Crate BV6212 Blue Voodoo

Nice panel on front. Knobs a little too small for gigging. Liked the LEDs on the footswitch.

Stat+ delux with 3 Gold sensors. Had a nice punchy tone with plenty of bottom end. Used thr EL's instead of the 6L6's. Nice growl without being buzzy. Clean channel was good up thru any level you'd use for a 2x12 combo.

Total piece of crap. Blew up two speakers. (Not at same time.) Music dealer was as disgusted as me and was cool enough to refund my money.

They were friendly but didn't offer any help.

Been playing 15 years. Too bad the danged thing wouldn't stay together. Sounded really nice when it worked. Since Crate makes Ampeg I'd be REALLY SCARED to by and Ampeg, which is too bad, since the Jet is a nice little amp for small clubs.

Update of an earlier review. Others have described it well and complained about a headphone jack. If it had a headphone jack, people would be complaining about blowing their phones. Lets be realistic, most 30 watt amps have no phone jacks, why would you want to use phones on a 60 watt amp. Trust me, you can go deaf quick enough without them. Anyway this amp suits my needs very well.

I play classic rock and blues with both single coils and hums, and this amp makes them both sound good.

I feel that I could gig without a backup, but with my luck I don't do anything without a backup. My first amp was replaced as my previous rating says. I've had this one for about 6 mos and no problem yet.

Crate, and the Music and Arts Centers in the Balto/Wash area, are great and have been there for each question. Hats off to both of them.

Yes I did buy it again. I run both with the 747 super flanger from DOD

This is an update of an earlier rating. This amp still carries 60 watts of great sounds. Has channel switching, reverb, and an effects loop.If it had 100 watts it would be perfect.

This amp is great for every kind of music. I play 60's, 70's, and some 90's mixed in. I can set this amp quickly for any sound I need.

Here's where the rating changes. After 4 mos I had to replace a noisy 12au7 tube. At 4 1/2 mos, I had to replace a speaker that wasn't working. And at 5 mos the amp started making crackling noises and then quit working all together. Had to replace the amp.

The only good news is the way I was treated by music and arts co. and by crate. They sent me a new amp with no questions asked.the only problem was that it took 4 weeks to get. Crate shipped it to music and arts centers, and they had to ship it to the branch store. So who knows who is to blame. I'm the one who was without for 4 weeks. I hope that this amp was just a lemmon.

We'll see how this one performs!!!

The BV6212 is an all tube combo amp. It has 2 channels, each with a 3 band EQ. The clean channel has a bright switch and the distortion channel has a boost switch. On the back it has a 2 button footswitch jack and effects send/return jacks. Also, there are four speaker ohmage selection jacks on the back which add to the versatility of the amp. In addition, there is also a balanced output jack. The only effects the amp has are reverb and presence. There is no headphone jack. The 60 watts and dual 12 inch speakers provide plenty of volume.

This amp rocks. I play heavy metal, hard rock and blues; this amp can do it all. Turn off the boost and turn the gain down to three quarters, and you've got a great blues tone that is almost clean, yet pushes into distortion as you strum harder. With full gain, this amp has a tone to satisfy rockers and headbangers alike. The BV6216 also sports a wonderful clean channel which offers a full, sparkling tone with plenty of bass, even at high volume levels. The only thing tone-wise that I don't like about the amp is the reverb, when used with distortion. It makes the midranges too loud, which consequently takes the edge off of the note. However, the reverb sounds great when used on the clean channel. I'm playing mine with a crappy strat-clone which has 3 single coils. Even so, the amp is surprisingly quiet, even when I have it turned up loud. I mean, it'll still feedback if you stand a foot away from it, but at a reasonable distance and volume, it is very quiet. About the only tone this amp can't do is industrial, but it doesn't matter because anyone who wants that digital sound isn't going to be looking at an all tube beauty like this anyway.

I've had this amp for about 4 months, and nothing has gone wrong in the slightest. I'd use it at a gig without a backup. It's built like a tank; soild wood, massive transformers, thick metal plates.

I've never really had to deal with Crate, service-wise.

I would definitely buy it again. It's a great value and a killer amp. I really love the fact that it's auto-biasing, which means I can change the tubes myself. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it's so heavy. Before you buy one, try lifting it. If you're gonna be carting it back and forth between band members' houses, you might consider getting the single 12 inch model. Overall, it was a great value, and I'm glad I didn't waste a couple extra hundred dollars on a Marshall.

60 Watts of great sounds. 2 channels plus a boost. Has channel switching,reverb,and effects loop. I use this amp in club situations with a 2-12 extention cabinet and it is great for that venue. If it carried 100 watts it would be perfect.

This amp is great for every kind of music. I play 60's and 70's with some 90's mixed in. I can set this amp quickly for whatever sound I need. It has an incredibly loud and clean channel and when gotten rough with it distorts lightly and sound great. The lead channel can be set to produce a piercing lead that I like and when turned up just gets louder. The boost switch puts you int metal heaven. The distortion is so heavy you can cut it with a knife.

Have only owned this amp about 4 mos, but no trouble yet.

Have had to deal with Crate for a blown speaker in this amp and on another amp and they are great. Warranty is 5 yrs on electronics, 2 yrs on speaker, and 90 days on tubes.

I would buy it again.

The BV-6212 is an all tube 2x12 amp with 2 channels( clean and lead), 5 tubes in the pre-amp (4 12AX7's an a 12AU7) and two (6L6 GT/5881) tubes in the power amp section. The clean channel has a volume, 3 band eq, and a bright switch. The lead channel has a pre-amp gain, boost switch,3 band eq, and master volume.Then there is the reverb for both channels consisting of a "reverb" knob and a presence. The rear panel has 2 foot switch jacks (channel select and reverb), effects loop (send and return) a balanced out with XLR mic cord jack, and four speaker outs (2 for 16 ohms and 2 for 8 ohms). The package consists of blue vinyl and a black grille. Quite handsome looking and full o0f bells and whistles to boot. Output : 60 watts in to 2 Crate Vintage club 12" speakers

This puppy smokes. I hated Crate amps until I reluctantly plugged in to this thing because it looked cool. Thick ,rich distortion and sparkling clean ryhthm channel. Let me describe the distortion. I believe in 3 types: overdrive,fuzz and distortion in general. This amp is hard overdrive that turns into fuzz when full blown. It does blues, rock, metal, jazz and country. Super versitle and it does it all of them well but it leans more towards hard blues and rock.

Tough as nails. Don't need a back -up. Throw it in the car and roll. Great warranty! 5 years on electronics, 2 years on speakers and 90 days on tubes.

No probs. I've e-mailed Crate several times and they have always been totally cool.

This is a great amp and reasonably priced. I really wanted a Peavey 5150 but couldn't afford one at the time. This amp fits the bill quite nicely and sounds great. It would make a great trade -in. (but I can't see that happening because I'll never get rid of it.)