Crate BV60 Blue Voodoo

My blue voodoo is Blue, not black and was purchased in 96-97. I have played it for all these years with no problem. It has separate reverb for channel one or two, MASSIVE overdrive (I leave overdrive at 3/4) and nice tone. I would say that with out looping and increasing volume throught the loop it just makes it at most gigs as long as you are miked, there is plenty of volume for me but it wont fill a 300 seat venue very well. I loop it through a Boss GT-6 and it has as much volume as my friends 100watt marshal. The negative is that the head is very heavy and oversized a bit.

I can turn the gain down or my guitar volume down and sound like SRV or I can crank the gain and sound just as full as metalica or Disturbed. If anything it could use a litte more bass or low end because I have to crank the bass to full. It sounds great with my Les Paul and equally as good with my fender on clean channel. The noise is there but as long as you kick off the distortion channel between songs it works fine.

I haven't even replaced the tubes and I still have great sustain and sound.

I havn't had to contact the company.

A third channel on this would be great. I recomend a tube screamer for use on leads, then you could lower the gain and stomp the tube screamer durring leads.

Mid to Late 90's 112 60 Watt combo. Two channel, reverb, fx loop, cab sim xlr line out. Very nice punchy clean channel with low, mid hugh, & bright switch, overdrive channel with low, mid high, boost switch. Master controls are reverb and prescence. It has all it needs, which is good adjustable sound that cuts through, and looks good doing it.

I use strats, teles, pauls, and shred-o-casters. This amp was marketed toward the hard rock/metal clent, but it does the cleans and in betweens really well. It's somewhat noisy for recording, but tube amps generally are. The reverb is insane. I tend to stick to the in between, medium gain sounds, and the clean channel gets this at high volumes. The overdrive side gets it at any volume. It will get high gain shred sounds or death grind, and keep a nice tight low end all the way up.

Seeing as how its already ten years old, and still works like the day it was new, I'd say it's pretty reliable. Not abusable, but reliable. The thing about Crate amps is the input jacks and switches. They are cheap. That's one of the reasons why the amps are inexpensive. Contacts on switches and jacks tend to be the main source of trouble on all Crate amps I've repaired.

They've always been one of the better ones to deal with, both from a dealer standpoint and/or customer basis.

I've been playing tube amps for 20 years, most of the vintage Fenders, Marshalls, Carvin, Matchless, Boogies, Bedrock, Soldano, on and on...I'd try to find another one at this price. I like the way it looks and sounds, and wish it was lighter (use real wood, not MDF). It's a sweet amp for a couple of bills!

2 Channels, Reverb combo amp. No headphone jack, which to anyone who is beyond an infantile beginner, is a sign odf an amp I wouldn't want in the first place. Pretty much a straight forward 2 channel tube amp with all of the features it should have.

Here's where the amp falls short. I want to like these amps, since you can find them so cheap and they don't weigh a ton, but my ears keep telling me that they suck. Now, in fairness, I do know some musicians that have the 120 watt head/cabinet version and it sounds quite good. This combo doesn't seem to capture anything near that, however. To me, it sounds very much like a late 70s early 80s Peavey -- not good!

Fortunately, I did not buy the amp after trying to convince myself that it was such a good deal for more than an hour. You see, right next to it was a Hughes & Kettner Tube 50 which totally kicked the Crate's ass. Plugging in to the Tube 50, I could not find a bad sound on the amp -- any way I turned the knobs, it sounded great. In contrast, the Crate could not sound anywhere near as good no matter how it was adjusted. The Tube 50 was a bit pricier, but well worth it. I'm glad I passed on the Crate.

I've been playing for many, many years and have owned or regularly used alot of high quality amps. Even though I did not take this amp home, I am very skilled at diagnosing good/bad equipment quickly. This one had a nice low price for an all-tube amp, so I spent an exceptionally long time examining it.

I'm hoping that the one I tested was a fluke and that I will come across another that sounds like so many here say theirs does.

Overall, this one was a very ordinary sounding amp of which many solid-states, including the ones made by Crate, sound better.

TURN IT ON, JAM YOUR ASS OFF, THAT'S HOW EASY IT IS TO START ROCKIN' WITH THIS AMP!

I USE A GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM WITH THIS AMP AT REHEARSAL. THE SOUND BLOWS THE DOORS OFF OF MY BANDMATES' MARSHALL HALF-STACKS!!! (VALVESTATE & TSL100) I LOVE THE TONE OF THIS AMP, EVEN WITH STOCK TUBES IN IT.

THIS AMP IS 110% DEPENDABLE! I HAVE GIGED WITH IT BEFORE AND USED NO BACK-UP! YOU DON'T NEED A BACK-UP! SERIOUSLY!

AS A MATTER OF FACT I JUST RECENTLY (11/7/02) CONTACTED CRATE ABOUT A FOOTSWITCH FOR THIS AMP. I'M CURRENTLY WAITING FOR A RESPONSE. I'M SURE I'LL GET ONE REAL SOON THOUGH!

I PLAY ROCK AND ROLL FROM THE LATE 60s TO CURRENT ROCK. THIS AMP WILL FILL ALL THE TONAL NEEDS OF MOST OF THAT MUSIC. I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR 19 YEARS AND THIS IS MY FIRST CRATE AMP (PRETTY MUCH FOR REHEARSAL ONLY...WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) AND IT'S GREAT. I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE IF THE OPPORTUNITY AROSE! FOR A SMALL AMP, THE THING HAS A PRETTY HEAVY MAGNET ON THE SPEAKER, WHICH MAKES IT HEAVY, BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR THE GREAT TONE THAT YOU'LL ALWAYS GET FROM IT WETHER YOU'RE ON THE CLEAN OR DIRTY CHANNEL. MY FRIEND (THE BAND'S "ROADIE") KEEPS REASSURING ME TO NEVER GET RID OF THIS AMP. I CAN HAVE THE VOLUME AT 2 O'CLOCK AND KEEP UP (MAYBE SURPASS) THE HALF-STACK BOYS!!!!!!

I believe this amp was mad 1998 or 99. It still has the good tolex covering. If you have noticed all the new amps have very flimzy covering. It tears every time you bump something. That bugs the crap out of me. Like someone else said this little booger rocks.

I use a American Tele with stock pickups and a strat occasionely. The amp is very quiet and can handle all the gigs I need it for. I play strictly classic country and old rock. No problems, handles everything just fine.

Never had a problem with this little booger. Dont need a backup, it has never given me a problem. I dont really know why Crate quit making these amps. I use the clean channel only. Have no need for the other one so I cant really say anything good or bad about it.

I have never delt with Crate excet to find an amp tech for a bass amp thats giving me a problem.

I've been playing since 1957 and would definately buy another if this one got swiped. For some reason there are not too many around. The thing I like about this amp is its very compact and built very sturdy no cheap tolex covering like the new amps. Plus it sounds as good as my old Peaveys and Fender twin for less doe. The thing I dont like is...its freegin heavey for a compact combo. Around 60 pounds. But they have to do that to make for the solid sound. I'm going to rate this thing a 10. It has never given a problem one. You cant ask for more than that.

Excellent combo. All tube, two channel, bright switch on clean side and gain boost on gain side, however, there is no independent reverb. That is the only thing I wish it had.
I play mostly metal with some 60's psychedelic groove influences, and this amp does it very well. It has alot of gain, but a tone that could beat all.

I'm playing a '99 Dean Cadillac X with stock pickups (Dean's version of the Duncan Distortions, I believe). The Voodoo with this guitar fits my style perfectly. It has a little noise on the clean channel, but it's only noticeable at low volumes and when you're really looking for it. I chalk it up to buying it used.
This amp can handle anything from twangy Fenders to bassy Les Pauls, and everything in between. The clean channel is amongst the best I've ever heard, and the gain channel is THE best I've ever heard. The distortion is EXTREMELY brutal, but it's not always needed. You can get a heavy sound without cranking the gain all the way.

This amp is very reliable. As of late, I've had no problems with it. I would not take it to a gig without a backup, but not because of the amp...because I am anal like that.

I have only dealt with them once or twice via email to ask them some spec questions and they have been very quick and helpful in their responses.

I've only been playing for 2.5 maybe 3 years, but I know enough to know when an amp is good...and this one is amazing.
When I wanted a new amp, I went to every store playing everything to find the amp I wanted. Price was not option (within reason). I planned to find my amp, and then look for another as inexpensively as I could. I played Marshalls (AVT's, TSL's, DSL's, VS's, etc.), Line6's (Spiders, Flextones), Ampegs, Mesa's (all), and the rest of the Crates, but none of them heald a candle to the Blue Voodoo.
If it were stolen or lost I'd probably take the opportunity to upgrade to the 120 head.

The amp is only a few years old(the Blue Voodoo combos were discontinued a few years back and the series continued as a stack) but purchased new. Versatile amp. I play everything from ska/reggae to jazz/fusion to blues to hard rock to country/rockabilly and it seems to get every sound. What can I say, its a 60 watt tube amp. The clean and dirty tone are what you would expect. Channel 1-Volume, Bass, Mid, Bright switch, Treble, Channel 2-Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master Volume, Tube Reverb, Presence, effects loop, channel switching, foot switch optional, no headphone jack. I would prefer spring reverb to tube(I'm a vintage Fender junky)but the overall sound is good(more on that later.)

I play a '96 Epiphone Les Paul, stock humbuckers, goes great with the amp. Get everything from Albert King to KISS to James Burton(not quite, but that is more of a pickup issue than an amp problem). Tube distortion is spectacular, but I'm comming from a solid state amp. No undue noise, stays clean cranked, responds fabulously distorted and it can DISTORT.

Keep in mind that all of these comments are based on trying it out for an hour in the store and 2 hours at home, after which it promptly broke down. Tubes are fine, amp still has power, speaker is fine(tried the nifty little 9-volt battery test)and I suspect the input is bad. Unfortunately, this isn't the first complaint I've heard on these amps. When they work, they have a really great sound, but when they don't, THEY DON'T. Obviously, this is a first experience and I'm slightly perturbed right now, but make sure that if you get one, you don't buy it second hand. The warranty is worth its weight in gold.

five year warranty on electronics(thank *insert deity of your choice*) two year warranty on speakers. We'll see what comes of the service department.

Doesn't matter if you plug in and suddenly play like SRV if the thing doesn't work, so good luck if you risk it. Oh well!

Full tube 2 5881's, 4 12AX7's, 1 12AU7 for reverb. I got it with a full set of Sovtek's. XLR balanced out. 2 channels one with boost. 60 watts...

I play hard rock, alternative, and progressive metal in my band: Epiphany. Kind of a Metallitoolinchainsgardenofstonetemple-ness. My playing style is somewhat like Satch, im nowhere near as good tho. I have an ESP M-300 into Boss DS-1->Digitech GNX1->Danelectro EQ->Amp. It has a very full sound, very loud. It compliments the DS-1 very well, nice harmonics with it. I use the DS-1 for the solid state distortion whenever i need it, there are times when, yes, tube distortion isnt the best for the job. the sound is very sharp in a large venue though, im probably going to buy the matching 4-12 cab to change that. clean has a nice sparkle, ok reverb. the distortion can do metal easily, and jazz. the blues tone can be done, you just need to do some tweaking. the clean channel distorts a little when at high volumes, what amp doesnt though? I replaced the tubes with Groove tubes, there wasnt much difference in the sound, there was a difference, not very audiably different though, i really had to listen for it. I want to try el34's next time.

Very dependable. killed a volume pot, not the amps fault, the other guitarist in my band was loading it into my car ans he slammed the pot on the side of my door, i had him pay for repairs :)(it was a good 70 bucks because they had to remove the board and blah, blah, blah.

I emailed them for a manual, they sent one to me in a week.

Ive been playing for 3 years, you can hear the sounds this amp makes at my bands website: epiphany.itgo.com. I love the amp, if it was stolen, id probably buy another. although i am looking into buying a carvin MTS3200 half stack.

the vodoo really reaks as an amp for live work.and it dosen't even sound that great.as far as i know, it uses 6l6's.I play lead in an alternitive/metal band.this amp has NO bottem end.not long after it's warrenty ran up,the hi-end EQ was affecting the master volume on both channels! Gain AND clean. it kept playing in & out of phase sixty watts is not enough for me. (I was not using the head,I used the combo)no headphone jack.Crate has come a long way, but has a long way to go.

I have used tele's equipt with taxas specials,as well as strats.
with texas specials.i've used e.m.g. 81's and an epiphone LP retro-fittad with classic 57's and a 57' classic plus.amp has no bottem end
with any pick-up combo i've used.

this amp cant stand on it's own casters.it has no reliability.
i was playing a gig for my school (national anthem)the amp started blacking out. I was never in my life more humiliated

two words, it sucks!

Made in 1997 in the U.S.A. Comes stock with 4 12AX7WA, 1 12AU7 and 2 5881WXT tubes manufactured by Sovtek. 2 Channel operation. The clean channel is very clean in the neck position and a little on the dirty side with the bridge. The Dirty channel is very nice, excellent distorion with little breakup. I only wish it had a true third channel for lead and not the gimpy boost. I use this amp live and it is a definite workhorse.

I am using two different guitars, a Custom Kramer pacer ( it has a metallist neck ) with Seymour Duncan JB and vintage staggered; and a USA Jackson AT-1 with Kent Armstrong PAF style pickups.
The Reverb is really great, not too springy.......

When I first bought this amp used, it sounded like crap, old tubes. I just re-tubed it today with Sovtek 12AX7LPS (used by Mesa/Boogie) and 5881WXT (which are the stock replacement) I doubt I will have any problems with it for a couple of years......

E-mailed St. Louis Music for a Booklet, got one from them no problem

Over-all I would have to give it two thumbs up (after the re-tubing) and would recommend this to anyone looking for American made quality craftsmanship. I have owned Peaveys, Soldanos, Marshalls, and tested everything else, this is top notch......