Crate PowerBlock Head

The beauty of this thing is not in what's on the front, but rather what's on the back. Two 1/4" line level inputs and stereo 4 ohm 1/4" outputs. Two RCA inputs, and a line level XLR output. This thing is perfect. It serves as an ideal power amp for a multi-effects pedal and eliminates the need for a separate direct box. It's a deal more powerful than some of the more expensive "made for guitar" power amps and is significantly lighter weight.

This amp sounds like nothing. This amp is supposed to sound like nothing. If you want an amp that sounds like anything except nothing, this is not the amp for you. If you do, however, want an amp that sounds like nothing, this amp does the job extremely well. If you have even the slightest expectations of tone from this thing, you will be disappointed. There's great beauty in this though.

Let's presume you have a multi-effects pedal with a variety of amp models, let's presume you don't like the way most of these models sound through your tube amp. It seems natural to presume that you can be more expressive with the tones in your pedal if you don't have to compensate for a preexisting tone in the tube amp. This is why the Powerblock is was created.

Keeps going, and going, and going, and going, (etc)

Never spoken with them.

Playing seriously for about 7 years. I use a PodXT Live run stereo into the line level inputs on the back of this thing in order to bypass the preamp altogether. I'd buy another one in a second (and can on account of the price) if anything happened to the current one.

This amp was designed to serve a very distinct purpose and it fulfills that purpose amazingly well. It depresses me when I see people disappointed in a product when they try to use it for something it wasn't designed to do, regardless of whether that something is within it's capacity. That being said, this amp is not a traditional amp is shouldn't be expected to perform as such. It's hard to color a tone to this amp with traditional stompboxes as it was designed to not have tone. This amp was designed to be a slave to external digital amp models.

Now if only Crate would make a rackmount version...

Solid State, One channel

If it had a dedicated clean channel, and they got rid of the "buzz" (see next section) on the clean channel, I would use this thing on all my gigs and I'd rate it a 10.

As it is, it still has quite a few good features and the size and weight alone give it extra points.

I leave it in the trunk of my car so it's always available as a backup no matter what gig I'm at. And I use it at many of my rehearsals just cause it's so EASY to carry around.

The Crunch is pretty good. The clean is pretty good for most gigs, however not nearly the volume available as when you have it distorted. The gain can't go much past 11 o'clock or you start to break up. This is expected I guess, as it's a single channel amp.

If you set it for a purely clean sound, there is a "buzz" sound in the background on all the notes. It almost sounds like a fuzz pedal added onto the top of your clean tone but put way way in the background volume wise in relation to the clean signal and it's more noticable as the note trails away.

For many gigs, this won't be an issue. You probably won't even notice it except during quiet sections of the music. For super clean country or jazz tones, it's going to be a little bit of a compromise in the tone. For blues or rock, it's more acceptable.

It would never work for recording if you're expecting a pure clean sound out of it. The "buzz" is always there in the background and you'll definitely notice it.

But I do like the convience factor with the light weight and small size. It's got plenty of volume to get you thru most rehearsals and many gigs. I use it at rehearsals mostly but also sometimes at gigs if a perfect clean tone is not necessary. The overall tone when heard with a band is actually pretty good, so don't think I hate the way it sounds cause I keep mentioning the buzzing thing. But it is something to consider if you're going to need REALLY clean tones out of this thing.

So far it seems very reliable, but I've only had it for a few months.

Most important features for me are light weight (4 pounds), gain and volume controls. No reverb, unfortunately, but at the price I paid ($99 incl shipping from Musicians Friend) I don't mind. It's got a very good manual, which one should read. Has outs for two speaker cabs or mono. VERY powerful. For what it is it's incredible. But NOT very versatile. Also has automatic electricity switching from 110 to 220, a key feature for me.

Crate says this thing is made to use with multi FX units, and guess what? That's how I use it. Over the past few years I got into multi FX so I could travel with my sound in my backpack, and that's why I bought this, for when I'm using my own gear. I plug a Zoom G2.1u or Digitech RP (50 to 200) in the single input, run the output into a Laney 112 cab with Celestion, adjust EQ, and bang. I am knocked out by how good the sounds are when used this way. If gain is raised past 2 o'clock there's some hiss, but below that it still fattens the sound. I'm running it with Reverend (Rocco), Curlee with Dimarzio Super Distortions, Washburn SS80 with Trembuckers. All the guitars have their own sound with this rig; I'd love to hear it with a Tech 21 Sansamp. My guess is this thing was designed for a flat response, hence the nice tone with multi FX. I wouldn't run it as a platform for regular pedals. BTW, those who complain about weak output probably ran in mono without reading the manual; if you don't push the mono button the output goes blah (happpened to me before... I read the manual!). I'm taking off a point only because it won't sound great without a front end.

Haven't gigged with it yet. I will say that my wife dropped it on the tile floor and it still works fine. I doubt a tube amp would withstand that.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing ovver 40 years, solo and in bands, studio and live, mainly semi-pro (I get paid when I play but I don't want to live from it). I have pro guitars (see above) kept performance ready, and several amps ranging from Microcube to Bassman 100 Export (the big tube job, which weighs 66 pounds, ai yi). I needed a powerful head that wouldn't break my back or wallet, and tube amps are too expensive here in Europe (with the exception of my little Kustom Tube 12A, see my review, dynamite box but not for clubs). I may buy another just for backup. I love the weight, the way it works with the multi FX I practice on, the power, the versatile way it's thought out. Compare it to what? At this price and specs, there is NOTHING to compare it to. Tube purists won't like it; as a stand alone its sound is nothing special. But use it the way it was designed to be used, and you will be very happy.

OK the features have been well described so far. There are many good features built in to this amp.

OK so for the price what do you expect.I got this becuase it was inexpensive and I entended to use it as a backup head. Well This is totaly not possible. It works well as a clean amp if you put the gain around 9 or 10 and feed a beafy medium signal to it and put the level at almost max. You will have to play with the EQ to get a flat sound and at this point is makes a good amp to put a set of pedals into and try to get a decent last ditch sound if all fails. I howerver would consider getting a lower wattage tube head it will sound almost as lound and you can mic it. The tone will have nothing to do with this thing, well the price will also be a bit different I guess. Well to sum it up...if you have no other choise use this as a backup and be prepared to experiment at home with pedals and EQ well in advance to have a setting that you can get away with. I would not use this as a main amp at all unless you can't help it, save up and get a decnt amp even if it is lower wattage. NOT A TONE WINNER

I have no idea

???

Well for the price it is nice to just have in the collection and take allong in case all goes wrong. Other than that I wouldn't blink if it blew up. I guess this is one of those why not if it's on sale for 60 bucks.

As already described.
It is important to note that when using the CD or line in inputs, the front panel controls have no effect on this input (although they do add to the noise, so best turn all controls down if using back panel inputs)

The guitar input sound is very good for the price, quite chunky and VERY loud (I placed the amp on top of a 2x 12, and the ensuing vibrations caused the amp to jump off the amp onto the floor, even at 1/2 volume). Even with a clean sound, there is a little highish frequency superimposed fizzy noise, but not too bad in a live situation. There is definitely a little compression going on, and a noise gate (you can hear that HF noise turning off as the note dies away),but, considering the price, this is perfectly acceptable.
I also note that with my guitar (PRS SE with soapbar PUs), the noise floor is pretty quiet with the guitar volume at 10, but there is some hum when the guitar volume is backed off to about 8. However, this hum goes completely when backed off to 6 or less - weird.
The clean sound through rear panel IPs is nowhere near so loud, but probably just about loud enough for a small gig. Good quality through line in, not so good through CD inputs for some reason.

Not known. Seems VERY solidly built, but for ??50 it MUST be made to a price.

NK

I bought this for use mainly as a stereo amp for my live guitar rig (OP from mixer into line inputs). Too loud for bedroom (have to have mixer outputs turned right down), but may not be quite loud enough for a gig situation, we'll have to see.
EXCELLENT VALUE

Made in 2005 I think
Good for jazz, blues, rock
1 channel
good for practice, jamms, small gigs.
150 watts mono, or 2*75 stereo, solid state.
effects loop
xlr output
cd inputs
Headphones out.

The amp cleans up until gain reaches 12 o'clock, then starts to crunch. With the gain all the way up, you get ac/dc like distortion.
I'm using it with a Washburn X40 pro. 2 splittable humbuckers.
With this amp, you can play a variety of music styles, except for hi-gain music such as metal.
There's a bit of noise then the gain is cranked all the way, just like on most amps.
The amp is pretty responsive, on clean settings as well as with maximum distortion. The tone reminds me of Marshall amps.
The only thing I do not like about it is the headphones output. It doesn't sound great through headphones, kinda fizzy, even though there is a built in speaker simulator.

so far I have had no problems with the amp.

I never had to deal with the company.

I have been playing for 15 years.
If it was stolen, I would certainly buy a new one because this amp is very affordable.
I like that it is so small and simple. It's a little bit limited, for it doesn't do high gain and it doesn't have a reverb. However, you can by-pass the preamp and use it only the power amp section, and it handles effects pedals, multi-fx units, modellers, and external preamps very well, making it a very versatile device.
I have a short video of the amp on youtube if you want to hear it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7uO9oO6pOI

I give it a 9 here mainly because of all of the features on the rear panel and the headphone jack on the front. At 150 watts in mono at 8 ohms or 75 watts per side in side at 4 ohms, how could I go wrong? It's important to stick to the ohm rating as I'll go into later.

I'm a bass player primarily(progressive and classic rock) so I don't know what guitar players expect out of this amp, but the sound is very transparent and reminds me a bit of my old Gallien-Krueger. Overdrive is easy to induce by turning the gain knob higher than the level control.

I just got it so I can't say how reliable it is but it's built like a tank.

Never had to call them.

I've been playing bass for 30 years and like to play guitar once in awhile just to see how the other half lives. If this were stolen, I'd find another(if I could since these are now discontinued). One thing about this amp that I'd like to mention, and that the instructions really don't tell you, concerns speaker use and ohm rating. In stereo, if I try to run an 8 ohm speaker out of each channel, it cuts out when I hit it hard. Normally, you can go to a higher ohm rating on and amp but not lower, but not with this amp. I then ran the amp into two Ampeg PortaBass 212 cabs at 4 ohms per side(like it says on the rear panel) and it absolutely kicked! This amp had no problem reproducing the frequencies of my 5 string bass at volumes that I couldn't even go to without the neighbors banging on the walls. This amp is made in China by the same company that makes my Ampeg PortaBass amps and I suspect that there are some very similar things going on in the design of the circuitry. PowerBlock..PortaBass..hmmm.

Single-channel amp, with gain, hi, mid, low and master controls from left to right. Tiny light-weight in a cute, handy little transport bag.
Has a line out to go directly into a mixing desk (with a level control pot), a CD-input for music playback, also an effects loop. Can be used as a poweramp via a line-in input for maybe digital preamps. Has a headphone output jack.
150 watts mono when bridged (switchable) at 8 Ohms min. or 2 x 75 watts stereo at two 4 ohm cabs.
Most versatile single-channel amp I`ve ever owned.

Sounds terrific! The closest to a tube amp sound I`ve ever heard from a solid state. Decent clean sound with single coils up towards gain at about 11 o`clock. Warm sounding crunch at higher gain settings, but surely not enough distortion for endless sustain.
I use a TAD "Range King" gain/treble booster to overdrive the Powerblock a little more and get a marvelous lead distortion.

I`ve got it new - can`t tell ...

-

Great sound for little money.
During the past few weeks, I left my beloved all-tube heads at home, took the little block with me in that handbag it was shipped with to every gig or rehearsal. It`s pleasure and comfort, fantastic !

Effects loop, Headphone Jack, stero, overdrive and clean channel... more overdrive would be nice ;) Great for preamps.. which im trying to get my hands on!

i bought with a schecter black hawk bundle for ??200!!

Sounds pretty thick, if it had full on distortion i would be very happy, its more crunch than anything else..

clean sounds superb.. i still cant believe how much i got for..

its built pretty solid... i havent had long enough to judge though..

dont use them!

VERSITILE, RELIABLE, SOUNDS GREAT, INCREDIBLE LOW PRICE, what more could you ask for!

you've read the specs already somewhere else... Decent amount of control of the sound, presence and reverb would be nice but this unit is ok without.

Very loud!!It keeps the neighbors awake for sure. If you have a really nice pedal, nice cab, but no amp, this amp is for you! I'm not a huge fan of the sound going straight into but preproccess and be easy with the gain and it is has as much crunch as my friends marshall hybrid.

I play punk/thrash/metallish type stuff and run an Agile LP-2500->Digitech RP-80(for the expression pedal)->Digitech Distortion Factory->Powerblock's main in->'78 Peavy 4x12. My bass setup is a no name bass->Digitech Main Squeeze compression pedal->Powerblock fx in->'78 Peavy 4x12. both can jam at the same time so when i got a friend over, the powerblock gets a threesome. Giving it a 9 because feels like it could use just alittle higher range on the thresholds of the controls.

As long as it doesnt break in 5 years im in good shape. Seems stable.

Not dealth with yet, hopefully wont have too unless its intentionally damaged to get a new one just before the warranty expires.

Been playing about 10 years, 4 seriously but now that i have this, its a reason to play everyday. This little amp has the tenacity of a much larger amp(or 2). The versatility to be able to run anything, not just guitar, makes it an even greater value.