Crate DX212

This amp was made in 1999. This is a modeling amp so it is supposed to be versatile. It suits any style of music and even comes with a handy book with factory presets such as "Live at Leeds" and "Smoky Bar Blues". It has 16 amp modes and 16 effects/combonations. It has lines in and out and a headphone jack. This amp has lots of power (100 watts, 50x2)and crunch. It's solid state, tube modeled and stereo!

I use it with a Les Paul with factory pick-ups in it. I don't have one "style". I like blues, metal, jazz and rock of many kinds. This amp is not noisy though you can hear a little bit of hush from the gates if you pay very close attention. I noticed this a little in the rotating speaker. However, this is common with modeling amps. The only modeling amp that is supposed to be free of this "noise" is the Yamaha. As far as sounds this thing is king! It has virtually all of the classic amps which are actually named in the nice book you recieve with the amp. It has a 60's Marshall, a 70's Marshall, Ampeg, Vox.... all of the great sought after tones. The clean channel is clean if used properly. In the book it states to turn the channel level at max and use the gain control for level. It always pays to read instructions. As far as distortion this thing has from cut-throat chunka-chunka Metallica style to fuzz Hendrix would endorse. With this many amp models the possibilities are nearly endless and one fun experiment!

I've had this amp about a week and so far I've pushed it pretty hard. I haven't had any of these rattles and hums that I've read about here. I would never gig without a backup in any situation. So far it's just been care-free fun.

I haven't had to deal with Crate and this is my third amp made by them. It has a 5 year warranty that is the best in the business.

I compared this to ALL of the other modeling amps. I read any and all of the reviews I could find in magazines and scoured the net for info about these amps. There are a lot of different opinions about each of these amps. Line 6 has a collection of modeling amps. The one that price compares to the crate only has 8 amp models. The step up pushes the price to around a grand. I also read that some of the models didn't sound true. Their warranty is also only good for a year. The Johnson is very overpriced. Their comparable amp is the JT50 which has less power and one less speaker. You have to buy another cabinet that houses only one speaker. Only then do you get power that matches the Crate. This amp also has less features than the Crate but is more pricy. The step up will cost you well over a G. Yamaha makes an amp which I thought was okay but once again the price well outweighs the value. The same holds true for Rocktrons model which doesn't even state the amps their emulating only names like Distortion 1,2... etc..
Line 6 is the flag ship but the Crate is a better value. All of these amps are over-priced in my opinion. Reviewers should learn not to shun an amp just because it doesn't have a over-polished sexy tech name. Crate is still more bang for my buck.

This amp has almost all the options you need for the starting player, but it is more useful to find the sound you want than to do anything big with it.

I use Reissue 69 Tele Thinline and an All American Deluxe Strat. I don't use it to play blues, but for more flexible styles of playing I use it. When I need a really screwed up sound, it does it. I try to use the Wah Wah effect the most, but it sucks. It lets out this sharp piercing sound which ruins any song. I have to turn the tones all the way down to get the pierce away. The amp has proved loud enough with a drummer, basses, rhythem, and lead, but we play blues and music similar to Phish. Nothing hard, and when we do, I use a Marshall. The amp has all the sounds you need, but your better off buying a $300 Fender and a few effect pedals you really like for the sound quality, but if your a beginner it good but go with a Line 6 if you want the options. The distortion is okay, but then again i use a marshall for that.

Its okay, but the sound effect buttons get screwed up little. No real problems

Crate alright, I don't know yet because I don't break my amps like other people do.

Can't wait to get my Fender 64 Deluxe Reverb and a nice Wah. I'm half way there . This is an amp for beginners who are trying to find a sound, more advance people should stay with the single sound tube amps, because the multy ones never sound the same like they say they do. If you can't afford the tubes or all the effects, this is a good amp, but the Line 6 are cheaper and better.

this amp has lots of buttons and knobs and every time you push or turn something the sound gets even worse. It is also the dorkiest thing i've ever seen. I does have a lot of features set up for guitar players to use (ie. no menues or digital read outs) but none of them deliver.

This thing is impossible to get any good sound out of. I played arround with it for a few minutes, and I thought it was broken, or one of the speakers was out of phase. So I tried out annother one. Same thing. This thing sounds so thin. This amp is a toy. I could see maybe some wierd sound effects you could make with this thing, but it doen't sound usable for most applications. I can't believe that people below gave it such high scores. Even a 5 seems too high. I'd give a cheap crate gx15 a 5 and at least that amp has a good clean tone at lower volumes. If some one gave me this amp I would sell it if anyone would even buy it. Sometimes amp tones are a matter of taste. Some people could argue that about Mesa vs Marshall vs Fender, and maybe even bring in Johnson or line 6, but this thing we can all agree on. It is just junk. It claims to be 100 watts, but i had it almos half way up and it was very quiet. I'd give this a negative numer if i could.

Not sure, just tried it in the store. I've owned a crate amp befor, and as much as i wanted it to die it never would.

Only a beginner would consider this amp, don't be fooled. If you want a modeling amp buy a Johnson they sound way better, or buy a line 6 spyder not as good as a johnson, but cheaper than this thing.

Digital amp modeling from Crate/S.Louis.Nice features, too many to list, but go to http://www.crateamps.com for a detailed description. Fully MIDI compatible(in, out, and through),effects loop, and headphone jack. 100 Watts of power(Very loud).

Built in noise gate made the amp very quite, even with the volume at 75% and higher. The clean channel stayed clean, when operated the right way(many complaints on this boad seem to be due to a lack of the simple ability to read instuctions: To operate the clean channel, the volume knob must be turned up to 100%, and the gain control used as a volume. This will solve the problem of the ugly noise coming from your bass strings on the clean channel.)The amp models sound very good, especially for this price range(I have a buddy with a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier half stack, and the Tube Rectifier setting on the Crate sounded enough like the original to please most but the Mesa-biased customer). Distortion is very good, with a lot of low-end and screaming highs. My major gripe was that the distorted amps tended to lose their low-end definition when played at very high volumes(however, this problem was fixed when the optional 4x12 cabinet was routed to the amp. This brought the specs up to six 12" speakers driven by a very loud 100 Watt head. There, the amp absolutley roared like a wild beast).

So far, i have had no problems with the amp, although many of the posts on this board seem to lean toward a problem with malfunctions coming straight from the factory. Although, after the first time the amp was played for two+ hours at almost full volume, the noise gate seem to collapse, and the amp began to hum(I'll have to contact Crate concerning this).

I haven't contacted them yet.

I've been playing for a little while now, and forever was a Marshall-biased customer. However, Crate has suceeded in changing that opinion. Some may have had problems with the amp, but that can be a given with any amp(Fenders heads don't sound heavy enough, Johnsons are too expensive,blah-blah-blah-yackitty-shmackitty...).The amp is a great deal, in my opinion; It's not a Johnson, but it can hold its own against one. Although an overall great deal,the two built in 12" speakers simply isn't enough for playing live(the 4x12 cab is a must for gigging in order to keep the sound together and the distortion beast-like with a heart-shuddering low end, especially running on the Tube Rectifier or Blue Voodoo settings).

15 effects 15 amp sounds

I play an ibanez rg320 and an epi sg. I play metal, and its a little hard to get a perfect metal sound out of it. Use the rectifier setting with the compressor. Turn the treble and bass all the way up and the mids all the way down. Clean stays clean. The main problem is, with distortion pedals, the thing sqeals like a crazy bitch!

the grill fell off, but not that big of a deal.

I do like it, until I can buy something with tubes.

Everbody else has already done this. don't know if they really work, the one that I picked up at the store yesterday on a home trial is a real piece, of crap. The theory is great! I thought this was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.....wrong!

I play in a variety band that plays mostly country and some older classic rock stuff. Every time I turn it on to the clean sound, I can't play anything on the lower strings, This thing just makes the most god awful sound I have ever heard. Couldn't get any low end out of it, All treble. I did get it set up for a decent acoustic sound that I was reasonably happy with as long as I was strumming, but it just lost it when I tried to play any single notes. I couldn't get any volume out ot this thing. I have have a GX-60D that took over for the rest of the night when I threw this piece of crap in the dumpster.

Not this one!!!!

Taking it to the dealer tomorrow, let him deal with it. He's always done me right.

What a piece of crap. Didn't even work straight off the truck. Shame on Crate!!!!

Made in 2000 and includes the millenium software upgrade. I got it with the footswitch. Like other Digital amps, it has 16 amp models (half of which reads off like this year's crate catologue), 3-band eq, gain, 15 effects (Touch Wah, Compressor, Tremelo, Vibrato, Chorus, Flanger, Delay, Echo, Rotating Speaker, Chorus/Echo, Flange/Echo, Compressor/Vib./Echo, Comp./Chorus/Echo, Comp./Flange/Echo, etc. etc.), Reverb, controls for all the effects. The footboard allows to to program 128 (yeah, 128 dif. presets) and u can put on an expression pedal that u can assign to control fx level (including wah), volume, reverb level, and gain. I wish you could use more than one effect at a time, thats my only grief. But that is so small of a problem since i own pedals for that.

I use an Epiphone Dot Deluxe with gold humbuckers. I play mostly heavy metal/black sabbath -esque music, but I gotta be able to do soft songs too. Kinda like Pearl Jam u could say. I dont know why ppl say this amp buzzes. If it does its broken, so get it fixed. Mine works perfect. No noise on even the highest levels that I can hear. Like i said, the amp can do 15 different amp models, and they're actually all good. The clean amp model is perfectly clean at high levels, and the dist. depends on the amp. It is a good and accurate sounds of what they're trying to be all the time.

It hasn't broken yet, i dont think will. I haven't gig with it, but if i did id probably bring a backup (though i honestly doubt id need it - ever). So I dont know yet.

I've dealt with crate before. They helped me out very quickly, seven days or less. So its a very dependable company.

I've been playing for a few years now (though time means nothing - i still play good). I own a strat, a dot, a GFX-20 amp, some old gorilla 30watt, a crybaby wah, ibanez dist., boos tremelo and an octave. If this amp was stolen, i would shoot myself. I love this thing more than anythign in the whole wide world. I swear by it. Compared to the line 6, it kicks serious ass. If you're interested in Modeling amps and need a variety of sound, this amp is for u. For the price, 100 watts and all these features is great. Plus there's a line out so u can add a 4x12 cabinet if u ever need it. I love this amp. Oh, and John McCain for President!!!! he likes NIN!!!!

This is a 1999 amp, being purchased last June. It is 100 watts, 50x2, what that means in a single channel amp, I'm not sure. It is solid state, with 16 amp models and 16 effects or combination of effects built in. I paid $600.00 for the amp. It was back ordered for about a month, they don't seem to be able to make the fast enough. I can understand why. The Vox AC-30 will send chills down your spine. The Fender models, esp. the blackface are excellent. I know, I own one that I haven't turned on since I got this amp. The Marshall is pretty good too, I used to own a jcm-800. I'm not too sure about the mesa-boogie, but since boogies stated out as copies of Fenders, I expect they need a little tweaking. There are so many possibilities in this amp, that if you can't get a good sound out of it - quit playing- you suck.
As for the type of music I play etc. I've been playing for thirty-five years. I play anything from Abba to Zepplin, rock to country and about anything in between. I've owned quite a few amps in all that time: from a Premier that my Dad'd cow stepped on, to a Gibson that wouldn't quit humming, so I set fire to it, a Lab series, (another Gibson mistake-whoever told Gibson they could make amps?), an Acoustic (forgot the model #), Peaveys, several Fenders, a Marshall, an original Crate (the kind where the cabinet was a crate), etc. Need I go on?


The amp really is about all most people in most situations would ever need. I admit the name Crate isn't as sexy as Fender, Marshall, or Mesa-Boogie, but this amp could change that. Besides, it's less than half the price of those amps and does a lot more things. Also, you can use the money you save to buy a new guitar. Now, if someone would figure out how to make a guitar that sounds like a Strat (I own three), a Tele, a L.P.,and a Ric. 12-string all in one axe.
The amp manual is an easy read, concise and written with some humor. It'll take maybe five min. to get through it.
Now for the important part. Crate can tell you how good it is, I'll tell you what I think is "wrong". First: where is the footswitch? I've been waiting since the amp came out to buy the DX-FC (foot controller). Second, Why does an amp of this power, and believe me, it will get loud, need a headphone jack. This thing ain't no dinky little practice amp. The consumer would have been better served to put an external speaker jack in it's place. I would also like tilt-back legs and/wheels. Third, my worst complaint, who came up with the color scheme? It's butt-ugly! The blinking "lava-lamp" should go too. The bronze tone faceplate with tiny black writing is hard to see in a well lit room.
The digital effects: the reverb is pretty good, tremolo,vibrato (aren't they the same?) compression, echo are okay. The chorus and flanger aren't really great, neither is the delay. the touch wah is garbage, but then all touch wahs are garbage. Give me my Cry-Baby or give me death! One question- why did they include the Dallas-Arbiter fuzz face in the amp model section?
Last comments on the amp models. The clean model is very good, just boring. Want a big surprise? Try the acoustic model, use a Strat and play any of the acoustic or nylon string classical parts from Pink Floyd's "the Wall".
Rating? Overall sound 8, Price & value 10, effects 6, don't throw away your stomp boxes, Appearance 1, it's really ugly, turn out the lights or turn your back to it, I do both, back panel flexibility, 5
, that headphone jack has got to go!
I've had better amps, meaning more expensive, but I've never had an amp that could do more. I'd say it's about a seven over all, that sex appeal thing, after all, it is a Crate and it is UGLY! Crate is working on a software upgrade which should help the effects weaknesses, that and finally having the foot-switch would give it a point or two more.
Anyway, that's my opinion, and opinions are lik

Guitars: a very good (after I set it up) Squier Strat, a Mexican Strat that needs the frets dressed on the edges and the intonation set on two strings (I haven't set it up yet) and a PERFECT 40th Anniversary Strat., all stock single coils and a handmade (forgot the guy's name) ES-335 type 12-string electric that I bought in Argentina when I was 17. I have reworked the electronics and added Aria Pro-II pick-ups (dual coils) in the late 70's. I didn't add it above, but the clean amp model stays clean with very little distortion. You want brutal distortion? Turn on the Mesa-Boogie models and crank everything up.
Ever heard a solid state amp feed back? This one will, no squeal, real, honest-to-goodness, heart-warming Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page feedback

The amp "in theory" has alot of versatility with the classic amp modeling as well as the programmable effects.

I used an American made strat with a humbucking(hot rails) bridge pickup. Also a Taylor acoustic (just for the heck of it) with a Fishman pickup. The amp was making a buzzing sound from the front of the speaker grill. When I moved the loose grill (it is detachable to get at the speakers) an extremely loud burst of ugly noise came out of the speaker. This happened every time I pushed on the front panel. I tried to use the amp in public one time and it made that loud noise about four times within 20 minutes with no one touching it. I took it back to the store for repair about 10 days ago and haven't heard back from anybody yet.

see comments above.

I dealt with the guitar store (Guitar Center) and they stood behind it.

I'm reseving my final comments 'till I get it back from the shop but so far I'm not too impressed.

Digital Modeling Amp
2X12 Sp. 100 watts

Very loud amp, holds up well when cranked with distortion, lose a lot when you turn your guitar volume down. It gives some digital noise, You lose some feel when you try to play a little softer. My ear is picking up an unusual buzz in the midst of the distortion, I am not pleased. I have had it for 5 hours already and I am not sure I made a good decision.