Crate DX212

Its a 2001 amp. It is used to emulate 16 different amps, has 16 effects. It has headphone jacks and all that crap! I use this as a practise amp but it has enough power to jam.

I am using a Washburn X-50 with duncan seymour humbuckers. This amp can make a whole bunch of different sounds (the possibilities are endless with this amp! I have done so many all nighters because i am amazed at what this thing can do and cant stop playing with it!)

These things are dependable!!(I have never spoken more truer words!!) I dont gig with this but if i did i wouldnt need a backup, i play the sh!t outta this thing and its like the energizer bunny!

Crate is very friendly with there customers, if you have questions they will do their best to answer them. This thing comes with a warranty, but i dont think its breaking down within the next 10 years.

i have been playing for a few years. If it were stolen or lost i wouldnt buy this again, only because i would buy a BIGGER one (hey, who doesnt want a louder amp?) I love the versatility of it, the only thing i dislike about it is that you have to get used to the amp and know how to work it (Word of wisdom: read the instruction manual, those things are actually there to help you!)

I MADE THE MISTAKE OF STOPPING INTO A MUSIC STORE WITH A FRIEND TO LOOK AT GUITARS. I PLUGGED INTO THIS CRATE AMP,AND TOOK IT HOME WITH ME. I THEN SOLD MY FENDER SUPER REVERB THAT I HAD FOR 18 YEARS. AFTER ALMOST 3 YEARS ,I AM STILL LEARNING JUST HOW MANY TOTALLY DIFFERENT SOUNDS I CAN GET OUT OF THIS AMP. EACH GUITAR TOTALLY CHANGES THE SOUNDS.

I LIKE HOT/DISTORTION,READY TO FEEDBACK SOUND,WITH CHORUS,FLANGER,DELAY,MAYBE ECHO,WHATEVER. BUT I LOVE THAT WHENEVER I FIND A SOUND,I CAN SAVE IT LIKE SAVING A RADIO STATION IN THE CAR,JUST PUSH A BUTTON. I LOVED THE NAME FENDER,AND HAVE USED FENDER AMPS MOSTLY,TILL NOW. I DONT PLAY OUT ANYMORE,AND THE HEADPHONE FEATURE LETS ME GET INTO IT,BECAUSE I KNOW MY NEIGHBORS ARENT FORMING A LYNCH MOB WHEN I PLAY(THEY USE TO) I DONT KNOW ABOUT THE CLEAN CHANNEL,BECAUSE I DONT DO CLEAN.I WANT TO MAKE NOISE,AND THIS AMP MAKES A LOT OF THE NOISES THAT I LOVE,AND MORE THIS AMP IS SO VERSATILE,I STILL HAVENT HIT BOTTOM

I HAD A NOISY SPEAKER, TOOK IT BACK, THEY POPPED IN A NEW ONE,NO PROBLEM,AND NO CHARGE. THERE WAS A CHIP/UPGRADE FREE FROM CRATE,I INSTALLED IT,AND THE AMP IS CRISPER,AND THE REVERB HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER. I THINK THE CHIP ALSO MADE THE 128 PRESET MIDI CONTROLLER WORK ALSO(MY AMP IS ONE OF THE 1ST,THERE WERE NO FOOT CONTROLLERS AVALABLE WHEN I BOUGHT MY AMP. I HAVE A CONTROLLER NOW

I CALLED ABOUT A CHIP UPGRADE,AND THEY SENT IT OUT TO ME,AND I HAD IT IN 3 DAYS. I DONT KNOW WHAT ALL THE CHIP DOES,IM STILL LEARNING THE AMP(ITS ONLY BEEN 3 YEARS)

BEEN PLAYING SINCE THE BEATLES STARTED(MY INSPIRATION ACTUALLY) STILL HAVE THE 63 GIBSON ES330 TDC I GOT NEW,AND THE 59 FENDER JAZZMASTER I GOT IN 67 USED FOR $100.IN A PAWN SHOP. I ALSO HAVE 2 NEWER STRATS,AN IBANEZ AM-50, A(FANTASTIC) YAMAHA AES 800,AND THE MOST VERSATILE GUITAR I EVER EVEN SAW, AN EPIPHONE 3 PICKUP NIGHTHAWK. I USE A ROLAND GR-1 AND A YAMAHA DG STOMP WITH EXPRESSION PEDAL. THERE IS NO WAY IN THE WORLD I WILL EVER FIGURE OUT ALL THE COMBINATIONS OF SOUNDS USING THE PREAMP WITH THE CRATE DX AMP,NO WAY I LOOKED AT OTHER AMPS AT THE TIME(JOHNSON AND LINE 6) THE LINE 6 WAS EASIER TO USE,AND THE JOHNSON WAS GREAT SOUNDING. I WENT WITH THE CRATE BECAUSE OF ALL THE FEATURES. LIKE HAVING MANY AMPS. I SUPPOSE IF I WERE YINGWEE MALMSTEEN,OR STEVE VAI,THIS AMP WOULD BE A BIT DOWN ON HORSEPOWER AND VOCABULARY,BUT, THIS AMP HAS A VOCABULARY AS LARGE AS WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR'S TO ME.(HE HAD THE LARGEST VOCABUALRY OF ANYONE,EVER.) THIS IS 2003 NOW,AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER HOT AMPS OUT THERE NOW,THE FENDER CYPER TWIN,AND THE VOX VALVETRONIX,AND OTHERS. I TRIED THEM,AND THEY ARE HOT,BUT I BELIEVE THE CRATE WILL HANG WITH THEM MOST OF THE TIME,I HAVENT REALLY HAD THE CHANCE TO GIVE THE NEW AMPS A FULL IN HOME 30-DAY-TEST. I DONT KNOW IF ALL THE AMP MODELS SOUND EXACTLY LIKE THE AMP IT IS MODELED AFTER WITH THIS CRATE DX,BUT,IT IS CLOSE ENOUGH I DO WISH IT HAD 4-10'S INSTEAD OF 2-12'S BUT MY YAMAHA DG STOPM PREAMP HAS CAB/SPEAKER SIMULATOR,SO THAT'S FIXED. I RATE THIS AMP A SOLID 10 THERE IS NO REASON TO EVER WANT FOR ANOTHER AMP. THIS AMP DOES IT ALL,AND A LOT MORE. I LIKE IT. I FIND THAT I AM PLAYING FOR HOURS AND HOURS AGAIN,NOW IF THERE WERE ONLY SOME KIND OF MUSIC I LIKED ENOUGH TO WANT TO LEARN TO PLAY.

This amp has a lot of different features that I'm sure someone else has taken the time to write out. 16 amp models, 16 effects, 3 band EQ. the neat thing about this amp is that you can download software upgrades onto it if you have a midi conversion cable for your computer. the crate people have fixed A LOT of problems concerning soft clean channels and hissing sounds at excessive volume.

I play an Epi Les Paul with a '59 SD in the neck and a 496R in the bridge (long story, I play rhythm guitar). I mostly play rock and blues. If you are someone with ADD do not get this amp. This amp can make absolutely great sounds if you love on it a little. You've gotta figure out how to work it and learn the little quirks of it like anything. But it will make a large variety of great sounds. Only beef with the amp is that some of the amp models sound very similar and the distortion is kinda weak. A good accessory pedal is a must.

It turns on whenever I feel like it. It's never broke. Enough said

no problems so i haven't called tech support, but i hear they're real nice.

for the money, this is one of the baddest amp you can buy. Great and loud and is forgiving if you take the time to figure out the different quirks like I said. Cannnot beat the value factor. I think they should call it the Crate BMF212 it's that good. If you are some guy that's been playing 200 years and you're the greatest guitar player blah blah blah buy a tube amp or a head and cabinet b/c this amp is really just a great budget amp for kids/guys in cover bands or bands that play lots of different music.

This amp is uncredibly versitile, but you have to have the foot switch. There are 128 presets. The people that criticize this amp haven't learned how to use it. The effects are awesome. I have a line 6 available and think this has much better features for less money

I have two guitars. One is a Godin LGXT. It has custom seymor Duncan pickups. The other is a cheap Raven guitar. Both sound great in this amp. I can get great distortion and low noise at high volume. Once again to not have the foot switch is to waste the potential.

never broken down

no experience with this

I have been playing 18 years. I have played numerous combos. I also have a fender M80 half stack. This blows it away with sound quality. I would buy it again in a second. You can find them on ebay occationally for about $350. Very under rated. The line 6 is simply to use. Thats why its over rated

features are ok. 10 channel 16fx/16 amp mods. i was hoping that the amp mods would sound better. I just use the clean channel and run all fx and distortions of a pr 20 preamp.

I use a les paul and a tele. again useing pre amp it doesnt sound too bad, but playing right out of the amp is horrible. there is no high end and the distortion are all that great

its pretty soild. havent had a problem here

5 year warrenty (2 on speakers)

ive been playing for 7-8 years. and if the amp was stolen id prolly just go get some thing else. like a Roland JC-120 or a peavey triple xxx! but this amp is not to bad through a decent preamp. i wish it was more like a line six with better amp mods.

a 2001 crate dx. 16 effects, 16 amp models, reverb.. etc.

i use a fender strat and a jackson kelly. They arent bad guitars. But even if you a PRS, this amp sounds like crap for the most part. If you want any kind of modern sound you MUST get a distortion pedal.It does vintage and clean ok but the distortion models are horrible and sound like you are literally playing thru the amp under water. if you dont believe me see for yourself. i dont know what i was thinking when i bought this. it also has way too much backround noise.. before you buy it, really sit down and listen to the amp.. anyway the effects are decent too.. so i wont give it too bad of a rating..

very good reliablity i must say.. amps ben with me for almost 2 years and all is well.

ive been playing for 5 years, but i know what sounds are good and what sounds arent... and believe me some of the sounds that come out of this amp are horrifying.. b4 you buy this make sure that you know that your paying 600 dollars for it..

Other posts have covered most of the ground here. I'm very much a multi-effects fan (everything in one box); prior to this I was playing a Peavey Classic Chorus 212, so I got my distortion, chorus, and reverb out of the amp and did everything else with an outboard wah, volume, and a multi-effects (ART ECC...anybody remember those?) to get anything else (nice 5-band EQ, other chorus, flanger, pitch shift, dig. delay, tremolo, etc.). Well lo and behold, the ECC has a MIDI output! So I can put the ECC in the effects loop of the crate, connect the MIDI out to the Crate's MIDI/footswitch in, and then match an ECC patch with each amp patch, and the whole mess (amp and multi-effects) switch with one footswitch press!!! Likewise, if you have outboard/rack MIDI-controlled effects processors, the MIDI out from the amp will make your life wonderful!

For that reason only, it doesn't bother me too much that there isn't more individual control over the effects.

Initially I was very disappointed with the amp; I played it in the store and at home and it sounded great (I also tried out the half-stack version), but when I took it to band practice and cranked it up, it seemed extremely muddy and lacking in "punch." Fortunately for me (although it pissed me off at the time) the store would not allow me to return it, so I was forced to live with it and learn how to coax the best tone out of it. Call it an arranged marriage...today I'm pretty happy with it, having really learned how to use it.

I use a whole arsenal of guitars: Yamaha Weddington Classic (2 hum/5-way, similar to PRS/Les Paul), Peavey Raptor Plus (Strat copy), ESP LTD with EMG 81/85 humbuckers, Ernie Ball/MM EVH copy, Kramer Baretta with a Duncan Distortion humbucker, and a Samick electric-acoustic similar to an Epiphone EA-20. I can usually get exactly the sound I'm looking for, but each patch really only works for ONE guitar. For this reason, it's absolutely ESSENTIAL to have the footcontroller (or another MIDI footcontroller...you don't have to use Crate's). No one who spends this much on an amp should settle for only having 10 settings accessible when the amp has 128 in memory. (Perhaps a design flaw).
That said, read the book, and set your patches carefully for each of your guitars. With my Kramer, it's Eruption-time! With the Weddington, I'm running from Slash to Clapton to pretty much anything, tone-wise. As others have said, you have to be patient and fiddle with things.

The wah/volume/expression controls (available through an extension jack on the footcontroller) are nothing to write home about. Any guitar player who thinks he/she should be using wah should have invested in a Crybaby long before getting to the point of buying something like this anyway. The Rotating Speaker sounds OK I guess, not something I use much for my style...the Auto Wah, while it's not as deep as the one you get from a DOD Envelope Filter stompbox, gives a nice "quack" and adds a little texture esp. to solo lines. One trick I found was to find a nice lead sound, save it to a patch, and then save an identical, adjacent patch with the Auto Wah turned on so you can switch back and forth, almost like turning a stompbox on and off, without changing the rest of your sound.

A lot of players have complained about the noise gate; to be honest I didn't realize there was one, but that might explain why I've had trouble getting those 4-hour-long singing sustain notes I've been after. Maybe it's time to pick up a Big Muff too. In any case, that WOULD explain why it's not driving me crazy with noise when I'm not playing...

Another point to note: the amp DOES change its sound noticeably between quiet and loud playing. If you're like me and you program all your patches at home in your bedroom or basement, playing quietly or through headphones, be prepared to tweak your EQ and gain when it comes to playing loud at practice or at a gig.

I've had very good luck with Crate in the past and this amp is no exception. It's as rock-solid as you could hope for. Of course, for what the thing weighs, it had BETTER be solid. Amp gets a 10.

The footswitch is another story. The MIDI cable connector is just a cheap connector soldered to a circuit board. The thing flaked out on me at practice, fortunately I wasn't shy about ripping it open and re-soldering the connector to the board. (one of the solder joints had cracked and the connection was intermittent). If you've got one of these foot controllers, be careful how you yank on the cable and if possible, find a way to strain-relieve it so that it's not pulling on the connector/board joint when you're stomping on it and kicking it around the rehearsal room or stage floor. Footswitch gets a 6, just because of the care & feeding required.

Haven't had any need. The 5-year warranty gives nice peace of mind. I'm past the 2-year warranty on the speakers, but they're Eminence 12's, how much of a disaster could happen?

I've been playing for 8 years. I've never had the money to own multiple amps, I've always followed a progression of sell one, buy the next best thing. I've always wanted tube, but they seem very expensive for the lack of versatility. I will probably keep this amp for a long time since it does so much for me. In the meantime I'll be working on building some tube amps on my own. If the Crate were stolen, I'd probably go for a fairly vanilla solid-state or small tube combo, something to tide me over, since I've still got the multi-effects. I don't play out much so it's kind of a luxury item anyway.

Overall I'd say this amp has overcome my initial disappointment. I wouldn't recommend it to inexperienced or impatient players, but if you spend some time with it and have an idea of how to get the sound you want, you'll be pleased with it AND you might discover some new sounds you hadn't thought to try!

16 effects, 16 amp models, blah blah blah

I am using an Ibanez S-classic SC140 with dual humbuckers and this amp rocks! Most of these reviews claim that this amp has no clean channel. Just how wrong can someone be. Read the manual and you will find out that this is just like every other crate amp, turn the channel level to 100% and use the gain as the volume, and you will get the most crisp clean tone you will ever need. And the best part is, is that it stays clean at very high volumes. The distortion seems like it lacks a little low end, but maybe i just need to fool around with this amp a little more to find it. I also heard that the software upgrade may fix this problem. If not I have a DOD Death Metal pedal that suits my taste just fine if I need that kind of tone. This amp is extremely versatile. It can be the hardest rocking thing on the planet and then tone down to be cool, crisp, and clean. All in all, crate has hit a home run with this amp. If you are worried about spending your money on this amp just remember: IT WON AMP OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!! That's got to tell you something. And this thing can get LOUD, and I mean LOUD!!!!!!!!! It rocks!!!

I have only had it for a few weeks now, seems tough enough. Crate has always made tough amps.

Don't know on this one, when I had my GX-40C the Crate people were awesome.

I have been playing for 6 years now, I boiught this amp because I neede an upgrade. I am very happy with my purchase. This amp suits my wide range of musical genres. It can play hard rock to jazz. Anything you need, this amp will give you it and more. All the people that gave it bad reviews nrrd to either read the owners manual or stop buying amps because they say marshall on it. Crate has done well with this one. Don't be afraid to buy this amp, besides it won amp of the year and the coolest feature of all is that when it is outdated you can download an upgrade straight from the crate website. This amp can't be beat for the proce.

See below

The Sounds suck Monkey nuts! I also have a Line 6 Flextone 2 XL and the crate doesn't even come close. I'm very disapointed!

Seems tuff

All ways had great experiences with them

I've been playing 12 years and this amp is a joke. Its models aren't even close to what they are listed as and the tone absolutely sucks. If you want a nice Modeling amp semd a few more bucks and get a Line 6.

Already discussed previously, tons of features.

I use a Joe Satriani js100 with this amp and it kills. The sound is awesome, you can get high end screaming distortion or low-end growling distortion and I like the effects a lot. The clean is also very good, especially with some delay effects or the flanger on. This is a huge step up from my previous amp, a fender frontman 15r.

I've only had this a day so I can't really comment.

same as above

I've only been playing for about a half a year but am really into it. I was looking for a pretty versatile amp and came across this on ebay. I bought it and then started reading reviews and some were negative which brought down my expectations just a little bit. Fortunately when I got it I was blown away by its sound. I'd give it a 10 but I think I need to experiment a little more before I call it perfect.