Crate Palomino V32 112 Combo

Awesome Single channel Tube Amp with Overdrive and Reverb. Single 3 band EQ for both channels. 8ohm speaker out, line out/in, and 2 button footswitch. White Tolex with Gold Trim. The knobs have Amber colored rhine stones!

After replaceing the original Preamp tubes with a set of JJs from Eurotubes the amp blew me away! It has a classic rock sound. The clean channel sparkles, and responds to your every touch. The gain channel really started growling with the new tubes, and is very marshally.

Had to take 2 of these back to GC because the Reverb didn't work on either. I had to settle for the display model. I have no idea how long it was sitting there, but the tubes needed to go right away and it has minor but present scratches on all the Gold trimming. It does look very well built.

The amp does sound Great! After talking with Don at Eurotubes I discovered that this amp is not True CLASS A it is a rev-ed up AB design. It picks up AM radio without a guitar plugged in. Has a bit of pleasing hum. The tubes heat up the amp pretty fast, but no biggie. The thing that really stinks on it is the Delay when channel switching. Its really bad. I am using a Marshall distortion pedal on the clean channel for songs with channel switching. I tryed this amp with a Marshall 1960A 4x12 and it was really LOUD! kept up with an AVT 150 quite well. Really thick sound from the combo and half stack even at Bedroom volume. If its on sale pick it up!!

Amp was made in 2005, I have had this for about a year. One channel which switchable pre-amp gain. Boost feature (which doesn't work from footswitch anymore for some reason). Effects loop.
A pretty basic tube amp with no extra bells or whistles.

Gear that I use with it:

2006 Fender SRV Strat --> Roger Mayer Red Lion Wah --> Retroman Sybil --> ZVex Fuzz Factory --> ZVex BoR --> Foxrox Paradox TZF --> Maxon AD-999 Delay

Just for note, this amp takes pedals very well and if you can get the right tubes in there for getting the OD right it really shines!

The clean sound on this thing is AWESOME! Very Vox-like and good amount of headroom. The OD isn't bad either with the stock tubes, but when I ordered replacement JJ tubes from www.eurotubes.com and all I can say is WOW!! Much improvement in sound. The OD is a lot crunchier now, before it was a little sterile/flat with the stock tubes. Maybe they were just worn out, but man I could notice a difference immediately. The cleans are tighter now too. If you get this amp, I would really recommend swapping them out.

only problem is the footswitch boost function which doesn't work anymore, but I really don't care since I have some dirt pedals with a clean boost. Otherwise no problems after a year of playing so far.

For the price, you really can't get a better tube amp. I would definitely buy it again if it were lost. Very unique clean sound and versatile OD with the right tubes. Works well with pedals and can get really loud! Sure you can pay more and get better construction and the vintage sounds you're looking for, but you can also pay a little less and get this great amp as well.

Having waded through the other reviews I really have nothing much to add here. I will say that since I like to play with distortion, dynamics has always been a challenge and the boost switch seems to be the solution I've been looking for. I might have wanted some flexibilty on the amount of DB gain with the boost, but I'm not unhappy with the pre-set amount you get with the V32. I also like and use the line out to run to the board. I've been using an istrument microphone with my previous amps to input to the board but so far I'm liking the sound I'm getting through the PA with the line out.

I've owned a long succession of various twins over the 35 years I've been playing guitar from Vox to Fenders, an early Yamaha, and lately a Crate GFX212 and I never thought I'd ever buy a single speaker amp, but the V32 has changed all of that. I never drove the twins at their full capacity anyway, so why did I ever think I needed all of that racket in the first place?

My current stable of guitars that I'm using with the V32 are a Les Paul Classic, which in my main gig guitar, an Ovation Breadwinner solid body, matching Ovation Deacon and an Ovation UK II (also a solid body). The LP is a match made in heaven with the class A sound of the V32. I haven't yet found a set-up with the guitar and amp that doesn't sound wonderful, whether I'm running clear and clean or down and dirty. The matchup with the UK is similar to the LP but the UK has never had the full rich sound and warmth that the Les Paul has. That is no different with the V32, but that said the UK has never sounded better than with this amplifier either.

The Breadwinner and Deacon are rather problematic with this amp, though. Both guitars have active electronics in them in the form of a small 18v FET pre-amp. In fact they were the very first production guitars ever to employ this feature. Another reviewer here mentioned the class A noise of the Palomino and my LP and UK with their humbuckers hold the annoyance of that down to a bare minimum. The Deacon also has Ovation humbuckers but is noticably noisier than the LP and UK (which is passive like the LP), presumably due to the FET pre-amp. The Breadwinner is nearly unusable with this amp due to the noise. The guitar is notorious for being noisy anyway since it has the unique wide flat bar-type pickups that Ovation made for this guitar. The pre-amp adds to this noise and a noise gate cuts but does not eliminate the problem, but adds the inherant problems that come with using a noise gate in the first place (dropped notes at low volume and extended holds). From that I might infer that other instruments that have active electronics might also be more likely to have problems with noise

Like many other reviewers here I haven't had the V32 long enough to notice.

I live in St. Louis where Crate was based until recently. They were purchased by Loud Electronics and are now based in Washington state. While they were here in the Gateway City it was very easy to get service, and Crate being what Crate has been, that was a good thing. We have several Crates in the family and all of them have had to be either repaired or replaced, my wife's bass amp has been replaced under warrantee FOUR TIMES. That said I think that Crate has been good and timely with its support and with the latest uproar of the bass amp saga they have really gone out of their way to help us. I really miss the local aspect of Crate and the shipping delay between here and Washington has been a PITA.

Interstingly, I heard about the V32 from an owner of a local Crate service center where we took the bass amp for warrantee work. The owner used to work for Crate in the design department. In fact the Palomino is his design. I wasn't in the market for a new amp, but he was proud of his baby and told me I should check it out at the local Guitar Center. I took the amp home inteding to take advantage of the GC's no questions asked return policy. I did not return the amp.

I've been playing guitar for 35 years and play mostly what I lovingly refer to as Geezer Rock and Blues. I'm not a full-time musician but we play out 2 or 3 times a month.

I like the looks of the amp. It's looks reminds me of the borrowed Fender Tweed amp (with the ripped grille cloth and the cigarette burns) I learned on all those years ago and I think that's the effect that Crate was looking for in the cosmetics of the amp. I like that it is smaller and lighter than the twins I played through for 3 and a half decades.

Typical features, good sounding Reverb, boost and prescence.

Sounds from Clapton to Zep, Love it !

Gigged and practice-no problems

Never needed it so far, I also own the 16 watter

Playing since 1969, had all the the Fender,Mesa's, stacks and combo's
this amp gets all my sounds for classic rock and blues..
I would buy again and again..white tolex is classy..

It's a basic quasi-2 channel amp with clean/overdrive levels and common tone controls. Comes with a footswitch for clean/overdrive and boost function.

I'm using a fairly bright Strat with vintage S/Cs and a HB. This is a LOUD amp with good clean headroom. The reverb is decent, and the mostly-preamp distortion you get with the overdrive channel is OK. The model I'm using is a loaner from GC until a new one comes in. It has constant static and crackling, which is probably a bad V1 preamp tube, so no points off there. My main objection to this amp is its overall sound character. I'm getting thumpy lows and spiky highs, with very little midrange warmth. The treble and bass are at 10 o'clock. The mid control seems to affect higher frequencies, leaving the 200-800Hz range untouched. Using the same guitar and pedals through other amps, including a Fender Blues Jr, gives me much greater warmth. On the plus side, acoustic/electric guitars sound very clean and sparkly through this amp. This is not my amp but belongs to the church I play at. I'm considering bringing an amp to use. If this were my amp I would install JJ tubes and probably go with a Weber Alnico Blue or Celestion Blue, but then I'd be close to the $1000 price range where there are other choices.

Couldn't say. All tube amps have issues, class A moreso.

With my tone control backed off, I get a good Fendery clean sound, and my OD and fuzz pedals sound OK after I change their EQ. A warm jazz sound is almost impossible without losing 1/2 the signal by rolling off all the highs. It's a decent amp, but just voiced a little odd for my taste. If it were my bucks, I would get a Blues Jr., since I mostly use pedals for distortion anyway.

I will agree with the prior reviewer....I have tried both the g12h-30, and more recently the vintage 30 in this amp. Both speakers make this good amp sound great! I play classic rock covers. My band performs anything from the 70's/80's/early 90's...I play both a Les Paul Custom w/Seymour Duncans; and a PRS custom 22 through the amp. I find that with the V30 speaker, the Les Paul sounds more balanced. Also takes pedals really well. I use a 25yr old BOSS OD-1 infront of it to dirty up the clean channel for rhythm and provide a bit more grind in the gain channel for lead. Boost feature puts me over the top for leads on heavier/louder tunes. I plan on buying another one and dropping the G12H into it...great amp for the $$$$.

Couple reviews down is my first, thought I give it another

I just placed a vintage 30 and a matched set of JJ tubes {eurotubes.com] are awesome, This amp shined before but with this upgrade its so amazing. When I took out the old tubes[they were just 2 weeks old] there were 2 different manufactures on the preamp side, grovve tube and sovtech very pleased

hasnt broke down, defintly get a lil fan to blow into the top grill if you play for long, it does get hot

who knows

Sold my 1100.00 Mesa boogie F-50...this amp leaves it in the dust

V32 Palomino 2006 Model.
30(32)watt all tube Class A 1x12 combo amp from (what?) Crate! mono effects loop. 3 sovtek 12ax7's and 4 GT EL84's come stock. This is more like a single channel with 2(4 if you count the boost) stages of gain as it has clean/overdrive and a midrange boost that works under both channel types. One 3 band eq for both stages. Presences switch (not a knob), spring verb, 2 button footswitch included, 8ohm celestion speaker; no external speaker out, but can unplug the inhouse 12" and run the amp through your favorite cab of choice.
For what it is, it falls along the line of the class a botique amp, and it delivers tenfold. But in today's world of amps that has all sorts of bells and whistles included, this amp pretty much delivers standard features, but for the sound it delivers, everything else is fluff anyway.

Who would have thought Crate could be known for creating a beautiful sounding class a tube amp? I use a Fender double fat tele with duncan pups and a nashville deluxe tele. I sometimes front the amp with a ross clone comp, crybaby and a jekyll/hyde. Upon trying it out right away, the clean was wonderful. No thin here or muddy mid/bass. Very musical and clear. The eq's are responsive and after a/b'ing the presence switch, the presence really sweetens it up. I don't like the fact that you can't adjust the presence depending on the venue, but I believe the switch was calibrated just to that sweet spot you need. The verb is definitely spring. Not exactly the best springverb I heard going with a clean, but it does it's job. The overdrive channel, however, is what got my wallet out. I HAD to get this amp at this point. It was so thick and clear at the same time and when put wide open with volume... you just got to try it out. It blew away the Deluxe gain drive (sorry about that F.) This thing sears in sound, and in heat. This thing does get HOT. I put a clip-on fan and it definitely keeps the control knobs from frying an egg. Yes, there is a delay from OD back to clean which is nowhere near as bad if it happened from clean to OD. It doesn't happen everytime for me actually and is only noticeable with fast switching tunes. I'm content with it. It sucks because this thing SHINES in both clean and OD. Probably a power down issue, maybe? This does have that class A amp hiss; not as bad as some more expensive class a amps. Face it, it has to hiss a bit; that's part of the class A sound. Did I mention this thing is LOUD! For 30watts, it projects louder than the Peavey classic 50 I own. It really makes your guitar sing. I don't take it past 4 on most mid-size venues. The boost is a good feature because it's after the preamp stage. It is tailored to midrange only (not a flat boost of signal), but seems to work fine for the base frequency of my guitars. One thing's for sure, people will definitely notice when you hit this switch. Seriously, this amp has it's own unique voice. I would have to agree that there are some frequencies accentuated more (certain chords ring out better than others) but I'm beginning to think that that is part of the signature characteristic of this amp. I've read of rattling problems, but I haven't had any issues with this (yet). Go make a voice for yourself with this thing. It's possible. All in all, a great sounding class A tube combo amp... from Crate??

Had this for a little over a month, but have gigged heavily at least 4-5 times a week doing 3+ hour sets. Nothing bad so far. It suggests to wait at least 20 seconds before turning on. I still would wait longer than this to warm up those tubes. They are taking a beating as it is. Decent weight to lug around and very sturdy construction (no cheap handle either). Some small corners were cut (the plastic switches on the panels, the small ventilation grill etc). I usually bring a backup anyway. You could probably get away without one, but if a tube blows or become excessively microphonic, you better make sure you have more than a 10 minute break to replace one at a gig. Going to have to take the whole thing out just to get access to the tubes (has someone found a shortcut to this?)

Haven't contacted them yet, but you get a limited warranty for 5 years (I don't believe it covers accidents outside of the home though)

Been playing 27 years. As a typical gearhead, one of the perks is to be able to automatically gauge new equipment based on experiences of past gear. I don't proclaim to know everything about tone, but I do know the quality aspects as well as the downfalls of the amps I've owned in the past. I enjoy playing, but this amp really inspires those long hour bouts. It may not be the best amp I've ever owned, but it really has pleased me as a guitar player. I'd definitely buy another one (or if Crate decides to enhance this line of amps without compromising the tone-i'll probably get that).

2006 Blonde/ gold. Class A power tube power. The amp has supossably 4 channels. Clean, Clean/boost, overdrive, overdrive w/ boost. Wish it had separate eq for the channels. I just got it 2 hours ago and cant turn it off, it is more amazing than my $1100.00 boogie

I have a Les Paul Studio/Burstbuckers [ most amazing Humbuckers on the planet] Lone star and Big apple strat,Peavey wolfgang and Nashville Tele.Amp is as noisy as regular tube amps. Was going with a Fender amp but couldnt afford a twin or super-sonic. 1/12 combos are tight. This amp gives me all the Strat tone on neck pickup needed, Some Fenders Ive tried wont do that. Distortion is awesome. I play in a Praise band in church and this will cook a goose

Just bought it , i would gig w/o a backup. but if you are the kind to throw it in a bed of a truck, i wouldnt know..I baby my stuff

Dont know

Im 51 and been playing since i was 8 and have never played this well until Jesus came into my life, I would definte buy another, I ve have owned Fender,marshall peavey boogie etc etc and this will hold its own. I use a Keeley Tubescreamer and Blues driver on the clean channel and thats all there is to do, to top the cake there is a awesome controllable distortion channel that talks, Just called my man @guitar center and told him Id kiss him. I coulda bought anything and this was half the money and all needed

2006, Two channel, 32 watts, tube amp made for Guitar Center by Crate. Nice overdrive, boost. I use it in my basement, regularly.

Wonderful crisp, clear sound. Warm and loud as you want. This amp sounds great and full at any volume. Nice job Crate. Highly recommended, with no buzz or delayed switching witnessed by others. Try it and buy it; you won't regret it.

So far no problems.

No need so far...

25 Years exp. For the money, you can't go wrong.