Crate DX212

crate dx212 great sounding amp clean or dirty .
if you learn how to tweek this amp you will love it
take you time and learn it , anyone the gives it a bad reveiw
has not learned how to use it .

better then the line 6 by far .
i use a ibanez 550 and a japan strat and they both
work great with the amp

no problems (yet)

never tried them

i been playing 20 years ,
if it was stolen i would hang 10,000 fliers offering a reward

I bought this amp due to price only. I found the amp models and effects to be of the same quality as the more popular and pricier Line 6. I liked the 2/12 when I bought it, although now i wish it was smaller. It's very heavy. I had to get the footswitch seperatly. As it wasn't avaliable at time of purchase. It will do almost anything out there with a decent degree of integrity. It's not an AC30 or a super reverb, but it works!

It's not a recording amp due to the built in noise gate that will rob you of sound toward trail off. But as a practice amp or a church amp, it really shines. It would be great in a setting that played very differant styles back to back. Does clean really well, country and jazz are it's forte. Not the best OD/Dis amp, although it can do a fair job in a pinch. Reverb is great, very pliable. Effects are ok, like most multi-effect rigs, only a few are usable.

I've had no problems since 1999.

No problems...

I'm pleased with this amp as a whole. It's not the amps it trys to mimic, but it is a fair example of what a modeling amp should be. It does more things good than bad.

USA made. 1998. Tons of actually usable amp models. Crate made the initial wave in the modeling amp craze. The DX212 is superior to any of the Line 6 combos. The phase is the only outstanding cheesy effect. It's just plain thin. The floorboard makes programming and switching a silent joy. Nano-quick reaction between styles. I use mine for open stages and home recording. I own a Line 6 Spider 212, I like some things about it but the delay in amp models and effects is just plain terrible. The Crate is awesome in that department.

DUMP THE STOCK SPEAKERS! They're terrible. I guess Crate put cheap speakers in to meet a price point. I loaded mine up with two Patriot speakers and boy did it change the sound from good to excellent. If you're stuck with the stock speakers, they're not terrible but you'll notice the amp has limits. Adding better speakers pushes this rating up to a 10... and pushed the amp volume up too.

Absolutely gig proof and friend proof. Mine is the community jam amp at every Friday nite jam. Even the 20somethings like the metal crunch.

Crate has always been helpful.

It's a solid/affordable amp for the price. Classic physical style and a variety of sounds. Most you'll never use but they're there if you need them. Soon to be a collectible for sure. Not many of these around.

Lots of models to play with and effects. The delay has only 1 controll and its hard to loose the repeats and just make it sound bigger. If you like repeats its fun. Same for the other effects, only one knob to adjust them. The reverb has 2 knobs and it is a great sounding reverb. Besides the master vol. it has gain and channel volumes. Some of the features are not to usable.

Here is were this amp shines and sucks. Forget all the modeling or any distrotion this amp has.! Fun for a minute then its all junk. But wait, clean this amp is great!! It has a wonderful crunchy sound that you can add some of the effects to get a beautiful sound. I'm using a strat and it likes this sound. I'm using slight delay and moderate reverb and my strat sounds like it should. Now for the fix. I use a compression pedal/distortion/and an EQ in front of the amp. Boss pedals seem to love solid state amps. I get a pretty gritty sound for leads for not to much $$. Great in the practice room and you can add another amp/delay pedal and go huge, when needed.
If your a purist and have to have tube break up, perfect tone, this will be a dissapointment. For many though, this is a great setup.

I got this used, really used, but not thrashed. Everything works everytime. Gig with it no worries. Only a 9 because I've only had it a year.

N/A

I have many amps, including a Fender Blues Deville w/4 10's. I have modded many of my pedals and have gone through a couple of multi-fx's.
I think you can spend a lot of money on sound and if you need to play many styles you should. I'm in a rock band and distortion, chorus and clean sounds work for me. I'm still looking for that sweet dirty sound we all are. This is my first Crate and I would check some of the other models before buying this one again, but, This is a good amp and would be missed if lost. I'm never selling it! Its a keeper.

This thing is loaded with features. Amp modeling, effects, 2 12" speakers, high and low gain inputs, effects loop and stereo out just name the most important.

Ok here is why everybody comes to Harmony-central. There are some very usable sounds coming out of this amp. I would even gig with it if I had to. The clean sounds aren't bad but obviously fails compared to a Twin Reverb. The best driven tube sounds come from the Fender amp models and the Crate models. The acoustic model is just a low powered clean channel no presence or anything. The high gain and fuzz channels are best for the bed room but too noisy for anything else. The effects are fine although they lack controls other than an effects level knob. The reverb is really good right on par with a Fender amp which is to say I like it better than a Marshall's. The Marshall tones are usable but sound nothing like a Marshall. I have had Marshalls and Fender Twin Reverbs, believe me these cannot be replicated electronically. You can get close enough to get by with though. I am using a Les Paul and a Strat with this amp. This now my new rehearsal amp. Of course thats with it set at high power and cranked with a tone labs le in front of it. To me if you have to use effects pedals to get good enough tones to use on stage I take 2 points off here. Also because it lacks an awesome overdriven tube sound I have to take a point off for that.

This amp is old and still working with no scratchy pots or hums. I'd say its earned its mark here.

Never dealt with them, thank god.

If it where lost or stolen I would buy another one if I came across it at the right price. I doubt I would go looking for one though. Its not a tube amp which is both good and bad. I am a tube amp lover from way back and generally don't like solid state for anything other than a practice amp. However being solid state makes it very reliable and works great with any multi effects pedal. Since it has a very sterile dry tone when you take away the amp modeling, effects and reverb. Compared to a Fender amp it lacks character and compared to a Marshall it lacks the 'growl' and compared to a Vox it lacks warmth. It is what it is and that is fairly decent amp modeling amp at a low cost that is loud enough to gig with clean. One more thing that has to be said, this thing is really ugly looking.

16 amp models, 16 effects configurations plus independent reverb. Master volume, channel level, gain and three band EQ. 120 programmable presets but only ten of them are accessable from the front pannel. You need a MIDI foot controller to access the rest. The Crate foot controller gets it's power through the MIDI cable but it is conmpatible with generic MIDI conreollers with a seperate power source. The selection is switchable on the back pannel. headphone jack, stereo send and return MIDI in and thru. No output for an external cabinet

I have a small arsenal of guitars including a Fender Strat and a Tele, Charvelle Surfcaster, BC Rich Platinum ST III with EMG 81 and 82 pickups, and a BC Rich NJ Assassin with Semore Duncan Quarter Pounders and an SH4. I play a variety of styles from jazz to electric blues to classic and modern rock to straight up metal.

The cleaner sounds it does spectacularly but add the distirtion sounds and there is a lot of niose there that shouldn't be. Even with a noise gate and a slow release time, there is a noticeable hiss. There is a wide veriety of sounds available but they are all lacking something. There just isn't a backbone to the tones. This may be due to the lack of a prescence control, but at 30W per side, this amp is not really loud enough to do full duty service as a rehearsal/performance amp. By itself it can sound great at times but easily gets lost in a full band setting. The noise on the distortions and lack of prescence really relegate this amp to practice status only like most other Crate products.

What can I say? I bought the thing in inoperable condition but took it to the shop and had all the caps replaces and have had no trouble with it since. The construction is sturdy and the unit is HEAVY weighing in at over 65 lb. shipping weight.

Bottom line: it DID break down but the causes are unknown to me.

I never dealt with Crate CS.

I have been playing for over 30 years. In that time I have owned many different amps ranging from Marshalls to Fenders to Ampegs to other crates. This is far and away the MOST versatile amp I have ever played. Sadly, it is also one of the noisiest and terribly underpowered I ahve ever dealt with. It will not hold its's own in a rehearsal or performance setting unless you plan to go direct but even then it is so noisy that it isn't worth it.

If it ever got stolen I would get something else noty only becaue they are disconhtinued, but becaue there is jsut so much more out there that is better for the same money.

*The price paid is with the footswitch.* The only thing I would have liked to see would be a usb connection for easier use with a pc.Other than that I don't know what else your ask for.Without the footswitch I would give this catagory a 6. its that important it give you 128 prograble presets and lets you add a pasive volume peddel to control gain,level,effect adjust,reverb level,and depth. It's really cool.

Properly adjusted It will produce just about any tone for clasical to country to metal.I mainly play quiet as if there were other people living here,but when the wife and kids are gone the neighbors will just have to shut their windows.I sounds great loud and down low.

The amp is perfect no issues in four years. The only problem occured with the foot switch I broke the midi connector loose from the circuit board totaly my fault, I'm handy with a soldering pen so it was fixed in 20 minuets.

This amp does not appear to be very well suported online anymore but that is to be expected on a model this old. But I've never tried to call crate.

Fantastic value for me $450 with the footswitch new.I don't know why it was so cheap.It suits my needs perfectly I've heard line6 makes a better modaling amp but I haven't compared them.I've been playing for 30 somthing years and I think my grandkids (not born yet) will jam with this amp.

Made in '99...Yes, very versitle amp... The Jack of all trades is the master of none, but worthwhile nevertheless... Play a mixture of rock, jazz, classical, etc...Two channels with channel switching..Yes the pedal is too expensive (although it would add a great deal of expansion to the setup...Not too much of a problem for me being that I use an external distortion box anyway when playing live and I setup my sound thoughtfully when recording... Very powerful and great sound...

Use a '86 Les Paul studio guitar with it... Suits my musical style well as I partly fashioned my style around my gear... Kinda noisy at high volumes and the noise gate is too noticable at high volumes... Variety of sounds including clean, vintage, and heavy... Very usable through the headphone out jack as a recording amp... Just listen through your interface, adjust, and record....The clean channel has a nice overdrive at high volumes depeding on how you set up the channel volume, gain, and master volume combination... (This is a very important concept with this amp, very intuitive though once you get your hands on it.)

Been a very reliable amp for me and I would be quite sad if something happened to it... Would possibly replace it if lost or stolen... Blah blah blah... Can't wait to get it back from storage at my dads after he moves... Also can't wait to do the chip upgrade that comes free from crate when they find out that you don't already have it upgraded... Handle did fall off, so mine's never had the handle...So I'll give it a nine...

Crate didn't make me wait long on the phone, and they didn't mess around in getting me the upgrade chip... Not too much of an opinion here, so I'll give them a 7!

Been playing it for about 3 years now and I still love it... Miss it nearly everyday as I have nothing to play through except a crappy boss recorder... I think I'm done with this review...

I have 2 of the DX 212 amps. One for practice room, 1 at home and until recently I took both of them for gigs. This is a great studio amp! However, live applications are more difficult. The answer is to have a closed backed cabinet!! I disconnected one of the carte 12" speakes and jumped the wire to a recently used Marshall 412 avt slant. This really helped especially on the clean channel settings. Having the 1 Crate 12" pumping a little louder as it is cleaner and crisper than the Marshall and the 4 12 splitting 50 Watts rms has more bottom.

When using the amp live by itself it lost the claen channels and the overdrives were out of balance and lost their tone characteristics. We have everal live videos and the mix is great when using 2 DX 212 amps or 1 and a 412 closed back.

I use primarily Dean guitars but I do have a Schecter with DD P100's and a flying V with a Duncan JB bridge and a Jazz neck. The trick is to not turn the volume control on the guitars over 6, especially on import guitars, to keep the tonal charcteristics accurate umless we are doing some Metallica or Alice in Chains where I need to pile it on. This amp does lack a strong dark overdrive tone but it is a vintage model amp. Use a celan channel with a good boss distorion pedal and it does great. I could sell this amp every night we play because I have spent time dialing it in to fit my guitars and other players have approached on break to ask questions. This is a real gem that is underated.

Both of my amps and 1 of the pedals (DXJFC) have needed to be resoldered. This is typical for Crates and many other brands so I do bring along a GFX 65 crate if we are playing out of town. I have never had the amps fail at a gig and I bought them both used and they are on 8 - 12 hours per week so I am not going to complain.

Crate has great customer service!!

I chose this one of the line 6 amps because the crate is inexpensive as a used amp and the LIne 6 controller pedals were poorly constructed. I am always looking for another DX 212 or a DX 100 as these amps deliver what I want and my sound has never been better. They are not real powerful but the tone is amazing!!

easy to program bought 2 years ago

some nice rhythm sounds 2or 3 notes together ok. solo notes sound not as good but i fugured out how to fix that so better read on if you own this amp. First off thanks to previous reviewer who said tht he owns an art ecc i use it as midi footswitch cause my amp did not come with one it was optional.
HERES THE FIX IM NOT GONNA GO IN DETAIL. ANYWAY I TRIED LOTS OF OVERDRIVE BOXES AND DIST. BOXES THEY SOUNDED WORSE AND COULD HERE MY PICKING THAT SUCKED. INSTEAD I STUCK APILLOW IN THE BACK OF THE AMP YEAH A AN OLD CHEAP PILLOW.I WASNT GONNA STICK MY SWEDISH PILLOW IN IT.ANYWAY SOUNDS WAY FRIGGIN BETTER AND YOU CAN SOLO AND NOT FEEL LIKE SOMETHINGS HOLDING YOU BACK. ITS A 5 WITHOUT PILLOW WITH PILLOW A 7.BUT I OWN REAL MARSHALLS AND FENDERS . I LIKE YOU CAN PLAY AT REAL LOW VOLUME LIKE A TV AND IT SOUNDS MASSIVE AND AT AT DECENT VOLUMES ITS EASY ON THE EARS .IM OLDER NOW AND IVE LOST MY MAD VOLUME DAYS HAVE FAMILY AND PREFER SMALL AMPS. MY NEXT AMP WIL BE TINY TUBE MY FENDER CHAMP IS BROKEN AND WIL FIX AND OR REPLACE.
SOME OF THE RHYTHM SOUNDS SOUND MUCH BETTER THAN MY POD 1.0 BUT WITHOUT PILLOW THE PODS SOLO GUITAR SOUND WAS BETTER. NOW WITH PILLOW THE CRATE SOUNDS BETTER. I THINK DIGITAL WILL GET BETTER BUT IM STILL A TUBE SNOB. SO IM RATING THIS A 7 AS COMPARED TO DIGITAL .

SEEMS A OK

dont know need upgrade probaly

TRIED FLEXTONE 3 AND IT SEEMED NICE REVIEWS SAID IT WASNT RELIABLE LOST THAT SALE

They're all below. This is an update to my previous review.

I've since sold the amp and I can say a few more-intelligent things about this. I've found heaven with the PodXT - it adds the stuff I had to "rig" with the Crate, including individual stompbox-style on/off for effects within the same patch using the footcontroller.

I was pleased at the resale value that this thing held. I had it for almost four years and sold it back to Guitar Center for like $300. Not too bad, very few things hold their value that well for that long, so I guess people are buying them.

Another update. After overcoming my initial disappointment with this thing, I found that it really couldn't hold up in loud/live situations. I'm used to amps with a "Presence" control (which I always set to 10) and this thing just always sounded muddy to me, it never really had enough high-end punch and bite. That's really just a matter of personal preference...but I got to the point where I was running screaming into the arms of a Marshall MG100 head.

It was reliable other than the footswitch issues I mentioned below.

I've reversed myself on this one. If you are interested in modeling technology, shop the Line 6 gear. If you're after the modern high-gain sounds you'll have to lay down and get the Vetta (because it has more of those models) or maybe the HD 147 (? I don't know what it has). But the Flextone and POD lines are some pretty good stuff for the money especially, and even the Spyder if you're looking to cheap.

Bottom line - I think Crate made an early foray into the modeling arena with this amp but they've been getting smoked ever since.

This is basically another digital modeling amp that models other amplifiers in software. There are plenty of other reviews here with the details. The amp is very usable, but editing presets using the knobs can be a pain because you have to find the "virtual" position of the knob for the current program before you can change anything. This doesn't let you do a quick touch to just add a little more high or mid. You end up twisting the knob around and finding your sound again. Other than that, it's very usable.

I use a Peavey Generation servies with active pickups that supply a lot of high end. The sounds are decent and reasonable clones of the amps that are modeled, but they're missing that special "something" that makes them dead on replicas. Pretty good overall, but not as close as say a Line 6.

I use the amp at church (it actually belongs to the minister). It always turns on and despite being stored in less than ideal conditions (hot/cold buildings etc) it has always performed well.

Never had to.

If you can get a good price this is a fine amp, but the street price is a little high for what you get.

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.

Features already fully discussed. Main flaw is only one control for all effects selected. Turn one up you turn'em all up.My amp has the Millenium upgrade.

My main axe is a Parker Fly Classic. I play mostly blues and classic rock style. The clean lower gain settings aren't too bad. High gain settings haven't got any bottom end except at low volumes. The amp gets muddy at higher volumes unless you cut the bass down. The only way I could get a decent sound out of it was at high volumes, when the power amp distortion started, versus the preamp. Cut the bass, crank it to about 8. Sounds ok but very little headroom. Sounds really compressed.
This is a good amp for a beginner, but if you are looking for a real
sweet sounding amp, look elsewhere.

Never gigged with it, sound quality just don't cut it. Seems pretty reliable because I played it about maxed out looking for some usuable tones.

Customer support was great. No problems there. Just a marginal sounding amp.

I've been playing about 30 years and have a ton of equipment. I was looking for a decent practice amp when I got this thing in a trade. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely get something else. Its a well thought out amp, its a shame. It would be great if it had any good warm tones. The amp sounds pretty good through the headphone jack so I ran this through a stereo tube power amp and a 4/12 Laney cab. It sounded a lot better, but still no cigar.

2000 DX212.MY BAND IS A MELTING POT[ROCK,BLUES,JAZZ,COUNTRY,POP]IT COVERS THEM ALL.15 AMP MODELS.16 EFFECTS. GOT IT WHEN I WAS INTO OTHER MUSIC FOR THE EFFECTS;NOW I HATE EFFECTS,BUT WHAT GREAT TONE.100WATT;PLENTY OF POWER.

I USE IT WITH A GIBSON L6-S;2 HUMBUCKERS.NOT VERY NOISY.I PLAY ROCK,BLUES,JAZZ,COUNTRY,AND POP.IT COVERS THEM ALL.FOR DISTORTION;60'S ERA UK[1959 MARSHALL].FOR CLEAN;LARGE TWEED[1957 FENDER BASSMAN]IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO TWEAK THE TONES,BUT NOW I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER USE ANYTHING ELSE...SUPURB.

NEVER FAILED YET. NEVER HAD IT SERVICED...NO NEED

N/A...ITS WARRENTED;THATS ABOUT IT.

BEEN PLAYING ABOUT 12YRS.LOVE,LOVE,LOVE THE TONE...HATE THE EFFECTS.THE EFFECTS ARE GOOD,THEY'RE JUST NOT MY PREFERENCE.I'VE BECOME ATTACHED AND LEARNED TO IT,AND WOULD HAVE NOTHING ELSE.REMEMBER;THE DX212 GOT AMP OF THE YEAR IN 2000.

See all the reviews below. This review is about reliability. I did buy this amp because of its many effects, which sounded good on the floor unit at Guitar Center.

I wanted this amp for the good variety of distortions, since the distortion on my GFX-65 is limited in tone.

I owned this amp for about 3 hours, including drive time from and back to GC. I got factory sealed unit, because of the abuse that equipment out on the floor gets at GC. The place is like a playground for pre-teen musicians, who break stuff because of inexperience.

I plugged in, turned on and...horrible low volume distorted sounds came out. Checked the controls to make sure I wasn't doing something stupid, but no...this amp was hosed. I was bummed. My old GFX-65 has been rock solid (except the junky footswitch). So back to GC, where they confirmed that the amp was kaput.

Took the refund, got my good old GFX back, and now what ? I'm afraid to try another one. This may be the end of a beautiful relationship with Crate !

This amp was made a few years ago.This amp is fairly versatile it can play a variety of styles. This can get classic rock,blues,country,jazz,and some heavy stuff(Ill explain how-At first I thought this amp suck for rock sounds)Of course this amp has many amp models, such as fender marshall mesa and vox. It has many effects such as chorus,echo,delay, and much more.You can also have multiple effects going at one time. It also has the standard gain and eq controls, the mid and treble have the most effect in getting the sound you want.I use this amp at home, and at band practices,I turn it up about half way at practice and almost half at my house when practicing, I love to play loud.

I bought this amp at guitar center, I just started playing and I thought this looked like a great amp.At first I liked it but when I started getting better at guitar this amp started to suck. i was getting into van halen and some other signatured sound players and the amp just couldn't get the tone. Then I was using a strat. when I got my wolfgang and played I was amazed!!!!!!It had more crunch power and deep rich sound. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A POWER PICKUP -A HUMBUCKER TO GET THE BEST TONE AND DISTORTION. I truly hated this map at first. I thought its distortion was weak and I bought distortion pedals and it still didnt work.Use a good guitar and this amp will please you.I was thinking about stacks maybe some marshalls or mesa boogies, but there just too expensive to big and heavy. This combo is truly good enough. i know marshall and mesas sound better there tubed and they cost a hell of a lot more than the crate.If I want more power Ill simply buy another cab to go with this.Read the manual, fiddle with the difffernt knobs and get a good guitar. Listen to me I was looking at every store playing marshalls and other big amps. This amp is great for the money.I was going to get a job this summer to save up and buy a stack but screw that...I need time to get better and have practices with my band. I never believed this until now, no matter what damn amp you play the player will sound the same.No lie spend the fortune ona stack if want and relize that its too loud and too big.Enough of that.Ive had this amp for two years and It tooka bout a year and a half before I relized that this was truly a great map. I play a large variety of music. Vai, satch,malmsteen,halen,boston,ozzy,wylde,alice in chians,hendrix,stevie ray vaughan,pantera,zeppelin,guns n roses and many more.You gotta quit trying to sound like other peoples stuff, youll never get the same tone.This amp can play those styles.This amp has a fantastic clean and acoustic sound, its truly fantastic. No better, its great.For best clean I add chorus and some reverb. The only thing this amp has a little trouble with is pantera or new heavy music.I love zakk wylde so I finnaly figured out the best settings to get his sound-use the rectified amp-gain10/bass-10/mid 2/treble7/and the rest 10, which is channel I think? Use the chorus and compressor effect and turn the effect knob all the way up, reverb at 7 and level at 6. Use a humbucking pickup and squeal away. For great classic guns in roses, use the rectified and trun all knobs up to 10, use no effects and no reverb.I know this amp is no marshall or mesa but this amp is still great, It has a good tone to it. if you tweek youll find the perfect tone.I alot better know and evrybody I play in front of is amazed. i can play all vai and halen stuff. I dig ozzy and I often practice for over 8 hours a day. This amp is great try it out!!!!!!!1

This is very reliable, nothing ever went wrong, no tubes so I shouldt be too worried.

Never delt with them. iam sure they would be great.

I have been playing for two years Iam am getting very good.I plan on makinga carreer out of playing guitar.If it were stolen I would buy the head instead, just because it can get louder with a 4x12 cab.I like the tones and clean channels.I am going to buy an eq pedal and some other effects and see what happens. Dont buy this amp unless you have heard it first. NEVER BUY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE LISTEN TO IT FIRST!!!!If you buy it take your time learn it and youll love it. It sounds great on recordings and on the computer. it sounds just as good at low volumes as high. REMEMBER USE A HUMBUCKING PICKUP. And crank it!!!!!!It can play stuff from lvan halen to ozzy to blues rock its all there!!!!

I LOVE this amp. I consider myself to be quite oppinionated when it comes to the sound that comes from my guitar. I play in a jam band that has a style similar to phish/widespread/hookah, etc. and i find that this amp has everything i need, from the sound to how loud the sound gets. A lot of people are bashing the sound of the amp, but seriously, if they read the instruction book they wouldn't look like such big idiots to those that have. Things like tremolo and vibroto are most definately not the same (tremolo is variation in volume whereas vibroto is variation in pitch) and the whole deal with the clean and acoustic channels (chan. vol. at 100%!!!). Just read the phucking book. The reason i give it a 9 is because i wish that you could get better groups of effects than those offered, maybe if you could select several effects at once or something.

I play a standard american telecaster that i have spent more money rebuilding than i have spent on the last two guitar amps i have owned (bot bought new just to help you get an idea). I play some pretty tripped out music at times and i love the crazy sounds i can get mxing for instance the flanger/echo/comp adding some good reverb, and putting it on a pretty smooth amp setting. I really dig the sound of the amp. Just recently i was talking to a friend of mine, who is in another band and was kind enough to come out and support us (and he is by far one of the best guitarist i have met) and he said that he has been playing using tube amps his entire career and he says my crate is the closest he's heard to the ture deal, and this guy knows his shit (ofcourse he still plays tubes cause they're the best, but he said the crate is pretty close which coming from him is good enough for me). I think that this amp sounds very good loud, and it gets LOUD.

i have had it for just over a month and have gigged with it 12 times already, with no back up and i will continue to do so for as long as i can (hopefully i will be getting another amp soon, maybe even another one of these suckers). me and this amp have an understanding together, we're cool.

havent dealt with them yet, but from what ive heard they are very helpful, though not as well informed as most would like them to be.

I have been playing for 5 years, this coming saturday will be the 87th show i have played as a musician. im not afraid to say i know my shit. i like this amp, however, i am just lucky that it suits my style/other gear, etc. my advice is go check one out for yourself

Check the other listings for details.

I like this amp. It easily has a clean sound, if you do like the book says to acheive it.

I've used this amp on more than one gig without a backup, and definately would again.

They've been more than helpful with any questions I've had about the amp, and sent me a new instruction book.

I've been playing for 3 years, and I own a 65 Bassman with 4x12 cab, and I use this instead. I'm a vintage junkie, and this dials in the vintage sounds I crave with the modern solid state dependabilty that's needed. I love this amp, and would recommend one to everyone.

See the other reviews, this one has the same features.

I thought the sound of this amp was terrible and there seemed to be no actual "CLEAN" sound avaialble.

The AMP seemed reliable but since it sounded so bad I got rid of it in 2 months.

Crate (St. Louis Musicial Equipment, INC. was the worst company I have ever dealt with for service and support. When I bought the amp I also got the DXFC foot controller that crapped out in less than 6 months. I had moved since buying the foot pedal and I ahd misplaced my receipt. The store tha sold it to me didn't have a copy of the receipt but said they would vouch for my having purchased it. No good said Crate, they needed a copy of the sales receipt or I would be charged for repairs. Which I was ($77 including shipping both ways). I had to pay the charges so I could sell this crap. Which I have subsequently done. I will never ever buy anything from this bunch again. Buyers, don't ever toss or misplace your receipt becuase they don't register buyers they just want tp amke sure someone paid their money for this junk.

Wouldn't own another one even if I had to do without.

If you want to contact me, write to me directly at: rmorris@jcc.mepcom.army.mil or include your full e-mail address in the body of your message. Harmony Central adds some NO SPAM crap to their message hearders that wipes out the senders return e-mail address.

2000 Model with Millenium III software (upgraded myself). Lots of features already described above. All in all a very flexible and versatile amp.

I play a Mex Tele with factory Pickups and an 84 Strat Plus Deluxe with Gold Lace Sensors. The amp is VERY quiet even when played at high volumes. The different amp models make the range of tone virtually limitless. I'm not an expert but the sounds of the different amp models are very distinct, with practice you can pick out which amp you're playing through.

Clean channel and acoustic are crisp and clear. Again, channel level at 100% adjust tone with gain contol, volume with Master volume.

I wouldn't own a tube amp as they are more trouble than they're worth and I don't have the time to mess around with the tubes.

No problems, though I just purchased last night.

Good website. Downloaded new software and preset files.

Nothing to complain about. This amp is loud and versatile. What more could you ask for?

I play & experiment with many styles of music, Rock, Jazz, Country, Alternative, etc. I tried this amp out in a Guitar Store, I felt that the price range was very reasonable. Helpful Advice:If you try out any amp make sure you have a private room you can use to really listen to the sound quality of the amp. Unfortunately I didn't have this opportunity. Aesthetically I thought this amp looked "allright" for me my priority is what the amp sounds like not what it really looks like. I really liked the user friendliness of this amp Crate excelled at this feature & of all the amp's I researched(especially Digital Amps) this amp was by far the most user friendly I felt like. I wanted an amp to be able to allow me to play numerous different styles & to be truthful this amp was able to meet this requirement.

This is where I had a very valid concern I felt like. This amp has a Noise gate, now I don't mind if an amp has certain features as long as I have the option to turn those features on or off, unfortunately with the Crate DX212 Noise Gate you don't have that option. To me the most significant tone tends to be the attack, sustain, & decay of a note(so the note will be as natural sounding as possible). With the Crate Noise gate the natural decay of the note is nullified, not adjustable at present, & kicks in far to early for me. This problem was just too significant to ignore when I played in front of people or in the privacy of my house. Besides just like any capable musician I want to be able to control these concerns by modifying the way I play, not by having some person in Corporate offices making this decision for me. On a positive note I really liked the amp's ability to have it's own character sound, as well as the amp would combine the amp model sounds with its own character. I thought the acoustic amp models were above average sounding, even compared to other amps including digital amps. & as a whole most amp models were satisfying to me. The only other concern I have is that the models for Rock Guitar didn't have the "crunch" or gain needed to play a Metallica style song in my opinion, at least without having to add a distortion pedal or additional gain unit.

In the short time I've had the 2 amps (because my 1st one "died")just over a year I've had to have them taken in for repair 4 times now. I've replaced a Millenium Chip (software related) x2, plus to explain what happened when my 1st amp died I was practicing with my band an hour into it volume level at 6 when my amp started going "snap, Crackle, & Pop" I took it in to the Guitar Store figured it was something minor like a transistor, Diodes, etc and an easy fix, instead they had no idea what happened to this day I don't either. To quote one of the store employees "this amp has a problem." My other one has had minor issues but still problems.

One positive note they have an excellent 5 year warranty, which for me was one of the major points that convinced me to buy the unit. I have spoke w/ Customer Support 5 times, they have been as helpful as they could be, with what they had control over such as sending a replacement amp, but overall Customer support did not have very much knowledge at all about this amp or how to Support it.

I was really quite patient with these amps & treated them with care. I was disappointed after the last issue & being without an amp for the 4th time, that I finally decided to trade in this amp, get another amp from another manufacturer & chalk this up to a somewhat bad experience. I have a great amount of experience playing so I'm no novice when it comes to comparing amps, tones, etc. To put it mildly I really wanted this amp to work for me, but it was not to be.

I play in a few LOUD rock groups and a full big band, and the amp always is loud enough and has enough tones to cover everything. You can program 10 presets from the keypad on the amp, and I have a few different clean and distorted settings with and without effects. Other than the master volume, which is independent of any presets, you can't see your setting on a knob after accessing a preset. Turning a knob, though, immediately makes that knob active, so it's not really a big deal. The footswitch Crate makes is way too complex and expensive for me because I don't use many presets, but other than that, the amp is extremely versatile and full of features.

I use a few different guitars with it. I have a Strat with EMG Select passive pickups, an Electra Custom Pro (ES-335 copy) with stock humbuckers, and a Telly with a a high-output single-coil in the neck and a REALLY high-output stacked bridge humbucker, and all of the guitars sound great through the amp. I mentioned my styles in the Features section, and the amp handles all of them. The only noise you'll hear is any hum from your guitar, and sometimes with very high-gain settings you can hear the noise gate closing. One of the main reasons I bought the amp is the fact that there are master volume, gain, and channel level controls. This means that you can set your tone using the gain and channel level (volume) controls as you would on a conventional amp, but then alter the OVERALL output of the amp using the master volume (which is independent of the any presets/programs) without affecting the tone. This is great if you find a great clean tone but don't want it to break up when you push the volume. And for distortion, depending on the amp model you pick, the distortion can get extremely brutal (I recommend the Blue Voodoo amp model for that).

It's been very reliable so far. I take it on jobs without a backup most of the time. There has been one thing that hasn't happened to me in a while, though. I was playing one time and noticed that I had the thing cranked up pretty high, and the volume was just adequate for the situation. Then, all of a sudden, the volume jumped up to where it should have been. It 1 or 2 times after that, but even when it does, the amp is still loud enough.

I did call Crate before I bought the amp to ask them a few questions about the operation of the amp, and I personally spoke to a clinician who had been around the world demonstrating the amp. He was very willing to talk all about it and was very informative. I haven't had to get it repaired yet, but the warranty (I think) is a transferrable 2 years speaker/5 years amplifier.

I've been playing for 8.5 years, and I own a Carvin bass amp and an old silverface Fender Vibro Champ (all tube). The Crate is my main gigging amp. If it were stolen, I would buy another one right away. I knew pretty much from the start of the whole digital modeling craze that I wanted to get one, and I always have liked Crate, so when they came out with one and it had so many features and so much power for the money, I bought one right away.

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.

99 all the people with problems need to read instructions this amp rocks. every thing you need.

great clean tone with a real guitar {hamer or more}no strat awsome leads killer clean

if it breaks they fix it.

just like any other us corp 10 min wait then your there

best amp for the money if all the people would buy gear for sound insted of NAME crate would sell a ton of these I own 9 guitars and only 2 strats and 1 gibson try hamers,mores.

other posts have them so won't bother

sounds good. it supplies a wide variety of tones no noise but this is only because it has a built in noise gate. this amp likes humbuckers but it can get a good tone with just about anything. the only real problem I have with it is that right at the point before the gate cuts of it gets this real buzzy sound and it makes it hare to play quiet passages.

seames good but I've only had it for a few weaks

would'nt know

I realy wish this amp came with some kind of channel switch but thats about it

New Digital Modeling Amp. Has a lot of nice features. Sounds great when played in your living room. Don't try to raise the volume though.

I use an Ibanez RG570. This amp has some really nice sound when playing at very low volume. As soon as I turned it up it sounded like crap. The speakers had no definition, the case had a buzzing sound coming from where the amp was put together. I played it for 10 minutes hoping for the best. I decided at 11 minutes to send it back.

As poorly as it was put together (rattles, buzzing) I would hate for this to be my only amp.

I was really dissapointed with this amp. I played it in a music store and it sounded good. Little did I know that once you got it over 2 on the volume knob it really took a dive. The clean sounds were awful and when I had it on clean with some effect I could hear wierd sounds coming from it every few minutes. I'm gonna bite the bullet and get a millenium.

New 1999 solid state modeling amp model. You can go to the Crate page for a list of features and sound samples (too many to list).

Clean channel was OK. Accoustic channel was interesting. The other channels sounded like absolute crap on the E,A,D strings, especially when playing chords. I mean no definition, muddy, speaker fluttering garbage. I suspect this particular amp had problems with the speakers but can't confirm this (I returned it). This particular amp DID NOT sound like the DX 212 samples on the Crate page. It sounded as if the speakers were blown.

Upon arriving home I noted a distinct lack of output (amp was brand new). I made a measurement with gain and both volume controls at the maximum (clean channel selection) and the amp only put out approx 96 dB (using a sound level meter). After several days, this figure improved to approx 118 dB (almost 160 TIMES louder)under the same conditions. But this particular amp never did sound correct even though the volume improved. Also, the amp would do strange things, like start playing the vibrato for a few moments even though I had the effects turned off (BTW I did read the instructions and according to Crate the effects should have been off). Although the volume got better it never was able to compete with my Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb RI on sound volume. This is comparing an amp rated at 22 watts to the DX 212 which is rated at 100 watts.

I Called Crate about the lack of output. They said, there was definitely something wrong (this amp should be LOUD!!) and I should return it to the dealer for a replacement. The dealer phoned his Crate representative the same day and a new one was to be shipped ASAP. After waiting over a week (no new amp delivered) I returned the Crate and applied the money towards a Johnson JM-60 Marquis (IMHO a far superior modeling amp, even though it is priced higher). I guess Crate tried so I give them a 5.

Played a G&L ASAT semi-hollow and G&L Z3 through this amp. I returned it, so if were lost or stolen it would now be someone else's problem. Compared to Crate's own DFX-15 (12 watt amp which I originally traded in on this amp)the DX212 did not (originally) have as much output. It had a few good sounds and features but this particular amp had some real problems. There was no comparison to my Deluxe Reverb, the Fender flat out blew this particular DX 212 away. In fairness, this was probably a bad amp (possibly speakers) since it didn't sound very much like the samples Crate had posted on their web page. My advice try it out on all setting for a while before you buy one.

100 watt Solid State amp, two 12 in Crate Vintage Speakers, 16 amp models, 16 digital effects, 10 presets, expandable to 100 with optional foot pedal. I bought this amp a while back trying to save some cash. I didn't want to spend $400 on a processor and $500 on a amp, so I bought one with it all built in for $599. The features are great! Just turn the knob to where you want it and your there. Can't get any easier than that.

I have a beautiful Ibanez Artist AR250 and Jackson Dinky Reverse. The sound is good and clean, but looses its touch at high volumes. The sound is not accurate. For example the setting for "Rectifier" does not sound like a Mesa/Boogie Duel Rectifier. This amp is not for the Heavy Metal enthusiast. I could not get a good metal sound with lots of bass and treble. That was very fusterating to me. Digital effects were on par. The sound is really good but not accurate. It just doesn't cut the mustard as for as amp modeling and the sound I was looking for; and thats why I returned it and bought a Boss GT-3 processor and a Fender Ultimate Chorus.

It seemed to be made ok. The vinyl was not put on correctly. It was showing about a 1/2 in of bare wood on the back of the amp. But there is a 5 year transferable warranty.

I did have some questions about the DX212 and they were very friendly and helpful.

What I did like about this amp is the user friendly features. My GT-3 processor is a little harder to get around on, but where talking about a processor with 32 digital effects 19 amp models and all tweakable 340 patches! I love the auto wah on the DX212 better than the auto wah on the GT-3. It seemed more real on the DX. But I'm sure I could get the GT-3's auto wah to sound as good or better than the DX with a little tweaking. What I hated about the DX is the lack of full blown heavy metal sounds. All the amps sounded 70-ish. Don't get me wrong I love the 70's sound but not just the 70's. If your style of playing does not include full blown heavy metal leads and riffs then this amp is really a good one for you. Good amp, just didn't suit my style.

This is Crate's entry into the digital fray to compete with Johnson and Line6. Naturally, It's brand new. First off, let me state categorically that I am NOT much of a fan of these Digital amps. Every one that I've ever tried (damn near all of 'em) sounded conspicuously "artificial" in almost every regard. Having said that, I'll tell you that the only reason I'm even looking at digital amps is because my 14 year old son is interested in them. His band has recently started to play out and we are looking for something versatile to give a wide range of possible tones and amp types.
In my opinion, the Crate compares very favorably to the other digitals on the market. The features are nearly identical in the same price range, and the controls are much easier to understand and operate (at least for this old fart). For instance, the Line6 control knobs feel cheap or cheesy compared to the Crate. When you switch to a position on a Line6 amp, the knob pointer would sometimes point "between" two adjacent positions (so you never really were sure what sound or effect you were getting). Not so with the Crate. When you switched the effects or amp type knobs, the pointer landed precisely where it should. The Crate also has some MIDI in and out jacks that are not present on the competition (in the same price range). Also, the Crate offers 10 programmable presets...the Line6 has 4 (more with an optional pedal). The power was plenty for a garage/party band. Bear in mind that the ratings I give are only applicable when considering OTHER DIGITAL AMPS.

We tested this amp with a Gibson SG Standard, A MIJ Strat with Lace Sensors, a Les Paul Standard, and a Gibson Blues Hawk. It could get pretty close to the tones one would expect from the amp types it emulates. The effects sounded somewhat "man made"...but generally did as good or better than Line6 or Johnson. The Distortion settings were close to the real thing (but not right on the money). At excruciating volumes, the amp loses its heart (like most solid state amps). Clean sounds are reasonable but with Gibson humbuckers....a tad noisy.

Haven't got a clue.

Didn't buy one yet.

As I've already said, this rating is based strictly on comparisons with other Digital products. the Crate Blows away the competition on Price! Comparing features to features, the other contenders are overpriced.