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Crate GX15R

Summary
Similar Products Crate V Series V18-112 18W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp @ Musician's Friend
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Crate V Series V18-212 18W 2x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.crateamps.com
Features 7.6 (59 responses)
Sound Quality 7.0 (62 responses)
Reliability 8.1 (61 responses)
Customer Support 8.6 (10 responses)
Overall Rating 7.9 (60 responses)
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Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 05/14/2001 at 02:58pm by Bo Abramczyk

Features : 8
I think this amp was made in 1994. Its an older model (before the apperance changed).Solid state, 3 band EQ, 2 channels, reverb, line out jack, and headphone jack. It would be cool if it had a footswitch jack. This is a practice amp only. Not really loud enough for any type of gig. For a practice amp though, the features are quite nice. I love the reverb.

Sound Quality : 10
I use this amp with a Epiphone G-400. It sounds beautiful! The clean is crystal clear (no distortion on high volumes). The crunch channel is great as well. It can go from Rib cracking metallica, to sweet santana tone. The only problem is that the amp buzzes on the distortion channel, no matter what pickups you have.

Reliability : 8
I've had this amp for 7 years now, and it hasn't screwed up once. I've banged it against every wall in my house too. Its got a rugged construction. I would never use this amp at a gig though. Its not loud enough.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
This is a great practice amp. I use mine almost everyday. It's not loud at all, but thats good for playing while people are sleeping in the next room. I would buy a new one if this amp were stolen. Great amp for the price.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $105
Submitted 03/30/2001 at 10:13pm by Anonymous

Features : 9
Bought this amp new on the same day I'm writing this. I know the obvious has been said already, but give me a break - kiddy critics, it's a practice amp. Unless your playing for the Partridge Family, it's not a gig machine, (Hanson wouldn't even try it I'm sure). There may be practice amps that are more versitile for the money, but someone would have to work pretty hard to convince me of this.

Sound Quality : 9
I have an American Deluxe Strat w/lace pics - and it sounds pretty damn nice on this amp. Tones are clean and warm, and the sustain is quite remarkable. I haven't heard any radio broadcast from it yet, but maybe time will tell. I can only tell you that when I turn this amp on, it is reasonably quiet. I've not cranked it up yet, but there again, I don't need to make my ears bleed to enjoy a good practice.

Reliability : No Opinion
N/A

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing off an on for over twenty years. I'm satisfied that this amp delivers as advertise. It may not be the best of breed, but I've listened to two of it's *near* class competitors, (the Fender Bullet and the Marshall MG-15RCD) and the GX-15R simply gets my vote.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: R$350 (Brazil)
Submitted 03/12/2001 at 03:42pm by Felipe Santos
Email: chuberry<at>terra dot com dot br

Features : No Opinion
Very easy to use, standard interface.
Intuitive.

Sound Quality : 8
This is the only 15W amp I know that has a decent tone.
I think there's not much versatility, but considering the price category, some good tones are enough to be a good product.
Two of these are a very good Idea to a stereo setup after a digital (low to mid priced) multi-effect.

Reliability : 9
Appears good

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
This is the best value I know in a small amp


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $120
Submitted 01/17/2001 at 03:03am by Josh
Email: joshp42 at hotmail<dot>com

Features : 9
This is the older model GX-15R before Crates got revamped. This amp is suitable for me for playing blues. its got a clean and overdrive channel, 3 band EQ , reverb, headphone jack, external speaker jack. a nice solid state amp i use at home. the only thing more i could ask for is a footswitch jack.

Sound Quality : 9
I use a Fender Big Apple Strat with 2 Seymour Duncans. (and soon to be buying a Gibson Les Paul Standard) with the overdrive cranked up it will give a bzzzzzz. The overdrive is GREAT for blues. if you want some heavy metal distortion you need a pedal. the clean tone is fantastic. The reverb is OK. Its not like a Fender tank.. but its decent.

Reliability : 8
I doubt you'll gig with this as the low wattage wont cut through the drums. Its my one and only amp .. i'm just a couch player .. so its reliable i guess. My main gripe with this amp was the line in jack. it seems to lose signal erratically.. probably needs replacing (or just cleaning). the volume goes up and down at will because of this. This happened to me with an older model Crate GX-80 too.

Customer Support : 10
Crate website is friendly and will answer your questions via email.

Overall Rating : 10
This amp has has a long history with me 8 (6 years). it was my very first amp. its been here through all my guitars and other amps that came and went. This is the only amp i need. I dont gig.. just play at home for personal enjoyment. i'd like to repeat the clean is amazing and the overdrive is great for blues. Even the 8" speaker is great. I blew the original speaker and replaced it with a celstion vintage 8, then i went to a guitar store for them to order me the original speaker (SLM Electronics) because I love the clean sound out of it. This review is for the older model Crate GX-15R.. I bought the newer model and took it back the same day. Crate has cut corners now. If you want a no frills blues amp that requires your hands, not the effects, to get THAT tone... cant go wrong with this.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $120
Submitted 01/05/2001 at 07:04pm by the guy on the couch
Email: Scott2K2<at>aol dot com

Features : 8
I got this amp in late '99. I don't use the reverb very much, I have a reverb/delay pedal anyways. It has more than enough power for bedroom practice. Works good for my rock and hard rock style. I've been palying for a year and I can immitate Metallica on it too. It's a great practice amp for my needs!

Sound Quality : 8
I have a Hamer strat with a Duncan Hot Rails pickup in the bridge (crunchy pickup!). I also have a Washburn BT-5, but the pickups aren't very hard rock or metal style. It isn't noisy for me. It's got low, mid, and highs EQ. I set the lows and highs all the way up and the mids all the way down and the gain all the way up. I leave the reverb off. It sounds heavy this way for a practice amp.

Reliability : 10
I take good care of all my equipment very well! The amp has never cause me any problems.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I've never dealt with Crate whatsoever.

Overall Rating : 9
Like I said, I've been playing for a year, without lessons. It's a great amp for a beginner, playing any style. Clean or distorted. If you're just starting out, this is a good beginner/practice amp.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $35 pawn shop bucks
Submitted 12/04/2000 at 09:13am by Michael

Features : 9
Amp was made probably in 1998. Good features for a practice amp. Simple EQ, Reverb, serviceable distortion, nice clean channel, very light weight and portable. Amp also has a headphone jack. In other words, it fits the bill for a practice amp or for a new players first amplifier.

Sound Quality : 8
I play a Jackson soloist and a Fender American Standard Strat through this amp for practice. I play homeade blues and 80's metal of the Scorpions, Ozzy, Van Halen genre, as well as some Bach for Electric guitar I am trying to learn. This amp has a nice clean sound. I don't use the distortion much, as I have it set up in a room with a Danelectro Daddy-O and an old Rockman Distortion Generator running to it along with a Boss chorus. With these accessories, it actually puts out some very nice tones, again for a small amp. It's not a Marshall. It's not a Line6. It's not supposed to be. If I were reviewing a high end digital or tube amp, I might be critical of the generous, but fuzzy distortion. However, I'm not. This is a practice amp. I don't feel compelled to chastise a $100.00 amplifier because it doesn't deliver high gain Marshall distortion or tube amp warmth. This amp sounds great for a small amplifier and more than suits my needs for a small, personal amp for private practice sessions. Note: My rating is sound quality for the categroy of PRACTICE AMPS ONLY.

Reliability : 8
Next to backing a car over it, I don't see much that can hurt this amp. It does have a couple faults that some of the other reviewers have mentioned. First, it does have that unique radio receiver quality, which can be occasionally annoying. Luckily, this only affects me infrequently. Second, the reverb, when turned past five, sometimes causes a feedback that, left undeterred, will grow progressively louder until it is screaming at full volume. Generally this is fixed by switching the amp off for a second or by rocking it hard enough that the spring reverb cackles (probably not the factory recommended fix). Other than these small annoyances, the amp is very reliable. I don't gig, but if I did, I would probably have to get that feedback problem looked at. Then again, I don't see myself gigging with a 12 watt practice amp, miked or not.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I have never dealt with the company, so I'm not qualified to answer.

Overall Rating : 9
Overall, I would give this amp a very good rating in the category of practice amps, with the only detractors being the reverb feedback and it's occasional radio receiver imitation. As I have stated, for a small amp it has plenty of features, tone, and reliability to meet the needs of a player for practice or as a first amplifier. I have been very pleased with mine.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $109
Submitted 11/07/2000 at 05:00pm by David Liles
Email: none

Features : 7
I think this amp was made in 1997. This amp sucks. I haven't been playing that long but, I know it doesn't sound that good. It has two channels, Clean & Dirty. It also has 3 eq knobs and reverb. I play all types of music and this amp isn't good for any. I just couln't figure out why it is called "GX15R" when it is only 12 watts!!!

Sound Quality : 3
I have an Alarez guitar with 1 hum. 2 single. It sounds like crap through this guitar. The clean channel sounds fairly, but the distortion sounds like crap. The distortion doesn't even work unless you have the volume completly up. Then it sounds really noisy.

Reliability : 9
It is actually very reliable. I haven't had a problem yet. I wouldn't gig with it(That's only because it sounds like crap).

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never needed it.

Overall Rating : 5
I've been playing about a year, and if I lost this amp I probably wouldn't buy it again. I really hate that the distortion channel doesn't work that well, otherwise it would be good. I wouldn't really suggest buying this amp unless you just started playing or are looking for a cheap practice amp with a good clean channel.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $100
Submitted 07/26/2000 at 01:26pm by jamie

Features : 8
The features are quite good for a practise amp. The disortion works
well in blues and rock, but if you want to go heavy you might
get dissapointed. The clean channel is a bit sterile, but pretty
useful especially with effect devices. Yet a effects loop
would be nice.

Sound Quality : 9
With my LP standard it delivers a good Santana style sound. But
to get the sustain high volume level is required. It plays well also
when switching to my jazz guitar, and it even delivers nice jazz
tones without an arctop.

Reliability : 9
I have even done some gigs with it, altough it needs to be miked.
It has never broke up. And I have it always with me for backup when
playing with my main amp.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Like said, it has never broke up.

Overall Rating : 9
I've been playing for 7 years. My main amp is a Tech21's Trademark 60.
If my GRX would be stolen I guess I would by it again.
It's a great practise amp for low price and it beats most of the
other amps in it's category altough it isn't a regular studio amplifier. For practise and beginners the GRX15R is a great amp.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $145
Submitted 06/27/2000 at 07:43pm by Matt

Features : 6
It was made in 1996. It doesn't have any special attributes unless you consider "distortion" a feature. I am a running an Aria Pro II Fullerton>CryBaby>Crate GX15R. It doesn't have an effects loop, but what do you expect out of a practice amp? You can't record with it at all because A) It's a solid state and B) it doesn't have a footswitch.

Sound Quality : 3
Genres this amp is bad for: everything except metal. I play jazz, blues, and some blues rock. This amp is horrible. The distortion sounds great except when you turn it on it switches the equalization so you have to re adjust the 3-band equalizer all over again. You can get a pretty good Santana sound though. The clean channel distorts at the half way point, but it depends on your equalization. The distortion only works well on metal or hard rock. On everything else it's pretty bad. Don't even think about SRV, or KWS...you're not even close.

Reliability : 10
You can't gig with the amp, although you can do small gigs if you're using distortion. I've actually gigged with the thing, and it held up. It's super light too.

Customer Support : No Opinion
The warranty was for one year or so, I've never had to deal with the company.

Overall Rating : 5
I've been playing for about three years. I would get a Fender Roc Pro 700 for practicing or even a Frontman 25R (w/footswitch). That way the other band members can hear you!


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $120
Submitted 06/21/2000 at 05:44pm by Chris
Email: greenglow4 at aol<dot>com

Features : 7
I dont feel like going into the other room to look....
But it has very nice overdrive (kinda tubelike) and the reverb kicks ass, and it has 3 knobs for high low and mid outputs and it can recieve AM/FM broadcasts... (yup, u heard me right) - but it makes an excellent practice amp

Sound Quality : 7
Im using it with a Jackson Performer..... as my practice amp....

the distortion is good, i love it, and the reverb kicks ass, cept for the distortion you have to hit this tiny little button... no footswitch... AND IT PLAYS RADIO SHOWS FROM ANYWHERE.. if you are having trouble picking up a station on the radio, this amp can get it..... sometimes i just turn down the volume on my guitar and listen to the radio.. its that bad...

Reliability : 10
never broken down, almost impossible to blow the speaker... for reliability i give it a 10

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : No Opinion


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $100
Submitted 06/08/2000 at 08:17am by T
Email: none

Features : 9
12 watts, and not 15 watts !!!!!!!!
1 channel, headphone jack, speaker output jack, reverb, high, mid, and low EQ, and gain.
The ratings are compared obviously to other small practice amps.

Sound Quality : 7
I have a Fender Standard Strat and a Korg AX1000g. My music style is blues and rock. About this amp: the clean sound is really good, the overdrive channel is audible only when you have the knob at 6 and above but with this settings is noisy.

Reliability : 10
Never broke down in the 2 years I had it.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 8
This is a really good amp for beginner, good sound for the price.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US gift
Submitted 05/20/2000 at 10:20pm by Anonymous

Features : 9
Im to damn lazy to even go in the other room and look, but its got 3band eq volume (for clean) and an overdrive/volume controls for dirty, plus a shared knob for reverb. headphones jack with maybe something else, no foottswitch. also features am/fm receiving capabilities which cannot be turned off. cool for a practise amp, though you cannot change the radio station. is a 1995 model.

Sound Quality : 8
In my honest opinion, i think the distortion on this thing is phenomenal. with the gain cranked i think the distortion is very tube like. not near as much defintion between high and low frequencies, and is very noisy. Yeah- this amp is extremely noisy at almost any setting. also, the fact that this thing picks up radio signal from ANYWHERE is annoying as hell. sometimes, when i play, i just turn my guitar down and listen to the radio, its that bad. the distortion, if you can get over this objectionable noise, is very mesa like (but obviously nowhere as loud). I also love the sound with just a little gain, chords get some sweet tone, though not as hot for the lead. trying to get a decent clean tone out of the thing is rather tough, but i dont like to play clean that much, but it satisfies me anyways. the reverb is well... reverb. i dont know a fucking thing about reverb, so i wont really compare it to anything, although, when you have the knob at 3 or above and you shake the amp back and fortrh, you get this cool hollow &quot;boing&quot; noise out of it. another sonic flaw in this thing, but can be turned around and used creatively. overall, ok sound quality (i use an ibanez with humbuckers by the way, no effects), but very very noisy.

Reliability : 8
well i let my friend borrow it for a while until he got his base amp, and he beat the hell out of the thing, i mean he played his bass on the od channel with both knobs maxed out, and it still works fine, but the singal to noise ratio is embarassing, worse than it was before.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
good sound, noisy as hell. its just another practise amp. i like it6, so ill keep it for a while.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 05/14/2000 at 09:23pm by Marcelo K
Email: none

Features : 8
Solid State 15watts amp.... it's good for practice..... ALONE... a drummer will obviously vanish the sound of this amp..... But it has all the features you need to start...

Sound Quality : 4
Ok.... this is a PRACTICE AMP... nothing more .. nothing less... It does not have the clean fender sound... or the amazing( and expansive) sound of tubes... I has a good overdrive... and the clean sound is ok; BUT IF YOU LIVE NEAR ANY TV ANTHENA .... IT TURNS INTO A RADIO AT THE MOMENT YOU PLUG IT; IT's SO MUCH NOISE that you won't even hear you play.... but only near big anthenas
HIGH VOLUMES..... remember this is a practice amp... its loud enough for your bedroom...

Reliability : 2
It has broken down one time..... spent 40 bucks to fix it....
I think it has broken down way too early for the use....

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 3
It's just a practice amp.... I would prefer a small fender (better tone)... I sold it and bougth a Fender Deluxe 112 plus.... as i needed a louder one....


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $99.99
Submitted 04/27/2000 at 10:15am by Joe

Features : 8
I have to admit I was a little shocked at some of the bad reviews for this amp. It has an 8" speaker I'd say about 12 give or take a few watts with a clean channel, and a dirty? channel, a headphone jack and more knobs than you can know what to do with. I mainly play jazz, and blues and am happy with the sound that I get from this PRACTICE AMP which is very portable and I can easily carry it around the house and over to friends houses without scaring the neighbors. I mainly use this amp at home and carry it to friends houses to get together and just play and it is plenty powerful enough for that.

Sound Quality : 8
Right now I am using a fender standard strat for the blues and an ibanez artstar model for my jazz playing and it seems to perform well for both guitars. I have not heard very much noise from the amp and after playing with all the knobs I eventually get the sound I want from both guitars. I really cant rate on the dirty channel as I have not used it much yet but on the clean channel so far I love it. I dont use any effects besides my fingers and a pick.

Reliability : 8
I think it is dependable I would not use this for a gig but there was surprisingly a 5 year warranty attached to this amp but it does seem to be in good condition and durable enough.

Customer Support : 10
The warranty is 5 years I have not dealt with the company but will give them the benefit of the doubt

Overall Rating : 10
I have been playing for about 2 years and own a few fender amps and marshall amps but was looking for an amp I could just practice with and not get a hernia moving it around the house, carrying to friends houses etc. something portable with a nice sound which was small. This is a pretty good amp all things considered and is a very nice practice amp


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $119+Tax
Submitted 04/21/2000 at 02:06pm by Scott
Email: shander47<at>hotmail dot com

Features : 9
Amp new in box with new (higher) MSRP, so I assume it's of 2000 manufacture (in China, BTW). I wanted an amp that was small, cheap, solid state, and could get me aound-the-house volume levels of clean and distorted sounds. My main musical interests/influences date to the late-'70s to mid-'80s (punk, new wave, SRV, etc.). The important features include 12 Watts into an 8" speaker, two channels, reverb, and headphone/external speaker jacks. The only feature I'd like to add would be a footswitch, but...(read next paragraph).

Sound Quality : 8
I have a Gibson SG (in which I installed two coil splitting switches), a Rickenbacker 360/6, and a Carvin bass. I wanted to get a good, jangly clean sound for the Rick, a nice, bluesy, overdriven sound (and total thrash) for the SG, and also something I could play my bass with at low volumes. Compared to similar amps from Fender and Peavey, this Crate has a superior, full-bodied tone (almost too low-mid biased). Fender's Bullet Reverb (new Dyna-Touch model) had an all-treble tone (particularly noticeable in distortion) which pervaded even with the treble completely down, and such noisy and weak reverb that it was unusable. Peavey's Blazer 158 had a mostly mids-to-highs biased tone, non-splashy and hangover-feeling reverb, and poor EQ-ability. The Crate is not perfect, but it has a good bass response, mids punch, and treble-without-sounding-like-razor-blades tonality. That is to say, it is not your typical "Fender clean" sound, and for some of you, that may be a plus. The Crate reverb gives a decent "Pipeline" splashyness. The distortion channel (from the new Flex Wave Evolution 5 preamp) goes from barely noticeable grit around 2 to a nice Pete Townsend-ish drive around 3.5 to a nice lead crunch at 5 to total thrash at 7 and above. Both channels react slightly differently to the EQ: the clean channel has better bass and treble respone than the distortion channel; thus, if this amp had a footswitch, it would be better to have separate EQ for each channel. As it is, I tweak the EQ whenever I reach down to push the channel button. This amp makes my SG sound best in humbucker mode, especially with both pickups selected. The Rick doesn't get enough jangle/treble, but I play it much less than the SG, and would like to sell it anyway. I was able to play my bass guitar up to a volume level of 5 before I started worrying about speaker fatigue. In short, this little amp gets me pretty good sounds for the money. NOTE: I am not qualified to compare this amp's sounds to a tube amp.

Reliability : 10
Hmm, I just bought it yesterday. However, it's built very solidly, which combined with its solid-state circuitry, should make it very reliable.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Crate's warranty is 5 years for everything except the speaker, which is 2 years. The warranty is also transferrable, unlike Peavey's.

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing guitar 18 years, bass for 17. This is my first "proper" amp since 1985, when I last saw my old Vox solid-state amp (which I used for bass mainly). My original Peavey bass, Fender Bullet guitar, and amp all disappeared after I joined the Air Force 15 years ago, thanks to various conspirators. Since 1987 I have used a Hitachi boom box which has a microphone-in jack and 5-band EQ as an amp. With my old (purchased in 1986) pedals (Boss DD-3, CS-3, and DOD Overdrive Plus), I was able to be satisfied with my sound until the Overdrive pedal started crapping out. By then, I also wanted something more portable, durable, and less-laughable, thus the renewed desire for a "proper" guitar/bass amp. If this amp were stolen or lost (as happened to me long ago) I would probably buy it again, unless the new Peavey TransTube-II amps are a significant improvement over the originals. Since my actual outlay for this Crate was only $8 (the other $120 was covered by my 33rd Birthday money), I am sublimely satisfied. I highly recommend this amp after an exhaustive (for Tucson, anyway) search for the best sounds at the best price.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: 200 (Australian dollars)
Submitted 03/18/2000 at 01:21am by Anonymous

Features : 9
All of the standard stuff for a practic amp: 2 channels(overdrive & clean, 3-band equalizer, gain, reverb..blah, blah, blah

Sound Quality : 7
Sounds can vary, has a good clean channel but the distortion can be pretty weak unless turned up almost to full and this makes it kind of noisy. Overall though it's got very good sound for just a "use it when I get bored" practice amp

Reliability : 8
Never had any problems

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 8
Damn fine practice amp, really pointless buying it for anything else.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $107
Submitted 01/25/2000 at 10:19am by Anonymous

Features : 6
It has a Distortion Channel (sucks) Clean (Good) 3 EQ's
ext. speaker jack and head phone jack

Sound Quality : 4
Currently i have a mexican strat (Saving up for Gothic V)
It has horrible dist. (And i play metal) great clean, its a good practice amp, but is horrible for band practice (Not very loud) im
overpowered by our drummer,who bangs mercilessly on his set

Reliability : 7
Like i said its a good practice amp never broke down on me (yet)

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 5
like i said over and over Good for PracticeHorrible for band practice, tottaly suck w/ my zoom 505 .i have this huge peavy tube amp (100 watts) that i have to give back soon (DAMN!!)
this olllllllllllllllld gibson tube (THE THING LIT ON FIRE!!!)thats totally shot (used for vocals)its the tottally worst peice of junk that i've ever played (but i've only been playing for a year and 8 months). I may be somewhat of a beginner but i know what sounds good. so if you already have a small beginneer amp, avoid it like the plauge


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 09/29/1999 at 06:10pm by Josh Webster
Email: joshwebster<at>hotmail dot com

Features : 7
this is odd, but my GX15R is a 30w amp. The thing has two channels reverb, EQ, and volume and gain controlls. It is, of course, solid state and has an 8" speaker, and a headphone jack that does not shut off the speaker, so it serves absolutely no purpose.

Sound Quality : 1
This thing is a very crappy amp. It is the noisiest thing i have evr heard. when you turn it on, you have to kick the shit out of this thing to get all the gremlins attacking the input jack back into their little corner, and then it is still very noisy, with the noise being almost as loud as the guitar

Reliability : 1
I would never play this thing outside of my house. the gremlins will spontaneously attack it, and you will have to once again kick the shit out of it

Customer Support : No Opinion
i never even bothered, i just bought an A.R.T.

Overall Rating : 1
it is serving it's sentance as the "for-when-i-want-to-play-in-th-other-room-amp" and i rarely use it.
take my advive, kids, don't buy one unless you thouroghly check it out, as i don't know if this is a common problem


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $109.00
Submitted 09/22/1999 at 03:20pm by Eric Schanz

Features : 10
standard feature these days , clean channel, dist. channel, reverb, open back cab. ex. speaker and phones jack.

Sound Quality : 10
Iv been playing for 25 yrs, i play rock,blues and jazz. I chose this amp over many of the small fender amps. In my opinion I thought the tone was gorgeous from the clean channel. fat and tubelike in sound and feel. EQ'ed very nicely. The reverb is much better and lusher than its fender small amp competitors. I thought the dist. sounded much better than the fenders as well, quite smooth. Also see my fender reviews.

Reliability : 7
Solid state, should be ok for a while

Customer Support : No Opinion
dont know?

Overall Rating : 10
as i said i think this amp sounds smooth and natural, better than any other small amps i tried.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $115
Submitted 09/21/1999 at 07:53pm by kelly dennis
Email: jackassy<at>hotmail dot com

Features : 8
WHat a nice little amp. It has just about the basics. The reverb is about shot though, i have had it for 6 years , every since i started playing. The distortion is also bad, i think all crate distortion are bad though. Presently i have this amp at school and it is perfect. The headphone jack is really handy. I have used this amp in a few gigs and ran it through the pa. I have a Crate gx212 but it was getting fixed so i had to use the little crate. It still sounded good through my zoom 30\30. I mainly play rock and some alternative and a little country , and this suites all my styles.(as long as the songs dont use too much distortion.

Sound Quality : 6
I have a fender Acoustic with a fender lace acoutic pickup and it sound good at low volumes. Once you get it around 4 or 5 it starts to sound like a piano. It just pounds out the chords. it is not made for playing lound. It is great for practicing. I also play my old Harmony Strat imitation guitar through it and it sounds really bad, Because of the guitar. i am between buying a new electric so i only have the old harmony to play. I have a zoom 30/30 and a few boss effects and they sound great. only problem is the lack of wattage. If you want some noize go with a 60 or 120 watt amp(but dont buy crate, they stink in terms of reliablility.)

Reliability : 9
This amp is very reliable as long as you take good care of it. I have had it for 6 years and nothing has gone bad except the reverb.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 8
If i lost this amp or if it were stolen, i would go out and buy a used one. I love it. I dont use it everyday but sometimes it is fun to bust it out and jam on it for a while. I would miss it because i have had it for so long. compared to other small amps like the fender squire practice amp, it is a lot better. it has two channels and is a little more cleaner.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $100 used
Submitted 08/20/1999 at 04:57pm by Aprille
Email: Avril9 at aol<dot>com

Features : 7
This is a good practice amp for the budgeted beginner... Clean and overdrive channels are switchable by a teensy button [my big toe often slips and hits the overdrive level, resulting in a less-than graceful transition] The low-mid-high equlaizing dials do basically nothing, and the reverb is barely noticeable. I never used the headphone jack for anything except plugging into a mixer/PA system, and this amp was barely audible. Not a whole lot of power, but its suitable for practicing alone while the family eats dinner.

Sound Quality : 6
I play everything from ska to grunge to lovely "zelda" music [as my band boys refer to anything I do with a capo on the 12th fret], and this amp has served me well... at least while I was alone. There is certainly NOT enough power to be effective against other players. There is an undeniable humming that accompanies any loud playing [though we can plame single-coil pickups for some of that]. I often am forced to crank up both gain and overdrive level to get enough sound [there is definitely no compromise between power and tone] The clean channel distorts at high volume. However, this amp can be a lot of fun when experimenting with a ZOOM GFX-707 effects processor!!

Reliability : 9
This amp is incredibly dependable... I've had it for 2 years, bought barely used, and it hasn't crapped out on me yet, even under my usual cranked volume

Customer Support : No Opinion
I've never dealt with warranties or Crate... and I've never had problems!

Overall Rating : 7
I've been playing electric guitar for 2 years, starting with this amp and a Yamaha guitar... eventually upgrading to a wonderfully versatile Japanese Fender Foto-Flame Strat [I highly recommend the Strat... but DO NOT get a Squier, they are brassy and horrible!] I also fool around with the usual BOSS stomp boxes... flanger is my favorite... and my brand-new ZOOM GFX-707 processor, which is wonderful and gives sucha range of effects! I am due for a new, powerful amp [100W+] so I can play with my band and not be drowned out on stage. If stolen, I wouldn't but another practice amp of this sort, since I'm moving on to bigger things, but I do recommend this model to the beginning player who is amp-illiterate and wants something cheap and reliable to get him through the first few years.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $110
Submitted 03/21/1999 at 01:51pm by Daniel Connor
Email: Antcrndg at hotmail<dot>com

Features : 6
The GX15R is a no frills practice amp. The clean channel sounds pretty decent but the overdrive channel leaves much to be desired. If you are just starting and need something to play on, this may be just what you want. It's cheap and simple.

Sound Quality : 7
I'm using this with an Epiphone Les Paul Special with dual humbuckers. It actually sounds pretty decent for it's price range. The overdrive produces a mushy, washed out sound but is bearable until you can afford something nicer. The clean channel distorts past 6 and the gain, when turned up, produces a hiss. Clean is allright with a distortion pedal or effects box. Once again, simple and it gets the job done.

Reliability : 10
This thing will last longer than radioactive sludge. 2 years and no complaints.

Customer Support : No Opinion
No problems here, either Never dealt with em.

Overall Rating : 7
This should do the trick for a beginner or someone on a tight budget. Buy it and sell it when you can get something better.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $130
Submitted 03/03/1999 at 05:32pm by Kurt Dietrich
Email: phatstrat<at>hotmail dot com

Features : 5
this amp has 2 channels but they can only be swithched with the push button. it has reverb but in my opinion it is pretty bad

Sound Quality : 7
this is a tiny amp. It has pretty good but noisy distorion. At high volumes the Low, Mid and High nobs don't make much of a difference. I have a Fender Mustang, duo-sonic, and squier. The squier sounds the best and it has the normal pickups that came with it.

Reliability : 9
this amp hasn't broken down. I've set every volume nob on 10 it it hasn't blown. I would never use it at a gig because it would be embarrassing because of the size and sound.

Customer Support : No Opinion
never dealt with crate

Overall Rating : 8
it's a good practice amp but it's nothing special, it's 12watts so it can't be very good


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $110
Submitted 11/08/1998 at 02:42pm by Anonymous

Features : 7
This combo is 12 watts with an 8 inch speaker, 3 band EQ, overdrive "channel", and reverb.

Sound Quality : 6
I have a Yamaha Pacifica and usually use a humbucking pick up. The clean channel is squeky, and hurts my ears when it's turned passed. The overdrive is very tinny sounding. Below 5 the overdrive is unnoticable, I usually play with it at 10. I play with the volume at 4 and its loud enough to be heard. With Mid at 0 and using a single coil pickup this amp can sound pretty heavy, with a nice warm bassy sound. I got a 4x12 Marshall speaker cab, and am playing my Crate through it well I get moeny for a head, and it sounds much better, the distortion sounds a little more lively, but not much.

Reliability : 7
The reverb doesn't work very well, below 10 it doesn't change the sound signifigantly. With the reverb anywhre above 8 a loud hum drowns out the guitar. I've tried standing on the other side of the room, moving my amp etc. but it didn't help.

Customer Support : No Opinion
????

Overall Rating : 7
I got this as a gift, and its a good practice amp, but it doesn't sound all that great. I wish it sounded better at lower volumes.


Product: Crate GX15R
Price Paid: US $60 used
Submitted 10/29/1998 at 01:25pm by Nick
Email: npetrice<at>ford dot com

Features : 10
It's probably the best amp i've owned. It's never clapped out and is VERY VERY reliable. Crate came up with a winner this time. It has good EQ for an amp of its size and a fairly good sound.

Sound Quality : 10
It sounds great. I used a Zoom 505 for effects and I play a Kramer 300 HST (yes, you heard right... I play a kramer... I've owned over 30 guitars from Fenders to ESPs To Jacksons and everything in between.. and the Kramers I own have been the best) and it sounds great. The disortion on it is awesome... from metal to mellow blues. I've used it at gigs and miked it for extra power. It's got enough guts to power a quad and sound good. If you don't like the amp... it makes a great head to power a quad.

Reliability : 10
I can defiately depend on it. It's never broken down, not even a blown fuse. Every now and then I blow the dust off it, but besides that... its great!

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had to call them.

Overall Rating : 10
If this got stolen or died, I would definately buy another one. If not a GX-15R, I would look into another Crate. Kramer Guitars, Zoom Effects and a Crate Amp make a heavenly/deadly/awesome combination. It's just a shame that Kramers aren't made anymore. I m seriously thinking of buying another one and dis-assembling it, throwing away the speaker and the box and making a pre-amp/head out of it. It's a great amp.

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