Crate Flexwave 65/112

3 channels, 65 watts, 1x12" speaker, Evolution 5 preamp, DSP effects, Onboard tuner. Could use an effects loop. It is solid state.

My friend and I were at the local music shop and he was using a 7 string ibanez, and a 6 string washburn, both humbuckers. We both loved the sound it made. The clean was nice, as well as the overdrive. But what we loved was the High Gain sounds this thing made. It sounded close to the line 6 high gain models. not going to take anything away from this amp because it lacks tubes. It gets pretty loud very quickly, so it should be good enough for gigs, but if not it has an ext speaker jack, or you can mic it.

its SS so it should be reliabe.

NA

from the little time we spent with it it was love at first sight. We tried the blackheart(didn't like it), tech 21 trademark(didn't like it either), and the Hughes and Ketner Matrix 100(didn't like, but had some cool effects), and this was by far the best sounding amp at a similiar price.

Do you know what year the amp was made in?
Mine has 2007 listed on the manual and in the amp.

Is the amp versatile enough for you and the styles of music you play?
Yes.

What are those styles?
I play original material and it ranges from mellow acoustic style to metal.

How many channels?
3 channels: High gain, Overdrive, and Clean.

Does it have channel switching?
Yes, it comes with a 3-button footswitch that is set up nicely. The LED's are bright enough to see in daylight situations.

Effects loops?
There is an effects input but I will most likely never use it.

Headphone jack?
Yes, there is a headphone jack and I will probably not use that either.

What features do you wish it had? Why?
I wish it had more flexibility to manipulate the effects. The chorus is good, the flanger is ok, and the phaser is lacking. You cannot adjust the sweep rate of the phaser and to me, that's the whole point of that effect.

Are there features you never use?
I most likely will not use the effects input or headphone jack.

Where do you use this amp?
At home, at jam nights, and at small-medium sized gigs.

Does it have enough power for you?
Yeah, it does get loud. I will most likely get an extention cab if I need to have extreme volumes.

Feel free to enter any other features (stereo, tube or solid state, etc.).
It is a 65 watt solid state amp with one 12" speaker(Crate design). It's fairly light weight (about 35 lbs.) and is well proportioned as far as the cabinent size for the speaker which is an open back design. One cool feature is inside the amp, there is a velcro fastener that you can use to secure the footswitch and cables for transport. There is also a CD input if you want to play along with recordings.

What guitar and pickup styles are you using it with?
I'm using a Carvin AE185 as well as various guitars that I made. Most of my guitars have humbuckers with either coil taps and/or single coil pickups in the center position. For the most part, they are medium output with the exception of my 7-string which has Dimarzio Tone Zone and Evolution (hot) pickups.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
So far it seems to suit my needs... From mellow acoustic style to all out metal.

Is it noisy? On what settings, and in what environments?
The only noisy part of the amp is the high gain channel which is to be expected from extreme gain. It just gives off a noticable "hum" sound. The overdrive can have some "hum" at loud volumes and the clean channel is very quiet. No noticable change in different environments.

What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?
Here is my take: Clean CH- acoustic like cleans to mellow jazzy tones. Overdrive CH- AC/DC type sounds as well as old Scorpions. It can clean up for some light blusey type stuff. High Gain CH- I am able to get Pantera and Children Of Bodom type sounds. This channel can also clean up if need be. Reverb can be added to each channel and effect types can be added in for each channel as well. Actually it's quite versatile. There are 3 chorus, 3 flanger, 3 phaser and 9 delay selections for the effects.

Is the clean channel distorted at high volumes? In what settings?
The clean channel seems to have alot of headroom. I couldn't get it to distort. However, since it only has one 12" speaker, high volumes would definately benefit with the addition of external speakers.

How brutal is the distortion?
You could easily pull off Pantera with this amp.

Can you depend on it?
So far it seems reliable. I have only had it for about a week.

Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
I would not feel uncomfortable if I did not bring a backup. I never had to in the past.

How long is the warranty?
5 years on the amp and 2 years for the speaker.

How long have you been playing?
15 years

What other gear do you own?
Roland Micro Cube amp
Carvin AE185
SGM Exodus 6-string w/Kahler 7300 Hybrid
SGM Avatar 6-string
SGM Liberator 7-string
SGM Summoner 9-string

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
I would buy it again. So far it seems to be what I was looking for.

What do you love about it?
Over all, the amp has some nice tones in it. It does respond to my playing dynamics quite well.

What do you hate?
I don't like the phaser and I'm not wild about the flanger. I wish there was a way to further manipulate the effects. I have stomp boxes that I can use if need be so it is pretty much a non-issue for me anyways.

Did you compare it to other products?
Yes.

Which ones?
I originally ordered a Carvin SX300 combo amp and gave it a try. That amp was just voiced way too bright. The distortion and overdrive channels lacked definition. The sounds were ratty and a bit harsh. I used to have an SX200 (tan covering) and that amp had a great clean channel. I mainly used that amp for its clean channel and used stomp boxes lined in front of it. The SX300 needed to have the bass cranked all the way up with the mids and highs turned down fairly low. It still sounded bright and had that crappy, paper thin, typical SS sound. Maybe I got a bad one?

Why did you choose this one?
I chose the Flexwave because it simply fits my playing needs. It's plenty loud enough for practice as well as taking it out to jam nights or even small-medium sized gigs.

Anything you wish it had?
More flexibility with the effects.

Anything else you'd like to share?
The onboard tuner is a nice add. It has come in handy and I have only had the amp for about a week.