer compressor and all these fancy features, many people would hate it, and many would love it more.. so thats why the amps are made to do what they are supposed to and they leave the technical noise reduction and that shit UP TO YOU TO BUY THE THINGS THAT WORK BEST FOR YOU!
FOUR - YOUR GUITAR SUCKS!!!!! ... if you say this amp sucks. It's as simple as that.. you need good pickups for a good amp to sound good, a good amp and guitar will compliment eachother. You ARENT going to get a guitar amp better than this without spending a couple thousand dollars.

There are a few things id like to change about this amp and that's why im getting it modified.. here's what im getting done.

-Changing the Mid freq on the OD channel to adjust at 800hz instead of 500hz
-Getting it re-biased for EL34's
-Getting a 2nd SEPARATE effects loop for the clean channel
-Getting brand new SOVTEK 12ax7's for the preamp section.
After this, to me, it will be THE PERFECT amp. Goodbye

Contact me at hatenomore2003@yahoo.com
Or AOL screen name, "skyycuttingstars"
I am in a band called "Screams of a Sadder Day" (www.screamsofasadderday.tk) and we play melodic\screamo\hardcore\metal
And yes I can back that up.

And to all of you people in these entries who make sense! You inspired me ot write this wake up call to you ignorant bastards out there.

early model. features are simple which is good, i think. see other comments for more...

this thing is heavy (52lbs, i believe)

i play instrumental surfabilly, punk, indie rock and other sorts and mixtures of the above.

clean channel sounds great. extremely warm although the highs can be searing and painful. i kept the highs turned down low. a great sound if you want to play something like Lou Reed. if you get on it at high volumes it will break up nicely while staying clean if played lightly.

the overdriven channel is a complete waste. its sound was thin, unbelievably compressed, even brittle. it had 4 Mesa 6L6's. i don't know what the preamps were as i didn't get into the amp at all. and it made so much noise even when a guitar wasn't even plugged in.

i tried using a multiFX through the clean channel but to no avail. i went with simple solid state distotion through the clean channel (no reverb or any other post style effect). i couldn't get anything that sounded half way pleasing to the ear.

i could only recommend this amp if you want a one channel, clean tube amp. otherwise, forget it.

no problems for the week i had it.

like i said earlier, if you just want a clean channel amp with plenty of power, this may be it. if you're looking for anything else, don't waste your time. i paid $300 for a half stack and sold it within a week to someone else that'll give it a try.

the year 2002 (newer model) 120watt head (enough to drive four cabs if so desired) and to much sound! The amp as far as sound goes has a good clean and a terrible gain channel (it has way to much gain for me) the clean is punchy and very shapable with 3 band EQ. It came with a metal chassy 2 button foot switch (very durable) with the ability to change chanells and turn on/off the effects loop (very handy) No headphone jack-not one of its finer points. The nicer features are the balanced effects loop making it possible to do a decibel drop for preamp effects and a norm switch for stomp boxes. I wish it had more than one effects loop but most amps have only one so unless I wanted to fork out $2000 for a road king I'll probably always be stuck with one. The reverb is nice too but also overkill any more than a setting of three and your understanding of guitar notes is shot. As far as the drive chanelle I don't do thrash metal or 80's shit rock so I never use it, it could be set up for solo's but in live aplications it is too muddy. Mine came with groove tubes 4 EL8's and 6? or something Ax7's for the preamp. It also has a very sexy look with the backlit apearance and I have had comliments from non-guitarists. The only thing I would recomend is a power soak (I never have the volume past 1 1/2). Also would recomend buying the nicer blue voodoo cab with the vintage 30 speakers in it to acompany this head.

I use my rig with a Epiphone shitty Sg standard. It is only noisy in the overdrive chanel it hums to bad for the studio. I have never taken the clean chanel past three because it is just to fucken loud for that but it is tube and my cab could handle it so I imagine it sounds clear even at high volumes. The gain is to brutal for my tastes.

Reliable contruction have had the handle unravel on me but Saint Lous was great about getting me another one. The amp is still too new for new tubes.

Company was wonderfull had to get a new caster too and it went smooth.

I have ben playing for 6 years and all my other amps have ben shit so this was a big improvement. If it was stolen I would just break down and get a triple rectifier and keep the cab. I love the clean channel hate the gain chanell. I didn't do to much comparison because I bought the cabinet first. I payed way to much for it when you can find them used on ebay for half of what I payed so I could kick myself for that.

The features are well covered in the million or so other reviews beneath this one.

This has to be one of the better sounding amps for less than $2000.

It has soul. The reason people spend so much on boutique amps is because they usually have soul in their sound. I don't know how else to say it, other than it can reflect every little emotive detail you wish to inflect into your music, whereas many if not most amps are barely dynamic enough not to sound sterile. This distortion is great, very excessive, yet expressive at all settings. The amp comes alive as the gain is reduced, because this brings the compresion down and increases the note dynamics. The sound is bright and cutting, and quite splendid when articulating poignent solo phrases.

The distorted rhythm sounds aren't the usual Metal Zone type, like you get from diode assisted amps like the Marshalls and Carvins, so the hard edged death metal distortion sound is harder to acheive on this amp, in fact any distortion sounds that are the result of diode clipping are impossible to get with this amp, although it clips the tubes extremely ferociously, it's just not that kind of amp, but if you want tube crunch and sizziling high gain lead sounds, and vintage lead sounds, this amp rules. The clean channel is clean and loud, and responds well to preamp tube substitutions, because as it comes stock, the preamps tubes are of the more utility type, meant to survive shipping more so that to sound good.

It always works.

Very helpful

For 20+ years I play for a living. I have used every amp that's been bandied about as being the best, except for the ridiculous, like the Dumble. My gear list would be too tedious to list. I'd get one again.
I've compared to every amp I've ever owned, rented, borrowed and played. It's up there with any of the good ones, like the Bogner 101 and Soldano SLO and VHT UL, in terms of sound and playing response when the price is taken into consideration. I've heard some people say they don't like it, but it's an amp that reveals all, and slop and poor playing doesn't sound pretty on it, as it wouldn't on any amp that can really capture the detail of a players technique.
People ask me what amp for this and that, and the 99% of the time, the most truthful answer is a "practice amp". The tone is in your hands, don't blame the amp if it renders it as it is, just get an amp that lets you sound good no matter how lazy you are at learning your skills. The trouble with amps that forgive bad playing is they can only go so far, and then you realize they are missing all the qualities that would allow you to really feel your music for it's soul and nuance. It's at that point where the BV-120 comes into it's own.
I'd recommend this amp for any good player who rightfully believes that the tone is all in the hands.

features i wish it had were a self-destruct switch.

this is a update of my review i posted a long while ago. a little while after reveiwing the amp i grew to dislike the sound of the amp. the clean was wayyyyy toooo bright and the distortion seemed to get more harsh and garbled as the days went on. the amp also "popped" when switching channels and also "popped" when setting it to standby mode.

again is started popping when switching channels, and setting it to standby mode. the footswitch was junk plastic and looked like the same footswitch crate peddled off with their $90 beginner amps. i was suprised it didn't break in the few times i used it. the head did seem solid made and like it would last.

the people at crate don't seem to know much about amps. i emailed them about the popping noise and all they said was "they had never heard of that....hmm..." no concern or anything. then didn't respond after that. i've also heard people say crate told them different tubes didn't change the sound. abviously uninformed people working there.

i liked this amp at first when i got it, but jumped the gun on reveiwing it. but shortly after started noticing it wasn't what i thought it was. and for its $750 price tag you can get much better stuff. like a used Mesa or even a line 6 is better than this thing.

Don't actually own one
Tube, state of the art Crate
3 channels, switchable ofcourse
excellent in versatility

I just want to let all you dissers know that Marty Friedman picked this amp over all the others. And now he's playing the brand new BV300 and he says "it's the best sounding amp he has every played, period" (martyfriedman.com, interview section) Listen to Marty Friedman's albums and you will see. the sweet and beautiful tones that come out of the amp are unbelievable. When I have money I'd like to buy it, but for now I'm going to test it in comparison with all its competitors

don't have one, wouldn't know
One reason why Friedman chose this amp is probably the reliablity. I don't think anything beats a Crate in that area

never dealt with them

I bought this amp brand new in 1998. The main reason I bought it was that my favorite guitarist was Marty Friedman, and he played one. I had only been playing a couple of years and was not really tone sensitive yet. I only wish it had a 3rd channel.

I play a Peavey Wolfgang guitar and I must say that now I simply love my Blue Voodoo. I hear diffrent tones that I like sometimes but I don't know if I'll ever not have a Blue Voodoo in my rig. I use the amp's distortion with a compressor and EQ in the effects loop. With the gain only sitting at about 1 o'clock there is plenty of distortion for some monsterous rhythem and lead work. The clean channel is excellent and punchy. The last two times I recorded with it both of the engineers said that they had gotten the best guitar sound they had ever gotten with me, my wolfgang, and my Blue Voodoo. I thought that spoke enough for my rig and so I'm quite confident in it. Almost every show people in the other bands we play with and some people from the crowd ask me about my amp and gear.

I've played this amp a minimum of 3 days per week at stage volume for over 5 years. The only thing that has ever happend is a couple of fused blew out but I think that was due to some poor wiring in a venue we played, there were a lot of power spikes.

I've called St.Louis Music (Crate) once and they were most helpful.

I've been playing for 6.5 years. I own a Fender practice amp (Princton Chorus) wish I had a Peavey Bandit. I also have an Ibanez RG series, Ibanez Acoustic, Peavey Oddessy (like a les paul with coil splits and ebany fret board, they only made them 4 years, very nice). I had a Steve Vai Ibanez but traded it in on the Wolfgang. I have verious effects by boss and line 6 along with a Morley Power Wah. I've never played any amps I realy prefered over my Blue Voodoo. Yeah, I've played amps with more low end but in a live situation and even in recording all that lowness is usually EQed out anyway so that the bass is not drowned out. Oh, Yeah, this amp is plenty loud, although the clean channel is louder than the overdrice channel. It's very smooth and it looks cool. I'd buy another in a second. There are others that I would like to have but this one is like a must have.

Update on my earlier posting where I was complaining about a squealing problem with this amp using my Gibson LP Studio. Got my new Ernie Ball Musicamn Axis Hardtail a couple of weeks ago. Problem Solved!! Apparently the Les Paul Studios have a known issue with feedback on high gain amps. Man, this amp sounds BEAUTIFUL with the Axis. Needless to say new pickups and some shielding are going into the Les Paul at first opportunity. The more I play this amp, the more I fall in love with it.

I'm assumimg my BV120 is an early model, hence the blue covering and gold knobs. The amp has the basic features, eq, gain, 2 channels, dual reverb and effects loop. There is a boost on the effects loop...this is switchable.
The head came with Sovtek tubes that sounded like some Industrial Metal rig. I replaced them with Groove tubes and found the warmth and "ballsy-sound" that I was looking for. It would be nice to have a third channel. I got around this problem, by putting a Real Tube Overdrive at the front of the amp. I use it for solos and on top ofc the clean channel...this adds a nice gritty channel. I began playing with the BV slanted 4x12 and a 2x12 extension cab. The 4x12 sounds ok and the 2x12 sounds great. The mixture had a good sound, but I resorted to just playing with the 2x12. It's sound is 3x bigger and meatier than the 4x12.

I usually play metal and modern rock. Rocking back the gain creates a nice bluesy sound. The clean channel is usable too, but I almost always put some sort of chorus on it. This amp has no problems to satisfy my tastes.
The amps performance basically relies upon the guitar and pickups you are using. I have an Ibanez S470, a Washburn MG340 and an Ibanez RG540. The S470 screams with this amp...almost to much at times. The MG340 has a nice creamy smooth tone with the amp. And the RG540 helps in the meaty area. All of my pickups are stock except for the RG540, which has a George Lynch Screamin Demon.

This amp is dependable. I've had a few problems with feedback and bad tubes, but I think this is because I drive it so hard. Good for the amp...bad for my ears. Anyways, I try to make it a habit of changing the tubes every 6-8 months, unless I have a dry spell with playing.

Crate's service dept is awesome. I've had the the input jacks resoldered and they even revamped my tubes. I live close to St. Louis, so it's kind of a convience. I just drive there and back.

I've been playing guitar for around 8 years. My set-up is basic...compressor, flanger, chorus, wah and overdrive. The BV120 is my only amp...besides a small pos I use for practice.
I played a Marshall JCM900 before I bought the Crate BV120. The Marshall sound good, but wasn't versitile enough...and for the price?! No comparison there...
I guess we would all like to be able to dial in our sound with one amp...changing it at a push of a button. This amp isn't that, but it'll keep you rockin until the speakers give out and a little more.

Mine's a 2003 model. It's a basic 2 channel tube amp. A little shy on features. It does, however, have dual reverb controls. Mine has the blue tolex....which seems to be a bit on the delicate side.....almost soft to the touch. The flimsy tolex was not a good decision on Crates part. I can see this thing getting recovered in a couple of years......if I keep it that long. Amp has a buffered effects loop. You're suppposed to be able to use it for a boost......but either mine just doesn't work right, or I'm not "getting it". The loop is foot switchable. Has enough power but wouldn't call it ultra loud (at least compared to some of my other 100 watt amps). The clean channel stays sparkling clean up to very high volumes, which is quite nice if you like ultra clean sounds. Points off if you like that slightly broken up clean sound. Also, points off for no third channel and no solo boost.

I'm using a les Paul Studio with the stock gibson pups in it. Here's the thing that bugs me the most about this amp. At high volumes the amp tends to squeal. I understand the studio LP's tend to have this problem in general.....so I'll update this review once I've had a chance to try a few other guitars with it. I just purchased (and am waiting delivery on) a new Ernie Ball Musicman Axis Super Sport.......I'm hoping this problem will go away with the Super Sport. Here's the thing. When you play Metal and Hard rock there's good feedback (the kind that is harmonically correct to the note you are playing) and bad feedback (squealing). This amp has lots of "bad" feedback at high volumes (even with the pregain turned way down). I only had this problem with one other amp, and that was a Fender M-80. I chocked it up to it being a solid state POS. I've only had the amp for a week.....so perhaps I'll find a "sweet spot" as I play with it....again, hoping the Super Sport solves some of this problem. In general the amp sounds good at all volumes. LOT's of gain....no extra distortion pedals needed here. The gain channel is a little on the buzzy side, but I'm planning on putting some el-34's in it to see if that makes the buzziness disappear as described in the review below. Even with the slight buzz the overall texture of the distortion is excellent. Very full and very much like my Marshall DSL.....however, with a bit more gain. If your into palm mutes, this puppy has a real nice tight bottom end.

Only had it for a short time. Seems OK. Points off for the flimsy Tolex.

No experience dealing with them. I understand they are great to work with however.

Been playing for about 20 years. Have owned just about everything out there at one time or another.....most of that primarily due to the fact that I owned a guitar shop for a few years. Off the top of my head, two Mesa Boogies (Mark III and Dual Recto, Marshall JCM 900, Marshall DSL, Randall combo, Marshall Valvestate, Fender M-80 stack, ADA pre and power amps, Carvin and Laney 100 watt tube heads, and a whole fleet of Peavey and Crate solid state combo's through the 80's that are too numerous to list. Yup, I'm a gear slut. Overall I'm very happy with the Voodoo, and it stacks up nicely to anything I've had in the past. But..... there are a few items I'd like to see addressed in future revisions. I understand some of these have already been addressed with the new 300 watt version (300 watts!!!!.......Who the hell needs that kind of power??). Here they are in no particular order. Crate, if you are reading please take note:

1) A third channel
2) A foot-switchable solo boost.
3) Rugged Tolex (buy the same material that Peavey does...it can't cost all that much more).
4) The ability to switch the flexwave chip out of the signal path (similar to my dual recto's ability to switch off the diode rectifier).
5) OK...this is real wishful thinking....but I would love to see a 7 band graphic eq that was footswitchable like my Mark III Boogie had. Man...those things are useful. If lost (how do you lose a half stack) I'd likely go buy something else (gear slut....remember?)perhaps the Hughes and Kettner Tri-amp or Duotone. For now, this amp works for me. I plan on holding on to it for a while.

Im not sure what year this amp was made but i own the older model with the blue writing behind the knobs.there are 2 channels,its a tube head and uhhhhh yea i like the features so i give it a 10

i play Black Metal/Hardcore but not metalcore more along the lines of blackcore O_o anyway i have a jackson ps-3 with an emg-81 and an 85 i also have an Ibanez S classic with a duncan distortion and a duncan pearly gates i also use a deathmetal distortion pedal and this amp fits my musical style perfectly. i thought about getting the matching cab but i heard it was crap so i got an avatar cab with celestions and it sounds nice and loud,the distortion on this amp is ok but i feel it needs more balls but the clean is where this amp shines you can not get a bad setting for the clean!

when i first got the amp one of the tubes was broken but i had it replaced wich wasnt that big of a hassle but after that nothing has happened

havnt really had to deal with them too much but ive been told they are quite good

if this was lost or stolen i would most deffinetly get another one. ive been playing for about 3+ years and this amp is great!

made in 2000 or something.
Two channels plus footswitchable boost/effects loop. Dual reverb controls. NMV clean channel/MV lead channel. Can use 6L6s or EL-34s.
Channel switching. 120 watts. All tube.

Here's the kicker, with 6L6s the lead sound for solos is really nice, and you can get anything from Petrucci to SRV to Hendrix. On the clean channel, if you crank it, you get the old Supro sound ala Jimmy Page.

Now, for the neat trick. With EL-34s, the amp becomes a firebreathing monster, the former fizzy sound of the preamp through the 6L6s becomes a massive harmonically enriched, thundering wall of death metal rhythm mayhem. At half volume your eyeballs will rattle in their sockets, if you have a decent cab for the amp. The BV-120 was made for EL-34s. It just needs to be rebiased, which is easy. You use a current draw power meter, which measures the draw from an ac outlet into your amp, and you adjust the bias until it reads 1.3 amps. Or, you can bias it the old fashioned, but more accurate way by taking it to a shop. LOL.
I have used all manner of instruments with this amp, for all styles of music. For SRV/Hendrix/DT type stuff, use the 6L6s, and for metal, put EL-34s in it. GT-EL34Ls hardness #4-#7.

The amp was bullet proof. Replace a tube every now and then. In fact, replace all the nasty sounding Sovtek 12ax7A(GT12ax7R3)tubes with good Chinese 12ax7C and replace the driver with a Chinese 12at7C, which you can buy from Groove Tubes, and you'll have one hell of a good sounding amp, with additional improvement to be found if you bias the original Sovtek 6L6/5881 tubes a little on the hotter running side of things.

Crate rocks for service.

I've been playing forever and have owned my fair share of the GNP of musical gear. You name it, I've used it most likely. I already sold this amp, but I'd play another anyday, and over many of the more common amps, like Marshall and Mesa. For the money, it was the best sounding amp, all around, from country to metal. In the studio, these Blue Voodoos are extremely well regarded for their tone and reliability. The older BV-50 is one of the best studio amps ever made for vintage and classic rock and fusion sounds. The BV-120 is more of a performing amp, where louder volumes are required, it shines at maintaining sparkling clarity and and prominently cuts through the loudest of bands.
If you are a lead playeror like classic cleans, then the amp will work fine right out of the box, but if you are a heavy rhythm player and/or like your cleans to crunch at lower than earth shattering volumes, and/or play modern death metal styles, EL-34s are an absolute must, and should be the first consideration, if you are looking to use the amp for styles like that of Carcass or Mayhem.

The BV 120 I have now was made in 99 i think. It has two channels, i mostly play hard rock but sometimes blues to the the style of early clapton. I'v been playing for about 10 years and playing clubs and bars for about 4 years and has plenty of headroom.

I play a american standard strat with an emg in the rear. My band can get a gig anytime we want so it most sound ok. But I do agree that the distortion is a little fuzzy sounding, not that there is anything wrong with that. Everybody has there own sound.

I have been playing through this amp every weekend for 4 years. Its time to replace the tubes but I have never,ever had a problem with it. It fell of the cabnet one night and it still worked I believe it is made very well.

Like I said Ive played this thing for 4years in bars every weekend and it has never let me down. I would replace it and try something new. love the reliablility the sound on screaming leads, dislike the humming on the gain channel and trying to get a decent rythim sound.

2003 model (BV120H head $650, BV120SB cab $650
.:Music styles I play:.
Metal, Punk, Indie, Rock


.:Features:.
Power tubes, 2 tube pre-amp channels, stereo, 2 spring reverbs, effects loop, two channel/effects foot pedal, Gain knob for lead channel, seperate tone controls for each channel, line out (This line out is useless by the way), transistor -assisted- preamp tube distortion.

.:I wish...:.
-I wish it had a way to bypass the transistor-assisted distortion because it's a little fizzy.
-I wish it had a cabinet simulator


.:I use this amp...:.
I use it with a THD Hot Plate ($280.00)and the BV120H slant cab. With this set-up I can play it ANYWHERE including directly into a mixing console and headphones.

See the Crate site for features

.:Guitar:.
Ibanez GAX 70 (Custom):
Grover locking tuners,
Tone Pros Tune-o-matic bridge,
Gibson TP6 tailpiece,
DiMarzio Tone Zone-Bridge PUP,
Bone nut,
Fender TBX Tone control,
1 meg volume pot.

.:AMP Sound:.
Lets get this straight; this amp does one thing really well: It takes guitar sound and slams it through the floor with tight percussive mayhem! Great for Metal, Punk, Indie... The distortion is fuzzy sounding at high volumes but I'm not sure if that?s a case of crappy stock tubes or the amp.

Don't get me wrong. This amp can be very versatile if your not trying to emulate some specific artist or get a lot of loosy-brown-sounded-open-dynamics. It's up to you to be creative with it. What I'm getting at is that this amp has a particular sound that not everyone will like and some may love.

After owning this amp for a couple of months I have researched it's circuitry w/ the help of some of the fine craftsman at the AX84 site. Apparently THIS AMP DOES USE THE PREAMP TUBE SECTION but it colors the distortion using transistors. In other words: You will not get ?pure? tube distortion from this amp (If your a tube snob your probably not even considering the BV120H anyway). I have a THD Hot Plate so I am able to distort the clean channel by turning it up to deadly levels at bedroom volume. The clean channel, distorted, is more versatile than the lead channel distorted. The clean channel is super clean when not driven to distortion and that is part of its saving grace. I haven?t changed the tubes yet to know if it will make a difference but I think it will help. The stock tubes in this amp are known for being stiff, lifeless and fizzy but long lasting, quiet and durable (Sovtek 5881WXT & Sovtek 12AX7WXT). I think that more "musical" tubes would loosen this amp up a bit for more versatility and less fizz; unfortunately I can't say for sure, yet.

I don't play jazz or blues yet so I can't tell you how it will fare for these styles but I think it's good for rock, metal and punk and I think it would be good for fusion and Jazz because of the clean channel. The BV120H is made by the same company that makes Ampegs (St. Louis Music, Co.) so the clean channel is similar to Ampeg clean (I used to own an Ampeg Gemini 6). If you play blues buy a Matchless, Aiken or Boogie because the headroom, sag and expressive dynamics aren?t in this amp (Unless you like tight sounding blues).

The guys who say the CRATE isn't loud are full of crap, or their tubes were dead. This amp has plenty of balls, ample decibels and a brain-saw for distortion. For the money this amp is a good deal. If you want a sound that is not just like every Marshall/Boogie in the world then you would be doing well to buy this amp. If you want to sound like: fill in the blank_______________ buy a Marshall or Boogie like everyone else but be prepared to pay another 1000.00 for the status. The other side of the coin is that a lot of people hate Crate because they are known for solid state practice amps so you might have to prove yourself around biased musicians with this amp (They will hate your sound even before you play a note because it says "CRATE", just take off the letters and make your own name plate).

If you use a lot of pedals or a POD unit this amp is perfect because you don?t use pure tube distortion anyway.

If you Like the brutality of a solid-state monster with the advantages/disadvantages of a tube amp but the price tag of a solid-state then this is your baby but, BUY GOOD TUBES FOR IT and get it re-biased by a pro! (Do your tube homework; don't let Groove Tubes get the best of you!)

One suggestion I would make: If your going to buy the BV slant cab new then pay the extra 200.00 bucks for the 4X12 BV120 cab loaded with Celestion 12"s. If you do: You will never get rid of this cab and everyone will be jealous.

I've only had it two months.

I've only had it two months. The few times I called for questions about the tubes and schematics they were very responsive and nice.

I'd like it to be more versatile but it colors the tube distortion using transistors. This can be a good thing if you use a solid state distortion pedal but I'd like to have the option of cutting it out.

If you use a lot of pedals or a POD pedal this amp is perfect because you don?t use pure tube distortion anyway.

If you Like the brutality of a solid-state monster with the advantages/disadvantages of a tube amp but the price tag of a solid-state then this is your baby, but BUY GOOD TUBES FOR IT and get it re-biased by a pro! (Do your tube homework; don't let Groove Tubes get the best of you!)

One suggestion I would make: If your going to buy the BV slant cab new then pay the extra 200.00 bucks for the 4X12 BV120 cab loaded with Celestion 12"s. If you do: You will never get rid of this cab and everyone will be jealous.

Mid ninties to late ninties? This is an older style head with the blue tolex. I think it still has origional tubes (there sovteks so I guess some one might have retubed it with the same tubes).

I'm useing an Ibanez AS120 semi-hollow body guitar (one of the coolest guitars I've ever played, blows thoes new Art-core things away) with stock pickups and an Ibanez RG270DX with a DiMarzio Super D in the bridge. I really dig this amp. The first time I ever played one was at a guitar center. I went in there with a friend who was looking to buy a new drum set so I figured I had some time to kill. I played every tube, solid state, and modeling amp in the place. I mean Mesas, Peavey, JCM2000, Line 6, and of course Crates. My favorite two amps out of the whole bunch were both Crates. The new vintage club series with the dsp effects and the blue voodoo head. I told this to the sales guy and he was like no you don't want that what you need is a Mesa....Blah Blah. Let me just tell you now if you go into a guitar center they will always try to sell you a Mesa. And while Mesas are great for some people they are not for everybody. So I decided not buy it at guitar center and bought it off ebay instead. I run this head through a pair of Peavey 5150's and I think these are the last set of amps and cabs I will ever buy. These cabs are fantastic and this amp is perfect. It sounds great even at relatively low volumes. It's well ballanced with just enough bass, mids and treb. The distortion is smooth with just the right amount of bite. The clean channel is fantastic and it just sparkles and shines, especially for a heaveyer amp (this ain't no twin reverb).

As I said I bought this amp on ebay. I had it about 4 days and the imput jack craped out. I blame this on the previous owner though, not on crate. This is a tube amp so ya it's going to be a little more shakey but it seems to be as reliable as anything else. I will gig without a back up but only because I have no choice.

Fantastic. When the amp broke I sent it back to crate. Eventhough it wasn't under warrenty they fixed it for free and all I had to pay for was shipping. The guy at the local music shop told me they are one of his favorite companies to do business with because they are so helpful. There web site is verry good too.

I have been playing 4 years and have been gigging on and off for 2. I've owned a marshall VS265 and a Sundown Rebel. This blows both of those away. If It was stolen I'd buy another one. I play in a rock band (Foo Fighters kinda rock). I also jam some jazz with a few friends now and then and I think this amp is great. The best statement I can make about this amp is the fact that the other guitarist in my band has a triple recto that he paid 1400 for used. Even he was impressed with this amp.

basic

clean channel sounds like good tubes sound....
distortion??!! EXCELLENT. for the price its really un beatable.
great for death metal no need for a box. I borrowed one for a few months and its impressive. The only reason i didnt buy one?? i dont want a CRATE, no matter what im going to spend $ because the marshall makes me happy. the distortion is good, crunchy, just enough bass not overwhelming. Id take it over a mesa rectifier,its a cleaner crunch without the excessive bass

?

?

for its price, a GREAT GREAT metal amp. why you would buy a solid state shit box instead of this ill never know

a very basic layout,2 channels,clean&dirty,nothing fancy

i dont own this amp(at least not yet) but i have played around with it in music stores. i think it sounds pretty fuckin nice. i play play a lot of death/black metal(dimmu,morbid,deicide,ect.)and the bluevoodoo gets really killer distortion.a bit noisey at high volumes(t thats what a noisegate is for)a lot of people bicth about it not having enough low-end.it has just enough for me,the bass takes care of the rest.over all its a good amp for its price,not quite a marshall,but pretty good.

cant say, i dont own it

??????dont own it

for a low price the blue voodoo provides brutal distotion and a sound almost as good as a marshall. i plan to buy it soon. later on i probably will get a marshall el 34 50/50 power amp and a jmp-1 pre amp,but for now the blue voodoo will get what i need.

It was made in 2000. It's 2 channels, clean and dirty.

It has an effects loop that works as a boost.
It's 120 watts. It has dual reverb controls.

This amp has great tone for solos, but not so great for rhythm.
If you like NU-Metal and crunch, this amp rocks. The clean channel does a great Jimmy Page Supro effect and can perfectly nail all the early LZ tones. But, it's very loud. The distortion is huge.

Never broke down. I replaced a preamp tube once.

Crate bends over backwards for you.

This amp has the lead tone of the godz, but the rhythm tone of the paupers. It would be best for a two amp setup. The BV for cleans and leads and a Marshall JMP MV for the grinding metal rhythms of the 80s.

Most of them do nothing, aka the EQ. Find out in the next paragraph. It is pretty decent for the price you pay, remember, $800 for an all tube 100 watt head is pretty cheap.

THINIST SOUNDING AMP EVER. I put this POS through Vintage 30's and it still sounds like a Marshall Jackhammer pedal! If you've ever heard Buzz Saw distortion, thats what this sounds like. Then when you take your hands off the guitar strings it buzz's like a Marshall Jackhammer pedal too! There is almost NO BOTTOM END in this amp. YOu have to turn the treble to 3 1/2 so you don't kill your ears with treble! As many other reviewers have posted, the disortion circuitry leads no where to tubes. So its pretty much a glowing noise factory. Toneless in my opionion, I think Carvin solid state amps are superior to this monstrascity.

Its an all tube amp, I havn't replaced the tubes, and I'm not going to. I have had it for about 6 months and nothing has gone wrong. Unusal for a Crate...

Havn't dealt with Crate directly, but I have dealt with Ampeg, and thier both owned by St. Louis Music Co, so I'm guessing its would be prett good.

If this was a true solid state amp I would return it for the money, but since its a tube amp, the value is a little more so I'm selling it indirectly. IF you wan't a true tube amp that isn't a chainsaw, I suggest you buy a used Marshall JCM series amp. The 900's are probably most resonably priced and they have TONE. Somthing absent from the Blue Voodoo. If you want to hear what this amp sounds like, wait for your local gardeners to come around and cut grass, blow leaves, and saw some trees.

I bought this amp used. The guy I bought it from only used it for about 6 months. He sold it because it was too big for his house.
No need to repeat the features.

Currently, I am using this amplifier with a Fender Stratocaster and a Parker P-38. I suits my style very well. It is noisy as all hell with gain turned to 10. I was looking for an amp that could suit my playing style. I like to play mostly rock-metal. Ted Nugent is one of my favorites. He uses a 5150 II. To me, this sounds pretty similar.
With the gain turned down, at about three, the sound gets really thin. Maybe I could compensate for this by adjusting the EQ. I haven't had it for that long, so I haven't found all of the tonal possibilities this amp has to offer. All in all, I think this is a great sounding amp. I don't care if this has a Flexwave chip in or not. It sounds good TO ME.

I bought this used but took advantage of the transferrable warranty. The guy who had it before never played out and babies his gear. It is in excellent condition. The one thing that pissed me off though, was when I got home and started playing it, it started to switch channels by itself. I thought there was a problem with the amplifier, but I remembered reading something about the footswitch not working on a few of the reviews on here. I unplugged the footswitch, and all was well. Maybe Crate will send me a new footswitch?

The warranty is transferrable, so I am happy about that. I called about information on the warranty, and they were very helpful.
I'm going to give them a ten because so far they have been helpful.
We will have to see after I call them about the bad footswitch.

I like this amp very much. I think tube sounds better than solid-state. This was one of the reasons I bought this amp. I got it in close to mint condition with the slant cab, so hopefully the cab and head will last me for a while. I am bummed about the footswitch; but what are you going to do? I would buy this again because I think is fairly versatile and good sounding. Thanks!

There's no need to go into it, everybodys already expounded on it...

Okay, I am just posting this to get my thoughts out. This amp has fairly decent clean tones, pretty spongy and nice, not great, but defenitely has that tube feel to it. As you crank the gain channel, you get what you think is a good distorted sound...only to realize...imo...that this thing has no balls at all. I am speaking off of my other guitarists amp here, he has the bv, and on all our live recordings his tone is SOOO DAMN THIN it's incredible. On those same recording I am playing through a solid state marshall and my bass response is leaps and bounds better. Part of his problem might also be the emg 81 in the bridge, which is way too bright for my taste as well. All said, this amp just has TOO much highs, TOO MUCH. It's buzzy, thin, and overall pretty weak sounding. A 5 is pretty generous.

Well, although it's not my amp, the amp itself seems pretty tough. But, the footswitch is a cheap piece of shit that has broken on my guitarist TWICE. Man, and they didn't replace it. Oh well.

Okay, I wrote this review to hopefully give everyone out there some honesty. If you're a blues/rocker, theres a LOT better amps you can buy for the money imo....where this amp usually fits in is into the metal crowd. For the money, this amp isn't too bad, but you're gonna need a graphic eq and although I hate sonic maximizers, I think this amp might actually benefit from one. I'm not gonna be an ass and say this is the worst amp ever. But if you expect to just plug ur guitar straight in and rock...you may like it at first...until you hear some recorded tones and realizes this thing just has WAY TOO BRITTLE AND HIGH A TONE. Like I said, get a nice graphic eq in the effects loop and maybe experiment with some kind of maximizer and I think you could make this thing sound better. I actually dig the clean channel 100% more than the distorted channel.
Overall, my suggestion is to save a few more bucks and pick up a used boogie (mark series or quad/studio/formula pre and a 20/20 or 50/50 or a used marshall jcm 800 series and you'll be way better off. Also check out laney's they make a nice amp in the vh100r which you can nab for damn cheap. Good luck

Clean Channel, Distortion Channel. As the review before this one says, get a stomp box if you want effects.

Brutal distortion. I use a Schecter with an Invader pickup - rarely do I use my neck pickup, so my guitar yields the most amount of crunch possible. The amp does the rest. If you want to hear this amp in action - listen to "mindtrip" on Nonpoint's first CD, Statement. Mr. Goldman runs a Mesa DR and a Crate BV120H through Rivera and Marshall cabs. The tone, is ALL CRATE. This amp's tone truly does poop all over any amp, besides a JMP-1 preamp from Marshall. You can turn this amp up, really loud. The louder it gets, the better it sounds. I suggest backing off on the highs, because this amp rips highs a new chute. To achieve perfect distortion, you really have to run two amps through a switcher .. like a Framptone. Also, a Crate BV120H, HB, or HR - (all the same preamp, bla bla) - ran with a low-end happy amp will give you tone, and low end .. more so than any single head. (I.E. - any Randall, Mesa - (use channel two on the SR, DR, and TR, and channel 3 on a DRRK), Hughes and Kettner, etc .. Of course you won't achieve the best sound possible unless you get a premium amp - Soldano, Bogner, Diezel, etc .. or rackmount equipment.

Faulty tubes were the only problem I've had with the amp. Sovtek tubes sound best in this head. (I believe only 6L6GC's are the only tubes compatible with this amp).

Never had to talk to them.

For the money, only the Randall Cyclone ($763) beats this thing out, for tone. The low end is impressive, but my Randall RH100 beats it out. Tone, however .. you will only find better with the likes of premium amps.

Simple. Drive. Clean. Everything you need, nothing you don't. If you want effects, get a stomp box.

I primarily play with a PRS Custom 24 ten top with one hot and one warm humbucker. I also play with a fender strat, a les paul and an ibanez. As far as music styles go, I play just about anything. Dollar for dollar, this amp kicks butt. Sure, it's not up to the level of mesas or high end marshalls, but at half the price, it's pretty sweet.
Clean Channel:
Sounds great, super sweet tone. Nothing else to say, it's amazing.
Drive Channel: Anyone who thinks this amp has a bad drive channel must be doing one of these things wrong:
1. You're palying through a bad guitar. Sorry, this amp can't make a squier sound like a prs.
2. You have no or very little musical sense of what drive should sound like.
3. You're used to unbelivably expensive amps and this isn't as good. If you are supprised by the fact that this isn't as good as a mesa then you are brian dead.
4. You are making a very easy mistake because you aren't used to crate amps. ANYONE COMPLAINING ABOUT BAD SOUNDING DRIVE, LISTEN UP, I HAVE AN ANSWER!!. There is a knob labeled presense at the far right. The higher this is turned up, the less gain you will hear. nomatter what gain level the amp is set at, you will still have a very weird sounding gain if you don't turn this up.

Its never broke, what more can you ask for?

Never had need for tech support, but comes with a 5 year warrenty.

I havent been playing for 30 years, I havent owned every guitar ever made as some claim. I do know that if you don't have the money to get a JCM or a Mesa, then this is very close to them and a great amp. If you do have the money to get a Mesa or another nice tube amp, then it should be a no-brainer. The only miner problem is figuring out the presese/gain thing. If you still don't get it or wanna say soemthing to me, email me. This amp rocks. 'Nuff said

Two channel amp. Clean and Higain. Made in 2001. The amp is way versatile. I play all styles, except be-bop, and I might just start toying with that at some point in the future. The amp switches channels, it comes with a 2 button footswitch and an effects loop.
Features I wish it had? What kind of question is this? If I wanted more features I would have bought a different amp. This has all the features any pro musician really needs. Two channels and a boost/FX loop, plus enough power to break your windows. I use this amp live and in the studio. It's all tube, except for the rectifier circuit, which is silicon diodes. It has a blue tolex, that's a bit fragile.
The case and chassis are soundly assembled and quite sturdy. The amp weighs 52 lbs.

This amp doesn't lie, it's not a Marshall with built in tone where most all your guitars sound very similar coming out the speakers.
What you play like, and what you sound like is what you hear. Period. The amp suits any style I play, which is any style I feel like playing, but mostly rock, jazz, metal,pop, fusion, a little country, and lately some Nu-Meatl. The amp can make any sound you can play on your guitar, but it can't do the work for you.
With HO pickups, the clean channel distorts at high volumes and sounds like a crank JMP N/MV amp, bright, crisp and hot. Think live Jimi Page tone from the early 70s. The bass response can be huge or moderate, depending on your choice of preamp tubes.
The distortion channel is incredibly crunchy, or warm depending on your settings. The low end is subsonic and huge, but a bit of it has to do with the cab you use it with. The amp is 98% every bit as nice sounding for leads as a Soldano SLO-100, which I also own. The lead sound is sweet and beautiful. The rhythm sound, using the same settings, is crisp and bouncy, but, high in odd order harmonics and should you mess up on your tuning, or the playing of your chords, a handful of angry bees will tell you to get your act together.
It's a solid sounding, unforgiving amp for solid sounding players. Weak players sound weak through it, like the amp is punishing them for being inadequate. If you don't play solid, get a newer Marshall or a Boogie..these amps let you coast through your playing, the BV-120 does not.

It never broke down. It needed a new preamp tube a couple of times, in the course of over a thousand plus hours of cranked playing time.
It's been way more reliable than any Marshall I've owned, and I've owned a few. It's not been more reliable than the 1989 Boogie I have, but, it's been more reliable than many of the new Boogies I used.

They're great says Tony the Tiger.

Been playing just a few years. I started back in 1973 on an acoustic and took up electric about 4 years later. I've owned and used more gear along the way than you could find in a large music store non duplicate inventory. All the classic amps, guitars and foot pedals and rack effects, and the newest, latest, greatest, bestest, hyped BS as well.
I'd say this amp would suffice any good musician who needs a good sounding, dependable, versatile amp, who plays most any style of music.

The features have been listed many times before: a real plus for this cheap head is the reverb for each channel and the presence setting, not to mention a effects loop point.

I cannot tell a lie: this is not the best sounding amp ever. It is not the upper end Marshall, Mesa Boogie, or VHT head. Of course you could buy 2-4 of these heads for the price of the equivalent of each of those companies, so this is a pretty good deal.

I usually play Gibson SG's through this guy, with either standard humbucker or PAF pickups, always using only the bridge pickup. I play new school punk rock/emo, and I really like it for that type of music. The clean channel is set to 7 low, 5 mid, and 7 high with the reverb set to about 3. The gain channel is set to 6 or 7 with the bass all the way up, the mids set to 6, and the highs set to 6, with the reverb set to 3. The presence on the whole thing is set to about 4.

This amp sounds like it's going to explode with the gain turned up above 4, but that really ins't surprising since this thing packs an incredible amount of gain and amplifies noise heavily. Using a noise suppressor pedal to offset this problem a little (and runaway positive feedback problems) helps a lot. The clean channel will distort slightly at high volumes.

If you're into massive low end trying to play covers of Metallica or Korn or something else, you probably won't like this amp. Crates are typically not very bassy by design. However, I don't see this as a bad thing as bass players provide bass and guitar players fill the rest. I get the right amout of bass for me which has a nice little thump to it when palm muting by using the bridge (lead) pickups and using the full bass on the amp. This not only gives a nice edge but also lets you hear the notes. I spent a lot of my high school and college years trying to emulate that metal sound by using either both pickups or only the neck pickup and having a hard time hearing the actual notes.

The distortion is ridiculous on this amp, and intermodulation distortion becomes pretty unbearable above a gain setting of 7.

I've used this head at shows with no problems and with no backups. It's never broken down and I've beaten the living crap out of it, so I'm guessing that Crate put a at least a little effort into making sure it was sturdy. It's really heavy, which may indicate that the case is heaver and sturdier, but I'm not going to rip it apart to look and void my warranty.

I've never had to deal with Crate, but this head does come with a 5 year warranty against manufacterer defects and that works good for me. If only my car had full coverage warranty that lasted that long.

I guess I've been playing for like 10 years. I've got a Vintage Club Crate combo amp that I bought off a friend, and I actually became sort of addicted to the unusal Crate sound. I've got a mixer and digital recorder and mics and cables and guitars.

If this were stolen or lost, I'd probably try to find a used one. It's so cheap and I'm not a rich old guy like some of the people supplying the reviews. I'm just a young guy who loves playing guutar and would rather have a head while I'm young instead of saving up for 20 years to get a Mesa Boogie or Marshall.

What I love about this amp is that it was ridiculously cheaper than the other amps in it's class, and contrary to the angry responses of "true guitar players", it actually sounds pretty good. I think that Crate was smoking way too much crack when they designed the preamp for the distortion, but maybe they were trying to edge the hardcore people a little more who turn up their Metal Zone pedals.

The Marshall equivalent head in this price range (actually 40 bucks cheaper) was the AVT series heads, which are totally solid state with some digital signal processing. The Crate is not only louder (which is important to me) but it is a tube amp (and I'll get tho that whole diode/not a tube amp/Flexwave issue in a minute). I didn' tneed the hordes of useless effects on the solid state Marshall, so I went with the more natural sounding Crate. The Marshall equivalent head to the Crate (tube based with similar features) was $1200, which is nearly twice as much as I paid for this head. I don't even wanna talk about how much Mesa Boogie heads or VHT heads cost, it's just too much for me. So it was either the good Crate or solid state Marshall or a total turd Peavey or Line 6 or something like that. Beleive it or not, I really liked how this amp sounded too. It's no Marshall or Mesa Boogie, but it does not cost as much as them either.

So I really wanna clear some things up here after reading the reviews of others:

1) People complain that this amp isn't as good as the more quality comanies' counterparts. I agree, the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and the Marshall JCM series could blow this thing away. My feeling about this is that if you're willing to accept this, the price is very nice. I'm not Stevie Ray Vaughn, and I'm not into being the pretty boy guitarist. If you like how this sounds for your type of music (check it out at the store with other amps in the same class and above), I say go for it. You could buy a Ferrari, but if all you need is a Jetta, maybe the $200,000 in savings could be put to better use (like paying rent and eating).

2) This banter over the diodes providing distortion is crazy. I don't care how many of your "technician friends" have found diodes inside this amplifier. If your friends knew anything about power regulation, class B or class AB amplifiers with push pull stages, they'd realize that diodes actually have important uses. You could theoretically use the diodes to provide "distortion" but it wouldn't be what you think, it would be mostly intermodulation distortion (the bad kind that produces notes that aren't musically related to the ones you're playing) instead of harmonic distortion (the kind that produces notes that are musically related).

3) Diodes do not convert AC to DC. Didoes can be used as part of a system to convert AC to DC, but even if you used one diode, you'd still need massive filtering from capacitors. If you put an AC signal through an ideal diode you just get whatever part of the signal is either above or below 0 Volts, depending on how you orient it. This means you still have a AC waveform that is just missing chunks. A good AC to DC converter uses a full bridge rectifer (four diodes configured to move all the negative current to the positive, or the other way around) in conjuction with proper filtering, voltage regulation (often provided with a voltage regulator circuit or a Zener diode in simple cases),

2 channels,switchable effects loop, dual reverb..built in 2001. This amp is killer, although it took a little while to figure it out.
The amp can play any style, from country to death metal, to blues, to hard rock, to progressive, you name it. It has a boost via the effects loop, which fattens the sound up a little, making it more modern, less earthy and organic. I use this amp for everything, from gigs, to jam sessions to recording sessions. It has plenty of power, and once it's properly biased, and with better preamp tubes, it kicks ass. It's all tube.

I use a lot of different guitars and pickups, each one has a unique sound through the amp, and for best results should be dialed in on the EQ and gain controls. This amp can sound like a Marshall, or a VHT or a Boogie,or a Fender, depending on how you set the EQ and gain controls. The clean channel distorts at high volumes, and sounds alot like old Led Zep. The distortion is amazing, at pregain of 1 it's clean, at 1 and 1.5 it's breaking up like SRV's Fender, at 2 it's starting to sing like a Marshall plexi, at 2.5-3.5 you are in VHT territory, above that and it's Boogieland, huge cruch and a lotta punch.

I played it long, and I played it hard, and I played it loud, and I played it long, loud and hard, and it keeps kicking ass. I replaced a preamp tube once, because the tube was defective.

Nicest bunch of guys on the planet. 5 year warranty

I love this amp, and i've had dozens of the famous big name amps in the 33 years I've been playing. If it was stolen, I'd get another and have it biased and put new preamp tubes in it. I compared it to all the amps within $500 of it's price, and this one smoked them all, and it smokes them on the stage and in the studio. These amps are the best kept secret in tone.

You know what it got. two channels, two reverb controls, effects loop.

But today, you gotta have three channels to compete.

Fender clean, boogie drive, what more can I say. This amp sounds awesome.

Never owned one, I have the 60watt combo, and based on that, I'll give it a reliability of 8 or so

Great bunch of people

I love this amp, I think it has a bit more gain than the 60watt combo I own, but it is too loud for me, so I'll never get one of these. I mainly wanted to add a little input about the diode clipping used in this amp.
I bought this relatively inexpensive tube amp for the purpose of learning to repair and mod tube amps. So as soon as I got it, I also bought the schematic from the helpful guys at StLouisMusic. After getting the schematic, I popped the amp out of the cabinet, and low and behold, all kinds of funny looking doodads. After studying the schematic, and tracing the circuits, I found no solid state devices in the tone path. There are many gates and such that add and remove resistors, to change the gain structure of the various tube stages, but the signal path is all tube. The channel switching that Crate uses is a patented design, that uses photo resistors to short sertain things to ground at different time. using photoresistors is what achieves the noiseless switching even at high volumes. If you are hearing a loud pop, when you switch, something is wrong. All other all tube amps that has channel switching features, add tube stages for the extra gain. Crate uses all four tubes all the time. That is why the clean channel is alot louder than the drive channel. Once again, this is something that crate can fix.
It is a tube amp, and just like any tube amp, it can be modified, and many times this is required to get a good sound out of even the best tube amps. The demand to mod Marshalls was so great, that people like Soldano and Diezel have made a damn good living off of it. The demand to mod Fenders has led to succesful companies such as Marshall, Victoria, Kendrick, and let's not forget Mesa Boogie.
I suspect this amp is a copy of the early Mark IV boogie. If you ever get a chance to play a heartbreaker, it sounds a lot like this amp. Only the Crate has more gain, and the channel switching thing that doesn't work as good as it should.
It pleases me that so many people like this amp. Hopefully Crate will keep building them. It also pleases me that so many people don't like this amp, I can getem dirt cheap used.

THIS AMP WAS MADE IN 95 OR 96 I'VE HAD IT SINCE FEB 96, I PLAY IN A BAND THAT PLAYS EVERYTHING FROM HARDCORE, JAZZ, POP, PUNK, METAL, FUNK, JUST ABOUT ANY STYLE WE CAN LEARN TO PLAY AND WRITE SONG FOR.
IT HAS A GREAT SOUND FOR EVERYTHING EXEPT DEATH METAL ( TOO MUCH HIGH END, WOULD BE GOOD AS A DEATH METAL LEAD HEAD NOT RYTHEM)

I USE A CUSTOM MADE COBRAN AND A LES PAUL STANDARD BOTH WITH DUNCAN PICK UPS GETS ME THE PERFECT SOUND( GUITAR IS NOT THE "LEAD" INSTUMENT IN MY BAND BASS IS) BUT IT HAS GREAT TONE THE CLEAN CHANNEL IS A LITTLE BRIGHT FOR ME (I PREFER A JAZZY CLEAN TONE BUT JUST ROLL OFF THE TREBLE AND IT SUITS ME FINE) THE DISTORTION WOW FULLY CRANKED IT COULD TAKE THE HEAD OFF A DEAR AT 200 YARDS) MAN THIS THING ROCKS GREAT LOW END (BUT NOT SO MUCH ITS OVER BREARING) AND THE HIGHS JUST CUT LIKE A RAZOR BLADE. I CAN FINALLY BE HEARD THROUGH THE MIX

IN THE 6 YEARS I'VE HAD THIS AMP I'VE PROBABLY DONE CLOSE TO 250 SHOWS WITH IT,3 U.S. ( VAN ) TOURS. OTHER THAN THE EXPECTED TUBE WEARING OUT OUR FUSE NEEDING REPLACEMENT NO MAJOR PROBLEMS. AND I'VE BEATEN THIS THING TO HELL THERE NOT EVEN MUCH TOLTEX LEFT ON IT.I'VE USED IT FROM A NIGHT STAND TO A PILLOW AND IT ALWAYS TREATS ME RIGHT

NEVER NEEDED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM( MY DRUMMERS A TECH SO HE DOES ALL MY REPAIRS,BIASING AND WHAT HAVE YOU.)BUT THE ONE TIME I MET ONE OF THERE REPS HE GAVE ME A BUNCH OF FREE "SWAG" SO THAT WAS COOL

WHEN I GOT THIS AMP I WAS PLAYING A MESA DAUL RECTO. I LOVE THAT AMP BUT AS I SAID BEFORE THE BASS PLAYER IS THE LEAD INSTRUMENT( THINK LESS CLAYOOL AND JOHN ENTWISLE(THE WHO) ROLLED IN ONE)AND NO MATTER HOW LOUD I GOT PEOPLE ALWAYS COMPLAINED THAT THEY COULD NOT HEAR ME.
AFTER TALKING TO A PRODUCER FRIEND HE TOLD ME THAT WAS BECAUSE MY AMP AND MY BASS PLAYERS WHERE TAKEINGUP THE SAME FREQUENCIES AND MAYBE I SHOULD TRY ANOTHER AMP, NEXT I BOUGHT A MARSHALL JCM 900 BUT STILL HAD THE SAME PROB GREAT SOUNDING AMP WHEN YOU COULD HEAR ME. SO FINALLY I BROKE DOWN AND TRIED THE CRATE ( IWAS MORE OR LESS ANTI-CRATE BEFORS THIS AMP) AND VOILA,PERFECTO, FINALLY I HAD CRUNCH, AND CLEAN THAT COULD BE HEARD NO MRE DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY CAN'T HEAR ME. ALL I EVER GET NOW IS "WOW THAT A CRATE AMP?" SO MY ANSWER WOULD BE THAT YES I WOULD BY ANOTHER ONE IF NEED BE ( I ALREADY OWN 2 BUT ONES JUST A BACK UP) AS A MATTER OF FACT I TELL EVERYONE TO BUY A BV120. THE ONLY REASON I'M NOT GIVING IT A TEN IS BECAUSE NOTHING IS PERFECT NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT SEEMS TO BE AND JUST BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD FOR ME DOEN'T MEAN IT WILL BE FOR YOU BUT HEY DON'T COUNT IT OUT IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A NEW TUBE AMP TRY IT OUT OU'LL BE IMPRESSED IT COMPEATS WITH THE MUCH HIGHER PRICED BIG BOYSFOR A FRACTION OF THE COST.

amp was made in 97 or 98(i bought it in 98)
Amp is versatile enough, really great for metal.
2 channels, clean and distorted.
I wish it was louder and tighter when u crank it.
I have had this amp going on 6 years and have gigged with it for about 4 years, very reliable! It just looses some balls when u gotta crank it.

I play a jackson Style V with one EMG in the bridge, A PRS rip off with a Dimarzio super 3 in the bridge, a jackson stealth with a duncan screamin demon in the bridge. It is a great amp for metal and hardrock! The distortion is great but it looses its "umph" if u gotta really crank it, i usually have my volume at least 3/4 of the up if im doing a gig where i am not mic'ed.

Amp is VERY reliable! had it for 6 years, change the tubes regularly and it will last! i have never taken it in for servicing! Take good care of it and u will have many happy years with it.

I dont know

I've been playing for 8 years. I run a sonic maximizer and an alesis 3630 compresser/noise gate through it, sounds good.
I am going to replace it with a mesa Triple Rect.
It gives awesome tone but it is not very loud for a 120 watt amp!
Its a very reliable! its givin me 6 years and 40+ gigs. i recomend it if u dont have the money for a higher end amp.
IF YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT ONE ALREADY, I AM SELLING MINE for around 400! email me! i can give you pictures of it on request. in great condition!

The features have been stade by those that have come before me to this place and left their impressions.

This amp sounds great. Use a Les Paul, use a Strat, use anything but a cheap sounding guitar or a guitar with fizzy pickups. I play metal, jazz, blues, fusion, rock, rock and roll. It's got a ton of distortion. The clean channel is clean and loud.

Seems pretty good so far. I have been playing it since May.

E-mail is replied to with undue haste.

Been playing semi pro/pro27 years. Have played and owned most all the classics and great amps, and these Crate BVs are sure to be classics because the lead tone is so sweet and the clean channel is bouyant and responsive.
The amp kicks ass. For the price, with a guitar in the hands of a good player, dialed in by someone with a good ear for tone, the amp is excellent. It would be a great amp to A/B with a Marshall JMP..let the Marshall take the grinding rhythms and give the Crate the cleans and the solos.

...

i own a jacksonps3t, and i installed a di marzio x2n on the bridge, and an evolution neck pickup... i often use a boss metal zone, or a dod death metal ( with propper settings ) when i';m playing songs that a change of channels is required. i also have a fender strat with 2 emg humbuckers.i like the sound it has...if you say it's weak, that's cause your pick ups suck.. invest in a better guitar.

i have had the amp for a little over a year, but this thing is still very much alive and kicking..

i got a 5 year waranty on the thing, but 5 years go by pretty quick. so i gave it a 7. mars music was going our of buisness, and was selling brand new stuff 70% off...i lucked out big time. and i got a mesa 4x 12 for 350

this is a ballsy amp if you know about equalization, i mean really...like went to a sound engeniring school, you can pull some major awesomne sounds from this amp... and maybe the x2n helps too..lol

i play this amp mostly on a low gain distortion maybee 3-4.it has that studio quality sounding distortion. that is why i bought it.the clean has a great tone... veary warm. great fx loop can make a shity pedal sound good.great reverb.two channels. tube powered. this is my primary amp live/studio becuase of the sound quality!!!! more than enough power.

my primary guitar is the esp ec-1000 deluxe w/ emg81 pickups. great for slow rock- metal.pretty quiet .great veriety of sounds great feedback when wanted.great clean at high volumes.

i have had no problems with it live.i have played alot of shows with it. never broke down yet.

playing for 7 years. also have a few ibenez guitars. if i lost the one i have i would go right out and buy another.love distotion love tone love clean. wish it had one more fx loop channel.the full set head and cab sound great together!!!!

Amp was made in 2000-2001. The amp is versatile. When used by itself, with no effects it has two channels plus a footswitchable boost. The effects loop works great with good effects in the loop.
It has tons of power...120 watts. It's all tube and designed for super cleans and very high gain distortion.

It sounds great, just mess with the passive but interactive EQ, set your gain where it sounds right when you play well, but isn't too noisy with distortion and whammo, killer lead tones as good as any amp has. With the stock tubes the bass is kind of spongie and rolled off feeling. Better preamp tubes and tube subbing for the first and last preamp tubes will solve this and open up a whole new range of tonal voicings and amp response characteristics. Depending on what tubes you have in it, the amp can sound smooth, raw, bright,thrashy,refined, rude, coarse, tinny, mellow,and basically can be made to be good for any use, and dependant upon your tube choices, more suited to one use than another. But, basically, it's great for overall use. The sounds can take me anywhere.

I play it all the time....6 hours a day at ear splitting volumes, and all I've needed to replace were a couple of preamp tubes, which were untested 12ax7LPS tubes. I could depend on it, just bring a few extra preamp tubes, and power tubes if you want.

Friendly, fast, courteous, helpful, and nice to talk to. 5 year warranty.

I started playing when I was a kid in the late 70s. I own or have owned just about every great piece of gear, from Marshalls, to Boogies t Soldanos to VHTs to Bogners, etc..Matchless.....
I would probably buy it again, but I have a few other amps, so I don't really need to repalce any of them, unles they all get stolen.
Yeah, well, this is great amp for the money, but you have to at least replace the preamp tubes with good ones. A lower gain tube for both the driver and the # socket is a good idea too. For instance a fuller more mellow sound with a 12u7 in the first spot and a 12at7 in the driver or last socket which is the one closest to the on off switches. For a brighter sound switch the two above mentioned tubes around. Anyway, experiment.

hey guys and gals, for this it has all the basic features the only thing i dont like is that it's reverb isn't anything to be praised so just go get a reverb pedal if you like that sorta thing, i don't normally even use it

i have a gibson SG-X, prs soapbox mccarty, and a fender american texas special. i play funk/metal sorta 311 and incubus style and then i also play british rock (radiohead, coldplay, travis, and oasis) and a little metal. for funk and metal it sounds good but the british rock it's a bit too heavy so i just went out and bought a good overdrive pedal and i set it up through the effects loop which sounds real good but the pedal costs give this a strike down

no problems for a year

for all those people who are bitching about i think that amps are just meant to fit a certain preference and if you don't like it, don't hate, just go return it and quit your bitching. it's great for metal wayyyyyyyyy too much metal for old vintage stuff but hey, bersatility makes the world go 'round my friend. at any rate some idiot made a reference to this one only being 700 new and good amps are more. well jackass,you shouldn't just buy the most expensive and assume that you'll get what you pay for, just like you can get ripped off you can also get a steal. i think this amp is pretty good, peace out

ALL TUBE... meaning tube preamp and tube power amp (solid state rectifier like most amps these days). yes, the distortion is tube based, if it uses a flexwave chip ok but it still is based on tube clipping. if it wasnt then why does swapping some of the ax7's for other tubes change the sound? if you people are electronics experts i want to know where you went to school and im going to avoid it like the plague.

awesome clean, its unbelieveable. the distortion is kickass, but i tame it with a couple lower gain preamp tubes.

great, been gigging with it for a year and still runs strong

awesome, crate is wonderful

great value and tone, ignore the false rumors people are starting about this amp and play the damn thing, youll love it.

Made in 2000, all tube (3x12AX7 in preamp, 1x12AX7 & 4x6L6 poweramp) 120 watt head. Amazing tone, sounds great with my preamp (Rocktron Taboo Artist).

I'm playing an Ibanez RG7420MC, sounds amazing with this amp, clean sound is crisp and clear, very low if an noise at high volume. Channel 2 gives a bluesy gain, or heavy shred at high level

haven't had it long enough to say, though I don't forsee any problems

haven't dealt with them yet, but the head came with a 5 year warranty on electronics and labor, 9 months on the tubes

overall, I'd say this amp is a great deal for an all tube head over 100 watts...definately worth checking it out if you're in the market