Crate BV120H Blue Voodoo

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.