Crate BV6212 Blue Voodoo

Made in 1997, I believe. Fairly versatile when it's not broken-down, which isn't that often. Two channels, weak reverb, effects loop. Two 12" Crate Vintage speakers. Your basic two-channel Marshall wannabe.

Distortion is pretty good at lower volumes (such as when you're trying it out at the music store), but it loses its character when you crank it and actually seems to get somewhat cleaner at higher volumes. Clean tone is decent, nothing spectacular. Don't believe the hype about these Blue Voodoo amps. I know that Marty Friedman Endorses the 100watt version and Sammy Hagar uses the Red Voodoo(which is basically the same amp with slightly different eq), but bear in mind that they are given their amps for free and are paid to endorse them. Seriously here, I've been playing guitar for fifteen years and I've been around the block once or twice. I highly discourage you from buying a Crate product. They are low quality and you will ultimately be dissapointed, if not in the sound than defininately in their reliability.

I bought this amp used from a kid who had never taken it out of his bedroom. It looked brand-new and obviously hadn't been used much. I purchased it on eBay. I bought it because I really needed a portable, lower-powered combo to use as a practice amp. Upon receiving it, I replaced the power tubes and had my local amp guy give it a checkup. He resoldered a couple of things that were loose and basically just cleaned it up. I asked him for an honest opinion and he told me that it was a typical St Louis Music product: cheaply made. I cringed a little at that, but I already had it so I used it. After a few months of practice with my band at higher volumes, the knobs started to sound scratchy, followed not long after by a substantial decrease in volume. I had it fixed, which left me without a practice amp for a week. A few weeks after getting it back, it developed a hum which got gradually louder and louder. I had it fixed once again. I was already pissed at how much I had spent on this P.O.S. Then, it lost volume AGAIN and finally quit completely. This time a different amp tech said it would cost well over $100.00 to fix. ACK!!!!! I've absolutely flogged the crap out of my Marshall JCM800 for years and have never had to do anything to it but change the tubes; same for my old Silverface Fender Bassman. I take good care of my stuff. This amp is awful. Read the other reviews and you'll see. The ONLY WAY anyone could not have problems with one of these is if it never left their bedroom.

Didn't deal with them. Bought it used and the kid lost the warranty card. They do have a transferable warranty. Their product quality is pretty low, so I hope they have a pretty darn good customer support department.

As I stated earlier, I've been playing guitar for fifteen years and I've owned my fair share of gear. I avoided Crate products in the past because of their poor reputation among working musicians. I read some positive reviews in guitar magazines about Crate that said that their sound-quality and workmanship were much better, so I decided to purchase this amp because it seemed like a genuine bargain. Since then I have discovered that Crate products are simply substandard in terms of build-quality. I'm sure you may try one and like the sound, especially for the price, but be warned that you will be purchasing an inferior and ulimately unreliable product. You get what you pay for. If you want a good tube amp for the money, buy a used Marshall JCM800 or an old Fender tube amp. I hope I've helped someone avoid making the same mistake I did in wasting my hard-earned money on this amp.

1995-96?

Jackson Soloist With JB4 , Hard Rock and Total Garage melting sounds
Loud , Brite sound from the clean channel to the Rude Chainsaw sound of megadeath , Total Crunch machine , could be a little bit louder cuz its hard to keep up with Marshall 100 heads ( it is 60 watts after all ) Great for recording at low volumes and still getting the bottom end out any Marshall bottom

Well , I can say I beat this thing to death for about 4 years without a problem , then one day the amp 6L6 power tubes would not Glow
Found the the wire on the terminal to the 6.3v connector needed to be reseated ( I had played at low volumes without the vibration and then started to crank the amp up and play for extended periods ) It was time for the power supply to finally Die
Two new 6L6 power tubes and a few diodes and I am Back up and running
I really can't bitch because I had 4 years of FLAWLESS playing

I never had to deal with the Customer Support department because my Amp was out of warranty before it Died , I had a Local guy who deals with Tube Amps only work on it and he said "Its a Mass Produced Amplifier " and what you get is "Mass Produce Product" but he also added that if it lasted 4 years without any problems , then you got a good amp! , to be honest the Amp may have died a lot faster if I would have played it a lot more that I did ,

If this Amp had 100 watts I would buy 10 more
the Sound is Awesome and I have gone thru about 2 dozen amps in the past 20 years , I could have gone with a Marshall ( as Usual ) but I Stumbled across this Amp by Demoing to some customers and I fell in love with the Crunchy Sound that is Warm and very good tone at the mid volume range which is exactly what this amp is for, It will have a hard time keeping up with the big boys and the stacks but for small gigs with a mic you will be set , Line out to go smack into the PA also will product the same Crate Sound without killing the amp every last drop !! If you Want a Good Sounding amp that will fit in the trunk this is it , If you wanna play outside , better off getting a Bigger Amp

An all tube amp with 2 channels, clean and distortion, and seperate eq for each. The clean channel has a Bright switch. The distortion channel has a boost switch which adds more gain. There is also a presence control and reverb control. The amp comes with a footswitch to swotch between channels and to engage the boost on the distortion channel. This amp is 60 watts, but pretty weak. I cant even hear myself when practicing with a drummer and bassist.

This amp has an clean channel, very good for blues at high volumes. The distortion could use a little more bite and volume. Pretty good for the price.

I WOULD NEVER USE THIS AMP A GIG OR EVEN TO PRACTICE ON A REGULAR BASIS! About 3 months after buy it, it stops working. I sent it to Crate and it took them 4 months to fix it!!!

Just bought, so made in 98 or 99. Has 2 channels, clean and distorted. Has 3 graphic equalizer, reverb and presence. Lot's of input jacks in the back to allow for hooking up to other amps/stacks relatively easy. The 60 Watts are very loud, and since it's a tube amp, has nice warm sound.

I run a Fender SRV Stratocaster through it, and it sounds great. This amp was made for the blues. I cranked up the volume on the clean channel, and there was no hum what so ever. Just clean glistening sounds. The distortion channel is great also. Real thick meaty, but not too overpowering. Probably not the best distortion for real heavy metal, but good enough for me.

Just got it, so not sure how reliable it is. If something goes wrong with it, I'll make an update and let you know.

Haven't had to talk to them, but they have a great transferrable 5 year warranty on their amps.

I've been playing for a few years now. I own a small Fender Champion 110 (25W) practice amp. I wanted something bigger and louder, and this amp is definitely it. If it were stolen, I would do my best to scrounge up enough money to buy another one. I think it's a great amp, and I hope it lasts forever. One thing I have a problem with is it's weight. They really could have put wheels on it. It weighs 60 lbs. Oh well, just a small gripe. I still love the amp.

this amp has a tube preamp section and a tube amp section. the 6L6 powertubes are very unreliable, they blow frequently and I would never wish this amp on anyone. I recommend running a tube-preamp section and also a solid-state amp section! this is far superior to any tube combo amp!

the sounds are mediochre. totally awsome if you play blues! cheap sounding if you like crunch tones

hell no. never ever do not buy this product!

very good customer support, 5 year warranty! awesome!

You've seen the specs on other comments so I won't bore you with those again. I play modern rock and have owned this for about 3 years. More than enouff power to gig with.

I use an Ibenez s470 classic and a BC rich virgin. I love the distortion this thing gets. It has 2 drawbacks: 1) very very noisy, and 2) you can't switch from distortion to cleans without geting a very loud "POP". Because of this "POP" I can't use the distortion that I love so much. I have to use the clean channel with a distortion effect, and this upsets me.

owned this amp for 3 years, and I play out every to every other weekend. I have never done anything to this amp. I recommend putting wheels on it, this bastard is heavy!!!!!!

great product....I never needed them

I don't think I would buy this again. I love the distortion, but I need a flawless transition from channel to channel. If it wasn't for that....This would be the perfect amp!!!!

60 watts, 2-12's, all tube combo. It has an effects loop, channel switching with a boost and reverb. Cool blue tolex, gold trim etc. One of the features I really like is the auto bias feature. When I replace the power tubes, I don't have to rebias.

I use this amp with a PRS CE and play mostly classic rock(anything from badfinger to zepplin), with some 90's and even some disco thrown in. I use this amp like an old fender, set the volume on the clean channel at 6 or above, set up the tone controls and use guitar pick-up and volume combinations to control overdrive and loudness. In fact this amp reminds me of an early 70's pro reverb. After I got the right tube combination that is. I threw out the russian junk and put in all US military tubes. Costly but what a difference. Bell like clean sounds, good string definition, sweet overdrive, but louder than a pro reverb. I'm not saying it sounds better than a pro, just close, with the right tubes. I only use the clean channel so I can't comment on the lead channel('cause I don't like distortion, just a touch of overdrive), and the only pedal I use is an Ibanez chorus through the effects loop.

This is an update of an earlier review, the first one I had was replaced in april of 97 after having it one month. This seems to be my luck with anything I buy. In sept of 97 I bought and returned a BV120 head and ordered another 6212. I used them both till the end of 97 at which time I sold one to a new found friend. The only troubles that we've had since the original replacement have been tube related. Noisy and worn out tubes etc. I wasn't happy with the first one failing, but am pleased that these 2 have lasted nearly 2 years with only trouble associated with tube amps. Always carry a set of replacement tubes, you never know with tubes, one minute fine and them bam, no volume, or a scream coming out of the thing you can't hear the band because of.

Crate and Music and Arts center were great in the replacement of the first amp. The technical guys at crate and especially Jay are easy to reach and helpful to talk to.

I'm 46 and been playing since there was a garage or basement band on every corner, I guess 35 years. I have owned alot of amps over the years, alot of them I wish I had now, all fenders. Anyway, water under the bridge, I guess all us geezers say the same thing. So, I compared this to other new amps at the time, Marshall jcm900 combos, fender devilles, peavey transtubes, the dual, and others and liked this best. I've started getting back into the blackface and early silverface fender combos lately, so I probably wouldn't buy another one, but not because it's a bad amp. Feel free to e-mail with any questions or comments. I love to talk music and equipment.

You've heard the features. Sixty watts into two twelves. Footswitchable channels with a mid boost on the distortion channel. Footswitchable reverb. Effects loop. Separate EQ for each channel. Bass, mid, treble with a bright switch on the clean channel; bass, mid, treble and presence on the distorto side.

Main guitars are a Standard Telecaster for twang and an SG for crunch. Play blues, power pop and a little bit of countrifried rock. The clean channel is wonderful with the telecaster and the bright switch in. Nice and sparkly without being shrill. Lots and lots (and lots) of headroom. This is a very loud sixty watts. The SG sounds better with the bright switch out, it's just a little too toppy and tends to slice a neat little incision in your forehead if you let it have all the treble it wants. I can nail the "Substitute" sound from Live at Leeds with this combination. I've got a Boss Super Phaser and a Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus that get used on the clean channel. The dirty channel is quite versatile. With the gain at about ten o'clock, you can get a nice blues thang going. Head for about one o'clock and things get real fat real quick. This setting, the SG and the boost setting make for a great Carlos tone. Still a fair amount of individual note definition with the gain up this high, arpeggios are clear without the notes turning to mud. The EQ does a good job of bringing out individual strings. Maxing the gain and killing the midrange will probably make a metalhead happy (how very nice for them). I've had this beast for almost two years and played it in a lot, played it in the garage a little and had it out to gigs four or five times (both in the bars and in the great outdoors). I also have a Peavey Special 130 (130 watt solid state with one twelve) that gets taken a lot more places because it's lighter, but when I want the sound, I eat my wheaties and lift the blue voodoo. In case you haven't figured out from my understated comments, I love the sound of this amp. The clean is bright and spanky and the distortion can be anything from sharp and stinging to rich and creamy. I borrowed a friend's Les Paul the other week and I thought I was Billy Gibbons. The only reason I'm not giving it a ten is because it's in my nature to always be searching for something better.

Uh-oh. Here's where things go downhill. I'm extremely anal about taking care of my hardware, but this thing doesn't want to stay functional. A week and a half after I bought it, it fried it's power tubes. The dealer (an authorized Crate service center) had it for three weeks while they tried to figure out why. Eventually, they decided that it had been shipped with "bad tubes" (is that a moral judgement?) and replaced those. Three weeks later, the same thing. I know tubes need to be replaced regularly, but this was starting to scare me. This time, they figured that there was a loose solder connection that was dancing around at high volumes (high volumes? No sir, not me.) Than, six months into ownership, one speaker went south. Once again, this was replaced under warranty, but I was getting cranky about being without my amp for big stretches of time. I just noticed a drop in clean headroom yesterday and, sure 'nuff, one of the power tubes has committed suicide. This amp has been treated too nice (I'm the kind who will cover it between sets) to break down this often. My suspicion is that it's all been the same problem and the dealer hasn't figured it out yet. My warranty's up but I'm gonna go in and whine and see if they will fix it for free since the problem is as old as the amp. Given the history of this unit, I would never gig without backup. Fortunately, I still have the Peavey which, while it isn't near as tonally versatile, thrives on abuse.

As I noted, I've dealt directly with the dealer and never have had to call St. Louis Music. If the dealer can't solve the problem this time, I may just see what the factory folks can tell me though.

I've been playing upwards of twenty years. I've had more guitars and amps than I cared to count; a silver face Fender Champ (marvelous little amp), an old silverface twin (marvelous big amp), a Peavey Bandit (good workhorse) and a variety of guitars (anybody remember the Ibanez Artist EQ?). When I was shopping for something tubeish, I compared this to the Marshall Valvestates (too harsh), the Crate Vintages (not crunchy enough), a Twin (too expensive, too heavy...but, oh that sound), the Peavey Classic 50 (which I was gonna go with till I played the Blue Voodoo). This is a marvelous sounding machine. I wish I could depend on it.
If it were stolen, would I buy another? If I could be assured of its reliability I would. What about it St. Louis Music? Can you do that for me?

This combo amp was picked out of a 10 amp shootout,some sounded better and costed alot more it came down to a silver face twin and the blue voodoo,the twin was 250.00 more so I got the b.v.6212 its has 2 chnnels and a boost on ch.2 f/x loop line out auto-biasing 2, 5881 4,12ax7 and one 12au7 60 watts

I play a b.c.rich mocking bird and a ibanez js-100 both guitars use paf pro and fred pick-ups my style is classical (dead clean) finger picking to metal scooped out mid drop d chuga chuga...i get both tones out of this amp and a good blues tone as well .

with in 2 months the amp just flaked out it started buzzing in the clean ch. and poped going from ch.2 to ch.1 then stopped working it goes in to the shop i get it back and the bypass rocker is gonig out and making alot of noise, the buzz is still there and the popping it goes back to the shop and I get it back and now the amp will loose gain and volume at times still buzzes and pops,I ask crate for a new one,crate sends me a factory 2nd?but this amp sounds good and I will update you on how well it holds up

crate was very nice but did not return calls or faxes all repair and repacment was done under warranty the authorized service centers was a joke out of 3 places only one took my amp this is a story in itself I love the tones in this amp and I want it to work just like it did new I have 5 year warranty and looks like I need it sending me a 2nd ?? I dont know what to think about this but if this new one holds up I will be happy

I have been playing only 3 years but was a drummer for many years Iam olderish 34 if I had it to do over again I wish I got the twin silver face I have gotton into building and moding my gear I have built tube direct boxes and am starting on a unavibe clone,have phase and coil cuts on pick-ups and if I had the twin I could work on that as well any way bottom line is 6 moths ownership, its only worked 2 months I have a new one now and we will see I will update my post

Crate has always made some pretty cool little jammin' amps. On this particular model everything is set up pretty good. The line out jacks in the rear make it simple to add a cab or two to get loud in a hurry without having to go buy a head and still sound good. But, where is the headphone jack? Proboly a dumb question, but can someone tell me a reason why it couldn't have been included.

I play a Kramer American Pacer and a Les Paul Standard through this amp and it sounds great with both. Even turned up alot the sound is still easy to control without distorting out. Although the clean channel needs alot of help, a little chorus and eq. brings it close to par. But the dirty channel has a broad range of sound. I can get Metallica to the Eagles without goin through a complete change.

Every Crate amp I've ever owned which is quite a few, except one, a G80XL, have all performed very well, in and out of the garage,ha ha! And this one has been in countless bars, at parties and a million others and has always come through, and was loud enough too!

Back to the G80 XL model for a moment. It had broke on me the first time and I was pissed. So, the nearest dealer was about a half hour drive, no to bad. Anyway I brought it in, still under warranty, and they had me pick it back up in about four weeks cause they had to send for parts. Otherwise they were friendly and apologetic and if I really needed a loner for an important gig or something that they could arrange it, free of charge! So, that was pretty cool.

I've been playing for about ten years and over that time I've played alot of different amps. Truly, I love an old late 60's Marshall Lead 50 head with a couple of 4x12 cabs loaded with Celestions. But playing guitar has become more of hobby now. This amp is plenty loud enough to get over a drum kit and still sound good. Even play small clubs too! The only way to find something good is to try it yourself and see. I think its a good all around rock and roll type amp. I just wish this model came with Fenders Princeton Chorus in it.