Crate GX15R

Ok, Got this baby at local pawn shop in Vegas for $34.99 no tx(yay that was my strong stance in the sale no tx gat a deal.They paid 10$ for it ive pawned an amp or two).Originally it was a replacement for a fender in equal paportions cost wise.the fender was ripped off and all in all a better amp.but for the price in the shape its in and probably a 2000 model.the distortion is absolute crap.Why ?WHY!?!do they do stupid crap like that!?#$%MAN!anyways bottom line is bottom dollar the price was right !!!!

it has a very nice clean channel the distortion ia a joke Nuff said on that.The volume coool for its size and again for clear crisp tunes(picking techniques especially).if you have the pedals or just starting out in music then invest in a distortion or i have an ibenaz super chorus does bitchin with santana tunes.any how the almighty dollar rules this sale no doubt. I like playing classic rock blues little jazz but if i want to go crazy the distortion wont let you.onthe other side for volume and clarity no problem with a couple extensions on it you can do a small gig no problem..

onl y had it 3 months and use it 2-3 hrs a day no problem still goin strong,but what do you want for 35 bucks!? if it lasted 6 months and quit id be at the pawn shop buyin another no problem...

n/a

i have a custum electric classical another custom acustic(i dabble as a lutheryn figure if im gonna play it might as well be able to fix it.and if i can fix it might as well be able to put a new face on or change the body all together..then a strat electric and another cheap classical.only been on my qwest for music about 5 years and learned the basics on the bass about(was a 600.00 4 string Ibanez 9months put into it.had to sell it .Really loved playingit just cant afford one right now....all in all the crate holds its own if used properly.go get one for around the house or to just keep in the trunk(very light)I GUESS THAT'LL DOOO!!!!LATE!

It's a simple 12W practise or studio amp with fender tonestack and spring reverb. It's circuit is based on a simple op-amp design. The 30W in the back means power consumption so don't be mistakened. It's equipped with clean and distortion channels and a small button to select between them. Three jacks: input, headphones and speaker out. Speaker is eight inch and manufactured by SLM electronics as is the amp too.

GX-15R is a perfect amp for studio use if you want to have that "transistor tone" instead of a tube tone and the low price makes it excellent for practise amp - although most of the people want to upgrade soon and might find out that the resell value is probably not very good. One might also find the small size very compact. The output jack for extension speaker is the best feature this amp has besides the built-in reverb.

As said, it's an amplifier suited for practising or studio work. The little speaker isn't that great tonally and this amp sounds a lot better with extension cabinet or another speaker. With that the bass response or volume can be hugely increased.

I use only the clean channel since in my opinion the overdrive channel is either too muddy on high gain or too quiet on lower gain. The distortion is quite wimpy and definitely not brutal. There is only one master volume control so channel volume cannot be set independently. The small button is not good for channel switching. A skilled person could easily change it to DIY footswitch jack but it's noth worth it since the volumes on both channels are usually different and there is no balance andjustation.

Since the amp is only 12 watts the clean channel will distort on higher gain, especially on bass frequencies. It is solid state so distortion will also be notable and harsh. The bass frequencies suffer the most from this and the bass response of the cabinet is not that good either
.
Overall, clean channel tone is very good when it doesn't distort too much. Extension cabinet helps getting more volume and bottom end out of this amp before too much distortion occurs.

The headphone jack is totally worthless. It is positioned after the poweramp so impedance and power for the headphones are matched through a resistor network. Throgh headphone jack the amp distorts very early and sounds shitty and crisp. If you're planning to record amp through this jack forget it. It sounds as bad with headphones too. The amp doesn't have any cabinet simulation circuit.

The Flexwave circuit is a big mystery to me since I didn't see it in the amp's schematic - unless you want to call typical signal shaping (high and low frequency cuts, overall tone) a circuit. To clarify things: The flexwave is not an "actual circuit" and there are no digital circuits inside this amp. None. Everything is simple op-amp design, similar to so many other amps around there.
Some people have noticed that this amp cuts the input on very high amplitudes, and think it happens due to flexwave circuit. It doesn't. It is a simple IC-circuit protection against voltage spikes, made with a "diode clipper" on signal path, that can be found from almost every op-amp amplifier including your stompboxes.

The small spring reverb sounds ok but can start to feedback on higher amplitudes, especially on bass frequencies. Short springs also mean shorter reverberation time and two springs gives tone that is a bit more "twang/surf" than "hall".

In my opinion this amp still has to be coupled with an outboard effect to produce good distortion tones or to take everything out of the clean channel. After that it rocks.

All pickup models seem to work quite well with this amplifier.

The amp is cheaply built with PCB attached potentiometers and jacks. Jacks are plastic and some of them are equipped with DPDT-switches.
Parts are cheap too, especially the speaker. However, the amp seems durable. In studio or practise use it will last a long time if normal maintenance is done now and then.
The spring reverb is prone to feedback and could destroy the amp or the speaker if the feedback gets too severe. All the components, excluding spring reverb and transformer, can be found from any basic electronic shop so servicing shouldn't be problem.

Even though it's Crate, I haven't ran into any problems with bad solder joints.

If reliability is an issue few things can be done to improve it: First one is to put a bigger heatsink for the power opamp chip. This will also increase the gain because the IC chip is equipped with automatic overheating protection that lowers the amplification if overheating occurs. One can easily burn his fingers into too small heatsink after playing few minutes on loud volumes. This means that the chip is operating in too high temperatures and it's life time degrades faster it should.

Second thing is to remove directly to PCB soldered opamps and insert sockets for them. This is not so easy job but can prove to be quite useful.

Third thing is to ensure all the jacks are perfectly secured to chassis. It's easy and should be done now and then. These are the parts that are most prone to breaking and will do so unless they're perfectly secured into their place.

Fourth thing needs a lot of work, it includes building a relay chip to protect the speaker from the the "turn-on snap". These circuits can be found from some electronics magazines and an experienced electrian might help you in building one to your amp.

Fifth thing also needs a lot of work. It consists of unsoldering all the PCB mounted items that are not secured to chassis and substituting them with ones that can be secured to chassis.

As sixth option you could take off the PCB mounted fuse holder and substitute it with a chassis mounted one.

So far the amp has worked properly and ran perfectly over it's warranty time. I don't know much about Crate's customer support except that they do not offer any free schematics on their webpages.

A good, cheap amplifier with a healthy clean tone and a nice spring reverb. Not very suitable for gigging musicians but good for studio use or practising.
Needs an overdrive pedal or any other "pre amp" to kick out the maximum.

I'm not sure of the year of the amp. Bought at a pawn shop for $58 2 days ago. Was in 9+ condition. Features as every one listed but mine says 30 watts on the back but it's probably 12 watts. Just looking for a good little practice amp and this one had everything I needed and nothing I don't.

Using a MIM tele and Ibanez GAX70. Play mostly country and classic rock. I really like the clean channel on this thing. Sounds very full for being a little amp. The overdrive channel isn't that great. Distorts the speaker if it's turned up very much, really muddy. So then I tried some of my pedals on the clean channel, boss compresser, boss overdrive/distortion, arion chorus. The overdrive pedal did the same thing, distorted the speaker at high volume and still muddy. Chorus sounded pretty good. Then I tried my digitech RP50. Don't use it much cause I like to use my other pedals with my main amp, Hot Rod Deluxe. This thing sounded awsome with the RP50. Didn't distort even with the hardest distortion I could throw at it. All I can say is wow about the tones I was getting with this little amp and the RP50. Now I can put the RP50 to some use. Stock I'd give the cleans an 8 and the overdrive a 4. With the RP50 it gets a 10. So I'll rate it somewhere in between. You can get some great tones with the right pedals.

Only had it a couple of days so I don't know. I take care of my stuff some I'm sure it will last. Only plan one using it for practicing at home.

No idea

Been playing for 2 years. If it were stolen I'd buy another. Like I said, good cleans, great distortion but only with the right pedal. But overall I'm very happy with it and would recomend it to anybody.

First off, this isn't my amp that I'm reviewing, it actually belongs to a jam buddy of mine. But he's over enough that I figured "why the hell not", I'll review it.

Cheap ass Crate amp with 2 channels (clean and "shit") and 3 band EQ. 15watts into an 8" speaker. Usual cheap construction expected of Crate. Has reverb and I believe a headphone jack. Made some time in the mid 1980s.

Well, this amp is both one of the best AND one of the worst amps I've ever played in the same box. The clean is actually one of the BEST clean tones I've ever heard, very impressive for solid state, let alone a cheap one, let alone a Crate.

Unfortunately, the distortion is absolutely horrible. I've heard similar horridness from amps like Radio Shack and Gorilla. I would actually bet money pitting a Peavey Rage 158 against this thing on distortion.

To sum it up, if you want a good clean tone from a budget amp, this amp is excellent to consider. If you need distortion, look elsewhere.

I give the clean a 9 (taking into account that it's a cheap solid state) and I give the distortion a 1 (taking into account that I can hear)

The owner let me take it apart so I could do an aluminum tape shielding. He was catching radio signals, the shielding helped significantly. Hands down cheapest construction I've ever seen in a guitar amplifier (again that's comparing to Radio Shack, Gorilla, Peavey, everything). The power switch doesn't even have any spring action and makes a loud pop when it's turned on. Parts just have a generally cheap look and feel to them.

This amp is testament to why I hate Crate. Even when they make an amp that sounds good (well, half of it sounds good) they always use the cheapest parts and construction.

Purely based on reliability, don't ever pay more than 50 dollars for this amp.

I've been playing guitar for over 4 years. My current flagship amp is a Laney VC50 tube combo. I've owned lots of different amps, mostly Laneys but thats just what works for me.

I hate Crate. Until I was introduced to this amp I never found anything I liked about a Crate amp. And even then, I only liked the clean.

If you can get this amp for less than 50 bucks and don't mind that the distortion is worthless and the construction is dirt cheap then you have my blessing.

*dont know the year
*its good cuz of its weight, not as in music style
*headphone jack yes, mic jack, "overdrive" for distortion and reverb. 2 channels i think.
*i wish the distortion feature wasnt soo muddy , and i wish for some chorus and delay
*i use it room to practice , good power if u love muddy music
*goes good w/ low volume and high tones... great for if u want to attempt something heavy..

*distortion only wails w/ headphones on.. hmm

*i use a basic Strat or PRS
*uh, its ok for what im playing now, usually just jammin away grunge style or alternative stuff like Bush.
*its very loud, even on 1, the volume is loud. Distortion sucks dramatically.... its super super muddy even set on the lowest possible settings of distortion, it fades out.
*Good sounds when mixed with the reverb and some distortion. W/ the pedals i have now, this amp cant take it.
*Clean chanel, great. Never distorts at high volumes, only with the high tone up and the overdrive clicked on.
*once again, distortion sucks on this.

*i wouldnt play this for gig, not even for friends, it flakes out all the time. good for something soft like Stairway. nothing too 'heavy'
*just the amp is poorly made for any type of music basically. it ruins the sounds its made for

Late 90's, two channel PRACTICE amp, with reverb, heaphone out, and speaker out (sounds killer thru a 412!). 8" speaker. Out of all the little 15 watt solid state amps (and I've sold em all), this one is the one to get. Perfect for PRACTICE, lessons, maybe a jam with light hittin drummer.

I use strats, teles, Pauls, Hamers, you name it, and it does well. Light crunch to Grind and back. Clean to mild clip. Surprisingly good reverb. Pickups and attack make a difference on it, which is good. Plugged into a 212 or 412 makes it loud enough to gig with.

Wouldn't think twice about gigging sans backup. There's hardly anything there!

The guys at Crate were always easy to deal with, and they've got dealers everywhere. No warranty, since it was used, but they've got one of the better ones.

I've been playing, teaching and gigging since 85, owned tons of gear (most all the recognizable brands), and this is the one I pick for easiest amp to carry around and teach/gig with. I don't usually gig with it (use Matchless and Fender for that!), but in a pinch it would do the job. Sounds better than Squier, Johnson, Behringer, etc. crap amps, and looks nice and plain...light as a feather....could use a better speaker, but the price would be higher, so....

Speaker date is 1997, but it sat on the shelf for at least two years. I wanted a practice amp with a reverb that was just a LITTLE bigger and a little cheaper than most combos. Didn't have a pedal right away, so the dirty channel was cool for a while. It's just a practice amp, but the cops have come at least 5 or 6 times.

I like the the sound of the clean channel, and now that I run a rack of pedals, I still use it. It's a basic distortion sound. I can even make it feed back if I want to - or not. Good enough for practice and good enough for a small rehearsal, if your drummer isn't too gorilla-footed. (See, real musicians balance to EACH OTHER, not everybody play at max and work it out on the mixer board later. Somebody's always gonna have a bigger amp or a bigger base drum.)

Hasn't failed yet, but I'm about to drop in an Eminence Legend 875 just to see what I can milk out of it. I'm also curious about this "External Speaker" jack, so I may build another box around the original SLM speaker.

N/A, but their website seems amiable.

This has been great so far. I play along with the stereo the most, and I'm finding that the stereo can't keep up. It ALMOST got stolen. House broken into, smash&grab, and they walked right by it. Just think if I'd splurged on that Marshall? I really couldn't find a BETTER amp for the same price. I'll never sell it. I'll never get that much money back out of it so why?

My amp was made in 2000. I'd say that this amp is very versatile if your philosophy is not to expect a lot of features from an amp. Don't compare this amp to ones that have different modelling effects such as tremolos, distortions, echos, choruses etc.
It has two channels: clean/distortion, 3-band eq, and reverb, headphone jack and external speaker jack. It's a solid-state but I don't care.
The channel switching could have been done easier and I hardly ever use the headphone jack. I use this amp for practise, recording and on small gigs. I play various music styles from 60's instrumentals to death metal and folk music.
BUT: The stock speaker is total crap! I replaced it with Eminence Legend 75, which can handle the full power of this amp. I never regretted it. I have played it outdoors, to men at work hammering and making a lot of noise and the volume was on three. They heard it ok while working so I guess it goes fine with sound pressure levels when you replace the speaker.
I gave it four. It's one of the best in it's category but requires the speaker to be changed. With better speaker in stock I would have given it eight or nine.

I use both single coil and humbucker pickups, allthough I prefer humbucker sound on lead. As said earlier this amp suits my needs fine. Clean channel is indeed clean and the sounds I need I get by using my Zoom 606 pedal. The overdrive channel is crap on high gain, but on low gain, such as 2-3, it gives nice mellownes and compression to sound. I used to use it with single coil pickup with reverb very high to get nice surf/instrumental sound but the overdrive channel's potentiometer broke. Now I use humbucker and clean channel.
The stock speaker is mild and breaks off after volume 5. Replace it with better one to get good sound. Also I noticed that clean channel needs higher frequencies to be boosted a bit. After that you can crank the amp fully. I never had need for it. Not even outdoors. The clean channel then distorts a bit and sounds nice when the volume is on four or five. Well... it's not the channel it's the speaker, but this is nicer, more melodic distortion than with the stock speaker which sounds more like farting.
The amp is quite hissy. Also the reverb starts to feedback on high amount and THIS CAN BRAKE THE AMP! The volume doesn't control the reverbs volume. It controls only the signals volume that is sent to it. So if it starts to feedback rolling off volume doesn't help shit.
If you need much variety on sounds and good distortion sound buy pedals you prefer.
I gave it five. With stock speaker replaced it deserves eight or nine. Also the sound is a matter of taste. It might not suite you.

Well i can't say it is very reliable since I have broke it. or actually it broke itself. I don't abuse it, so I guess the overdrive potentiometer is just dirty. Anyway it can't be relied upon.
Still I don't or wouldn't use backup. I don't play for money and people pay me none of playing. I don't think this amp blows out or brakes during a concert, and if it would - not a big deal. I have had it three years and so far the overdrive channel is the only problem that has occured. It has been played through eight hours without a pause, volume on half, in direct sunlight on a very hot day. It didn't even warm much. Do that with a tube amp! That done again on the next day, and the next. It has been used as a vocalists amp. (Though it doesn't sound good on that). And it survived a moment of hard rain outdoors and campfire playing.

If it needs servicing I'm not going to deal with the company. Warranty was about a year.

I've been playing almost three years with this amp. One year very extensively. It is my fisrt and only amp. I use Zoom 606 multieffect for effects and sound, except reverb. This is a good amp. It doesn't weigh a ton but still is very loud, AFTER the speaker is changed. I can transport it with my guitar and other equipment kind of easily without a car if there's need, and it is good for practise and recording purposes.
The sound is a matter of taste. I like it. You try it, with extension cabinet to justify this amps quality.
If it were lost or stolen I might buy a new one, but then I had to also buy a new speaker. So I guess I might hunt for something which costs more than the stock version. Something like stock version + new speaker + a bit more. Anyway, not a big amp but maybe bigger to get more streetwise look ;-) . But then it's not so easily to be carried around. And how many people want to steal an amp as small and as crappy looking as this?
It was very cheap and my opinion is that amp really doesn't need any more features than this has. If the amp sounds good - it is really the GUITARIST sounding good!
It is loud, don't let the 12W fool you. I just hope it lasts long...

Small two channel 12 watt amp with 8" speaker. Also features reverb and a headphone jack. Solid state amp with all the features it really needs for what it's made for. Very good beginners or practice amp.

One of my favorite things about this amp is the headphone jack. This has proven to be a very useful feature at times.

I play everything from blues to metal and it does fine for practicing in my bedroom or sitting around with friends in situations where we don't want to get too loud. I play a epiphone les paul std and an
lp-100 and they both sound pretty good through it.

I never really use the drive channel, I have pedals for that. Besides, the drive button is really small and would be a pain to have to switch on the fly. I just keep it dialed in for a good clean sound and let my pedals handle the rest.

If you push this amp too hard or play too loud it dosn't do well, but that's really not what this amp is for. This is a practice amp or an amp for someone getting started to have something to play through. I've heard people complain about this amp at high volumes and I laugh at them. People who by a 12 watt amp and want to play metalica like their in front of 50,000 people should stop and think a little.

I'm going to give it an 8 because I really wish all these manufacturers would come up with a better way to switch channels on their little amps. They really need something easier to get to if they're going to offer it.

This amp seems to be pretty well constructed. I treat my equipment very good, but I have travelled around with it a fair bit and have never had any problems. While extremely high volumes dosen't suit it, it dosen't really seem to hurt it either. I have a cousin I'm teaching and this is the amp I let her use. I sometimes catch her using my effects and trying to make any kind of god awful ear bleeding noise she can. So far it's handled that quite well.

Never dealt with Crate and hopefully never will.

I own this amp and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I love my Fender, but this amp is great as a practice/light travel amp and I plan on keeping it. I like it because it's light, sounds good at moderate levels and has a headphone jack. I can't really think of anything it needs, it's really just right for what I use it for.

A friend of mine has a fender frontman and I much prefer this Crate. If your just starting out or are in the market for a decent little practice amp and are on a budget, definately give this amp a look.

This is a good home amp. It's small so you can take it everywhere you want. It has a chanel swich and you can link a cabinet to it and then it rox. One of the best mini amps on market.

I play rock and blues, the od\dis chanel is very good. If you turn half of the volume on this chanel it is enough to play, much more will couse the speaker will hum. The normal chanel is not as good as the distortion one, but it does not hum. The sounds generaly are good, the EQ is good, but the reverb is so,so. Good sound for practising at home and with an extra cab it rooox

I had no problems with it, i have goot it for 3 years.