Crate BV150H Head

This is an add-on to my review last year or so, I am talking about the grey coloured music mess amp.
sSince the features have already been discussed, I will move on.

Ok, after owning this amp for now over a year, I finally got to it :)
I have to admit that I got a bit disappointed in the last time with the sound, it was not getting bad, but I expected more, so I sat down and tweaked it for some hours.

Well, now I'm satisfied again. The amp definitively IS very versatile and good sounding, but you really have to work with the EQ to get it right, especially since you can choose Middle/High Frequencies in each channel.

Turned Eek! to about 6,5 to get a bit presence, Ugh! to about 4-4,5 to get more control of my palm muting (I hate muddy riffing!).

Channel 1: I turned Bass and Middle at 300Hz to about 3 and treble to 5 (middle) to avoid mud, since I play with humbuckers. I can split them, but that's not always an option and depends on the song. I use Gain and Level both at 5, and now it's a really good clean sound, whether I split or not. I will try to turn the gain up, until it is at the borderline of crunching, so I can work with picking strentgh. If you really turn Gain up, you get a nice crunch, but of course, no normal clean channel is left.

Channel 2: Bass about 5, Mids about 5,5 - 6, Treble about 6. Mid Boost at 500Hz. Gain about 6.
Great, fat, warm sounding tone for riffing and lead (usually switch to both humbuckers). Very accurate, open sounding, yet very heavy !

Channel 3: Nowadays use it for crunch. Gain about 3. Bass at 6, Mids at 4-4.5, Treble at 6 and Frequency at 6Khz (I believe especially the 10Khz are pretty useless ...) Nice moderate crunch/medium gain.
Turn down guitar volume to become clean.

As you see, in both distorted channels, the EQ is always not too far away from the middle. I believe if you have a good guitar, you don't need to use the EQ like a maniac, just for fine-tuning ...

A word about noise: This amp is very quiet. All this guys complaining about noise and/or feedback: Probably get a good guitar and learn how to mute your guitar correctly !

- no change there (look first review) -

- no change there (look first review) -

Well, I'm pretty satisfied (again) with the amp.
I think it needs some tweaking, so probably not for someone who likes plug&play. Anyway, I'm happy with it.

I like Crate. They are what they are. They dont have a bad sound but I think they fall short of creating a top shelf product. The features would be more of a positive if they took 5 minutes to explain why they added the frequency select. What or why the heck it means and maybe gave a couple of sample settings. The front panel of this amp is a dichotomy. I am supposed have a command of the frequency options yet there are two knobs labeled EEK and UGH, another appeal to my intelligence??? This amp is pure marketing hype. It does what it does sure and it produces a decent sound. But you guys that are saying it replaces the Mesa are simply out of your minds. I am 2001 3-channel Dual rectifier owner. If ANYTHING this amp is closer to the MARSHALL when brought through its paces which I did at high volumes. The footswitch could not be a cheaper piece of junk that slides all over the place. It shows no follow-through on Crates part and how many guitarists out there have feet 2 inches wide??? Take some notes from Mesa.

I give it a 5 here because I don't want you to think that I am some jerk trying to drive the rating down. To me it is a 1. I would never buy this product. I played it for a competition. I researched it. Downloaded the manual, played it in stores, and then I had 25 minutes with it before the show. I played it with a LP classic with EMG 85/85 pickups and a bad horsey wah. I cranked it. It actually squeeled at me a couple of times and I know it squealed (EMG's are silent) Made a big click on channel switching. I found it odd that something so loaded with tubes would be so hard to dial the harshness out of. Clean was ok, Distortion cranked was decent. Brutal? When I run my mesa like I ran this unit all of my clothes move. That is how much air the Mesa and Mesa cab pushes. There was no thud or brutality in this amp compare to what I am used to. I found myself wanting to put a distortion pedal in front of it because it sounded more like a big dry FART...to me. It is an average amp.

I am sure it is reliable as anything else on the market. I have played crates that looked like someone threw it into a fire and they still worked fine

An average product. Buy a used better product with your money.

3 Channels...read the rest of the reviews, prettys traight forward.
A little Reverb would be a little nice aswell.

I played through this thing though all sorts of different guitars, different pickups (EMG's, DiMarzios, Seymour Duncan, etc. ) and I absolutely for the life of me couldn't get ANY sort of good tone thought this thing. The closest I got was pretty alright on the high end, but the low end was horendous ---- I really don't understand people on this board are praising it so much.

I read the reviews here before considering purchasing it, and I was pretty shocked with what I heard when I finally got the chance to plug into one.

I plugged into a Mesa Dual, Mesa Solo and a Peavey XXX to compare tones, I'm going to purchase my Peavey XXX tomorrow. I strongly suggest you do the same or AT LEAST give some other amps a serious go before you consider buying it. I was with it for a good hour, hated it.

I went to try the Voodoo as I've had success with my GX1200H Solid State Crate Head over the years (money was never there for a tube) and if the Blue Voodoo is anything as reliable as the GX1200H, then it should be built like a tank

Crate's always been good.

If you're looking for reliability and good customer support, fill your boots.

If you're looking for an Amp that sounds great with tones of tone, look else where. But give'r a try, to each his own.

I don't know when it was made but i bought mine in August of 04. This head is perfect for me. It has 3 channels. 2 of the best amp distortion channels i have ever heard and a pretty sweet clean channel as well. The only complant i can make is there is no built in effect. At least a reverb knob would be something but i just run my Crate GFX 1000 through the effects loop and i get a nice combination of effects. I use this amp at every gigs and practice and it delivers every time. The amp has more than enough power than i need but i also mike this amp with my bands PA system so some people may need more but I think it's more than enough for the average player.

I used to use Jackson Kelly's exclusively but i recently purchased a LTD EC-1000 with EMG 81s and the sound is absolutly pefect. I still like the sound with my Jackson's but the LTD and the Blue Voodoo make a great team. I play mostly hard rock to heavy metal. Im not really into the death metal stuff but this amp will definetly work for that style of music. It has a tremndous amount of gain especially on channel 3. The amp does have a little bit of a hum to it when you are on the gain channels but a noise gate will take care of that no problem. I have played through Marshall's, Carvins, XXX's and god knows what else and this is the best i have found yet.

I've had the head for about 6 months and i have had no problems. It gets moved around quite a bit and bumped into and it seems to be pretty solid.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years and i am sticking with the Blue voodoo as long as they make them. If it was stolen i would hoefully get it replaced but if i had to i would definetly buy another one.

Don't know the year it was build. This is a unique, grey-colored amp from a music mess in Germany.
Except from that, features are the same as already said in the other reviews ... I'm not really missing anything, except probably a really good crunch channel. More on that later ...
Tested the slave out, but the sound isn't that great IMO. This is a full-tube amp, pick it up with a microphone!

I'm using it with a custom build guitar, which is basically a Les Paul-type with a bolt-on neck and Dimarzio-Pickups.
In the band I'm playing somekind of Heavy Rock with female Vocals, but apart from that, I'm basically into every kind of Rock/Metal, and the amp does very good on each of those ...

Channel 1: This is the clean one, but you can get it crunchy with higher gain settings (about 7 or so). I had a bit trouble because the channel was too "fat" for my taste, so I finally switched the bass and the mids at 300 Hz almost completely out, and now I'm satisfied with it (probably try it for yourself). I guess I like a more "stratier", thin clean sound, but I'm too lazy to split my Humbuckers to SC's while playing ... anyway, it does a good job, although it's no Jazz Chorus. Dial in more gain, and you get a nice crunch sound, but then I haven't got any real clean left, but if you can live with that, you'll be fine. Personally I need & want a "clean" clean sound, so I usually use the Channel 2 for crunch ...

Channel 2: The British one. Goes from moderate overdrive to some heavy, modern-marshall-like distortion. The adjustable Midrange is veeeery nice, you can go from heavier sound to more vintage sound just by switching it to a higher frequency.
When using it as crunch, I usually run the gain on something between 3 and 4 (the volume's fading a bit if you go deeper, so probably adjust the level). This is no real crunch IMO, more something like a low-gain sound, but anyway, it's great. With more gain you easily get a fat, heavy, warm british sound, great for Rock or Moderate Metal. I usually run the gain on about 6, that's enough for me.

Channel 3: The American one. Well, this one's heavier, although it hasn't really much more gain or is THAT brutal I think, but if you wanna rock, you're right here! I usually run the gain on about 6, it is getting a bit noisy if you go higher, but I have no need for that anyway. The higher frequencies in the midrange sound a bit strange and harsh, so I usually stay 'bout 6Khz, that gives me a perfect Rhythm & Lead - Sound; heavy, smooth & still defined. I like playing full chords & stuff in distortion, so I have no need for muddy sounds ...
Bad point is, I think, the channel sounds stupid if you dial the gain down and use it for crunch ... better do that with Channel 2.

Anyway, great sounds. Usually I'm running the volumes on about 4-5, that's enough.
If you need clean & real good crunch, it could get a bit tricky, but I am happy. Don't think that amp isn't made for real crunch.

Leaves to say that I'm running the amp with a 2x12 Marshall cab in the moment, so I'm curious when I pickup the fitting Crate 4x12 next month ...

No problems so far, haven't gigged with it yet. Don't think something will brake, if you take care a bit.

Since I bought it in Germany, I got 2 years warranty from my local dealer ...

E-mailed Crate once, and they replied one or two days later.

Again, an 8 :)
I'm playing for about 4 years, and owned Hughes & Kettner, Marshalls, Peavey, but this should be my main map for a long time I think.
Compared it to a Peavey Triple XXX (too much gain, lifeless) an Engl Powerball (didn't like the clean), and this one made it

Well this head has the same features as the reviews below. It has 3 channels which is amazing for the price of this amp. With the features this amp has, this is one damn versitle amp. But it ain't no Mesa Road King. So it gets a 9.

I use a Custom Shop Fender '72 thinline and a Gibson Les Paul Junior. Basically this thing sounds great, all of the channels kick ass. Basically the 1st channel does its job of being clean, or slightly overdrived like AC/DC. The second channel is sort of a British distortion and can be tweaked to fit your style. Now the third channel is what changed my mind about getting a Mesa Rectifier, it is the best distortion I have ever heard on an amp of this price range. I give it a 10.

I just bought it so I wouldnt know. But since this monster has 6 power tubes, it would be a pain to replace the tubes. But since Marty Friedman uses it, it must be reliable.

I really have never dealt with Crate, so I cannot say.

I've been playing for 9 years. If it were stolen, I'd cry because I wouldnt be able to afford another one. I love the fact that it is very versatile and sounds great. I wish it had reverb although(i think...). I compared it with a Mesa Single Rectifier, when I tried this one out, it was over. I think this is going to be my main amp for a very long time.

2003 mfg . Features on this head are GREAT! The EQ on each channel is a perfect touch. I give a big "atta boy" to the engineers at Crate for this design . I've had Fender, Mesa Boogie, Marshall, etc... A lttle bit of everything over the years . My buddy bought it new , and had it for 3 months till he got in a hard spot . I got it for a 80 Gibson SG & $100 ! EAT YOUR HEART OUT !!! I play a lot of Acoustic and have a CA125D I usually play thru, but I bought a rack of effects so I could use my new Crate 1200H Solid State . Then when I hooked this bad boy up I was blown away on the clean channel with no effects hooked up yet. The rich warm sound of 13 tubes you can really feel comfotable with. I'm going to hook up my rack next to really hear what happens with the Exciter, Enhancer, Compressor/Limiter/Gate, Acoustic pre-amp proccessor, Parametric/Graphic EQ, Dynamic Proccessor, and with 2 tube proccessors I can only imagine what doubling the power sound is gonna do!!! Good thing my neighbor owns a Music Shop and pays no attention to me, but he did come over 2 days after I got it , and said "what the hell are you running over here now ?" I have a Peavey 412H w/ 12" Celestions in it, and it came alive. I will have to listen to the BV412 & BV2-15 combined as I think that's what I want to run. I give the features a 10 for a head.

I play a lot of acoustic, and can't get over the rich warm tube sound on ch1. I play a 61 Les Paul & A NEW Washburn Idol with humbuckers in both thru ch2 & ch3. I will agree with an earlier comment of ch3 being Mesa boogie on steroids! I play a lot of late 60's, 70's, mid 80's music and ch1 & ch2 suit my style. I use ch3 to get that Metallica etc.. sound, and the Blue Voodoo gets anything you want done. The very low hiss that I've longed for has finally arived! I will keep this head until I die, and I hope someone that can really appreciate it's capabilities will get it when I'm gone. I'm 43 and feel we both have quite a few good years left in us. The distortion on ch3 is totally BRUTAL! That's all I can say about it. I haven't had any of the channel's volume past 3.5 yet, BUT I WILL.

I haven't had to have it serviced, but have no worries about it as my neighbor has the best tech in town! I have a new Crate GLX1200H & a Peavey 400 for backups, but may sell 1 as I really don't feel I'll need them. I've always owned a few crate amps & heads at a time, and they are "WORKHORSES" made to be played loud & often! I have my tube stuff checked out once a year & all the potensiometers sprayed real good, and have only changed tubes once in my Marshall because it was gigged 4 to 6 nights a week at almost full volume. I never neglect my equipment so it has never let me down. It's gottin kinda weak so I had it serviced. It's just like changing a cars oil, and if you keep it tuned up it won't let you down! I feel that the 13 tube design will cause it to hold up well.

I've dealt with Crate a couple of times thru a service center, and they've always paid while under warranty. My neighbor is an authorized service center so I've never had a problem with service for over 25 years. Crates 5 yr warranty is the best in the business in my opinion.

I've been playing for about 30 yrs and owned about everything, but this is the first Crate I owned that really had that BRITISH SOUND! I'm able to compare it to Marshall, Fender, Mesa Boogie, and it has the real grind a rock-n-roller wants. I wish I had a BV412 & BV2-15 to go with it, and I will now that it's settling in with me. It has the Trace Elliot kind of sound that I've been searching for! I feel that the 13 tube & monsterous transformer will hold up forever. Thank You CRATE !!!

I play mainly heavy metal-Thrash-Artillery, Vio-lence, Testament, Slayer- to Death metal and neo-classical. It has about 3 channels I believe (played it in GC). The 150 watts is mind blowing, I can't see how a person could play this full blasted but the good part is, it sounds amazing as hell on lower volumes to cranked considerably. When Looking at a amp, I stuck to mainly distortion settings and the EQ. I looked through Mesas and Marshalls, but this Head takes the cake and is my holy grail.

Im using a Jackson RR-1 custom with a emg-81 pickup in the bridge and a stock in the neck. This thing let out NO FEEDBACK at all, I was stunned. I was bored of the same old recto sounds and everybody keeps switching on the same old boat, I decided to get a more different sound and feel. Well, this thing blows the triple and dual out of the water as it has more of a lively feel to it. The crunch on 3 is astounding. You can dial in different frequencies and countour the sound to any distortion you desire. I had this about 2 at first (the volume) and I was stunned, cranked it to 5.5 and I was blown away. Its the most brutal and to my knowledge, underrated head ive come by. I didn't play around with it to much, but with a little tweaking I got distortion dead-on to Dying Fetus, Decapitated, and then tried it out more to get that thrashy testament/forbidden kinda sound and it took no time.

The thing looks sturdy as hell. All tube, nice design.

n/a

If it was stolen, id either re-buy this or go rackmount and get an ada. This is the ultimate head for people into metal.

Made in 2004. It's versatile enough for my playing style. 3 Channels and 150 watts. It Has an effects loop, I've never used it. It has a lot of preamps which is handy for getting lots of different distortion settings out of it. I use it in small gigs and practices with my band in a garage..lol. It definetly has enough power for me. The sound projects and doesn't sound awful at low or high volumes. The volume is really well balanced. Tube amp that kicks the shit out of all other Crates except....the BV300H. It doesn't have lots of effects like; Wah; delay ect but I'm not looking for that. This does have a lot of different preamps which give you a lot of different amp tones. It is very versatile for my style of playing...aggresive fast heavy metal.

I use a Jackson JX10D with 3 Seymour Duncan Blade humbuckers (I don't know if they are called Blades but they look like single coil but they have 2 straight coils in each pickup) I play all kinds of...metal. Heavy metal, death metal, power metal, and metal you can think of is all i really play. It has a low feedback because of humbuckers. I tried it with a cheep Squier strat and it buzzed like crazy, but that's becuase that crappy guitar is made in some country with a name nobody can pronounce. It sounds great at any volume. The loudest I have ever played it, is about 5 on master and 7 on channel 3.
Channel 1: A good clean sound. I don't use it much, I usually use the clean channel is after a song because I don't want all the feedback of a distorted channel so I switch to clean. It sounds really thick and full though. Has a lot of bass and the power really backs up the high notes even when you play it on clean channel. If you turn up the gain you can get sounds like AC/DC.

Channel 2: A more vintage gain setting (sounds like older Marshalls) If you crank the gain and turn down the volume on the guitar you can get a great crunch. With the right settings it sounds like Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

Channel 3: My favorite channel. It has monstrous gain. Sounds like a Messy Booger Triple Rectal Frier hehe, Peavey Triple XXX, or a Marshall TSL100. It is very distorted and has a crapload of gain. The different preamps let you get sounds like Metallica, Slayer, Black Label Society, Pantera, Children of Bodom, Disturbed, and Megadeth.

I use the Crate BV412SVB cabinet with it. It's got 4 sweet Vintage 30 speakers. I'm no blues or slow song guy but whatever style of music you play they sound great. Crate reccomends the BV412SVB and BV412 RVB for the 300 watt version of this head I would be afraid to use a 280 watts cab, even though they reccomend it......

I would never use a backup at a gig or practice. The only thing is that you have to replace tubes. I haven't had to yet. It comes standart with Groove Tubes which is a bug plus!

Never had to deal with them. I hear they are not pleasant. But seriousl what customer servide is? They might be bad, but I think the worst customer service award goes to the phone company or cable company....but that's a whole different story...hahaha
I have absolutely no problems with this amp

Overall this is a GREAT amp. If your looking for something with lots of effects; Flange, wah ect. Get a Crate GLX or GTX combo. This amp is very versatile for getting different types of tones one any channel.

I detest this amp. It's pretty straight forword in its controlls.
Nothing special exept it's a 3 channel head.

The worst tone, or lack there of I have ever played. The first two channel BV amps were cool, but this thing is weak, tinny, and Soo much gain it's inaudible and harsh to the ear.

I don't own one. Ive played them several times at guitar center because i liked the older BV heads. This is not at all good like those older two channle heads. But after playing them several times I would never own one

I would love to have one of these things to throw of a tall building!!
Horrible amp. It's SO weak, absolutly no balls, no gurth, no tone. Just too much gain and shrill-ness. I'd rather play solid state.