Crate BV6212 Blue Voodoo

This Crate amp is basically the grown up version of the Fender Blues Jr. Yea I know the manufactuers are different. The Crate has true two channels, clean and down and dirty. The BJr is what I rehearse with and use at small venues because it's only 31 lbs. The BV comes out for larger venues and outdoors, in my rig I use a Fender Highway one strat and a custom tricked '62 re-issue strat with Texas Specials, Keeley Compressor, Boss super over drive, digidelay and a crybaby wah. I am telling you this BV is awesome and when you can find one for $350.00 or less what a steal. Bought mine on ebay and retubed with JJ El 34's and JJ 12ax7's. Anyone want a good deal on a Mesa Boogie Nomad 45? The Crate rips it's ass! I play Blue's, and Southern Rock and both of the mentioned amps are tone monsters. I probably would not recomend for metal but I haven't tried to dial that in.

You can go to ice pick piercing clean to down right dirty with the the puch of a button. It has no hums or buzzes.

I had my nieces over and ran a vocal mic through it for them to play with, I came back and it was not working at all. Lights came on but zero noise. Removed the head to check internal fuses and bingo, have had no more problems.

Crate had the manual on line so I down loaded and have never had any other issues.

I have been playing professionaly for 2 years and owned a guitar for over thirty years. I would replace if I could find another one if it were ever stolen. If you are a Blues player, I definitely reccomend you check it out. You'll be pleasantly surprised and then when you throw out those B.S. groove tubes and retube with some JJ's you'll be a believer and still have some cash in your pocket.

My amp ws made in 96. I play alot of 80's style metal with alot of artificial harmonics. Sounds awesome!! Two channels with footswitch. Wished it had more of a tube sound. Not alot of bottom end. Use this amp at home and it has more than enough for me.

Very sharp and sizzling distortion. Clean is ok.I have a Squier Pro Tone Fat Strat and an Ibanez I built with a screamin deamon pickup. Have heard some input noise but not bad yet. I turn up to abt 3 and it sounds really good.

I just bought it and had to retube ASAP. Didn't get a chance to play before I bought it and something was blown. I spent $100 on tubes and its cool now. It was 11 years old so it was due.

None

Been playing on and off for 30 years. Have a GNX 3 I run through the clean and it bakes. I would buy something else if I lost this one. I really like the distortion on this amp. I was really wanting a Randall G3 but couldn't find one. I wish it had some onboard effects. Chorus or flange would be great.

Mine was made in '95 or '96
This amp is flexible enough for my playing styles (blues /rock/metal)
Standard features
Crystal clean clean channel, Killer OD channel.
Plenty of power (hair parting)!
Mostly play small clubs

I spent a while dialing the amp in to get the sounds that I was after. I was a bit dissapointed until I realized that the "sweet spot" is where the OD channel gain is at max and the master volume is at about 2-3 o'clock. I use a THD hot plate to allow high master volume settings withoput earsplitting volume in a small club. with this setup, the OD channel sings!
I play a vintage LP, an ES 335, a Strat or a Jackson
No hum or noise. I recently retubed with groove tubes, and replaced the 12au7 phase inverter with a 12ax7.

I had a problem with hum when I purchased it (used) but retubing corrected it. I always bring a backup (Marshall) amp to a gig, and have never had to use it.

My only contact with SLM was to order the schematic, which arrived in a week. So, I have received excellent customer service.

I have been playing for 35 years. I use a variety of pedals, in addition to playing straight into the amp. If it were lost / stolen I would buy another. In fact, I'm looking for another as a backup
Buy a hot plate and realize the real potential of this amp!

its a very versitile amp, the single reverb control is fine for what i do becuase i would have it the same on both channels anyway. i put it right around 5 and its perfect my reverb just hums alot

i play it on a PRS Tremonti SE, the overdrive is great, very very heavy for a tube amp especialy when the volume is turned over 1/2 way up, it will make your ears ring in a smaller room, its dirty tones are very thick and i can dial it down to 60's mild crunch if i want to, the clean sounds good too, it can go from vintage tele twang to thick GNR clean tones

it is realtivly relyable, i just retubed it and resolderd alot of bad joints, and replaced a resistor, ths was due to a rather large fall it took, i didnt strap it down in the bed of my truck and it fell quite hard when i was stopping, but the solder joint is the only thing that hold many extrnal componants onto the board, now i stap it down no matter how far im going.

the guy i talked to at customer support knew what he was talking about, the only probelem was when i ordered the schematic it took several weekes for them to get it to me and im in south east ohio, thats too long even by mail from ST Louis.

its a great amp i especialy like the XLR out on the back i you cant cant spare a mic for it, but the vintage club speakers soung good, for the price i paid it was muck better than the Drive CD200R i had, the effects in it worked for a couple weeks and then the never have worked right. But with my Tremonti SE this sounds great i couldnt ask for much more from an amp that i do this much with, i mainly just play at home or at church.

Features already listed elsewhere. Mine was used and came without footswitches, but I tend to stay on one or two tones and don't mind changing manually between songs. Really wish it had separate reverb controls per channel, but I gather they fixed this problem with later versions. I would also love a headphone jack, specifically with a speaker bypass-- I live in an apartment, and playing at night isn't always an option. On that note, WELL more than enough power for me. I'm primarily a sound engineer, and I really don't subscribe to the "turn it up to 11" school of guitar. I find the tone I like, set it at a reasonable volume not to annoy neighbors or get to much mic bleed on stage, and let FOH deal with volume.

I have finally upgraded from my BC Rich POS to a Fender '73 Tele Custom, and I'm loving life. I play blues-rock to grunge and some rockabilly/western swing, and this amp can totally cover me. The distortion seems a little mid-heavy, which makes it suck for metal, but it's great for what I'm playing. And with the neck humbucker on the Tele, I can still get a fat, driving sound without eq'ing the heck out of it. Unmistakably tube-y and warm, I think it has a distinctive presence-- thicker than a Marshall, less piercing high end than most of the Fenders that pierce my ears. I don't know what kind of reverb other reviewers are used to, but mine has some rediculous reverb. A little dark and long for my taste, but plenty of it. I generally use it as presence, unless I'm doing rockabilly and want that Duane Eddy/Carl Perkins sound and crank it up. For my money, it gets plenty wet. And as everyone has said, the clean channel rocks. Hella volume, and solid, faithful tone.

Again, I got it used, and considering I cleaned a pair of chopsticks, three picks, and two Heineken caps out of the bottom of it when I bought it, I can only guess how the previous owner treated it... Working fine when I got it, and I haven't really driven it that loud or that long. I'm getting a lot of distortion on the clean channel after 10-15 min of playing, and I think it's just time to replace the preamp tubes. Incidentally, it's actually a great sound, a sloppy, rubber-band distortion with some tremelo. I think I might record some of it before I fix the problem... Other than that, it's held up well, and I think the case construction is stellar.

Just downloaded a manual to see about tubes, but that's all the contact I've had with Crate.

Once I get it tweaked back into shape, I'm convinced I'll be loving it. I'm primarily an acoustic player when I play, and I think this is probably going to be the only electric amp I own for a good long while. I'd probably buy another one if this one crapped out-- good tone and more style than others I've seen and tested. It is a bit of a beast, though. Hasn't Crate ever heard of casters? :)

Features are covered. It's an older mid-90's one with the bright blue tolex, seems in good shape.

I have played an Ibanez GRX20 and a BC Rich JR-V with DiMarzio Evolutions through this. I have the 212 sitting on the 2x12 cab of my old Vintage Club 50 (minus the VC50 amp, it died). The speakers in the BV are the same ones as the VC, so all 4 are matched. The sound: The OD channel is fizzy and doesn't sound tubey really at all. Damn the transistor. It doesn't even come close to matching my old Crate Vintage Club 50's distortion. I'll never understand why Crate went with "transistor-assisted" distortion in a tube amp. Why does it need an assist? But here's the good part: I use the clean channel with a Boss MT-2 MetalZone (I know what you're thinking, but listen). I set the eqs on the amp as such: Low: 4:00, mid: flat, and high: 1:00, and I set the EQ flat on the MT2 except the lows which I set at 3:00, and I set the Gain at 2:00. This is a really awesome sound, especially with the power tubes cooking. Perfect for our metal style, articulate and heavy, with enough low end. The clean channel is 40 times as loud as the OD channel, and with the clean volume at 9:00 it drowns out the drums and still maintains clarity of sound. A sick sick setup. Too band the onboard OD and reverb suck.

I dunno, I've read all the horror stories. I have an old 1987 Crate G40c that's still kicking, but it needs cleaning and the pots are scratchy. The BV has a bit of scratch in the poys and a small whine when being warmed up that disappears after a while. Plus, it's a tube amp, so all that maintenance is required. We'll see...

HM?

With the Metalzone and a chorus pedal, this thing comes alive. Stack it on a good 212 cab and enjoy the sick volume of the clean channel. Without it, good luck. I couldn't find a good dirty tone in this amp for anything except bad punk. But hey, your experiance may vary. For my purposes, it gets a 9.

Around mid 90's 2 channels tube preamp section with 2 6L6 but also can be changed to EL34 without biasing, It has an effect loop and external speaker jack. very versitile amp with good power and volume, lots of gain.

I have been playin for about 15 years and use a variety of guitars anything from strats to teles to a les paul. I play metal and do some country, this amp suits my needs. I can get some creamy thick grind or chicken pickin on this amp . The clean channel is very clean and the distortion is very good. Now that is just the basic amp but I have added a separate tube preamp from Tube Works that i run into a midiverb III then into a EQ and into a noise gate.. with this set up I have found my tone. And life is good.

The reliability is kinda iffy... I got this amp on Ebay, when it arrived the cabinet was spit open and wood splintered everywhere. I was pissed.. but it fired up and ran, so I reglued the cabinet and retubed it.. I has not let me down. that is pretty tough considering a busted tube amp usually is toast.

None,, never called em.

Like I said I have been playing for about 15 years.. I own to much gear to mention,,(gear head)...But I play though this amp daily and am very pleased.. I have a 5150 and a Traynor guitar mate and this one fits my rig perfect. Just the other night me and a drummer where jammin on Metalica's "Am I Evil" and you should of heard the wicked scooped mids and snarlin grind this amp was spewin,, The drummer was pounding hard and he could not drown me out.

'96 model that provides the versatility to play anything from Blues to Black Metal. It has 2-channels w/boost and reverb, fx loop, balance out, and jack for second cab. The Voodoo been used mainly for rehersal w/ limited time playing gigs. Has enough power for small to medium/small clubs, not the loudest 60W amp on the market. Those who say it's loud haven't played loud amps. No comparison to my 5150 combo or Boogie's that I've played.

Play through Ibanez RG & Jem series w/Duncan pickups. The Voodoo fits my style well, which is metal & prog for the most part. Low noise even with the boost on; I only use my Guitar Silencer for gigs. Great distortion, alot of gain, but reverb is weak; just enough though to compliment the sound. Regarding gain, the Voodoo has as much gain as a Boogie but lacks the bottom end and not as compressed or tight. Great sound/tone for the money. Clean channel is nice, but not a Fender clean if that's what your looking for; almost as good as a Marshall JCM.

Had a few problems with the amp over the past 7-years. Still has a minor problem with the fets when switching from the lead channel to the clean channel. There is a split second were the volume increases by about 20%, then reverts to the set volume. As of today, the input jack is out. Not a big problem. Also, haven't had to change the tubes, 7-years, yet which is very surprising considering the hours it's been used.

Haven't ever used customer support. Do repairs myself or use local people. Sending amps off the the manufacture is always the last resort. Even if they are reliable it takes too long. I know, I work for one.

Played guitar for 20-years and have owned many different amps and the Voodoo compares with any regarding sound; craftmanship could be better though. Actually, looking for another combo just in case this one dies. Always compare amps, never buy without playing as many amps as possible. I've compared this amp agianst VHT, Boogie, Marshall, Bogner, Peavey, Soldano, HK, Rivera, and many others. If you can't afford high-end, then get the Voodoo. Doesn't everybody in rock/metal play Boogie? Get something different if you stay in the $600 to $1K range. I'm A/B between the Voodoo and 5150 for about $500 less than a Boogie Recto. Great all-around amp for the semi-serious muscian.

60-watt tube amp.insane distortion. very warm clean chanel. LOUDEST AMP I HAVE EVER HEARD OR PLAYED THROUGH.

i have been playing for 8-years and this is my first tube amp. it by far surpasses any solid states out there. YOU CAN NAIL TONY IOMMI'S BLACK SABBATH TONE!!!!! KILLER REVERB ON THE CLEAN CHANNEL The only bad things I can say, are that the reverb acts as a gain boost on the overdrive chanel(kinda cool but it might be a defect), and there is way to much bass!

bought it used, made in 1995-still works.

N/A

GREAT AMP. WISH IT HAD ONE REVERB FOR EACH CHANNEL. <<<<WHEN READING THESE REVIEWS,KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS;THOSE MADE BEFORE 95, AND THOSE MADE AFTER-EACH WITH DIFFERENT SPECS. MINE IS THE OLDER VERSION.>>>>

I'd have to say it was made in '95 or '96, as I got it new early in '96. I played a strat through it at guitar Center, and loved it.
The only thing I never liked about it is that the reverb is shared between the two channels. Wouldn't be that big a deal if the head version didn't have seperate reverb controls.

I have a Flying V, a Tele and a Strat with a humbucker in the bridge.
I have never played another amp that was as close to the fender clean, and as close to the marshall crunch as this one. I play Skynyrd, Santana, Megadeth, Guns&Roses, Aerosmith, Metallica, SRV. This amp does it all very well.
No hum except with the strat with lots of gain.
I have only started using pedals with this amp a year ago, and I think it is even better. My favorite pedal now, is the BD-2 by boss. It is an overdrive pedal, which lets me set up my clean SRV sound on the clean channel. Kick in the pedal, and I'm doing Rolling Stones, AC/DC, using the volume control on the guitar. Kick in the dirty channel, and I got Metallica, Megadeth rhythms(I don't do the scooped mids, and it sounds fine) kick in the BD-2, and I have a lead boost, better note definiton, roll back onthe guitars tone, and I'm Santana.
I have had this amp for over six years, I can't think of another amp I'd rather have.

After having the amp for six months, I blew out one of the speakers. I got it repaired, and two months later blew the other one. I replaced both with a pair of eminence legends. About a year later, the amp started to get very shrill on the clean channel only, I replaced the preamp tubes, and that solved that problem. Two months ago it crapped out completely, I took it to be serviced. They swapped out the whole PC board, for $170, the amp sounds just as good now as it ever did. I figured that was normal wear and tear(except for blowing the speakers) I am happy with the amp. I'll buy another in a hurry. Now I cruise pawn shops tyrying to get these 6212 for under $300.

I have only talked to them on the phone, ordered a set of schematics, found a local qualified repair person, they sound like good folks to me.

I have been playing for 12 years now. This is the only tube amnp I have ever owned. I have played others, borrowed others, but nothing has got me wanting to replace this one. If I could get one thing changed, I would make it a 25 or 15 watt amp, with the 2 12's. I am going to be experimenting with a THD hot Plate shortly, and I'll let you know. For what they cost used, I'd definitely find another one if this one came up missing. Fender's don't get crunchy enough, Mesa's don't sparkle enough, and Marshall just doesn't have the Air I'm looking for in the clean channel.

Features are well-described in other reviews. I mostly use the amp at home with occassional get=togethers with friends in a rehearsa studio. ALthough I generally only need the single input, it would be nice to have a second input. I find the channel switching and boost quite versatile.

I use a '62 Reissue Strat. Styles: 60's rock, country and jazz/fake book standards. This is probably the most versatile sounding amp I've owned. I love the sounds for what I play. But (there's always a but), it is has a buzzy noise - could be the single coil pickups, but I suspect it's tubes or circuit. Given that I am not recording or playing professionally, I can "live with it" and haven't rushed to get it fixed. I will probably do so in the next few months and wil update the reviw.

I bought the amp used. I had bought a used Peavy 400 (something) solid state amp that sounded OK in the shop, but had something wrong with a speaker. The shop agreed to take it back and I bought the Crate from their limited selection of used tube amps. I can't comment on the quality or reliability of the Crate because it isn't used that much, but it seems OK - certainly better than my 73 Twin that I owned for 12 years (albeit in Clubs). Apart from the noise referred to previously, I think it's OK. But roadworthy, can't comment.

Can't comment. I was able to download an owners' manual from Crate's website.

I've been playing about 35 years, of which 15 were porfessional. I have previoulsy owned a 71 Super, 73 Twin, mid-70's Roland JC 60 and a Traynor Bloc 100G. The Roalnd and Traynor were intended for home use only. I needed someting with more volume than the Traynor. Of the choices available to me in the circumtsances of an exchange, the Crate was the best of a limited choice. Overall, I very much like the amp for the purposes that I put it to. Would I buy another? Probably not, given the other reviews on reliability. But it brought me back to tubes . . . a good thing.

Your basic mid-to-high-end combo amp. 2 channels, reverb, effects loop, presence knob that controls the upper harmonics (really only noticable when the amp's cranked). 60watts all-tube, 2 12" speakers. Both channels have a mid range boost (called "bright" on clean, "boost" on dirty).

I have used this with both my bands, former and current. My former band played metal/alternative, current band plays alt/pop rock. Pretty versatile with its sound, though more suited for a grungy, poppy distortion than a metal type.
The clean channel really shines, though I found it sounded like I was going to blow my amp at about 4-5. REALLY loud. Louder than the dirty channel on 6.
The dirty channel can acheive a great sound, but you have to find it and let the amp warm up. I found the "sweet spot" on my amp, with the gain on about 7-8, and the master volume on 5 1/2 - 6. That's when the tubes really spit the stuff out. Crazy feedback that you can control...I've been able to make sounds comparable to an e-bow. You really have to make the tubes overdrive to get that killer sound. Once achieved, you'll never want to go back to a crappy solid state amp again! I have been able to get a bottom-end, meatier crunch that can kick the crap out of a tinny-sounding Marshall.

One word: TERRIBLE.
This amp has broken down on me too many times. Right after I bought it I had to send it for service due to a buzzing sound. They had to replace a power tube right away. Since then, I have replaced my power tubes three or four times, (which is normal for the amount I play) but have had to service it many more times due to soldering, transistor, etc problems.
The big problem I have is that I live in Nova Scotia, Canada (most of you probably don't even know where the heck that is....by the way it's right next to Maine) and there are virtually no Crate dealers around here. So I have had to wait for up to two months to get my amp fixed numerous times. In the four years I've owned the amp, it has been sitting in a shop for well over six months of that time. Just crappy. St Louis Music appears to be in no hurry to send the parts here. I guess us beaver-owning, beer drinking fisherman Canadians don't matter....

I've dealt with the company a few times on Support issues. As I said before, I live in Nova Scotia, and I don't think that Crate knows where that is. (I suggest they buy a map that doesn't have the US as the centre of the universe) I brought my amp to the store that I bought it from, only to have it sit there for TWO or THREE MONTHS, waiting for parts. I waited and waited, but the service dept. of the store kept telling me that St Louis Music was in no hurry to send them the parts. I emailed Crate to express my unhappiness but (surprise!) they didn't reply. Due to that I doubt that I'd buy another Crate product, just because if it breaks I don't want to wait for months and spend hundreds of dollars to fix it.

Overall, it's like a moody girlfriend....sometimes it's sweet and loveable, and right then it'll turn on you and stab you in the back. I dig the sounds the amp makes, it really has an appealing tube overdrive, but the reliability and support for the product makes it NOT worthwhile.

2 channels, foot switching, etc. The other reviews here have covered the features pretty well. This was the first big guitar amp I ever bought (purchased around 1996).

I thought I was just a novice, but I couldn't get a decent tone out of this amp to save my life. At the time I was playing an Ibanez Talman with lipstick pickups that also sucked, but I have tried other guitars in this amp and didn't like any of them.

It stopped working just as my warranty ran out. It's still sitting in my old bedroom at my parents' house. I never really had time to get it fixed, especially since I was doing mostly acoustic stuff for a while after that. I would NEVER buy a Crate again and I wish I had been able to read the reviews here before I plunked down my hard earned cash in high school.

Hopefully Crate has fired all the chimpanzees from the factory and hired competent workers. This amp was poorly made and didn't sound that great even when it did work.

It has a basic Tube amp setup. Clean, Distortion, Reverb.

I've beem playing 12 years and have a Epiphone Les Paul, USA Strat, Ibanez RX320 and 270, Raven RP 350, Krammer Strat Copy, and a Talor 914ce.

NONE of these guitars sounded good no matter what I tried. As far as tube amps go this is by far the absolute worst one I have ever heard. The clean is OK but the Distortion just plain sucks. I bought this off Ebay because I wanted an offordable Tube amp.

My other amps are: Line 6 Flextone II XL, Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP, Marshall AVT275, and Peavey stereo Chorus 212.

I brought my Blue voodoo over to a friends house that has a nice little studio with Protools and a Mackie 32/8 Board. I used my crate for one song and wanted to vomit when I heard the play back.

Used my Fender and Line 6 for the rest of the recording session!

Reverb knob didn't work and I got a real loud hiss with the clean channel... Distortion was actually quiet. Had a tech look it over and he said the PC board was phuced.

Nuff said

Answered all my questions fast and were very polite.

This amp brand new may a good first amp for someone starting out and may actually last if treated with excellent care but if your looking for a good tube sound or have been playing a long time don't buy one.

I care not what others have said about commending the sound, play this next to a Fender or Marshall Tube amp and you'll laugh.

But if you insist on buying a Crate Tube amp GET A VINTAGE CLUB SERIES! Those are nice! Great all around amps! Stay away from the Blue Voodoo! BAD!

90's i got this amp at a store .i traded in my marshall jcm 900 for
it. my marshall died on me it lost all it;s godness.yes i had a tec look at it . tubes changed etc. the bv6212 combo .. is ok for blues.zepplin pink floyd.need more power

i use a custom washburn/ and a jackson randy rhoads/and for toys i use metal zone/ roland rp200 / boss digital delay ..etc.it;s ok sound
but.i perfer the marshall''' .the sound is ok not enough edge'' the metal zone pedal go's well with the marshall //like made 4 each other
distortion needs more edge .. with out saying.

right now it has a problem with the power switch.. it go;s off and on ;; u got to flick it hard to stay on ,,,i run it through a marshall 4x12 cab...but i got good news going tomorow to guitar center and get my marshall head .i think this baby is going in the closet ....

don't know i hear from the rest of the peps that there really cool.

i 've been playing for 10 years... been there seen that ... i think that crate should do more work on there stuff...i would not buy this amp again if it got stolen ...i think over all this amp is ok for blues and zepplin stuff...not good for death metal yngwie leads//
or any sick leads;;; but like i said it;s good for the bluesssss....

Same as all the other reviews. The internal circuitry has way too much going on for what this amp does. Far to many opto-coupler switching networks and fet's in the signal pathes. The auto bias circuit design is an absolute disaster and contributes to a lot of the premature failure problems with these amps. Very low quality PC board and connections. Decent quality caps and transformers (surprisingly).

Mediocre at best. poorly voiced tone controls. To many switching circuits in and around the cathode circuitry and poor quality pots. Tone tends to be very harsh. Tends to break into oscillations at higher volumes. Hey, at least it's loud.

Garbage. I got this for free from someone who'd had enough of it. You get what you pay for. Actually, I took it just to use the transformers and chassis, etc. to build a project amp from the ground up.

Crate has schematics available for $17. Parts department was very polite & friendly.

Through away the cabinet. Cave the two 12" speakers to my son for his amp project, used the chassis, transformers and some misc. parts for my own design/build (no this wasn't my first amp project, I do it for a living). The point is that this is about all the amp is good for. The guys who made this should be ashamed of themselves.

Just a little update from my last review (10/23/2001), I 've been tweaking here and there, cranking the amp more often, etc... I've discovered two things:

1.I like the overdrive on this thing more than any pedal, a lot of people have to realize that TUBE overdrive is the real thing (it sounds different than any pedal) and that pedals are just trying to emulate it(why compare the amps disto whit the pedals disto when you should be doing it the other way around?)... been playing more gigs too, and the amps dirty eats the metal zone alive. Plenty of chunk and crunch.

2.The revberb knob has a fundamental part in good tone...I didnt notice this before, because I used to set the knob on zero most of the time, yes, the revberb may be a little distant, but it acts as kind of a presence 2 control, just try it, (may be some mod the amp suffered before me, or may be a lucky bad wiring), putting the revberb at 12 o clock adds more prescence, with the revberb all the way off it sounds kinda sterile, I havent had this results on anyother amp I tried...weird, so I can crank the reverb and get a very nice tone without exageratted reverb.

I GUESS this amp was made in the 1996-1998 period, not sure. Is very basic on its features, 2 channels, bright switch on the clean channel, boost switch on the overdrive channel, all tube 60 watt 2x12 combo, reverb, presence knob, volume, bass, trebble and mid control on both channels, master volume knob on the OD channel, 4 12ax7's and one 12au7(???, dont remember)in the preamp section, and 2 6L6's in the poweramp (swithcable to el34's with autobiasing), effects loop, several speaker outputs in the back for the different ohm combinations, footswitch capabilities for both channels and boost, bright and reverb. I play mostly 80's and early 90's heavy metal, Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Hallows Eve, Flotsam and Jetsam, Anthrax, etc... I wish the OD channel had a little more volume, but I'll discuss that later, as you may know, 60 watts TUBE are pretty loud, good for bedroom practice, band practice and gigging, I mostly use the P.A. for the bigger situations, but this thing is LOUD, and HEAVY!!!(like 65 lbs), casters would really help, o rside handles like a 4x12

My main axe is a jackson kelly fitted with an EMG 81 in the bridge and a EMG 60 in the neck position. This amp is very good for hard rock, and AC/DCish tone, good for early maiden records, the clean channel is bright and sparkling, no twin but good and loud. this amp is not noisy in any way, maybe because of the pu's and a decent cable, the presence knob really shines on this blue fucker, the reverb is ok, some say it is practically absent, but I use it on leads and I am not a reverb freak, leave that to the venue... It can go from a sweet blues tone (with the boost out), clear distorted chords, to a good crunch somewhat marshallesque, the clean breaks up nicely and earlier than a 100 watt head (maybe because of its 60 watts) and you can get cranked tone with a little lower volume, the distortion is not brutal, this amp can really sing, for the heavy tone I use pedals, not the best option but one has to work with what I have. It can do a scooped mids sound, but with the mids present it sounds more natural and warm, good lead tone, where you cant hear but a little of the attack on the individual notes with the proper settings. The only reason of why Im giving this an 8.5 is because the OD channel lacks volume IMO compared with the ballsy clean channel (maybe a technical difficulty), thats not much of a problem because the pedal running on the clean can get a nice cranked tone. sometimes it produces a loud POP when switching from dirty to clean, but it disapeared afer the repairs.

A little after I bought it some circuit burned but it was a total accident, my fault, now it has been repaired and its ok.
I never gig without backup, but I would.

When it got screwed I took it to an authorized crate repair shop, wich I founf rather easily, and they were cool and comprehensive. I had no warranty because I bougth it used and I wanted to accelerate the repairing, so I didnt ask for warranty, because it would take a little paperwork.
I think all crate products have a 5 year transferable warranty.

I have been playing the electric for like 3 and a half years, I own another guitar, a dinky reverse, a 4x12 Blue Voodoo cab, some pedals (metalzone, ds1, an eq, a chorus, not much) I will probably buy the head version later, but a combo is pretty functional for my current situation, I compared this one with a peavey classic 50, and a hotrod deluxe, I liked this better because some of the features and because I liked the OD channel, the classic 50 was a close competitor, but this one was priced ok and I saved some of the money for other things. I wish it had a shape knob, maybe another OD channel, but its ok. oh yeah CASTERS!!!! I love the clean channel. I hate the fact it has no casters, I would like independent reverb controls for both channels. love the blue tolex and the gold cosmetics.

I mainly play rock and metal, and for these styles, the amp is very good. Both channels have much power and variety. On the back of the amp there is all you can wish for when it comes to loops, rec-out, ext. cabinet, etc. The only thing I miss is a switching unit between the channels, boost and reverb. It was not included, and it seems hard to get hold of! The 60 watts are more than enough for my use, both in the rehersal-room and on stage. For recording, the 60 watts are almost to much, as the amp sounds best when the tubes are working hard!! This amp has everything most rock-guitarists need!

I have 2 Carvin guitars,a Dc 127 and an Ultra V. These guitars have high-output humbuckers, so there is no problem whatsoever to make the voodoo sound like a metal monster, even with lower gain settings. I really like the overdrive sounds this amp makes, and for my taste in rock and metal, it rules!! The clean channel also convinces me. It sounds very clear, with good detail, even at high volume. The reverb doesn't sound that good though. It's not horrible, but I think it sounds kinda muddy and messy, to long!! It doesn't really keep up with the rest of the amp! If the reverb was better, I would have given it a 10.

I've had this amp for 5 years, and so far, the amp has been a good companion. I had to change the on/off/standby switches once, but that's it!! Except from the power-tubes, but power-tubes are "ment" to break down!! As for gigging, my experience shows that this amp can fight the battle without backup. I must add that I treat my amp with love and respect. I take good care of it. Tube amps are like humans, if you treat them nice, they will stay with you!(not women though)

Never dealt with them; NEVER HAD TO!

I've been playing for 6 years. Over the time I've tried several other amps, both on stage, in the rehersal-room, in the studio and in stores. For my taste in music, this amp is among the best I've tried. Carvin amps are the only ones that sound as good for the money as my voodoo. Other rivals cost MUCH more!
My first amp was a Marshall Valvstate, and it sounds like "reborn dog-shit" compared to the voodoo. I recently sold my Mesa Subway Blues. For this amp I payed nearly as much as for the voodoo, and it's only 20 watts with 1x10 and one channel!! I didn't sound very good either. I still can't figure out why I bought that Mesa. When it comes to guitar amps, the voodoo is my best friend!!

You know the features... 2 channels, clean and distorted with a footswitchable boost for each. I think this is a blues/rock type amp, but I had no trouble pushing it to a metal sound. The boost is really nice. Footswitchable reverb and a presence knob to tweak yer sound. I use both. Its 60 watts and uses 7 tubes. Powerful enough to gig, but I really need more than 60. ITS BLUE!!!!

I use a peavey wolfgang with the bridge pickup. I play in a punk band so I really look for that metal sound. Lemme tell you, this amp delivers. It is perfect for rock... any rock. The only problem is, it sounds perfect at 6 or so, but at 9 or 10 it looses all of its character. The sound isnt as distorted. This amp is a favorite of mine for recording because of the excellent sound it delivers. Somtimes tehre is a loud pop when switching from dirty to clean, but I rarely use clean anyway. Turning up the reverb makes the amp much warmer, and cranking the presence gives me an orgasm.... seriously.

This amp is very reliable. I have had it retubed once just because I nboticed it was sounding a little weak. Has excellent speakers in it. But I did and ive used at several gigs without backup.

I know crate isn't generally regarded as a professional quality company, and I think I know why. This is the only thing about the amp that has ever bothered me. I tried to find a footswitch for it for months before i did. I got no help from their online database.

I love this amp. It is an incredible amp for this little money. I guess if it got stolen I would replace it with something better, but thats only because I have more money to spend now. I love the way it looks too.

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.