Crate GFX212

These reviews make me cry. I cannot BELEIVE sooo many people would bash this amp. I am going on 10 years with this amp, and let me tell you my honest opinion on everything.

This amp has 3 channels: 1 clean, 1 mild distortion, 1 heavy distortion. It is 120 watts. It comes with slap-back echo, normal echo (VERY good echo), chorus, flange, and reverb. It is very easy to use, with a footswitch too.

I play modern rock, alternative rock, metal, death metal, technical metal, progressive metal/rock, pop/mainstream rock, and blues.

***This amp has the best distortion I have ever heard.***
***This amp can do it all.***

Distortion 2, the one that everyone is bashing, is by far the best distortion I will ever find, and I have looked long and hard. Of course everything is subjective and this totally depends on what kind of music you like. Let me explain.

I mainly listen to and play modern rock and metal. I don't listen to or play much classic rock. But, even if I did, Distortion 1 would suit perfectly. Its a crisper, lighter distortion that I use all the time as well, and sounds perfect for classic rock or blues. But for modern rock and metal, for example: 311, Incubus, Deftones, Staind, Paramore, Lamb of God, you know, Im talking 90s and above. Then this amp is perfect for you. And the Distortion 2, although it is thick, you can have whatever setting you want. If you want it to be super thick and get the BEST pinch harmonics for metal or have a good clean shred, distortion 2 is perfect, and clean. It is NOT muddy, or dirty. I play guitar every day for at least 1-2 hours a day, and I have NEVER gotten sick of how it sounds, nor am I interested in any other kind of distortion. Its 100% perfect in my honest opinion.

The clean is great, there are no complaints. The effects are great, mainly the chorus, and the delay. The delay is actually spectacular sounding, even with distortion, I use it for solos all the time. Reverb is great too.

Okay this is where its a little iffy. Ive had it repaired 3 times, and each time it gets more expensive. Ive had electronic problems and speaker problems. But you know what, its totally worth the hassle for the distortion I get out of it (Distortion 2.)

Meh. Theyre not the greatest. 2 Year warrenty isnt much.

BEST AMP EVER, BEST DISTORTION EVER (for modern rock players) IF YOU LIKE METAL, YOU MUST HAVE THIS AMP!!!!!

The digital effects circuit is passable, but lack of a footswitch control for it means you'll probably never use the onboard effects at a gig. Otherwise this amp has the features you'd expect with no glaring omissions but nothing that impresses you either. It makes for a decent practice amp, but tends to cut out abruptly when the volume drops below about 1.5, which is about the level of a somewhat loud conversation.

The clean channel is pretty respectable (doesn't amost every amp review say that?), but as others have noted since the amp is solid state it would break up to give you a nice, subtle grind as volume increases. On the bright side I found the clean channel takes some pedals well, in particular an MXR Distortion+ with an Ibanez destroyer loaded with Seymour Duncan PAFs. The first gain channel is passable, but I almost never used it since I got 99% of what I needed from the clean channel with pedals. Forget the second gain channel, it's just mush.

Never had a lick of trouble, but I never abused it either.

Never had to deal with Crate.

This is a farewell review, since I just replace the amp with a Marshall combo the other day. If you can find one of these for about $150 USD or less, it could make a decent practice amp, but in the few sessions I used it I had trouble competing with the other guitarist in terms of lead tone. OK, ok, and talent too. For a while I thought about replacing the speakers with Celestions, but didn't like the idea of spending $200 on speakers for an amp that probably would sell for less than that on craigslist. My overall rating would be higher if the amp had at least one good gain channel.

I bought this amp new around 1998. 3 channels plus fx with 120 watts seems like a real good deal to a budding guitarist. However, for a mature player it falls a little short of great.

No switch for the onboard effects limits their usefulness. You can't overdrive the clean channel as well as a tube amp, so no "edge of breakup" sounds are available. Dirty channels have somewhat limited EQ and gain range. Super-clean and super-dirty are easily done, but it's really hard to get a good "clean-ish" tone with this amp, and the second distortion channel is mushy and useless in a live band setting.

No controls of any sort on the effects insert means that you can NOT use it with certain effects, particularly those with hot outputs. Unbearable hum may result. I had to return 2 effects because they wouldn't work with the amp.

Speakers/cab sounds pretty good, and the open back disperses sound well in small to medium rooms. Decent bass and clarity, but somewhat lacking in midrange response, and as with most open-back cabs, it sounds much smaller outdoors or in large spaces.

I give it a 6 here because while it may impress new guitarists, it's only real virtue for experienced players is as a clean power amp.

Good variety of sounds but the sounds are only okay, not good. I use it with a Gibson Blueshawk with P-90s and a Washburn Idol series with 2 coil-tapped humbuckers. Both have mahogany necks, mahogany bodies, and maple tops. The clean channel is fine, the first overdrive is usable, but the second overdrive is very brutal-but not in a good way. Kills dynamics and masks the tone of your particular guitar. Mid cut "scoop" knob makes it unintelligible past halfway.

Effects sound okay, but with only an effects level knob, you're limited to their presets.

Some noise, not unbearable, except in 2nd overdrive channel.

This is why I wrote a review. I had the exact same problems as another reviewer. No problems for about a year or so, then intermittent channel switching/cutting out and finally no power. First culprit was the jack on the footswitch. I took it apart and the jack they used is a cheapo switched stereo jack (Marshall-style). Second problem was the 2nd footswitch (for selecting which overdrive) which broke internally, leaving it always on.

I had the same thing happen where the amp would switch channels without my help, and be fixed by whacking it a couple times. My guess is that the switching jack on the amp side is to blame.

I actually had it start crapping out during a performance, so I bought a Crate Powerblock as a replacement. I unbolted the amp from the cab and let it sit for a couple years, and have used the cab with the Powerblock in the meantime. Strangely, like the other reviewer, when I fired it up again recently it seems to work fine. The footswitch is still crap, but the amp is not behaving weirdly anymore.

Never called them.

The amp is currently in 2 pieces. I like the cab, so I used some scrap wood to convert it to semi-closed back, cover the hole in the front from when I removed the amp, and fabricated a speaker jack plate from scrap metal. Finally, I rewired the speakers (in series) for 16 ohm operation so it's safe for the Powerblock.

I have some background in electronics so my plans for the amp itself are to wire up an effects on/off switch, install a speaker out jack and build a frame for it for use as a head unit. If I'm really cool I'll even take pics and put the whole process online for the DIY community. (Search for Earth Tones Audio... maybe I'll get around to it)

If you take it apart (ONLY if you know what you're doing and won't electrocute yourself), you can adjust a trimpot that affects the sound of the first overdrive channel somewhat. It's very subtle, but you can change it to your liking (just mark where it was set by the factory in case you want to revert to stock).

I will add shielding, since there is no shielding other than the chassis on the bottom.

Overall I give it a 6 because I ended up with a very useful speaker cab and an amp for experimenting with. Some assembly required.

Solid State. The amp gets great tone with both gain channels up and the shape on 10. It has good power, I usually practice with it on about 2, but it seems that past 5 the volume doesn't jump as much between numbers like it did 1-5. It has an insert jack for effects and a jack for an external cabinet. The only problem i have with the effects is that with the effects on 10 it still doesn't seem to come through as much as I would want it too. The effects, are good, though. I use the flange and chorus often.

Right now I'm using 2 guitars on it, one is an Ibanez RG-370dx, my main guiatr, and a B.C. Rich Bronze Warlock, which i only use for Drop D. Both have humbucking pickups, and suprisingly even the warlock sounds good. I get great pinch harmonics. The distortion is great too.

Yes its pretty reliable, but it seems to lose power, as in volume, as it ages. Never broken down.

N/A

if it was stolen I probably wouldn't get it again just considering it's old design so really you can only get them used now. I would definitely ghet another crate though, I've palyed 3 crates and 1 fender now and the Crates' dominated. Onw thing i wish it had was a Wah setting in the on boards effects.

120 SolidState watts, 2x12" custom design crate speakers.

3 channels, 2 dirt, the first one is a simple dirt channel. the second one of them actually has a shape control, and is actually the useful one. The third channel is a clean channel.

This has onboard digital effects. 'verb, delay, chorus and flange. Not really tweakable. Insert effects loop, footswitch capability.

I bought this because I moved, needed a temporary amp to play, and it was powerful and inexpensive. I got this because some people said it can do a GREAT 1978 brown sound. It's kinda there, but really lacks the punch and complex upper harmonics that a real valve amp possesses. This is more like a cheap fuzz box is stuck in the front end. The contour does suck out the mids, but also your tone with it.
I tried playing with it both loud and low, and it just sounds fake and fizzy, even with the dirt 2 channel engaged with its gain around 2, and the shape knob a little more than half. I've waggled all the knobs all over the place one at a time trying to find if this thing has a sweet spot. Nada.
The onboard effects are useless. The reverb is passable, but once you turn up the effects mix past halfway, the thing starts hissing at you like crazy.

What I did is use this as a slave for my podxt bean. I take a patchcord from the one of the pod's outs to the insert jack on the crate, bypassing its preamp and using my podxt as the preamp. Ahhhhh. Much much better tone. The amp is now being used as a poweramp and speakercab only and does that job exceptionally well. Oh yeah, I set the bean to use the "studio direct" mode.

Now the drummer I've been playing with has got a tweaked kit and plays REALLY forcefully, so he's LOUD. I've got the pod's output volume a wee past halfway and it's nice tight LOUD tone with oodles of bass response. It really sounds like I've got a tight tubestack there. But then with a push of the button on my shortboard, I've got a shimmering vox ac30 or a firebreathing treadplate. It's a pretty linear response cabinet, with a little bit of hyped bottom end, and it doesn't bottom out at all. It's nice that it's an open back combo as well, so the sound disperses in front and in back of the amp. The benefit that it's no where near as directional as a sealed back cabinet, but really doesn't lose much of the lowerend. I have noticed that I've had to add a bit of high end to my patches to compensate for the lack of a tweater or highend driver in the cab. No matter, the end result is smooth and powerful.

I'm giving a rating of 1 for the stock crate sound. It's a pretty damned sad sound. The stock effects are USELESS, and put to shame by the onboard reverbs and delays on the podxt.
Now if you're smart own a good amp modeler, and want something with the flexibility of a VettaII without the pricetag, then this will help you along. It's by no means a true substitute for a 100 watt plexi, soak, and tapeecho, but it's plenty more flexible and portable and less expensive. For this, the Crate is a STEAL. I'll give this a 7.5

It's many years old, looks like it lived a hardlife by the time I got it, and hasn't crapped out on me yet. No tubes to get rattled or broken either! A great gigging machine on the cheap.

dunno

I've heard better, but then that stuff costs thousands more instead of under five hundred for a pod and crate cfx212.
When augmented with the bean, this a poorman's vetta. Never gonna whoop a 50W 2xEL34 tube amp for tone,volume and dynamics, but it's still great for gigging, heck, even recording.

Do NOT be duped into thinking that this does a good EVH brownsound on its own. It's a fizzy,hissy garbage can without some modern improvements.

Made around 2001 I believe. I loved playing on this amp back in the days of visiting Mars Music on a daily basis, and years later finally bought it. What made me buy this amp was how well it could do early Van Halen stuff, and its a 2x12 solid state! This amp has 3 channels: Clean, OD1, and OD2(a little heavier than OD1). Channel switching through all 3, has CD insert and cab out jacks. 120W of solid state power. With the volume on TWO it is very loud. As far as being versatile, it's fair at best. It does SRV and VH wonderfully for solid state; for any other style you may need to rack up some effects, noise gates, EQ's, and choruses to get this where you want. As said earlier, for VH or SRV type stuff, just plug in with no EQ or boost and you're there.

I'm critiquing this amp only for a VH "Brown Sound" style. The guitar I use is an OLP MM1FR (Floyd Rose) with stock pickups for now. This amp covers the style I want exactly. For the money, you really can't beat it. Not really noisy at all, which is good because my Behringer Vampire is nothing but noise and hiss. Distortion is brutal when dimed. But that's just it; it's distortion. Not clean and crisp like overdrive is. At lower gains it is a nice and somewhat warm overdrive. The Flexwave 5 preamp sounds killer. For the tone and style I'm after, I give it a 10.

Solid as a rock as far as I can judge. Well constructed 2x12 combo. No crappy spring reverb tank to bang around since all the effects are digital, so all you have to worry about is frying some circuits if you submerge the amp in liquids.

N/A

Been playing for about 9 years now. I own several guitars and 2 other amps (all solid state). Would definately buy another if it were lost or stolen, no question. Compared to my Behringer 120W 1x12 combo; its kind of like apples to oranges. The Behringer is built to do any and every style via digital modeling. Digital circuitry (for now) lacks warmth and clarity that analog circuitry provides. For a Van Halen modeling standpoint, the Crate wins hands down

What this amp lacks, however, is multi effects mixing. Phaser effect would be usefull, and it would be nice to combine the delay and reverb. Also, a tap function for delay, but then again, the newer model Crates have all these features. Again, best bang for the buck for early Van Halen stuff IMO.

No idea what year was made it in, but the "versatility" was one of the more appealing aspects about it. Sadly, Crate lies. They may call them other things, but here are the channels you get: awful sounding distortion, louder, more hideously awful sounding distortion and a clean channel. I play heavy metal, mostly, though there is plenty of punk and blues in there also and I knew going in that the onboard distortion was unsuitable for anything beyond getting pissed at the amp and tossing it down several flights of stairs. I will get into why I bought it later, but the amp I have does not have the attached footswitch, most likely because it is broken because they break rather easily (think shredded wheat breakfast squares). The clean channel with the onboard effects sounds decent, though the XT is actually a bit better. The effects and EQ take a great deal of time to tweak to get them to work together in a good-sounding manner. That clean channel is the only one I use and the entire reason I bought the amp. It is not lush enough to my taste, but if I get more time, I can probably dick with it enough to get there. The flanger may as well not be there at all, along with the two distortion channels. I can't believe anyone seriously thought those sounded good. At all. The Chorus is no competition for the battery-munching DOD Ice Box that I normally use, so that is also not very suitable. Chorus+Reverb does put a nice dimension on it, though it is hard to find a good balance using both at once. Reverb is very decent. The amp is loud enough for what I desire, however, which was part of my consideration when buying it. I will get to that later.

I use a stock Ibanez RG470XL through this, which I reviewed once but which I don't see any longer. No matter, as far as stock sounds go, this sounds decent on the clean channel with the aforementioned chorus+reverb setting. It makes zero noise. It is unbelievably clean when not playing, actually. I think you probably could play around with this and get more sounds if you had more patience than I, but I rapidly lost interest in trying. The clean channel was about as loud as I needed it at 5. I didn't check to see it distort, but Crates are usually decent on clean up at the higher levels. The distortion is a joke. In fact, this is almost two completely different amplifiers, a boomy, good-sounding one on the clean setting and a cheap, hackish pile of horsehit on the distortion side.

This is the main reason I bought it. Crates are, along with the Peavey solid state amps, workhorses beyond compare. I grow weary of electronics techs that do shoddy work on my Fender Roc Pro 1000 and while that is and will continue to be my main amp, I needed a reliable backup and you can't get any more reliable than these things. I basically bought 120 watts of power for $200, but I also bought the knowledge it would never fail, even if the Roc Pro did (and sometimes does if it gets too hot. Apparently, once I had a problem with it, now I can expect recurring ones, at least given the techs involved). As a working musician, I cannot tolerate failure of my equipment, ever. This one will be my crutch when I need it and I know it won't fail me.

I have never had to deal with Crate, but again, their warranties are the best in the business. I don't anticipate any difficulties here.

It was relatively painless to get an acceptable clean sound dialed in on this machine, about 30 minutes, which, considering how fussy I am, is somewhat of an achievement. The "dirty" sound I am still working on, however, partly due to refusal to do things the right way, it has taken me 3X as long and counting. This amp is both bigger and heavier than the Roc Pro and does a very good job of kicking out low tones you can feel, which will no doubt drive my bassist to drink. I have been playing on and off for 15+ years. My main amp, as noted above, is the Fender Roc Pro 1000 and will always be that amp, mainly because I have yet to ever hear anything sound better. If it was stolen, I would probably look for another one, but actually, probably any loud, dependable, solid-state amp would suit my purposes. As I said, this is to be my crutch if ever I need one, along with the Boss Metal Zone pedal I bought for the distortion simply because it won't fail me. As for comparison, I didn't bother. I saw this one at Guitar Center and bought it, partially because of onboard effects, which would enable me to keep the simple setup I insist upon, partially because of price, but mainly because I know I can count on it to do what it does, inherent limitations and all. It is what it is.

I don't know what year this amp was made. I can play any style of music with this amp. This amp has 2 channel, your choice between to overdrives and one clean channel. It has delay,flange, chorus, chorus and reverb and reverb. I use this amp for practicing alone but I'm sure it would sound great in a band situation. This amp has plenty of power.

I use two Gibson Les Paul customs and one Gibson Les Paul standard. I mainly play classic rock and heavey metal. The amp sounds really good if you tweak it just right. The amp has all the distortion you will ever need. The distortion is really good for a solid state amp. This amp is really great for what it is a solid state 2x12 open back combo.

I feel the amp is very reliableand would gig without a back up.

I have been playing for 17 years. I just own my 3 Gibson Les pauls, a fender 4x12 cab with celestion vintage 30's and this Crate GFX-212. I sold all of my other gear since I do not play out anymore

I got this amp bout 5 years ago new, its versitle for a practice amp its 120 watts rms what also translates to bout 95-100 watts i would not play a show with it, the first 3 years had no problems but then the crappy channel swith pedal broke that it came with but anyway.

im using a fender mexican strat with custom shop fat 50's single coil pickups and a shecter s1 Ok first off this amp is good for practice by yourself or for band practice and mybe a small gig like at a small party at one of your friends house or somthing, like many people before have said this amp sounds good until you get past 4 or 5 but after that forget the tone its just loud, the clean is alright i guess the distortion gets staticy and the feed back around 7 is damn near unbareable even when standing away from it, the effects r ok for a practice amp. I did put some celestion modern lead 70's in it and definitly improved sound by at least 50% the speakers it comes with r pure shit they fart really bad especially if u like to palm mute alot i play taking back sunday, saves the day, that type of music its good for, but of coarse only on lower volumes oh and the front grill is definitly to tight thats prolly alot of the farting problem right there but im gonna purchase a bv 120 or marshall dsl or mybe a bv 150 idk still undecided gotta see how my paychecks r coming in

the footswitch pedal HELL NO thats a piece the amp itself its reliable for bout 4-5 years ive had some problems recently with it cutting completely off then switching over to the clean channel without me touching anything idk some wierd shit

never had to deal with crate

ive been playing for bout 7 years and this amp was good for bout the first 4 years until i started actually playing bout anything u could throw at me solo's, rythem i play both from the free bird solo to weezer. like i said this amp is good if your just getting started or have been wanting to get a bigger amp than that 30 watt practice amp youve been playin the first year or two of your playing career but go ahead and save up your money and get a bv 120 or a used marshall if u want a amp to gig with

You should know the features

I use an Ibanez RG going though a Tech 21 Tri Amp AC and it sounds beautiful! I play heavey metal with a very loud drummer and have no problem being heard. I liked the gain on the amp when I bought it but I have matured since then and think it's good for practice, Thats it. With the Tech 21 I can get any sound I want.

Hasn't broke yet and I've had it for 4 years but the footswitch stoped working last month but I never used it.

Have a 5 year warrenty just incase.

With a good distortion pedal this amp kicks it. The only way you can't get a good sound out of it is if you don't know what the fuck your doing. I don't know why people complain about feedback. It's going to happen! Even Zakk Wylde has to turn down his guitar between beats so he doesn't feedback.

Ok... This is a GFX 212 (the first version... without the "T")
Solid State with built in effects: delay, flanger, chorus, reverb, and chorus+reverb. The delay is good (the one I use the most), flanger, like everyone else said, sucks... but then most flangers do.
The chorus and reverb and chorus+reverb are all decent. I can't say that I use much other than the delay but they are all pretty good (with the exception of the flanger, but then I dont like flanger at all)
The selection knob for all these effects is a bit of a pain... it doesn't "click into place", you just have to set it to the right spot. For example... the delay I use is the long delay, and the other delays are really short, to get the long delay you have to get right at the end of the "Delay effect" and slightly before the "Flanger", so it gets a little annoying but not horrible.
It comes with a footswitch that everybody says is super cheap, but I think the people saying that are just abusive to their equiptment. I'm not the most gentle person in the world, especially when it comes to stomping on foot switches or effects pedals, and I've been stomping on this one footswitch for about 4 years now and it doesn't have a crack on it. Yeah it's plastic, but it's not wimpy plastic. It's a footswitch... you don't throw it against walls or anything. You step on the button, Which takes nothing more than the wieght of you foot, and the effect comes on. I think it works great. It's actually the part of the amp that hasn't given me any trouble.
Somebody said it had an effects loop, which I think is misleading. It has an "Insert" jack. If you want to use that as an effects loop ("loop" being the key word) you have to go buy a 1/4" Y-adaptor. Personally I don't use the insert jack. I just plug my stomp boxes in line with the guitar and input jack.
I really wish this amp had a Line Out jack, because in order to get it to go through a PA system you have to mic it.

I own a Fender Strat with 2 single's and a humbucker pickup in it. I play mostly classic rock (Hendrix, Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, etc.) and the distortion is awesome for that style of music. I can see why people complain about the distortion when trying to play Heavy Metal. Too much distortion ALWAYS sounds crappy. I think it's safe to say you can get too much distortion from this amp (which is good because it gives lots of ranges to choose from). It's got Gain 1, which is good overdrive, and Gain 2, which is good decently heavy distortion. It's also got that Shape knob that everybody seems to dislike. I typically don't turn the shape knob up too far past half way; I never turn it up all the way. It's an amp you have to play with a lot to find what you want, but once you figure out what you like and how to get that sound, which you most likely can get out of this amp, it works great. I have no problem with the feedback; An amp with lots of distortion at high volumes is going to feedback. MOVE AWAY FROM THE AMP. Try learning how to control the feedback. It's really cool, once you get control of it. This amp doesn't feedback worse than any other amp I've ever played through.
I can't say that I've had any problems with the clean channel distorting at high volumes or anything like that. It's not the best clean channel, but then it is a solid state amp. I prefer tube amps, but they cost twice as much and I am poor.
I usually play pretty loud, and this amp is LOUD! When I first played on the amp I was turning it up to about 7 or 8 while jamming in a little tiny garage. It wasn't mine then, one of the guys in the band I was in owned it, but then the band broke up and he sold it to me. I don't think I needed it that loud, but it still sounded good at that volume. I typically don't turn it up past 6 anymore. Trust me, its a loud amp. And it sounds good loud, if you now what you're doing.
So all around the sound of this amp is pretty vesitile and pretty good.

Ok... Now comes my problem with the amp. I have taken this amp across the country at least 3 or 4 times and taken it about everywhere I've gone in the last 4 years. It did fine for the first couple of years and strangely enough is seemingly doing fine now. It started cutting out on me for no apparent reason. When it first started doing it to me, I was living in an apartment complex, so I guess I just assumed the power was just kind of crappy or something. Obviously I was wrong. It started getting worse. I would be playing and it would switch to the Distorted channel and not do anything. I could hit it on the top and it would "snap out of it" so to speak. For a long time it would only cut out once, I would hit it, and it would work fine. But, then I moved across country and it got progressivly worse. I bought the amp used from my old band member so I had no warranty or anything on it, that and I am poor, like I said, so I just basically was going to use it until I could use it anymore. Well, it got that bad. It would cut out every other minute and hitting it on top didn't always bring it back anymore. So I stopped using it. I moved again, Temporarily, and left it at my old place in storage. Then I moved back and just recently took it apart to have a look inside. (Yeah, I know, leave it to the pro's, well, I'm cheap!) Anyway, nothing seemed visibly wrong, and the cutting out was definately not a problem with the speakers. So I just kind of looked at it, and checked for loose conections and what not, but didn't find anything wrong. So I figured I plug it in and try it out, just to see if it would miraculously start working. And it did! It just kind of clicked on and started working. So I put it all back together and started jamming to see if it would do the whole cutting out thing again. I haven't had a problem with it since. Now, that wasn't too long ago (month or two), so we'll just have to see if it starts doing it again.
So, in general, the amp was ok for the first two years, then it progressively got crappy, now it works again. I can't explain it, but given my situation, I would buy a new amp in a heartbeat if I wasn't poor. Imagine playing a gig and the amp cuts out and your in the middle of a song. That's not what I would call a reliable amp. I'm good to my equiptment too. It's not like I just toss the thing around. It did give me a good 2 years of problem free playing though, so I guess you'd be paying for at least two years, but after that who knows?

No idea.

Been playing for something like 8 or 9 years... starting to lose track it's been so long. I own a bunch of random stuff, an Ibanez GIO guitar, My Strat, A bunch of effect pedals, a few rack mount effects, a couple of acoustic guitars, a keyboard, a bass guitar, PA system... No other amps. I used to own a Fender M-80 half stack, which was an amazing amp. I wish I still had that beast. Better solid state amp than the GFX-212. Maybe a little less versitile but more reliable. If this amp got stolen... I don't think I'd really freak out or anything. I'd try to get it back, but I would not buy Another one. Especially for the price some of these people paid. If I had money I buy a Fender Twin all-tube amp. Those amps rule!
I don't like the fact that I'm not sure whether or not I should trust the amp, especially when playing a gig. I think it has awesome "Classic rock" sounding distortion. Hendrix and Zeppelin sounding distortion. That's if you don't crank the distortion levels up too much. It sounds fine at very high volumes. It's loud enough to play gigs in bars or someplace other than an arena. The tone really isn't that bad for a solid state amp. I was suprized. The effects are o.k. I wouldn't say the rule, and I wouldn't say they suck. I basically just got lucky and had this amp offered to me for whatever I would pay for it, by an ex-band member who needed money. So, considering the hell I put it through before I owned it, and adding the hell I put it through after I bought it, I think I got a really good deal. I can't say that I would pay $400.00 for it. But, brand new, that would be a horrible deal. With $400.00 you're almost half way to a really nice tube amp. Crate's got really good bass amps out there, but I think I'd prefer something else for a guitar amp. Overall, not a bad amp.

Like the on board effects,can hook up at home without a board full of pedals and get good effects.

Use A 79 Les Paul Kalamazoo Standard and a 78 The Paul and both sound great through it. Has good distortion for rock or metal or can get pretty good clean tones too. have good control on distortion with 2 gain controls

never failed yet. I use it at home I have not Giged it but im sure it would keep up fine in small club or hall. has been great so far

never had to use it

have had for 3-4 years and is still going like the first day i bought it at music 123 sounds great, as i said i use it at home but is plenty loud 2x12 120 watts sounds great with a gibson and also with my strat, my opinion is good buy

The only complaint I might have, is it would be nice to have a bit more control on the individual effects, but for the most part, they have been good enough not to have to lug a ton of pedals around to gigs.

I play a Fender "Super Strat" and some "Frankenstein" back-up guitar made from different parts of God knows what (with Seymore Duncans). I play in a blues band, so I have never really cranked up the distortion channels to "mind melter", but it does a good enough job to toss a "Stevie Ray" tune in there once in a while. I pretty much use the reverb and delay only,and they work nicely. If you are into a lot of the other effects, I might recommend a good pedal....the on-board flange and such are a tad cheesey.This amp has plenty of power,( I would reccommend an amp stand for gigs) and for the money, it sounds pretty damn good.

More like 10-plus. I have gigged with this amp for two years, (through rain and snow, and all that "Postal" crap) and it fires up every time.

I have never dealt with them personally, but have heard good things from friend who have.

This amp may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I bought it mostly because I needed an amp in a hurry on the cheap, but it has been a very pleasant surprise indded.

Rugged U.S. made solid state Crate combo 2x12, 115 watt amp. Bought new in 2000.
Has overdrive and clean with separate level controls, and DSP features (slapback, delay, flange, chorus, reverb). Comes with a 3-button footswitch.
The main thing I hate is the fact that you need a special "Y" cord to patch external effects into the amp, or you can use a regular cable, but will be in mono.

This is a very loud amp. I usually keep it at 3. I play rock, classic rock music with it.
You need to stay at least 3-4 feet away from the amp or feedback will occur.
It is not forgiving when you play. Won't hide any sounds. So make sure you practice what you play.
The built-in effects are not bad. An effects box is best, though.
Adding too is the sensitivity of the amp to external effects.
You need to work with the amp make sure it compliments the effects. I had difficulty when I used a Boss ME-30 with it.
I plugged in my A/E Takamine EG-334RC in it, but it doesn't do the acoustic guitar justice. I need an acoustic amp for this. This is strictly an electric guitar amp.

A very rugged and reliable amp.
No problems in this area.
Covered with a durable Tolex material.

I called Tech Support to ask about pricing me some casters.
I had bought some after-market casters. However, they didn't do the job. The caster wheels were too small and the amp would tilt very easily.
Willing to assist me in my request.

I've been playing for 8 yrs. I have an Epiphone Les Paul, Jackson Stealth, Fender Strat, Takamine acoustic, and a Jasmine spanish guitar.
I have a Boss ME-30, Rockman X-100, and a Roland GR-1, which is connected to the Strat (I didn't want to do it at first, either).
Would I buy another one? Maybe, if it was a tube amp, however, they run over $800. I did try out other amps (Line 6, Fender, Peavy), but I could only spend about $400. If money was no issue I would test as many tube amp combos and see which one has the best sound and features.

This amp has a lot of features - dsp switching, chorus, reverb, delay, etc. Delay is a bit unreliable- I've had this happen to me before- you have to adjust it because sometimes it just sounds "metallic" and doesnt work. Otherwise the pedal that comes with the thing sucks- it breaks easy - and here is my WARNING - DO NOT USE PEDALS IN THE INPUT SECTION. This fried my amp at least two of those times. I think there is a seperate fx input- I shouldve used that- too little too late - I shouldve read up on it more- but it still shouldve done ok. My Marshall Avt20 can take THREE pedals and still not short out like this POS Crate garbage did.

At low volumes- this amp is OK. In fact, as a practice amp- its pretty good. However, the speakers are so damn cheap - they rattle and clip horribly when past 4 or 5 on volume. I used it with various Jackson models including a King V (used) and another dxsomething rather model (the better of the two) - and made the mistake of practicing with my former band using this amp. The main problem - was that using the shape knob- it gets too thin - at low volumes it sounds good- but then past 4 it breaks up and distorts- and feedbacks to all hell. This band in question had me turn up the mids- and the shape down- to fit their already shitty pa - lets just say it sounded like if you took a dump on a guitar and tried to play it- pure mud- pure shit- bad tone. But then again part of it was my guitar as well..the King V needs some work to say the least. But the damn Crate amp has a very sharp cutting edge that hurts ones ears instead of pleases them. Part of it was my band's PA- part of it the amp's fault.

WHAT RELIABILITY? I had to get this fucker fixed FOUR times before I traded it up for a Peavey Butcher 120 watt. I hope this is an ok Tube amp- to at least start with.

I have no idea. I didn't want to bother with the company out of sheer frustration this amp had given me.

I'm glad I'm trying to get into tube amps now. It took years for me to get off my ass and do something about my amp. I was egotistical about my situation and didn't want to listen to the constant complaining. I was in denial because I will never trust the Crate (at least solid state) series EVER again. I think overall, its an ok amp to have at home- maybe even to record, but somehow- my Marshall that has about 100 less watts and is Valvestate sounds WAY better on tape that this sucker. Don't make the mistake I did.

you know the features. I think the three channels are great - the second distortion channel gives you the ability to change the tone you are getting while maintaining a solid distortion without having to go and adjust it on the amp. The effects are pretty good - except the Flange (it's a bad flange) but I don't use em much unless I'm just messing around

I use a Epiphone Les Paul with and Invader. I play old school punk rock - and this amp has worked out great. It is a little noisy - gets feedback pretty damn easy. But this amp has balls if you learn how to use it right (turning the shape up scoops your mids - and when that happens your tone sounds like pure mud). But when used correctly both distortion channels are excellent - I wish they had different volume controls, the light distortion channel is real midrangy which makes it a little louder. The clean channel is alright - not great, but it work for what I use it for. It sounds like the clean you would expect from a solid state amp. If you mess around with the eq on the clean it helps a lot. The amp has plenty of power, I have been consistantly playing gigs with it for 3 years - I now run it through a 4X12 extension cab and even without the cab it is good and loud. Overall I think that it a real solid good sounding amp, and if you sit down and figure it all out, it can be made to sound like what you want it to.

I have dropped it down my stairs, it has fallen off of things multiple times - I have kicked it when I was mad.... I have jumped off it - I have cranked it many times.... and I have been traveling with it and playing gigs with it for 3+ years. The only problem I ever had was some loose wires - took about 20 minutes to fix. Oh yeah but the pedal that crate gives you with it is shit - I think they all break. I had heard crates fall apart - but i think thats bull - because I have abused this amp and it work beautifully still.

don't know

Only thing that isn't perfect about this amp is that it isn't tube. So if you aren't ready for/don't want/can't afford a tube amp. This amp is most likely the best choice I think you can ever make. It is a good loud combo that does not need an extension cab necessarily - but if you stick one on it it is even better.

I have owned this amp for a little over 2 years now. The one nice thing about this amp is how versatile of a sound you could get. 3 channels, gain 1, gain 2 and clean. The little shape knob that takes out the mids in gain 2 is very fun to play with and gives you some extra options.

I've played many guitars through this amp from my cheap craptastic Ibanez GRX20 to my band mates les paul. The amp always sounds awesome...until you turn the volume up past 1. Once you try and use any of the 150 watts that this amp has your clean channel starts rumbling and sounding distorted, your gain 1 starts to sound crackly and your gain 2 will loose that nice heavy I want to kill your mom sound. Once the volume is up at all this amp just plain old sucks. I have heard very few amps that are worse...

I bought this amp back in January 2001. In March of that year a speaker in it broke and I had to get it replaced. Later on down the line after a few shows the foot pedal broke and I had to get that replaced. A few months after that some wire came loose in it and we had to go in with the soddering gun. Then after about 7 months with the amp working fine on friday I turned it on and it started smoking and didn't work. Totally sucked. The amp has been to a lot of dark roudy basements but that still doesn't make up for it breaking 4 times in 2 years. This is not a reliable amp, not at all, so always bring an extra one to the show or use another bands.

I dealt with them on one occasion. They were relativly helpful which was unexpected.

There are very few other amps that you can buy for $300 and get 150 watts of power out of them so they get loud for the price but these amps sound like shit if you turn them up so it really isn't worth it in the end, plus they break all the time. Save your money and don't buy this amp unless you need something loud that will only last for a little while.

>>Plugging bands site>>www.swiftkick.tk

Amp was made in 2000. The amp offers built in digital effects, 3 channels, a foot switch controler, 120W output, pure SS. A lot for the money.

I like this amp! I think that the sounds are great. My favorite is the moderate gain channel. I like the reverb of all of the effects. The others are usable. The combination of the reverb with the clean channel and the higher gain channels is very rich in tonality. I never cease to discover new settings with new tones. I own several amps, including modeling amps from good companies, but this amp remains my favorite overall. The other amps may have more features and better effects, but this amp has the tone and expression, and that is what is most important to me.

No problem with the amp. The foot switch is sometimes unreliable. With the foot switch, I can change channels and turn the effects off and on, so it is convenient. Is made of plastic, seems to be reasonably sturdy, but sometimes does not work. I unplug it, and do manual switching. I have had no problem with the amp. One anoyance, and I do not know if this is an issue with the amp or my location is interference by the amp picking up a local radio program. This is a problem with the higher gain channels only, but is disturbing. Perhaps this could be avoided by better shielding. Perhaps I could shield the amp myself from the outside.

I have not had reason to contact them.

For the price, I think that this is a wonderful amp. It is solid, has great tones, endless variational possibilities, and built in effects. I have read other reviewers with negative remarks about Crate. All I can say is that my amp functions great, no reliability issues, and I love the sound! I think that this is a great beginner amp for an aspiring young musician and a great touring amp for an experienced musician. In my opinion, Crate has designed and built a winner at a killer price!

Hmm....solid state, 3 channels, Some effects, channels switchable.
Had it for probably 2 years almost. Worked somewhat good for heavy metal. Its not tube, so its not going to have a good heavy metal sound to it. I used it for Slayer, Metallica, Pantera like stuff. Had a nice clean channel, really nice with chorus + reverb. Gain 1 sucked, only good for slight overdrive, Gain 2 was the main distortion. Gain 2 didnt have very many options. To get a good metal tone out of it, you had to cut the mids, but in a solo, you would be lost in the mix.

I used an Epiphone Les Paul with it, and a couple pedals. It was loud enough, but the channels would "crack" at like 5. On the gain 2, when loud, was very noisy. Although, it could have been the shitty pickups in the guitar. It will give you a good metal tone.

Ah fuck, its crate. Crate is cheap. And usually, cheap = shit. It never broke on me, but i only used it in about 10 gigs.

Never had too

Not bad, for a starter. If you already have a nice set up, dont downgrade to this amp. I loved the amp, i still have it, but i am in the process of selling it to a friend in Idaho. Right now, its just used as a power amp and a cab to my Ada mp-1 pre-amp. If your on a tight-budget, and want a good overall amp, get this.

It has 3 channels, horrid, and then there's gain 2, and clean. It also has some effects, flange delay, chorus and reverb... and a chorus+reverb i think. They suck for the most part.

OK... first of all, for all you retards that are complaining about not getting a decent sound out of this amp remember what you paid for it! jeeze...you expect this to sound like a line6 or a marshall and it is a fraction of the price. Face it. You got a good deal with this amp. I'll have to admit that this is basically a really powerful practice amp. Which I think is a good thing. Think about all the crappy little practice amps that were soooo nasty and inversitile. Then remember that at their respective volumes they actually have a character of their own. This amp is the same way. The clean channel ONLY sounds good when cranked... with the guitar turned way down. Like try to get it at the same volume with the guitar cranked at three only with the level on 7 or 8. The first gain is alright but not versatile enough to use seriously. Gain 2 is much better with it's "shape" nob. I get a nice tool sound with this. As far as the effects go... the flange has made me never want to buy a flange pedal ever... the delay isn't too bad. There just isn't much you can do with it. The chorus doesn't suit me but the reverb can help the amp produce some nice rounded tones. I use the amp with a homemade 412 cab and I have always had the loudest setup in my band... thats up next to an ac30 and a peavey half stack and a gallien kruegger 410.

I think Crate's suck... this one however has lasted me about 3 years now and it has been through mud infested gigs, beer infested gigs, and the place were we practiced went up in flames and my amp is still in one peice and functioning! Still smells like shit with all the soot and all, though. The footpedal has to be the worse product anyone makes... everyone I know that has one has to buy another footpedal for it which can get expensive after about five footpedals. Otherwise the amp is tough as dirt.

doesn't apply to me... actually a while back i went to the website looking on info on how to get a new footswitch. didn't help at all. 'bout a month later they showed up in AMS and Musician's Friend... so I took my to a repair shop:)

I have been playing for about 5 years now and I am no Kirk Hammit but this amp works for me. I know what sounds good and what doesn't and I am looking to upgrade to a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL... but if it doesn't suit me I may look at a few Fender tube amps. This amp is awesome for the price. I don't think there is a better deal than this out there. That is for a musician who is looking to grow and learn on something. I'll have to admit the amp is very professional but the tone could be warmer so I am looking into some tube amps to upgrade to in the near future.

This amp was made in 2001. Mine was one of the first in the line. I have used it for a ton of different types of music and has performed well. It has 3 channels. One channel clean, one classic rock gain channel, and one rectified channel with lots of compression. I have used it in an oldies cover band, a classic rock bar band, a ska punk band, a country/rockabilly band, a Celtic Rock band, and my Alternative Metal band. It has fit the bill fairly well in all of those and is essentially an all around good amplifier. The effects would be better if their perameters were more adjustable but I really have no complaints about them. It has always had sufficient power for my needs.... the thing gets really damn loud for solid state, and I havn't noticed any tone fallouts..... but I'd never had to turn it up past 7 either.....
All in all, probably one of the coolest solid state amps you can get for the money. Lots of power and lots of versatility if you know how to use it.

I play a BC Rich Acrylic Warlock, Fender 50's Stratocaster, Dean Chaffin Boca, DeArmond S-65, Danelectro Hodad, and a multitude of other guitars through this amp and havn't had an issue with tone.... IT IS DIGITAL PEOPLE...... NO TUBES..... If you expect tube tone GO BUY A FRIGGIN' TUBE AMP!! The tones are not as transparent as tube amps.... one guitar is likely to sound very similar to another through this amplifier. One of the downfalls of solid state digital modeling. I also own a MESA/BOOGIE Studio Preamp and Strategy 500 Stadium concert rig that powers 8 4x12 cabs. ALL TUBE. ahem.... the Crate doesn't sound a thing like it. Why? Because it is a Crate!! Not a MESA/BOOGIE!! But I like the Crate for its reliability and portability. My only issue with it is they needed to design the cab with a closed back. That's where all the crappy rumbling and odd harmonics are coming from. I stick a pillow in the back of the cab and it improves the sound 100%. Plus adds a little bit more volume out the front.

Never broken on me. Never gig without some kind of back up. Idiots do that.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing professionally for 6 years and this is a phenominal amp for the price. If you need power and fairly good tone (the audience usually can't tell the difference between a MESA/BOOGIE or Soldano, or a Peavey or a Crate) then this is the amp for you. I own tons of gear. Too much to list here, but I am glad to have this amp in my arsenal.

Theres alot of stuff on this amp and i use it to play with my band. I have never had a volume problem. I've played for 165 people and havent had trouble with being louder then the hard hitting drummer. But I'll make this simple...buy a tube amp. If your considering buying this amp, you would probaly like a carvin mts or a marshall, but I wouldn't buy this amp unless this is all you can afford.

I play hard rock like guns n roses, metallica, and medadeth and i dont use too much gain, so i figured out how to set it up without it getting to muddy. I use a epiphone les paul on the rhythm pickup. The clean is ok but nothing to brag about.

no problems after one year!

they are great when you email them. I've never called but when i emalied them, they answered quickly and gave in depth answers.

Buy a tube amp, Im getting the carvin mts. I would check that amp out!

Has the usual GFX-212 feature, 3 channels, 2 dirty and 1 clean. It has a few effects but they all pretty much suck except reverb and chorus, the delay and flange are not worth using. The footswitch is cheap and has broke already, but I had my bass player resolder the connection. It has an insert but I have yet to use it. It also has a Ext. Speaker jack which I have connected to a Crate 4x12 cab. It's 120Watt, but it lacks in volume, even with the cab. My band practices in a small room, and the amp plus cab has trouble competing with our loud drummer, unless the volume is cranked to like 5.

I use the GFX-212 with my PRS Custom 22 and Dragon II pickups. The distortion is great and fits my hard rock, metal style fine. It's not the greatest sounding distortion, but I would argue that there's not too many solid state amps with a better sound. However, lack of volume is a problem. When the amp is past like 4, tone drops dramatically, so basically it has to be mic'ed for gigs. Clean tone sounds great but also suffers at high volumes. The amp is very noisy on the heavy distortion channel, but I have a Boss NS-2 to cut out the noise, therefore it isn't a problem.

Amp is pretty reliable and is built very sturdy. The footpedal is pretty weak though, already had it fixed once.

Never talked to them.

The GFX-212 is a good amp for the price. I've been playing in bands for about 2 years, and it has served me well. Compared with amps of similar prices, I couldn't find something that suited me as well. I really enjoy to sound of the distortion and the look of the amp, but the weak volume and speakers disappoint me. I would definately replace it with a more expensive tube amp when I have the money. I think my PRS helps make up for the GFX-212's lack of sound; I've been pretty content with my setup up to the present.

It has the traditional crate features but with effects and gain 2. Power-wise it's beefy. Insert jack is good. The wattage is there but thats about it. Good for beginners.

My other guitarist uses this amp. I know it well enough to make an honest review. Hope it helps someone decide. Okay here we go...the grill cloth is way too tight. It always made a bassy farting noise. So we removed it and put the metal diagnal stuff with lots of air to escape. The gain is good ol' crate gain which to me is tinny as hell. The major complaint is the noise! You stop playing but the thing keeps on buzzing. If you mute your strings it should be silent. The power is the only good thing. We have a Line6 POD going right to the insert jack every knob turned off - put it on clean channel. Guess what with pod as the pre-amp takeover its beautiful. No more noise and the rectified patch is sweet sounding even with crate speakers. Got an xtra $250 for the pod and turn this into a monster.

Crates are reliable. Had many in the past never a problem.

Never dealt with them.

I play Line6 so I made him try the pod. Needless to say he got his own he loved it with it in font of this amp. 375 + 250 (pod) = look for a better amp kids!

basic 3 channel amp. Not very versatile. It comes with a footswitch and has a couple of shity effects

I use a Jackson DXMG with EMG 81's. I play metal and only metal. With a good distortion peddle this amp is useless for metal. The amps distortion is very muddy and sucks really bad. I use a metal zone witch sounds good on low volume but once you turn it up it gets extreamly bassy and is almost not useable. The clean channel is not very good but is good enough for me with the reverb it sounds decent.

nothin wrong yet

not a great amp but its good to start with for the money