Crate PowerBlock Head

what we have here is crate's newest toy... features are actually somewhat plenty for such a small chassis...single chanel preamp, stereo effects loop, aux in, xlr - cab simulated outputs, the ability to run stereo or mono and 4.5 pounds. A nice padded carrying bag is included. If the preamp section had more features ( channel switching, seperate eq's) it would definitley earn a 10.....

I use this with various double humbucker guitars ( gibson, musicman, jackson, etc.) and single coils (stratocaster)... It sounds surprisingly awesome...probobly the most responsive " tubelike" solid state amp I have ever tried...Clean tones sounds top notch with a nice chorus and the dirt sounds are more classic rock...you want to play ac/dc riffs without cranking a plexi in your bedroom?.this is probobly your best bet... It sounds really good with a digitech bad monkey ( another budget item) overdrive infront of it...that will push the gain into a great metal territory...think of this amp as a light, compact , JCM 800 sound.. I bought it to run my podxt live through the effects return ( in mono mode through a 2x12 8 ohm cab for maximum punch and volume) it sounds real good...but...I actually enjoy playing though the front of the crate "barebones" much better..I really dig the responsivness of this little amp that the modeller falls short of....that and my stylings are leaning more towards classic rock/blues tones these days...

I have not taken it out of my home yet but it seems reliable...the chassis is metal, and the pots have a nice smooth feel...I will definitley bring this to all my gigs as a backup amp....

never dealt...but I owned a crate 2x10 amp back inthe 80's and it is proboby still ticking somewhere....

I have been playing for 20 years....I have owned Marshalls, fenders, and currnently mesas...I don't feel I am comprimising anything by using this amp as a "home jamming" rig... I was never the type to bring my halfstack into my living room and crank it to ten anyways.... I bought this as a lightweight backup amp and poweramp for my pod....I was pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds and now just enjoy it as a straight up barebones amp and "utility " vehicle! Crate has been hitting homeruns lately...there v-series , class A tube amps are great sounding , well built amps as well ( I have had a v15...killer little tube amp!)

The best match for this amp is a modeller or guitar workstation on the front end. I use a Digitech GNx3. This amp was made for it. On it's own, the features of the amp are serviceable as a backup or maybe better (see below about using a BBE unit). I've played it straight in with single coil and humbucker guitars and it is about as touch sensitive a front end as you'll find solid state. Crate thought carefully about the features and put in everything you need, except that the effect loop seems to be mono. If the loop was stereo and more intuitive I'd give this thing a 10. As is, it's a 9 for what it was intended for.

I play a lot of styles, blues, rock, jazz-rock (steely dan material, originals, some latin-influenced, country-rock (danny gatton!), crossover originals influenced by Edgar Meyer, and in my band, a bunch of old surf tunes to boot. This amp handles everything well. No apologies needed for the sound. I'm not going to compare it to my Fuchs Overdrive Supreme, that's not fair! But on it's own merits, it's very solid. Cleans are nice and the overdrive is usable.

NOW, how to make this thing a beast you don't want to stop playing! First, use a good modeller or workstation in front. I use a GNX3 and it really comes alive through the Powerblock.. the closest to the recording quality sound I get out of it, or through stereo headphones. This is a match made in heaven. I won't use the GNX3 live in front of a gainy tube amp like my Fuchs, it sounds harsh no matter how its EQ'd... i play pretty much straight in on tube amps. Different story with the PB, it's input circuitry works great. I've tried it both using the stereo line inputs and mono in the input jack. You won't get as much volume out of the line-in configuration because the gnx doesn't drive the power stage as hard as the internal PB preamp. I love some of the stereo sounds but for live use, you're better going in through the preamp mono and adjusting level and gain to suit. You can actually use a bit of the PB's gain with the gnx and it's very nice. LOUD in this config. No drummer will match this at full tilt.

Second part of the ultimate sound quest is to use a BBE "sonic maximizer" in the loop. Unfortunately, the loop seems to be mono only. If you run mono, no biggie. If you run stereo, I think you only get the benefit in the right channel. I A-B'd with the BBE in and out and was dumbfounded by the difference. I've used BBE in other situations and it's always good, one of those can't-hurt tools... but in the PB's loop it does the most amazing tightening/cleaning/sparkling job on the sound. With the BBE in I'd play the PB anywhere, and just might. I'm kind of a tube snob so I'm really surprised to finding myself say this. All I can say is you should check it out! This is the ultimate backup or mainline amp even if you have a modeller you like working with. I'm assuming that modellers besides the Digitech will work similarly well with the PB.

I haven't used this with Crate's GT112SL speaker but plan to get one and post on it. Currently I'm using an EarCandy Buzzbomb 112 with an Avatar Hellatone in it (it's a broken-in Celestion Vintage 30, fantastic!). Sounds GREAT.

On its own, the PB sound is a solid 8. With the BBE and a modeller, it's 10. I'll give the bare rating here.

Too early to tell. Should be fine because solidstate equipment lives a long time if it survives its early days. Crate gives a 5 year warranty on it. that's plenty.

Don't know but I also have a Crate Vintage Club 20R and they've been helpful with questions.

Blah blah blah. Playing a long time, sometimes semi-pro, never for 100% of my income. Always for fun. Lots of gear blah blah blah. Don't need to gloat. Listen, this amp is a must have if you gig with a tube amp. And, if you set it up with a modeller and a BBE, you may just find that you are using the PB INSTEAD of your expensive tube amp. Truly a work of engineering art, hats off to Crate, they killed this one!

No frills but has the bare minimum to get the job done. It needs to have a clean/crunch switch and either a presence knob or a bright switch. It has some nice features like balanced XLR direct out and a stereo effects toop.

I bought this to run my pedals through or use as a power amp for a modeler. The onboard pre-amp is mediocre sounding at best, somewhat dull. If it has either a cocentric presensce knob or a bright switch, that would vastly improve the clean sound. As it stands I have to turn up the treble for it to cut through the mix, but then I get this annoying transister radio ice-pick frequency. Problem solved with an EQ pedal. However, the lack of sufficient headroom is a problem. It starts to distort around 10 o-clock. I can get loud enough for a medium volume practice but anything more than that I have to crank the gain into distortion territory, which sounds like total ass on top of my pedals. The distortion circuit alone a bit on the shrill side, but is passable as a backup solution. I would give it a 5 for this feature.

As a power amp, it really shines I would give it an 8. It is virtually uncolored. For this, I'll give it an overall 7

I have experienced a problem where the power keeps clicking on and off, especially when I've had it in the car when it's cold outside for a long time. It happened at a gig. Luckily, the other band was kind enough to let us use their amp. I ended up bringing it back and exchanging it for another. So far, I haven't had any problems with this replacement unit. Knock on wood.

I went back to the seller who was an authorized Crate dealer via eBay. He made it right.

I would really like to see it have these things as push/pull pots:

* Pull Bright and/or a Cocentric Presence Knob within the Treble knob
* Pull Clean/Crunch on the Gain knob

I would also like to see this thing able to handle a 4ohm mono load.

I love being able to sling this thing over my shoulder and carry it back and forth to practice instead of my head. That in itself makes it worth getting despite it's shortcomings. For less than 200 dolars, you can't go wrong.

Everybody knows. It's light, small, cheap and loud.

I play a 25 year old Modulus Graphite Blackknife (strat) with EMGs. ...it's a Strat. I play bashy, original, alt-honky tonk, countryish stuff. (www.77eldeora.com) Mostly clean tones from light to rather aggressive. I use a Digitech multi-effect pedal between the guitar and head, primarily as a volume pedal and for reverb and occasional compression. (I'm using less compression, less often since getting this amp but that may be a changing taste thing). 12" Celestion.

This amp and pedal have replaced a 45lb, 4 space rack (ADA MP2/Microtube 200 power amp, Digitech multieffect unit, AC strip) and a midi pedal (ADA). I'm a lazy guy but I don't feel like I've had to sacrifice anything with this combination.

Play mostly bars, small clubs. Loud enough to play the clean tones with a drummer at full chat. It won't do full saturated metal distortion but I don't need that. It will still give far heavier tones than I need. I tend to use the gain between 12 and 2

I've had it a couple of months. Done 6 or 7 gigs and a couple rehearsals with it. No problems.

NA

I like it. I'd replace it.

I had to cover the obscenly oversized CRATE logo on the front with a piece of black tape. I cut a small triangle out over the power indicator.

I wish we could afford to produce amps like this in the US

This amp is simple but sounds awesome, and is super loud. I have never written a review before, but felt compelled to do so after buying this little gem. This thing is well worth the money. The clean tone is on the darker side, with a perfect hint of tube warmth. It sounds better than my Fender Twin, Peavey Triple X, and Line6. Did I mention that his thing is loud? I'm playing through two 2X12 Messa Boogie Cabs, and it's so loud it will make your ears bleed. The best part, as you turn-up the gain, it sounds similar to a JCM 800, and it blends perfectly with my modeling gear. Also this thing is deadly silient. No hum/ hiss/ or ffedback. No footswith or reverb, but who cares. I have a little Digitech Artist Series Pedal with a Vox Wah, and it sounds sick. Little hint. Put a decent EQ pedal in the FX loop, and a BBE Sonic Maximizer, and this thing is a virtual flame thrower. For 200 bucks, plus the cost of cheaper modeler, and the portability of the unit, is a godsend..Awesome.

Using Fender
Play Rock, Metal, Blues
Oriignal and Cover Bands

Its solid state. Hell buy two, and use one for a back-up. This thing will become a classic.

Not sure...

Playing for 20 years.
I generally hate CRATE products, but I would definetly buy another one. This thing is a classic.
Best value out there.
I think its perfect. Made to be used with a modeler, but holds its own when it comes to clean and dirty sounds.

If you criticize this unit for not having reverb or a foot controller I think you are being too hard on it. I could agree to a point, but really this thing does not need reverb, and I like the fact its simple, and super functional. Best of all its small, and you can bring it anywhere. It would holds its own at a club, or in a living room.

WELL DONE CRATE !!!!

pretty basic, single channel with gain, standard eq. it's got a nifty effects loop function through a trs input that i have yet to try. its not very fancy, but it does what it does well. the only thing i'd want is some on-board reverb. the size of this thing amazes me, though. it's smaller than my laptop, which is awesome because i can now put it on the floor with my pedalboard and run everything through to a cab with no mess.

i play a prs mccarty with stock humbuckers most of the time, and this amp is a pretty good match. my other amp right now is a 40 watt marshall tube combo with a clean channel and a gain channel with boost, so i'll use that as a benchmark. i tested these two back to back, putting the crate through the speakers on my friend's 2x12 marshall combo. clean, the crate sounds great at lower volumes, which is great for jazz gigs. the gain texture is very tube-like, kind of in between marshall and mesa/boogie, which i really dig. highs are very well articulated without being too piercing, and the mids are nice and creamy. however, the low end lacks clarity and there isn't alot of headroom. however, the sound is fantastic compared to the price. this amp is the most tube-like sounding solid state amp i've ever heard.

i would definitely depend on this. i used this as a backup amp at a gig after i got it and the other guitarist i was playing with had to go through the crate and direct into a keyboard amp. i was playing wit hthe aforementioned marshall combo, and the crate cut through perfectly-in fact, i think it sounded better than my marshall at some points. and the thing's built like a rock and can take different power voltages and currents. definitely a keeper.

got it off ebay, so i wouldn't know.

this amp is great. it's already proven its worth to me, and i think i might actually start using it as my main amp. i play with alot of effects and textures, so being able to manipulate my amp very easily is becoming pretty important. i would definitely buy it again. the sound could be improved, but for the price point, i'm all for this baby.

This was made in 2005. One channel, no frills head.

RCA inputs and headphones jack. I use it either with a Tonelab SE or some stompboxes (Boss DS1 + Behringer EQ700).

The headphone feature wasn't even on my mind when I bough this thing but is fantastic. I play covers and it's easy to play along to the CD, dial in the sounds with the Tonelab and then have the same sound in the rehearsal room.

My main guitar is a Fender Stratocaster Plus with Laces and a SD Quarterpounder. I play in a cover band.

Basically, you get gain good enough for AC/DC but that's all. With a little less gain, it's possible to get a slightly compressed and very inspiring funk sound. The clean is a far cry from my Bassman 50, but the price of this amp is less than the bi-annual service and tubechange for the Bassman.

Using only TS-1 stompbox model in the Tonelab I'm still shocked by the sound. Then it's close to fantastic.

I never gig without some kind of backup solution.

I left the amp in the car for a day at -3 deg C and at reharsal night it wouldn't start. After being plugged in for almost 10 minutes it woke up and then worked perfecylt normal.

That scared me a bit. Its been dead reliable otherwise.

After the incident with the cold I contacted Crate Support, they answered prompt and nice.

I stumbled on this thing by accident and bought it untried and unheard. Basically, I'm between 'real' amps - just sold a tube head and was looking for another. But I found I'm nearly falling in love with this toyish amp.

Clearly it's doesn't sound like a tube head but its soooo nice to not have to lug around 20 kg's (~40 pounds) of amphead. Its really loud. With my 4x12 it shook the floor and made the alarm go on in the room next to our rehearsal space.

I absolutely love the headhpone feature, to dial in sounds and replicate them at rehearsal. Thats perhaps the best thing, to have the same sound at home and at rehearsal.

As a companion to the Tonelab SE it's good. I think a poweramp would be useful too but I find almost always that some overall EQ is needed.

But if this was available as a 'linear' head, Tech21 Power Engine style, it would suit me better. But that's another story. If a 2-amps-into-one-cabinet switch wasnt so increadibly expensive i'd buy another to get a two-channel head!

Trying to sum-up, I own a lot of expensive gear, but this little thing is now my main amp and my opinion of Crate has taken a total turn. Well done Crate!!!

SAME AS STATED BY OTHER REVIEWRS. i AGREE IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE REVERB,BUT IF YOU USE PEDALS,ESPECIALLY MULTI EFFECTS UNITS LIKE A BOSS GT-8 OR SIMILAR IT REALLY IS NOT AN ISSUE. ALTHOUGH IT`S RATED AT 150 WATTS, I WISH IT HAD EVEN MORE CLEAN HEADROOM. IT COMPARES TO ABOUT A 75 WATT NORMAL AMP. AND I USE 2X10 JBL E11O SPEAKERS

I PLAY MOSTLY GIBSON`S ( ES-345.PAT MARTINO,ETC), SO I`M USING HUMBUCKERS. I REALLY LIKE THE BASIC TONE OF THE AMP, AND I`VE OWNED QUITE A FEW AMPS( HIWATT,MARSHALL,FENDER,MESA BOOGIE,CARVIN,EVEN 2 DUMLBLES). AGAIN EVEN THOUGH IT`S FAIRLY LOUD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A BIT MORE CLEAN HEADROOM.

THE AMP WORKS GREAT,ALTHOUGH IF SEES TO HOT OF AN INPUT IT WILL SHUT DOWN MOMENTARILY. I`VE USED THIS AMP W/OUT A BACK UP AND NO TROUBLE FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS.

CAN`T COMMENT, SINCE I`VE NEVER DEALT W/ THEM BEFORE.

I`VE BEEN PLAYING 31 YEARS PROFFESIONALLY. AND AS I GET OLDER I`M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THE STRIDES BEING MADE IN HIGH QUALITY GEAR AT GREAT PRICES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY SMALL PORTABLE AMPS.

I think the features have been stated often enough for others to know what this amp is about. The only feature I wish it had is a some type of digital room reverb. Other than that this baby is the ultimate in conveniance. Great at Band Rehearsals, as it has RCA inputs I could plug my MP3 player into to review tunes my band covers. I run this into a 4x10 Ampeg Cabinet and it sounds great by itself, however I have started running my Pod 2.0 into the Line inputs in stereo, and now it sounds unbelievable. I also run it into the matched 1x12 Crate Cab which is also sounds nice. Really Great Product. I play Classic Rock. The amp has plenty of power but only when driven on the inputs. Not a lot of clean headroom without a volume boost.

I play a Fender Standard Ash Tele with stock PUPs mainly, also a Strat Plus with Lace Sensors and a Burns Red Special with Burns Trisonics. All sound great. Have not tried my Gibson Explorer yet. I use a Boss EQ as a lead signal boost. I am very pleased with the portability and convenience of the unit. This amp sounds outstanding just by itself. Very tubelike dirt which disolves nicely when the guitar volume is eased back. The distortion is usable for Classic rock crunch, but an external pedal is needed to get the smooth sustain required for some lead work. I mostly play single coils though it and I am sure a moderate to high output humbucking pickup would make a world of difference here to how intense it breaks up. I mostly use it as a power amp now that I am learning how to use amp modeling units for my sound. This amp is fairly quiet unless the gain is cranked and even then it is not bad compared to others, and nothing a noise gate can't mitigate.

So far so good. Comes with a nice padded Gig Bag. Does not seem to get very hot, and I run it for hours.

I own three Crates and so far no problems with any of them.

Been playing 27 years. Current gear is listed at

For a part time musician, having to come home from my day job, and run out of the house to rehearsals, this is the ultimate value. Just sling the gig bag over my shoulder, get in the car and go. Also love watching people's reactions when they see this little thing on top of a speaker cabinet and watch their expressions change as soon as the first chord is played though it!

Only thing missing is reverb although if you play into this by itself there is enough presence to make up for the lack of reverb.

You know the specs

I enjoyed the Strat into this pluged into 1 X 12" cab. Sounded great. BUT I bought it to plug the acoustic into. I plug up a pair of Carvin 810 two way speakers and plugged in the Martin and the sound sucked. Hi freq crakle and buzz. I thought the speakers where blown. Plugged Martin into Samson amp into same speakers no problems just louder acoustic.
Has any one tried Bass into horn loaded cab?

Won't work for me.

See reliability

See reliability

I had the amp for about 3 weeks. I had put maybe 20 hours on it:10 as a guitar amp, 10 as a studio monitor amp (mixer to RCA inputs, sounds the same as my Alesis RA100. To be fair, I am using 2-way 8" Jensens from 1982 for the studio monitors. Great speakers, but not near field monitors.) I was trying a different application of this "swiss army knife". I was using a Vox Tonelab into the effects loop. After playing for about 10 minutes with the Tonelab/Powerblock set up, white smoke started to flow from every orifice. Not mine, the amps. It was the smell I noticed first. You know the one. The death of an electronic gizmo smell. I quickly turned it off and unplugged the power cable. Smoke continued to come out (at a decreasing rate) for about 3 minutes. I returned it the Guitar Center for a new one. (See customer service) I have used the new one as a guitar amp, and the reference monitor, and I have used it on one 10 song jazz set. No troubles. I am a bit nervous about plugging in the modeler. If the new one fails, I will be disappointed as the amp in a terrific idea and functions well when not billowing white smoke. Maybe it's a hidden smoke machine feature...

This is about the gear behemoth, Guitar Center. They are not bad overall in my experience, but it took me about 3 weeks to get the new amp. Are you trying to tell me that GC can't call St. Louis Music and get an amp drop shipped that same day? They made me come back and pick up the replacement. They refused to ship it directly to me pro bono. In other words, "we will need to charge you extra to make you a satisfied customer. So you bought an amp from us that failed, you will have driven here 3 times to purchase what you wanted, and we will do nothing extra for you as it might add $5 to our product cost. We would rather have you vent on Harmony Central about us. We are just department managers, we lack vision. We are lemmings packed into shiny metal boxes (name that tune). Would you like to buy some strings?"
I know what you are saying: "dude, they're huge, what do you expect?" OK, maybe you don't say, "dude", but that's the idea right? I know I sound whiney. I know its pie in the sky. Sorry for that, but they will give us what we will accept. I'm weary of it.

If the new one continues to work in all its miriad ways, I will love it.
If it cooks like the last one, I will lament the near amazing product that SLM didn't quite get right. And have to make yet another trip to GC about this product.

Cool ins and outs. Basic front panel minus reverb. Purchased through Musician's Friend. Comes with the padded bag, which is good quality. Cuts down on shipping materials, too which is great. The class D power is also a very efficient choice. If you're a global warming activist, buy this amp.

Best all Solid State guitar amp I've heard yet, but still not quite there. Played (150 watts bridged mode) through an Avatar G212H cab with Eminence M12's, An EV 1X12 Cab (handmade), and an Eminence 1X15 cab (handmade). Used a '62 strat with seymour duncan vintage replacements. For pedals had a well connected board with Dunlop wah, Boss CS-2, Marshall Bluesbreaker #1, Ibanez TS-9, Danelectro tremolo, Danelectro delay, and Ibanez RC-99. The amp was much noisier with pedals than I'd expected. Lots of hiss and garbage when pedals were on. Not so much you couldn't live with it, but compared to my 50 watt Music Man head (from the RD50 112 combo) it was noisy. Pedals might be better off through the effects loop. The amp had more noise when simply turned on, with or without pedals than my MM50, also. The tones are excellent from this amp. Flat out clean is great, mid level gain is creamy, and flat out gain is cool, too. Like a Marshall Plexi. I bought it to be clean as hell with a little grit to it. It achieved that but the lows were very undefined. Powdery, in fact. I could not get it to match the definition in the lows and quiet running sounds I get from the MM50 head through the two bigger cabs. The highs sound a bit sizzly. It has a SHITE-LOAD of power, though. It's a very good amp, but I had high hopes for it to become a modern, efficient, and low maintenance replacement for my Music Man. For the money it's one hell of a good guitar amp head, but it didn't satisfy my needs. If a later revision is voiced a little better, with tighter lows and smoother highs, I'd buy it again. It's ALLLLMOST there! :-)

If my Music Man is a 9 through a quality cab like the Avatar, this is a 7 through the same cab. Fender Deluxe would be my 8. 10, where are you???!!!

I'd use this head over many.

I had to return it the first time because the input jack broke inside of 20 minutes. I think it was a fluke. Go easy though, it sits at an angle. I think it's solid.

Lots of emails to Crate techs. Very supportive. I think they are the real deal. This amp just didn't meet my needs/expectations.

It's really, really good. Better than digital. But not quite solving the solid state problem (as I see it). Very natural sound, but not the same. Not close enough for the road. Close enough for $199 and a small club though.

Submitting this to ask a question of the other owners of this amp.

My Powerblock head has developed a 60 hrtz hum that's not tied to the volume controls - that is, if the amp is on, the hum is present at the same level no matter where the controls are set. It's quite low, not intrusive yet, and doesn't come out through headphones.
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I am disturbed because I've had this amp since June, and I've never noticed this hum before.
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I tried different outlets and surge protectors, and I compared this to two other transistor amps plugged into the same outlets, a twenty-five year old Roland Cube and a 15-ish year old Dean Markley practice amp - Both were dead silent when idling.
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I should mention that this amp has never been gigged, if fact it has never left my living room.
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Has anyone else experienced this background hum?

OK, we'll see. At this point I'm rather dubious. I really love this amp. It sounds great, and takes up very little space. I had never bought a Crate product, this was my first after 25 years of playing guitar and bass.
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I was NOT happy about buying a 'Made In China' product. I debated this for about a month, but after trying the amp and loving it, I decided to give it a shot, despite my reservations about chinese quality, their trade practices, and the fact that their labor force is basically captive. If, as I suspect, the power supply is faulty or going bad, this will be my last Chinese manufactured product for guitar (and likely my last Crate).
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Can't seem to escape the ubiquitous chinese manufactured "disposable" DVD players, which seem to fry after about a year, no matter what brand they are. The other low quality home audio/video products from China DO NOT foreshadow great future reliability for this guitar amp.:

Crate's website has been down for nearly a month...although I suppose I could call them. [I dread the feeling I'd get that all purpose
run-around answer, "they all do that," or the other one - "for the price you'll just have to live with it." ] In all fairness, I can't email their site while it's down, and I haven't contacted them by phone or snail mail.
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I sent an email regarding a different new product a few months ago, and I got no reply.

I've been playing more than 25 years. This amp is a great product, IF IT LASTS.

Features have been well described below. I just want to say that I have been playing through this for 2-months now. I really wanted to give it a Hell of a work-out before I commented on it. Anyway the Features are very usefull, lord they only other thing that would be nice would be a two-chaannel foot switch? Probly be on the next Power-Block. Lord you have to leave room for some kind of improvment.

Sounds Awsome. I never though the day would come when a Amp be produced that is THIS CLOSE to tube dynamics. I STARTED with tubes as a kid, have used them since 67. Anything solid-state. digital, anolog was ALWAYS a hard sell to me! I stopped at Guitar Center to pick-up some strings and a friend of mine who works there, said I should jam through this awhile? I just looked at him, he was serious! So I plugged a Strat in and started jamming, no effects, no-reverb! Man did this little Crate Power Block sound good with the Gain around 2o'clock with that Strat. So I picked up a Faded Les-Paul with Burstbuckers. Sounded really nice. Next a LP-DC Faded Special w/P-90's. Man that Crate sounded like it was made for P-90's. It got better and better and better! At that point I new I was buying it. So I bought the head. And [I have a few cabinates] with various speakers and speaker configurations. Now although when I got home the amp still sounded good. It didn't sound as good as with the Cab that is voiced for it from Crate with a special designed Celestion speaker. I fooled with variuos combo's and wound up goiung back to GC and buying the Cab. I got home and presto the great tone was there again. If you LIKE CLEAN TONE'S1 This amp with its matching cab sounds wonderful! In another room you wouldn't tell if it was tube or not! Daisy chaining effects in front of the amp are not as nice as noise free as I would like. The effects loop in the rear requires a few piece's and a visit to Radio-Shack. The effects loop is Stereo! So you have to set-up a 1/4 inch converter that switches from stereo to mono and adds another outlet in the process! A little to much junk added into the signal line creates NOISE! I wound up going back to the daisy-chain and switching to another OD pedal since my Tube-Screamer was to noisey with it. I wound up finding a DOD Juice-Box in a pawn shop that worked just right with it [no-noise] So that a EH Reverb and a 535Crybaby and thats it!

This is part of the reason I waited to do a review on this Amp. I really had the impression it wouldn't last. [My gut feeling] I even took out a extended warrenty for two-years from GC just in case there's a problem down the line. I feel the Switch or the input jacks will break-down with time and use. I could be wrong and this is pure speculation. As I said I could be wrong, but I doubt it!

No idea, never used them.

I love this Amp. If its any indication of where we are headed with non-tube amplifiers, I am delighted. It sounds awsome and has been very dependable to date. The clean is awsome and as lond as your not trying to reach Dual-Rectifier OD then you will like the gain. The gain is equal to what some-one below said, a JCM-900. That was a good comparison. I use to play through a JCM-900 and when I got the Crate home and really started to jam with the Gain pushed-up. That is what it reminded me of a JCM-900. I hate to give products a TEN. I believe there's always room for improvement. But I got to give this a Ten. Its the first NON-TUBE amp that I really enjoy playing through day after day. I practice at home with the Crate and take it on road as a back-up to my Fenders. I love Fender-clean. So when I say this is a nice clean sounding amp, believe me it is! Oh and remember you will need a Reverb unit with it since there is no reverb on this head! But it sounds good dry too! LOVE THIS PIECE!

It's new, obviously. The features have been outlined below/before, so I won't bother. Although it functions as an amp head, I'm using it to power my Adrenalinn into a Boogie ported 1X12" for smaller stages, and it's AWESOME in this capacity. I'd give it a 9 as a power amp and a 5 as a "real" amp, so here's a 7...

Since the Adrenalinn 9is an amp modeler (among other things), it doesn't really matter what guit I use - I've played it with my American Deluxe Fat Strat, Ibanez Jem 7VWH, Ibanez AXQM-something-or-other, Epi SG Custom, it's pretty much the same story: TONS of clean headroom in the 150w bridged mono mode, and sends a great tone to the house via the XLR line out while powering my cab for onstage monitoring. Really effective. As an amp, the distortion tones are edgy, but not over-the-top enough for what I do. Again, for clean power I'd say 9, but it's own "voice" rates about a 5. So it's a 7.

Too soon to tell, but it seems fairly bulletproof.

N/A...there's a warranty, I'm sure the terms have been covered already.

I've been playing for 27 years (please don't tell my label how old I am). This isn't as harmonically rich and complex as my old, OLD Mesa Simul-Class 295, but it also doesn't weigh 60 or so pounds and/or take up 4 rack spaces. My stage tech is very happy with the substitution, and I've gotta say, I picked this up just for the price/versatility/convenience but I'm really beyond thrilled with the sound of it as a power amp with my "regular" rig:

Multi amp rig - one side is a 50w Marshall JCM 900 (clean channel, everything dimed) with a TC Electronics G-Force in the effects loop, the other side is an ART SGX 2000 (on the "tube clean" distortion setting, don't knock it till you've tweaked it - but I will admit that it's the only remotely passable distortion in the unit) with an old Digitech IPS 33B pitch shifter in its effects loop - pretty much only used a a doubler, which it's awesome for if not overused - which is tempting to do) - this side used to go thru the Boogie 295 but now goes thru the Crate.

The Power Block does a reasonable job as an amp head, but you'd most likely want to put a "real" distortion/fuzz (my Z Vex Fuzz Factory is especially nice) in front of it - you'll get a better distortion tone, plus then you'd have sort of "virtual" channel switching, since the head doesn't do it. It does clean so well...

And cheap? Come on...what a value. Even if you picked it up to have a last resort backup amp - it'd more than suffice. An awesome product. I won't give it a 10, just because that seems too ass-kissy. I'm really digging this piece. Highly recommended if you need clean power, esp for an amp modeler since it sports that bitchen XLR out it also doubles as a direct box. I'm gonna give it the big 1-0 here

The specs are better outlined above: gain, master vol., bass/treble/midrange tone controls w/ input jack and headphone out on the front panel. BACK panel has stereo and bridged-mono speaker outs (up to 150 watts at 8 ohms available), TRS line inputs, one of which doubles as an effects loop, stereo RCA inputs, and balanced XLR output. This is a BRILLIANTLY designed product!

I bought this to use as sort of a 'Swiss Army Knife' backup for gigs. It weighs five pounds and takes up almost no room among the survival items I carry to gigs. However, it's a (1) great-sounding backup guitar amp, (2) a BASS amp, with the proper speaker, (3) an active direct box (patch into the line input and out the XLR), (4) a stereo-to-mono-balanced converter for either 1/4" or RCA jacks, (5) a headphone practice amp, and (6) a stand-alone guitar preamp for direct recording. It would be easier to list the reasons why one should NOT have one!

I play classic rock, variety rock, jazz and/or country, depending on the gig and band. I use a Roadhouse Strat, a Squier '51, and a couple of USA-made Peaveys built up with DiMarzio pickups. This amp seems to like single-coil pickups or humbuckers equally. The clean sounds are very useful; the distortion sounds are, as noted elsewhere here not heavy-metal-gainy, but good and sustained, with an open midrange, good for AC/DC or Bad Company-type sounds. The amp is a little hissy at very loud volumes and high gains, but what isn't?

Five year warranty. I truse Crate will take care of me, based on comments from a repairman friend of mine who's worked very successfully with St. Louis Music. I've had this for only a very few days, but have played it for several hours, both for home practice and a band rehearsal. It runs cool, is very loud. I anticipate no problems using this for my intended application(s).

I've never needed them. I've spoken to St. Louis Music about other concerns and have always found them very helpful. Again, a five year warranty. Since most products either fail right away, or never, I think is both safe and fair on their part.

I don't know if I'd use this as my ONLY guitar amp, but it's nice to know that I could! For it's intended multi-tasking, I hope to never be without one. Yes, I'd buy another. A built-in digital reverb would be neat, but would defeat the idea of having a bone-simple plug-and-play device. The effects loop works great, and the sound with a Peavey digital delay pedal in the loop is extremely good.

This amplifier I believe is a 2004 model. It is a basic, one-channel, 150 watt mono (or 75 watt stereo) solid state amplifier that weighs only 4.5 pounds. It has controls for gain, volume, bass, middle, and treble. The controls are easy to use and clearly indicated in large block lettering. This head does not have a lot as far as features go, but that is okay by me! The low rating for this category is not any negative reflection on the amp, just a truthful representation of how many features are inherent in the amplifier design.

I use an Epiphone Les Paul Custom fitted with an EMG-81 bridge pickup. It is important to note that I plug the Powerblock into an Avatar 4x12 cabinet with Eminence V12 speakers. Contrary to what others have said, metal tones are possible with just this amp alone. I can get an extremely good metal sound out of this amp by turning up the gain full. I can also get a very good clean tone by just turning the volume knob on my Les Paul from 10 to about 4. The eq knobs on this amplifier are very effective. You don't have to max out any of them to get good sounds. (On the contrary, I have found that all of the knobs on 5 produces a very good sound) The distortion characteristics I would describe as being Mesa Boogie Rectifierish, except without the annoying "fizziness" that Rectifiers seem to have inherent in their gain structure. There is plenty of low end from this tiny monster of a head. Overall, I like the sounds coming from the powerblock. Classic rock/alternative to metal tones are possible if you know how to set up your gear.

This, my friends, is where the shit hits the fan. I received my Powerblock from Zzounds.com last Friday (9-23-05). I opened it up, turned it on, and everything was fine. I was thoroughly enjoying the tones that I was getting from the head. After I stopped playing, I put the Powerblock in its accompanied gig bag. I had a gig the following day. Fast-forward to the gig: I open up the gig bag, plug the Powerblock in, and the worst thing happened: IT DIDN'T WORK PROPERLY! I turned it on, but then it suddenly turned itself off, then back on again (with the power button engaged, mind you). This pattern repeated continuously. Bear in mind, that I had only had the amplifer for one day, this being the second time I plugged it in. I had not dropped it or left it out in the rain or anything like that. I pride myself as being very careful with my equipment and taking good care of it. Myself and my other guitarist tried about 6 or 7 different outlets in the place to see if it was an electrical outlet problem, but no. I have a Shure wireless, and I tried the Powerblock both plugged in with and without the wireless, but it made no difference. (I tried out my wireless on out other guitarist's rig,and it worked fine) It is also very important to note that I plugged the Powerblock into my Furman Power Conditioner, so power issues shouldn't happen. My other equipment (Boss NS-2 and Boss TU-2 with the PSA 120T AC Adaptor)worked fine with the Furman Power Conditioner. Thankfully, another guitarist from another band let me use his head for the show. I am at wits end as to what caused this to happen. I have since contacted Zzounds, and they are sending me a new Powerblock to replace the defective one. Hopefully, I just got a lemon amp, and that this is not a problem that is inherent in the design of the amp. Has anyone else had this problem with their Powerblocks!??!!! It seriously bums me out, because I like the amp so much. I will submit another review when I get my new Powerblock, and have had it for awhile.

I have never dealt with the company, so I cannot comment on their customer support. I can, however, comment on the customer service of Zzounds. They have been very helpful and friendly regaring my fiasco with my first Powerblock, and I am getting my new Powerblock tomorrow. (9-30-05) They seemed genuinely concerned about my well-being as a customer and apologized for the fact that I got a defective product. I would hope that Crate's customer service would be just as friendly and courteous, but I don't know for sure.

I have been playing guitar for about 10 years. For, guitars, I also own an Epiphone Les Paul Studio Gothic (w/EMG-81) and a Yamaha Telecaster Copy. For amplfiers, I also own a Marshall Mode Four and a Marshall Valvestate VS100 1x12 combo. I also have a Furman PL8 Power Conditioner, Boss TU-2 Tuner and Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and a Shure PGX-14 Guitar wireless System. Overall, I really liked the sounds of the Crate Powerblock. In my opinion, the Powerblock is the best product Crate has ever produced. (A lot of their other amps suck big time) I liked the sound, the portability aspect and also the modest price tag. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely buy it again. I will post another review after I get my new (hopefully defect-free) new Powerblock. Great product, just hope that reliability will not be an issue in the future.

Not really a whole lot of features, but it does have everything you basically need on an amp. It's got an FX loop, a line out (with it's own level control), choice of stereo or mono out, a CD input jack, and a headphone jack. It's one channel, one master gain, one master level, and a three band EQ.

This amp has PLENTY of power. It's LOUD. When I crank it up full while hooked up to my 4x12 cab, you can literally feel the air blasting you from the speakers. Seriously ear splitting levels.

Does anyone really need to be told that it's a solid state amp? I have no idea where they'd fit the tubes otherwise. Although I have to say, this thing honestly sounds like a tube amp.

I've been playing this amp with mainly a schecter C-1 elite that has two humbuckers which can be split to sound like single coils. If I use the neck single coil, roll the gain to slightly above the halfway mark and scoop the EQ it makes for a great Hendrix clean tone. That clean tone that breaks up when you hit the strings hard. Perfect for playing songs like Little Wing and Castles Made Of Sand.

But mainly what I play is metal and hard rock. This amp on it's own doesn't really have enough gain for those styles. If you crank the gain all the way up the best you can get is like an old AC/DC type of sound. But when I hook up my digitech rp300a, well then you can pretty much get any sound you need from it. This thing works great with my digitech, it's like a perfect marriage. I would imagine it would be the same with a POD too. Bottom line is, if you want high gain sounds you'll need an external device to provide it. A stomp box, FX processor, whatever.

Overall, for the price, I'm freakin' amazed at how great it sounds. Waaaaaaay worth the price.

I'm not going to rate this because I've only had the amp for a few days. But it sure does seem strong. It's built well, tight and compact. No tubes to replace. I've had it cranked at full and it never gets hot. Ever. Not even warm. Haven't had any problems yet, but if I do I'll come back and write another review.

Haven't needed it.

You really just can't beat this amp for the price. I bought this at guitar center, and it was literally the last one they had. They said they've been selling them like crazy, and that doesn't surprise me at all. It's great for people just starting out because it's so cheap, and it's also great for seasoned giggers who need a cheap back up amp. And lugging it to gigs is a freakin' breeze! It even comes with a padded gig bag that you can sling over your shoulder.

This Amp is a fairly new product.

It is a solid state single channel amp with straight ahead bass, mid & treble controls with an adjustable input gain and master volume. I only ever use one type of sound so its great for my needs. It has an fx loop, but you need a TRS cable to use it. It also has a headphone jack & xlr output which are both cab simulated.

One of the coolest features is it has a switching power supply so it is lightweight & can be used at any voltage worldwide without an adapter.

I haven't used the amp too much yet. So far I have just been using it for guitar through headphones & it actually sounds pretty good. I intend to try it for direct recording soon - for both guitar & bass. I did quickly try it through a 412 and it sounded very good, more on that below.

I don't see this amp being enough for "clean" tones at high volume. It does get pretty loud when the input gain is all the way up. I'd say the distortion is similar to a JCM 800. Pretty good for rock and roll and VERY tube like. If you pick lightly or back off on the volume the sound clens up nicely. Pick harder and it is a warm smooth distortion. Using it with a '77 strat, the tone of the guitar really comes through nicely.

The amp is rated 150 watts at 8 ohms. I played it through a 412 cab and compared it to my Ampeg VH150. The VH150 blew it away for depth & volume, even though they are both 150 watt amps, but the tone is - dare i say- identical... with the VH150 being able to produce a heavier distorion. The powerblock seems to be less noisey than the VH150, but that may be because the VH is old or simply due to the higher input gain of the VH.

I tried a soldano pedal in front of the powerblock & it was very beefy, but noisey (that pedal is noisey to beging with). I am going to try it with a "clean boost" type pedal and see if I can beef up the input gain without all the noise. Don't get me wrong, the distortion sounds killer, I just like MORE!!! I have not tried this thing out with my band yet, but I am guessing it will be slightly underpowered. But with PA support and monitors it probably would do just fine. I am giving it a 9 because I WANT MORE DISTORTION!!! otherwise it would be a 10.

Its brand new. I think it will last.

No need for service, but the SLM service dept is tops.

I have been playing 20+ years. I own primarily Ampeg & Marshall amps. I dig the sound of tube amps & I think the powerblock's tone pulls it off. It doesn't have the depth or volume of my nice tube amps, or even some of my solid state amps, but its a friggin' 5 lb amp. For the price, features & killer tone I think this thing is a fantastic value. But if you are looking for a super loud amp that will make your ears bleed with screaming volume levels... this isn't it. I really like the tone of this amp and was pleasantly surprised that it was coming from a Crate amp.

2005 Crate Power Block head is a great small light-weight back-up head for those using not so reliable tube amps. There are not a lot of features on the front side (not even reverb) but some nice surprises on the back panel where you'll find an effects send and receive, RCA line in, stereo and mono speaker outs. It has a headphone out on the front panel so it makes a good 2AM practice amp. It can be overdriven but I'm not a distortion expert so I won't pretend to say whether the overdrive is any good. I can say that the clean sound is excellent with plenty of low end punch and clear highs. The amp has 150 mono solid state watts which performs like 85 tube watts. It's good and loud without breaking up.

I use it with Fender guitars. I used the amp patched to 2-10 4-ohm cabinet with a loud country band and I barely missed my Twin Reverb. It is extremely noise-free. I only use occasional distortion from a stomp-box so I can't review the amp's overdrive.

Can you depend on it? I'm purdy confident that I can but I haven't had it long enough to give a confident answer.

Would you use it on a gig without a backup? It is my backup.

This amp is very rugged. It stayed very cool even when I patched it to a 4-ohm cabinet that was below the suggested 8 ohm load for 4 hours of play. It has a 5 year warranty but I don't know the fine print on that.

It's a great back-up head. I love that it is so small and light- weight and sounds so good. I never have to worry about my tube amps failing again at a gig. I only wish it had a mono 4 ohm out but because it worked so well with a 4 ohm cabinet, I won't take off a point for that.

Very basic. Tone knobs, gain, and level. But, on the back, it's got a lot of nice options. XLR line-level output, 1x8 ohm or 2x4 ohm (stereo), level control, effects loop, etc. For what it is, it's great. Wish it had reverb. But at this size it woulda been digital reverb, so no big loss.

Sounds great. Has a very spongy, warm feel to it. It has a certain "dark" quality to the sound that I find a tiny bit boomy or maybe not as "full band" as my other amp. But keep in mind, my other amp is a Tone King Comet 20, class A tube amp. This Crate is absolutely amazing for what it is. And to counteract the "darkness" I can always play with the EQ and even use a pedal if needed. Sounds great. Is rewarding even if not identical to class A tube. Close enough. I love it.

Seems rock solid. I used Crates as a kid about 15 years ago, I like them.

No clue.

It seems HIGHLY functional. Throw good speakers in front of it and I am sure it could be a serious workhorse. Get it EQ'd right and I am sure you would have a hard time telling the difference from a tube amp if you were in the audience. Come on people... this thing is a great bargain that does 95% of what a way more expensive amp does. And the size thing... it's just so cool. I hope it turns into a classic. It is a fun amp to play through and it's hard to see how they possibly made this little thing so fun. But they did.

I'm using the power block throgh the effects loop as a power amp for my Pod XT Live. I play in an oringinal pop/rock band that plays small to meduim size clubs, and the power block is more than able to handle it through my Peavey 2x12 cab.

As I stated above I play pop/rock and use 2 Raven RM 2000, my main guitar has PRS Dragon pickups and the other has a '59 Seymour Duncan in the neck and Dimarzo Super Distortion in the bridge. The power amp functions exactly as it should, no noise and lets the preamp do its job. Also the front end is usable in the event my preamp were to blow up at a show.

So far so good, eventhough it only weighs 4.6 lbs it seems to be built very solid and when not being played should stay protected w/ included paded carrying case.

N/A

I've been playing for 19 years on and off, more on over the past 7. I've owned various Fender, Peavey, Line Six, Vox amps as well as Gibson, Fender, Epiphone, and Raven guitars. If this was lost or stolen I would absolutely purchase it again as it does exactly what I need it to do in a very compact way. I paid a net of $55 for this at Guitar Center in S. Fla with trade ins of a few effects that have become obsolete since buying the Pod XT Live, and I believe the combonation of these two products are a great match.

brand new baby head. has more features on the back panel than any classic head ever did.no reverb,but like the danny gatton quote,turn it up and it doesnt need reverb.

im playing my vox phantom and a strat with single coils i think the head is the best thing since sliced bread and a bag of chips.i have bought a second one after my buddy had to trade me for no 1.if you need ac/dc or skynrd type sounds or any thing less gritty ,then this will do it and for cheap.what ever cab you have it will sound good thru it.ive personally played gigs with 2x12 vintage 30s.2x12 75s and a little cab with 15 emminence bass spkr. all sounded good.also my friend played bass with a ampeg one 15 bass cab with me on a gig with no problem keeping up.

dont know but for the money if i get a year even out of it ill be happy.

never used crate before.

been playing bar gigs since march 1981. and have used everything.

Minimal features, well covered below. Wish it had reverb, but where the heck would they put it? I'm using an el-cheapo Zoom RFX-300 for reverb, or compression, or enhanced cab simulation. The effects loop layout on the Powerblock is rather convoluted. The manual does not clearly instruct on how to return in stereo, which is silly because it is a stereo amp (when you want it to be). I figured it out. The "speaker simulation" on the headphone out could be a bit better, but it's an amp not a "modeling" device. I haven't used the XLR line out yet, but I intend to - it was a *major* selling point- ALL amps should have one IMHO. This amp is replacing a 15 year old Gallien Krueger 'MLE' which has many more features, but does not sound nearly as good without "help." The Powerblock is a wonderful small, light weight, basic amplifier for those of us who don't need multiple channels or an over-abundance of knobs or blinking lights.

I am an aging punk rocker. I play punk, and I attempt "classic rock," "blues," and "jazz" when the moods strike me.
I have a variety of guitars, all cheap, modded with replacement pickups (mostly Dimarzio Fast Tracks, Pro Tracks and some Carvin humbuckers). This amp seems very quiet - meaning there's no extraneous noise from the gain stages. The controls are all very wide ranging and well voiced. As stated below, the gain tops out at around the range of an '800' series Marshall - if I need more gain or more variety, I've got plenty of money left over for pedals - I think this amp was a bargain. Solid cleans through to a usable, basic, hard rock overdrive/distortion. This amp isn't "boutique tube amp nirvana,"(or any other ridiculous "vintage this/vintage that" bullshit) - Then again it probably cost about as much as a set of replacement tubes for an average single channel 100 watter. I think the Powerblock provides adequate power for most small/medium gigs - but, hey buddy (to the guy a few reviews below) - you've got to use the correct speaker complement - you were expecting a hell-of-a-lot from this amp and a cab with two 8" speakers.

We'll see. Ask me in 15 or 20 or 40 years. I've got a Sears tube amp from '68 that I got with the original tubes a few years ago, it's still going strong - I hope this Crate lasts as long, then all my illegitimate children can fight over this as they're settling my estate. The Powerblock seems well designed and constructed - I wouldn't have bought an amp made-in-China just because it was cheap.

No Idea about Crate's customer support - I bought the amp from Guitar Center, if something goes wrong (within a reasonable period of time) they'll hear about it first...then I'll contact Crate.

I've been playing since '79. I still suck, so it goes. I had twinges of guilt over buying a made-in-china amp, but that is diminishing as I use this amp more and more. I have "many" other amps to choose from and have owned "many' more over the last 26 years, this is my "go to" amp now. I'm not interested in impressing other guitar shitheads by lugging ridiculously large, fragile, expensive, back-breaking equipment around.
I should mention that the gig bag this amp came with is "way cool."
AND- HEY CRATE! WHERE'S THE BASS VERSION? (I play bass too, when necessary).

New incredibly small solid state head. It has 150 watts mono, volume, gain, bass, middle, and treble knowbs, an effects loop, and a headphone jack. It is crazy small, light, very powerful, and appears to be well made. Not very versatile, but it's not supposed to be.

I've played it using a strat and a prs single cut. It is capable of being very loud, and has more clean headroom than a Vibro-King or a Super Reverb. I know, because I've A/B'd them side by side. An earlier review mentioned that it didn't have a loud enough clean sound - I suggest getting an 8 ohm cab with efficient speakers and it will have more than enough clean headroom. I'm using an Avatar 2 x 12 with celestions. It does begin to distort heavily at about half way up on the gain knob.

Its voicing is fenderish for the cleans and low gain sounds and morphs into Mesa Rectifier voicing for the medium gain sounds - huge amounts of bass and rather unrefined. It never really gets into the high-gain category.

It has a clean sound that is first rate - not first rate for a cheap amp - as good as many high-end amps. I compared it to my 68 Twin Reverb with JBL's, my 66 Super Reverb, vintage Marshalls, a Vetta, and others, and it still sounded great in that company.
It has about as much gain available as a JCM-800, and it seems to take the pedals I tried it with quite well. I really like its sound with just a little bit of grit too. It can do an excellent SRV range of sounds.

This is sacrilegious, but I spent 1/2 an hour A/Bing the Powerblock through an Avatar 2x12 with Celestions to a Vibro-King. Not exactly an equal comparison, the speakers are quite different from each other, the Crate is 150 Watts, and it has a master volume. Oh yeah, the VK also costs 10 times as much.

The vibro-King has more treble- a lot more, and a more of a sparkly high end too. At drummer volume (with the VK's treble at 3) the two sound quite similar, believe it or not! The are both punchy, snappy, and have a wonderful singing quality to the notes. The VK has a bit more of a tweed sound to its break-up. It's organic, but a little ratty if you get carried away. The C sounds a little darker and more modern in its gain, and has more gain available. If you turn the treble up too high on the C it can start to sound synthetic too. The C also is capable of higher volumes than the VK. They both clean up using the volume knob equally well.

Before you think I'm an idiot, I'd rather have the VK - It looks cooler, smells like the real deal, and has great reverb too. However, if I were playing live and didn't have a roadie, it would be a tough call. The C is the size of a transistor radio (minus the speaker cab), weighs 4 pounds, seems very durable, and costs as much as a fancy cable.

I've played some very bad Crates before, and a few OK ones too. I also have a collection of amps that I can use as a reference point. I must say, I think Crate came up with something remarkable with the PowerBlock.

I would love to see some "expert" tone connoisseurs do some BLIND testing with the Crate and some high-end amps. I'm a tube snob, and other than this amp and my Vetta, all my amps are high-end tube amps, but I must admit, this little thing has me scratching my head.






Nevertheless it is remarkable for how light, small, powerful and inexpensive it is. I think its a great back-up amp, and has alot of potential for clean, low-gain, and POD applications.

I've only had it for a week - it looks indestructable.

Never dealt with them.

It is a remarkable amp, and a bargain.