Crate PowerBlock Head

Purchased new. I thought others like myself might be interested to know if this amp is a low cost Clarus Killer. First, I don't own a Clarus but love the concept of a light, powerful clean amp that the Clarus embodies. When hearing about the Crate I was very interested because of these possibilities so I ordered one.
This amp is single channel with Gain, Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass and Master Volume. I play clean, mostly Standards and Jazz with some old Pop and Blues thrown in. I use a Raezers Edge Twin-8 cabinet wired for stereo. I run through a PodXT and take the Left and Right out to the Stereo line in's of the Crate and then its stereo outs to my cab at 8 ohms a side. This amp does not match my cab in Mono as it runs 8 OHMS minimum in Mono and my cab is showing 4 OHMS mono, this means I can't utilize its full rated power (150 watts).
I used this amp the first time with my quartet in a largish room for a private party where I found out quickly that it did not have enough head room to cover my gig. There's this squashed tone amps make when they just can't push any more air.
This amp is spare in the features department but has what is necessary and makes up for its lacks with its light weight small size and great value.

I used a Brian Moore guitar for the above gig with 2 HB's. At lower volumes the amps sounds articulate and clean using my Pod as its front end.
The Crate's own front end also had a good sound, to my ears, and would start to break up nicely after the 12 o'clock position on the gain control. I can't tell you about popular distortion sounds as that's not my thing. It is quiet and very light weight. My problem is the lack of headroom. In term of loudness it felt like my JC55. I believe that my speaker cab is inefficient and wants to see some power so I suggest you judge on your own. I am currently using an ADA Micro Tube power amp which pumps about 75 watts a side into this cab and I have not had a headroom problem with this rig. In comparison I think I'm getting about 50 watts a side wth the Crate at 8 Ohms a side. Full rated power is 75 watts a side at 4 Ohms or 150 watts mono into 8 Ohms.
This amp has good clean tone and, in my limited experience, a good break-up tone. This is a very subjective question though. My only issue is the headroom. If it had it, I would keep it.

Can't say, it's new. Feels and looks solidly built

I have never dealt with the Crate company.

The idea is great. Well executed in form and design and value but may not deliver the goods for certain players with certain configurations. Do try it with an 8 OHM cab in Mono to feel it's full ooomph.
For me and my rig, it did not deliver and so I had to return it.

Bought this new. It's a 150 watt stereo/mono solid state head that is a tiny size and 4.6 pounds. It has an effects loop, line in, RCA in and an XLR out for recording or slave amp. Front panel has an input, headphone out, and knobs for gain, high, mid, low, and level.

I play a variety of styles but have been looking for a good dedicated setup for straight ahead jazz gigs. I've been using the Rivera tube amp I use for pop/rock gigs but it breaks up a bit when the volume comes up when working in an organ trio setting. I bought a Raezer's Edge Stealth 12 cabinet and have an Acoustic Image head on order but thought I'd try the Power Block for the same purpose. The thing is so inexpensive why not.

The features are exactly what I was looking for. It's loud and stays clean, great effects loop, and very, very small. It has no verb or effects but I tried an Alesis Nanoverb with it and it sounds great. It also comes with a carrying bag that has a side pocket that fits the Nanoverb perfectly. My entire jazz head fits in a bag the size of a binocular case. It's even smaller than the Acoustic Image bag.

With the Raezer's Edge cabinet, Nanoverb, and Gibson jazz box I can get the straight ahead tones I'm looking for. It's incredibly clean and clear and really let's the guitar speak. I'm blown away for the $188.00 I payed for it. I would be surprised if this doesn't take off with jazzers who are looking for a great compact rig. I'm not sure if that was the intention but it's fantastic for that. I haven't been able to compare it to the Acoustic Image yet as mine is still on back order but it has got to come extremely close for a much smaller price tag. Even if the A.I. becomes my main jazz rig it will be good to have this around for backup.

I tried it briefly with a start and a Reverend Drivetrain and Fulltone Full Drive 2. It was surprisingly good with pedals and I could see some one getting good R&B and rock tones with it. I'm pretty stuck on my tube amps for anything I do other than jazz gigs so I doubt I'll try it for that but that's not to say someone couldn't do it well.

Seems pretty solid. My only experienc with Crate has been a few little practice amps I bought for my teaching studio that turned out to sound like garbage and quit working. This thing seems to be built well but we'll see. I'd be very disappointed if it turned out to be troublesome as it sounds great and is so useful.

Been playing 20+ years and about 16 professionally. I generally play 2-4 gigs per week in a variety of settings. This amp will definitely get used. I love the size and it has the sound and features I've been looking for in a jazz guitar head.

Simply amazing! Small yet powerful and versatile. Great with a preamp-processor like a pod xt , etc. Very transparent. Line out carries the processed sound (from your effects processor)to the PA via XLR cable.Oh, yeah, the line out is also adjustable...overall a great feature. Speaker emulation on the line out is very convincing.
Multiple ways to use this thing. As a stereo amp (75 watts/ch into 4 ohms..roughly 55 watts/ch into 8 ohms) or as a mono powerhouse (150 watts RMS into 8 ohms). Has stereo line level inputs as well.

Lots of Headroom, No reverb - but what do you expect from such a small and portable head. No complaints on the sound...breaks up nicely with gain increase. EQ works flawlessly.

Looks sturdy enough for Iraq, but only time will tell. Solid state circuitry therefore no tubes to break/replace.

never dealt with them.

A gigger's dream. So light and portable...comes with padded gig bag...a nice touch. Multiple uses/configurations possible for this unit. My other amp is a 150 lb Mesa Boogie Road King 2x12 combo. Yeah, it sounds better...but weighs 30 times more and is 15 times more expensive. Your wallet and back will thank you for adding this puppy to your toy collection.

i wish it had the digitech digiverb pedal and a tuner built in

the amp begins to distort at medium preamp volumes, a little too early for my taste. clean sound is definitely useable at gigs once you find the right preamp setting.

tried it on 3 gigs (with drums) so far, worked well.

i love crate's 5 year warranty.

it's great when the benefits of new technology finally trickle down to working musicians. it's time to say goodbye to way overpriced walter woods and acoustic image amps. i love crate's stuff these days, and this amp is another great idea and a great deal. If it were stolen or lost, i would buy it again.

I just bought this amp, just got it from UPS. It's awesome. I think it's got the Flexwave preamp, it sounds like a better tube amp than my Peavey Classic 50 does. It weighs about 5 pounds and is less than a foot long. 150 Watts. Very simple amp, but versatile. Gain, High, Mid, Low, Level. Stereo out plus a seperate mono out. Stereo CD in, stereo 1/4" ins on the back (not sure what these are for). Only thing I don't like about it is no reverb. Not really a huge problem, though. A cheap Dano reverb can be bought for about $30, I think.

I played it with an Epiphone Del Rey and a Squier Bullet Special (tuned baritone). My Peavey amp sounds thicker on the baritone, but I definitely prefer the Crate for standard tuning. When on neck single-coil, with gain all the way up and totally scooped (Hi, Low all up, Mid all down), it sounded very bluesey, very SRV. I keep it scooped all the time. Bridge humbucker, very crunchy metal sound. Bridge single-coil, sounds like the sounds on Marilyn Manson's Fight Song. The distortion's smooth and un-solid-state-like.

It's a solid casing, and there aren't any tubes or anything. I don't forsee any problems. Plus the bag it comes with is very sturdy.

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I've been at this for almost eight years now. My main amp used to be the Peavey Classic 50, but it weighs too much. The Crate head is perfect because it's versatile, simple, small, and light.