Crate BV150H Head

3 channels,EQ,more than enough power and perfect for what my band plays.

As with all heads this one reacts best with proper cab selection,find the right cab and you've found METAL bliss and rock heaven.This amp is by no means an acoustic clean channel wonder,but it will get the job done.I use dimarzio pups in my schecter,but I will soon switch to some Duncan livewires for a little hotter sound.

Had it over a year,not one problem yet.

Crate has always been real helpful over the phone,the techs like to talk about their product.

Been playing 5 years,just started a heavy metal band last year,like all you guys I've been through most brands,and I'm not gonna say this is the best amp out there,it sits very high in the metal ranking though.I would comfortably compare this head to any of the top named metal and rock heads out there.

I think this amp is from 2005. I play everything from death metal to thrash and this amp sounds awesome all the way through. its got 3 channels, the clean channel kinda sucks but if youre buying this amp you aren't buying it for the clean. channel 2 is more classic-rock orientated, almost like a black sabbath sound with more gain and clarity. now the 3rd channel is the beast. if you want something to rip your face off this is it. i just use the box distortion because its heavy as hell with tons of low end and crunch.

the effects loop works really well and has some kind of hum-balancing port in the back. sounds amazing with a 482i BBe sonic maximizer and any EQ. although the EQ for the amp itself is very reactive, you can get almost any sound out of it.

its not too noisy unless you have it cranked. alot of people ***** about feedback when talking about using active pickups andtube amps, get a Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor. its a tube amplifier, its going to make nosie unless you gate it.

this thing doesn't lack any power, its 150 tube watts. great for gigging. the only thing that sucks is it has 14 tubes, 6 6L6GC's power tubes and 8 12Ax7 preamp tubes. I use JJ/Tesla tubes because its a perfect match for this amp. however when it comes time to replace them (which is about every 2-2 1/2 years) its going to cost you.

I use a Gibson Flying V with EMG 81/85 set with this mainly. this amp definitely is for metal, don't buy it if youre into a clean channel because once again, the clean channel is dwarfed by the power of the rest of the amp.

the distortion is brutal, it will melt people 20 rows back. and very very clear, its kind of hard to make this amp sound muddy unless youre tuning below B.

this amp has been through hell. a buddy of mine owned it and i bought it off of him. it has been on the road and gigged many times. crate is known for making reliable amps, this thing has been frozen, burned, dropped, kicked, knocked over, and generally beat the hell but it still sounds perfect.

never had to contact crate for anything. service is through a local guy i know. but if you do buy this amp GET THE SCHEMATIC. if anything ever ***** up your amp guy will thank you for it, if you work on your amps yourself im sure i dont have to tell you.

This amp is truly the diamond in the **** pile. crate makes a lot of low-end gear that sucks but this amp along with the BV300 are extraordinary amps. i compare this and the 300 against Mesa Triple Recs, Marshall JCM 2000's, and Peavey 6505+'s. i bought it for $600 used, and thats a steal.

but overall its a great amp if youre into metal, but if youre looking for an awesome clean channel stay away. i mean you can find a decent one but its not going to be great.

but i definately suggest a 362 or 482i Sonic Maximizer, a Noise Gate of some kind, and an EQ. your tone will become the center of envy.

great amp, a little more uncommon these days, but definitely a gem.

The crate BV 150 head is great, i have been a crate player for years and this by far is the best of any amp head you can get any distortion you want with both distorted channels and the clean though it could use some work and reverb but this is not an amp head to play clean thru its for metal,rock,blues thats it. the effects loop is great and the hum elimanator comes in handy to.
so many knobs theres no reason you can't find a tone you like

i use a schecter damien FR,C-1 elite,and a westone dimension VI
BBe sonic max 411,alesis 3630,boss ce-20,digitech,metal master,death metal,and a electro harmonix metal muff with top boost

the sound is great using the crate cabs loaded with celestion 70.80's and V30's i use a combnation of both and for extra umph! i use a BV 120 head to with this amp makes a monster tone

clean channel could use some work

i have had this amp for 3 years now and it has never let me down.
i would gig this without a backup

customer support is great used them several times and everytime nothing but helpful and nice.

other than the clean channel being crap the amp is great but as i said up top this amp ain't for clean sounds its for metal,rock thats it you want clean channel get the BV 120 head it has great clean channel.

This amp made is somewhere around 2005 I believe. It has three channels with each it's own eq. I play skatepunk with this thing(Pennywise/bad Religion, etc). It's versatile enough for me since I mostly use the third channel(lead). It has channel switching. To be honest: the best channel switching system I've seen on an amp. It has buttons on the amp and a footswitch, which work at the same time, you don't have to switch between the footswitch or manual selection and above all, it's quiet! Very quiet, no pops or other noise.

It has an FX loop, which is selected on the amp or on the footswitch. It can be set paralel or serial on the back of the amp. It has fx send level and return level controls. A flaw on this amp is that it lacks an overall mastervolume, it has only channel volume controls. I don't use the FX loop so I have a patchcable in the loop and I use the FX send/return controls as mastervolume controls.

I use this amp for recording and in bands and it has enough power for me. The only thing I hate about this amp are the orange lights in the back, it looks wannabe nu-metal.

A big plus on this amp is that it comes stock with Groove Tubes(pre and power), unlike Marshall and other brands that put cheapass tubes in their amps at the factory.

Disclaimer: No amp gets a 10 from me. 9 is an almost perfect amp, the perfect amp doesn't exist. 8 is very good, 7 is good, 6 is average. Now you can understand my ratings.

I use an Ibanez RG3020 with EMG 85 in the bridge position. I pay skatepunk like I mentioned earlier and the amp handles it perfectly. It's very quiet for the amounts of gain it has. I set the gain at 1 or 2 o'clock and it stays quiet, even if you turn it up max.

I use it with a Marshall 1960AV cabinet and also own a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV head. The Crate has a lot of low end, and I don't need a lot of low end so I turn it down. The low end isn't tight either. The amps has two controls for the low end: Resonance and Low. I run the low at 11 o'clock and the resonance at 1 o'clock. It gives body to the sound but isn't screwing up my sound.

The amp is pretty scooped voiced and that's why I run the mid very high, around 4 o'clock. I like a middy highgain sound so if you don't like mids you keep it around noon. I set the high at 2 o'clock on the 8khz setting.

The gain is not very saturated on this amp, so don't expect it to be a Dual Rectifier immitation or 5150 sounding amp, like a lot of people seem to do. Th gain structure is pretty rough and sounds a bit like a VHT UL, but with more low and without the tight lowend.

I like to use it together with my Mark IV to get some extra body in my sound.

The clean stays very clean if you keep the gain low, you can turn the volume all the way up and it stays clean, even with my EMG's. Rythm channel is allright, a bit marshally. The gain is more saturated than the lead channel but it lacks the bite of the lead channel.

Haven't had any problems with it. Still running fine. The amp feels good and seems to be well build(opened it up and checked it out).
Power tubes are chassis mounted and controls are also chassis mounted. Only preamptubes are PCB-mounted.

Mailed crate(st. louismusic) once for the manual, they mailed it within 15 minutes I believe.

I own a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV medium head and 2 cabs(1960AV and 212 with Black Shadows). I prefer the Blue Voodoo with the 1960AV, the V30's are nice with the Blue Voodoo, I personally don't like the Crate with the 212 with Black Shadows, it makes the amp sound harsh and scooped.

What would I do if it was stolen? I don't know. I got this amp second hand and they seem pretty rare, especially since they are discontinued. I probably would get me another amp with the insurance money. It's a very good amp, I like it a lot, but it isn't my main amp. If I found another Blue Voodoo(150 or 300) locally I would get it I think.

Unshure when it was made but I know it was in about 05.

Oh yes I cannot believe how many sounds that u can dial into this head. To the others that bashed it learn how to use a head. I play mostly Death Metal, Grindcore but also like jazz chords and other slower styles. Nothing this head cannot do for me.

3 channels. Yes the switching is clickless. Which to me alot of heads need to take lessons from crate on how to make a seemless switch. Effects loop is also a gain boost which is nice when u go for the leads.

Only feature I wish this had that they could have carried over was the reverb but for 40 bucks on ebay. Get a reverb pedal. or a good old quadra verb.

I just got it and gonna be my studio amp for the sounds that I can get . Sounds like 40 amps in one with the different eq settings that can be dialed into. I only messed around with it for about 1 hour and blown away.

No I am sure that I will use ever feature that this can dish out.

Power lets see ..YES my 240 celestion vintage 30s are ready to fly off the cab. Why someone would need a 300 is beyond me.

Got mine with the grove tubes . Yeah crap. Another note to the other ones that nalied this head. REPLACE THE STOCK TUBES . Run a set off JJ for the power and in the preamp. CHECK EUROTUBES that guy bob knows the end all to what u can run in these heads for the sounds u like.

I use 3 guitars . 1 my baby s540ltd with a dimarzio dsonic in the bridge . 2nd ESP mirage and a hammer with a jb seymour .The best low end sound I have ever heard. I use to have a XXX and crate 120. The XXX was so muddy but I did like the low end . While I said I only got to play aroung for a little while . I kicked the 10k on the 3rd channel I blew the paint of the walls on how low this punched me. I also run a 1 15carvin red line cab for hte punch . Believe me I have never heard a head deliver this much head room.

For metal this head blows away my buddts dual and for being a peavy fan also the JSX to me is the only head in this class that is a worthy competitor. Not a type of music that u cannot get with this head. Jangly 50s type R&B, Hendrix marshall buzz, Run the clean with a little grit and some nice southern diry boy country. Again to the haters learn how to really dial into a tone. Just because it does not say MESA MARSHALL or ENGL does not mean it is bad.

The noise very quiet. I was shocked that on level 6 and gain cranked it was still queit. And this I have to make note on . I bought it used and was trashed on the shipping the wood casing was destoyed 3 knobs were broken. And it still worked like a charm. Take that cheap imposters that haveno idea on how to build a sound tank!!

The sounds again I will say are endless. Get those grove tubes out I know 14 tubes as soon as u get , but trust me I am the pickest person with sound. Take the 20 min learn how to bias your head and get those groves out .

The clean channel to me is were the gem of the amp is. I was able to get every kind of clean that I wanted. A nice bright sound that does not oomh out . The XXX to me for 900$ wishes it sounded as deep and dark. I am running the bass about 5 mids about 4 and highs about 7 withe eq at 3k and the ug and eek down. But heah to each thier own.

On to the distortion. Only a Rivera Knucklehead have I heard as a equal par. The cleanest distortion I have ever heard. A true beast. If u are looking for hte jack owen arsenal of blast . This is your nightmare. Settings on the crucnh channel I am running bass at 8 mids 5 and highs at 6 eq at 2.5 ug up to about 5 and eek at 7 Low end crunch for nice tones. The lead I am running low at 9 mids at 4 highs at 8 eq at 10k the deepest brutal soung I ever heard. How brutal u ask. Treats my speakers like a red headed step child.

Well If u made this far in my review . You would have seen that I recived this after a trash compactor had fun with it. So I have to return it and the good guys at guitar center are really trying to help me with this .But that also tells me that this head can take a beating and still sound amazing . I would run this slaved with a Hughes and ketner or JSX. For the best low and clean crucnch ., But yes I would trust this without a problem.

HA broken down. I feel like I just plucked a beat up old dog and asked it to run a marathon without failure. Great quality from the good people at CRATE.

Again. Replace these horrible groves.

You know I emailed them and called them on 3 different times of ownership of the company . When they were with ST louis, Loud they are amazing. I wanted the manual and a Footswitch and I got a email back from a tech when he was at NAMM and told that he would take care of me when he got back 9 am monday morning in my inbox 2 emails one the manual and the other footswitch with price and ready to go. Cheers to the tech support over there.

Nope no repairs . Will let u know when I get this one either swapped out or repaired from shipping.

I have the best amp guy in the world Accutech out of east hartford. And I have hitting him with every head and brand imaginable. So I am sure this will be a fine speciman for him.

No idea bought used.

I have been playing for about 5 years bass for about 18 and drums for about 22. SO I know alittle. I own a peavy xxx ,crate 120h and a marshall jcm . And sold them all. Will stay with this head.

Oh yes without a doubt but trying to find these heads is the really challenge.

I love all and hate none.. Be cool it was swapp biased for the 3l34s.

Serious to all if u can give this head a reall run and play with it for all that it is worth you will be quick to see how the crate name really was never tarnished only told to hate ir for some reason . Kind a like the french ...

Just bought this amp so I don't know much about it.You guys seem to have covered the features well.

Here's what I do know about it,I can't believe my ears!I grew up hating on crate because I was told too by other good guitarists.This amp is the rumour killer IMO.The distortion is bar none on chan.3,the cleans are decent enough to use,and chan.2 pulls off a good marshall sound.It has more headroom than my triple rec and cleaner than my Randall warhead at high volume.

I can bet there will be minimal problems,as indicated in other reviews.

Not yet.

I've been playing 5 years give or take,I would find another one of these if lost or stolen,and it's a pretty complete amp considering the fact that it's a metal beast.I would put this amp right up with Krank and Randall as far as metal goes.

Made in USA - three channels with independent eq and volume. Uses 6L6 tubes which are less harsh than EL34s.

Clean channel - one of the best clean channels I've heard
Rythym - nothing special but sounds as it should - this is where most players will spend their time
Lead-screams! This channel is incredible.

No reverb - serial or parrallel effects loop. Presence control.

Nice features.

This amp sounds fantastic. I've played in working bands for the last 15+ years. I've owned the following amps:

Marshall LM6100
Peavey JSX
Hughes & Kettner Triamp

This amp is as good as any on this list. The Marshall 6100 was excellent but noisy. This amp is nice and quite even in the lead channel.

The JSX was an impulse buy. There are 10 JSX amps for sale on ebay on any given day. That should tell you something -they sound like garbage. I hated the amp. The XXX cab made it sound even worse.

The Hughes Triamp was and is the Holy Grail of amps. However, I paid $485 for the Blue Voodoo. The Triamp was $1150. The value of the BV150H was the difference. If money is no object - go HK - if is a consideration the BV is the way to go.

I've owned 2 blue Voodoo BV60 heads in the past. Aside from one bad input jack - I never had a problem. I gigged with the amp, rehearsed with them - no issues. Same here. Made in USA

Never had a need - 5 yr warranty is nice. On one of my earlier voodoos I needed a new handle. THey sent it out pretty quick.

It's a great amp. You do not need 300 watts -ever. If you want a 3 channel tube amp - this is an excellent choice. Compare features and price and you'll be hard pressed to beat the BV150H

You know the features,so I won't bore you with them again.

This amp is mainly a heavy metal machine,if you run an EQ through the loop this amp does it all,for metal sound you can count on channel 3 for just straight plug in and go for metal.I'm sure that if you know how to tweak amps then you can't leave a bad review for this brute.This thing has all the headroom I could ask for and will drive two full stacks easy.

No problem yet.

I've dealt with these guys before and they wer very helpful.

I've been playing for 2 years,I have owned Marshall,Peavey,Mesa,Crate,and I won't say this is the best of them or it's the end all of amps but it ranks as one of the top powerhouses in my book,The secret to this amp is a full stack and a ported 15 inch cab,then it moves into the metal God territory.This amp has many qualities and with the power rating is very versatile,if this were stolen I would definatley find another used.

Made in 05' it has three channels and more than enough power for 4 cabs,the rest is history.

OK to the guys that gave this a sub par review,learn how to dial an amp in,then discuss how bad they sound.This amp kills my JCM 800,my dual rec,and my XXX in power and tone,this amp is a metal monster and can do cleans with the top brands.For the money you can get these for,it deserves a 10 in almost all fields!I play schecter guitars with JB 59 pups.

No problem here!

Crate rules in support!

For the price you can find one used,if you can find one,this is the amp for any music,don't fall into the "well if it doesn't say mesa on it,or marshall,or engl bullshit way of thinking,crate put some quality in here,there's nothing it is lacking,I love it and so does my band!

Not sure when it was made. I bought it almost 3 years ago.
It has three channels which I use for clean, half-distortion and full distortion. I actually bought the amp because it has eq on each channel which is a cool plus. The midi cable for the footswitch makes it hard to interchange. The whole "eek and ugh" thing is cute but barely helpful for extra tone. (plus i always bump the footswitch button which turns it off when i switch to channel 3) Power is plentiful and the distortion will work great for heavier music. I miss reverb.

Great distortion sounds for heavier music, and you can almost get a decent overdriven warm tube sound on channel 2. Clean channel sucks. I have tried many guitars both gibson and fender with single coils and humbuckers and have never gotten a decent clean tone out of this thing. Not to mention the clean channel is incredibly low in volume. I have to crank it to keep it level with the distorted channels which means that it too becomes slightly distorted. That pretty much ruins the amp for me.

I've had a few hardware problems. The footswitch buttons stopped working twice. The jack on the footswitch broke loose. The shitty plastic buttons popped out of the footswitch (and the front of the amp) which are now missing for eternity. The jack for the footswitch on the back of the amp also pulled loose and one day will probably rip out with the footswitch cable. I took this amp on the road which I consider to be the ultimate reliability test and each time I returned from touring, I had to get something minor and stupid fixed. That to me shows poor craftsmanship.

Tried to call crate once and the number on their website didn't work. Their website also has no eq setting suggestions. I guess they couldn't find any good tones either.

I'm switching to a fender twin. I don't need a bulky cab to lug around nor do I have desire for the distortion anymore. the music I play now is all based around clean guitar sounds which means this amp is worthless to me. Plus like I mentioned above I miss reverb.
If you're looking for a good powerful amp to push some ripping metal riffs or lots of heavy distorted chords, this is totally up your alley.