Crate VFX5112 112 Combo

OK - If you have read the reviews below you know the specs.
2 channels, 50 Watts tube power
Loud, great looking, amp
With built in effects

I was drawn to this amp a few years ago when Guitar Center had been carrying them when they first came out. I was currently using a Crate Blue Voodoo head and was growing quite tiresome of the two trips needed to take a 50 pound head and 45 pound speaker cab up and down the 3 flight walk up of my apartment every time I had a show. Plus - I was never completely satisfied with my BV120H's Sound. Tried this combo in the store and just though the overdrive channel was the greatest I had ever heard Just a great "Stereophonics" crunch to it. Clean channel was Sparkling and a very FULL as well. And man was it loud.
I was always a bit taken back by the (if I remember correctly) $799 price tag - and just decided to wait it out.
This year I stopped in to a local music store that also had this amp for $699 for the longest time and then one day - marked down to 399! - still brand new. (Store owner said it just never seemed to sell - most likely because of the price and the fact that the "kids" in the area mostly bought the solid states and whatnot). I for one will never go solid state again - tried once with a Fender Stage 100 watt "dynatouch" head - yuck!- thank the maker for Guitar center's 100% Satisfaction garantee. Anyway I jumped on the VFX115.
After taking it home I loved it even more. The onboard effects are not totally useless -- I like using them "at home" the delay is cool and the other effects good for getting "that sound" at low volumes when practicing - but I choose to use my external floor board pedals on stage with it.
I have noticed one reviewer mentioning a humming or hissing at high volumes - I noticed this for a sec the other day -- it was the "mode" knob where the effects are selected - I put it back on "bypass" (where I like it) -- and the hiss was gone.
Overall this sound of the amp as others have said is Rock - not metal - this amp has a very classic "botique amp" sound to it.
See next area for a little bad news.

ok - this is going to sound bad -- but probably the first time I used the amp at a show, 3 songs in, my bass player and I were overwhelmed by the smell of electronics BURNING. Yep, the thing fried. - Went silent for a second - then came back on - sounding very weak like I blew a tube or something. Opening the back panel at home the next day revealed a black burned hole in the circuitboard - right between where the 2 tubes plug in.
So Back to the store I went the next day. Lo and behold, who was there luckily when I walked in?? -- The Crate representative! -- on to the customer support section...

Now I know this was lucky -- but the reps first words when he saw me walking IN to the store with one of his amps? -"...what happened?"
I have had other Ampeg/crate products and have never had any real "out of the ordinary" problems before - so this was an odd occurance. The rep and store owner immediatley opened up the Amp. The rep said he was not sure what exactly happened and that he had never seen it happen before - but he did get right on the phone with the home office warehouse to send me a brand new Amp -- So for me customer support was excellent. The second one has been used at a BUNCH of gigs now - and NO problems yet. I chalk the problem I had up to maybe the fact that the 1st one had been "sitting around" for quite some time?? Maybe was dusty inside? who knows.
My only complaints about the 2nd amp I was sent is that it must be the "newer" version of the amp - main difference i noticed is the KNOBS - and here is why - YOU CANT SEE THEM!!- I mean they are there - but the one I originally had had flat tops on the knobs with a hole for the "pointer" -- these are like Mesa boogie wanna-be knobs that are super "chrome" and ROUNDED on top -- making it impossible to see the "pointer" hole when you are in ANY type of low light situation - ie. a STAGE!!??
Not sure what Crate was thinking on that one - or who tested out that idea. Any way it is not that big of I gripe - just kinda silly that I had to put tape on the knobs of a 700 dollar amp just so I can see them.

If you are looking for a GOOD, solid, combo amp for gigging I really recommend this Amp. Especially if you can find it at a good price. I have tried out other Combo amps latley in stores that just seem very odd sounding and Cardboardy. (cough!, Fender Hotrod, Cough!) The Crate has a very impressive sound, and I am very satisfied thus far with my purchase. I also have to comment quickly about the look of this amp (I know it may not matter) but it just looks awesome - and nice that the company did not feel the need to put the CRATE logo on the front - the V50 on the face of the amp is very classy and botique looking - also has a very cool tolex and speaker screen.

Recent vintage. It's a;ready been said: two channel switchable tube amp with SS effects. Loud like 50 tube watts should. You can preset up to two effects per channel, not in combination. I dont care for preset take-it-or-leave-it switches of any sort and I'm not wild about these. I'd leave them all go for a good spring reverb like my Crate Vintage Club. But you make do with what you got and I think I can leave at least one pedal home.

This is my first EL 34 tube amp and it's fun comparing to my Creat VC with EL84s. The VC is cleaner and clearer but it's going through a 2x12 cab so it's not a fair contest. But I like this combo Crate too. It's tone is a bit tougher and grittier with loads of trebel and prescence to spare. It's got a bit earlier break-up and gets smooth and powerful pre-gain distortion on the second channel.

I don't know. This one seems well made with minimal noise. My VC head is from the early 90s and it lights up every time.

I haven't had to deal with support.

I've been playing, on and off, for forty years which makes me prehistoric. It's great that companies like Crate, Peavey and Traynor are manufacturing affordable tube amps with vintage tone. I've played SS amps but nothing quite satisfies like a tube amp juiced. I bought the Crate because at the price I paid, there was no other choice that had two channels with separate EQ with low, mid, treble on both channels.

Amp made in 1993. Very versatile amp for rock, metal, blues, and even jazz. Two channels (clean, drive), line out, no headphone jack. It has built-in digital effects, but they suck. I use external pedals. I use this in my house for practice and over friends' houses to jam. 50-Watt Class A/B all tube 1x12 combo.

Used with Ibanez SF470/Duncan Full Shred (until yesterday) and Schecter C1+ with stock pickups. Excellent amp for rock and metal. It sounds like a richer Marshall JCM800. There is some hiss when you're not playing, but you can only hear it if you're right next to it. Both the clean and dirty channels are GREAT. Warm, smooth tube sounds that can crunch. Makes most guitars sound great. I actually A/B'd it with a JCM800 head, and I liked this better. This isn't a Thrash metal amp, it doesn't produce grainy sounds like that. It's more a classic rock/metal sound, but that's what I wanted.

I've had this for about six months now, and I haven't had any problems yet.

Have not dealt with the company.

I've been playing since 1986. I would absolutely buy this amp again. It's got the tone that I need, and the price was incredible--better than Marshall tone for under $400! I compared this to my previous amp (Line 6 Spider 112) and the Crate blew it away. I also compared it to my last stack--Marshall JCM900. The 900 used crappy diode clipping distorion, and so I wasted $1500 on it. That experience made me lose my trust in Marshall. This Crate amp was the sound I've always been looking for (Scorpions, "Big City Nights"....). As another reviewer mentioned, a dedicated Reverb control would have been better than the effects here. Most of the digital effects are noisy and some of them are just plain bad (the delays are hard to control) but I consider them a throw-in. I bought the amp for its amazing tone, and I use external effects with it. But the built-in reverb is okay, it's a nice feature to have when you want to crank it to the max and play Arena Filling Riffs.

50 Watt, EL34 Tubes(2), 12AX7(4),Vintage/Retro styling, 2 Channels

The versatility of this amp gives me much more playroom than I'm used to. Having played Heavey Rock for years and giving my Peavey TripleX to my aspiring star son, I spent some considerable time looking for an amp that will still kick, but still give excellent semi-distorted tones. I never really considered "boutique" amps cuz I just don't get it...These practical retro amps, (Crate Vintage, Peavey Classics, Fender Devilles etc.) are all giving players great tube sounds at an affordable price. I settled on this Crate. (and I surprised myself for picking a Crate...for we all know the snobbish bias that "real" players have towards Crate and Peavey) The one outstanding feature I enjoy is finally someone has been successful at equipping an all-tube amp with built-in effects! I don't know of any others who have succesfully done this. (and it actually sounds good...)Love the TONE and COOL VINTAGE appearance. (the Tolex has a unique pattern to it that you can't see from the websites) 50 watts works it's way out nicely through a single 12" speaker. At times I wonder if I should have bought the 2x12, but I must remind myself that I'm in need of a portable amp and this is right at the door of being too heavey already. The effects "memory" feature is sweet..remembering what effect was used on a given channel so you can "preset" an effect for each channel and it will change it as you bounce back and forth. The effect are not gonna give you all the fine tuning that your stomp boxes have, but get real...it's usable as they are and they are good enough for me not to carry all that other crap around anymore... I'm tired of messing around with batteries and patch cords anyway. This makes it SO simple.

Guitars...let's see. I play a '76 strat with a Duncan "Hot Rails" in the bridge position, and a Ric 360 Mapleglo. This is the first amp that I can say did not "color" the natural tone of the guitar. Even with the gain at 100%, my strat is still "sounds" like a Strat and my Ric finally has that famous "Jangle" that Rics are suppose to give! My Peavey XXX would not do that very well. I'm not gonna bash Peavey though cuz that XXX amp is the best HI GAIN cruncher available out there for the money! But I'm getting a bit more bluesey in my preference and I enjoy "hearing" my guitar for a change instead of the amp. The distortion wil not "CRUNCH" like my XXX will, but it sings it's own song. Has an older tastey distortion. I have not changed the tubes out yet but have in other instances and you must all please heed the advice of those "tube gurus" that have discovered with a great passion that while most of these amp companies equip there stock tubes with "GROOVE TUBES", get rid of them as soon as you can afford to...I'm not kidding either...Call BOB at EUROTUBES (on web) and tell him what you got for an amp (and the sound your after)and he will send you some tubes that will blow your mind! Even a poor amp will sound HUGE with the tubes he sells. It will transform your amp into the sweetest killer....
It is not noisy per say except when you put the effects level up near 10. It will also hum a bit when I approach the amp with my Strat. The clean channel will break up when pushed but it gets pretty loud at that point. It has a different distortion when that happens and is pretty cool. EL34s breaking up sounds cool...very British...
The presence feature is sweet and I'm happy that they included it on this model. Some companies are leaving them out. It will really give that extra sparkle that make my strat soar and my Ric "ring".
What I was pursuing the most this purchase was an amp that I could adjust to get a nice "defined" semi-distorted soung when I want. I like playing distorted but so many circuits on other amps lose the definition of the individual notes of the chord that you play. For instance, playing a full six-string bar chord in a major and then changing it to a major 7th will get lost in so many amps that I try but they stay noticable in this amp...even at high gain levels.

Just bought it last Saturday...I did notice that one of the tube covers was laying in the bottom of the amp as I was getting ready to take it home. Couldn't get it back in at the store...too hard to reach...(good thing...bad thing???) If you look at the Peavey Classics, the tube are hanging right down at the back of the amp! (WITH NO TUBE COVERS OR HOLDERS)I got it back in when I got home. (but it wasn't easy...)

I have e-mailed their support concerning buying some matching tolex and grill cloth and piping to make an extension speaker and they are very helpful and will sell me parts to do this. Some companies will not do this...

I started playing in 1975 and have toured nationally with a company that used to exist in St. Petersburg FL called "Young American Showcase" and we were sponsered by Norlin Music at that time which equipped us with Gibson, Korg, Pearl, Lab Series and other stuff. I have worked my way through quite an array of sounds. This Amp is way COOL... One item that would have been useful is a Master volume that would adjust the overall volume so you could leave the individual channels alone. I'll miss my line out jack for my tuner also... Effect loop will not work for me for my tuner. I think they should go back to CELESTION speaker in these things to really round them off good...but that is not a big issue for me. I really enjoy this amp and I hope it will give me years of worry-free service. I'll buy it all over again if I have to (I went through a lot of sound checks to get to this decision...) GO BUY ONE !!!! I never thought I'd buy a CRATE but here I am and I'm having fun fun FUN...

The amp has 50 watts, 1X12 speaker, easy to use, EL 34 tubes and very nice digital effects as an add on. It has a clean and dirty channel for which there is a switch pedal with the ability to save/switch an effect per channel. More than enough of amplitude for monitoring with a live band. The only thing on the effects I would have liked is separate delay, reverb and chorus controls versus preset combinations.

I have only had the amp a week but I have used it in practice with the band and recorded to PC once - MAN, THIS THING HAS AWESOME TUBE TONE! Very british-like distortion and super clean with chorus setting is perfect for me. On the dirty channel, low gain is very tasty and turning it up get you that edgy, deep hard rock sound you hear on the radio. I cranked it pretty loud with the band an no problems - when recording there is a bit of a hiss but you cannot hear it when you play. The best thing is the tube tone - spongy and warm, very smooth - not quite at the level of my friends FUCHS amp but for th price (several grand less) it is awesome! I was happy to trade a very nice acoustic in to get it.

We will see.

never had to deal with CRATE - owned an crate acoustic amp for 5 years with no issues.

I have been playing for 10 years - mainly acoustic but have been getting into electric since home recording started 2 years ago. Since then I have used several amp modelers (jstation, POD, Korg, etc) and could not get that TUBE sound I have been craving to record with. This amp satisfies the need -- For my first electric amp, I feel quite lucky!

manufactured in 2002 good cleans and great overdrive makes it versatile enough. classic rock some country. 2 channels with digital effects which are pretty useful with footswitch. Damm portable allows me to save my back and gives me all I need for most gigs.
sweet luscious EL-34 tubes!!!!!

sounds best IMO with humbuckers. not very noisy. the distortion gives that 80s sound beautifully. Very pedal friendly but the built in effects should not be underestimated.

too new wont say
I have owned this amp for 4 months and have giged a dozen times
no probs 5 year warranty feels good.

never needed them...hope I wont

been playing 2o years and own many amps and quality gear.
stayed away from this amp at first because it was a crate and even though I liked the tone I needed to listen to this amp over and over before I purchased it. its got great tone ,its very portable very loud for a 1-12 combo...very versatile and a nice price.

This amp is has two EL34 power tubes and 4 12ax7 pre-amp tubes combined with some basic digital effects like reverb, chorus, delays, and a useless feature T-wah. It has a 12 inch Crate speaker made by Eminence. Other features are two channels and a effects loop.

The tone is pretty nice on the clean. It has great tone and combined with a bit of chorus or reverb is quite pleasing. The dirty channel is pretty good as well and sounds very British with the EL34's.

Here is my complaints. I have not had a problem with it yet but I took it apart to look at the inside and although the PCB is fairly thick and solid the tubes mount directly on the PCB. No friggin sockets but in holes on the board! What the F@ck is that? Also the speaker cable is cheap and thin. The tubes are all Groove Tube relabled Sovteks which I think sound very cold and harsh. It will be a pain in the ass replacing them as the whole chassis has to be pulled out to get ate the tubes.

I have never dealt with Crate customer service so I will not comment.

I tried this amp in my local store and was impressed with the tones. The sales guy told me he would sell it for $750.00. I shopped around online and haggled it for $573.00 which is about $220.00 cheaper than other online prices. For the price I paid I think it was a great deal! My score is based on a average of the three categories I rated.

I bought this amp for it's versatility. A Fender it is not (but man is it close) and it tries harder than any other amp it's size out there with it's capabality to be a Marshal (man it's close). What do you want everything? I do too!
I play aggressive blues to crunchy rock. So Buddy Guy to Hairband is not out of reach for this amp.
This is a combo unit that has a supplied footswitch jack, a line out, a line in and a ext. speaker jack with a 8 ohm to 16 ohm switch.
One feature I wish this amp had was constant reverb with a 1-10 knob. I understand Crate has done a terrific job with their digital effects, well thought out, but I still like the availibility. I think that the effects Crate has offered in this amp are great. There is no fluff here.
I currently use this amp in my home. But will be spending time in a house studio soon. I will really be able to see what this amp will do on a performance level over time then. I have only owned the amp for two weeks, played it every day.

I have been very frugle with my money so far. Looking for the best sound for the cheapest price. I own a schecter c1 plus with Duncan design pickups. The sounds I get are limitless. I have this guitar sounding like a les paul one minute to a strat the next. I know that sounds like a stretch. Maybe a little, but I have owned both. When I had a Strat I wanted a Les Paul, and so on. This setup really works well!
No noise! I am amazed. If anything, the only low whisper of an effect can be heard. Kudos to Schecter or Crate. I need to play a different guitar through this amp.
This amp has T-wah,4 different chorus,2 vibrato,4 delay,slapback and three reverb. All toggled. Or with use of foot switch, channel switch with ability to toggle two effects.
So far I have been able to turn the amp up to four on the clean channel at home. No distortion of any kind. It wanted more my neighbors did not. I am confident this amp will stand up when called on.
Distortion loves to be played. Great sound! Very crunchy, just watch your mid to bass settings at high volumes. You can get a muddy sound with maxed out gain and the wrong setting. No news there.

Haven't owned it long enough. Curious to see how the tubes will stand up.

First time crate owner. Friends and reviews I have read say customer support is excellent.

I am getting back into the gig thing again after 5 years. I played active for seven prior. I own no other gear,,, yet, so I am counting on this setup. I trust it.
Let's face it, 800.00 U.S. ain't cheap! You can always go Marshall or you can go Fender, or you can buy this and get VERY close to both.
It's simplicity with a wide variety, you can't go wrong!

i just bought this rig last week. it comes with foot switch and has a clean and lead chnanel, also has effects selector knob which you can choose 1 effect or a preset combination of two effects. the amp has an effects loop also. it has tubes so their will eventually be some maintenance, but well worth it. it is a very simple setup not to complicated like some digital bullshit i have had. i like the amount

my main guitar is an ibanez jem and i have got to say i am very impressed with the tone and overall sound of this amp. i have tried just about every digital and modeling effect their is searching for that high gain tube distortion sound and this amp has it. this thing has that smooth 80's gain, i love it.now i know why tube amps are so expensive, i've been using a peavey 212 transfex with digital processor which is very versatile but it does not have the tone like this amp. i really like it because it's not so complicated like say my digitech gnx2, i have messed with that thing for almost 2 years and haven't found a sound i am satisfied with i just use it for pc recording and headphone practice not good for much else.

i had a crate solid state head about for about 5 years never any trouble, other than that i dont know this amp is 1 week old

been playing 17 yrs mostly 80's hairband,classic rock and shred type stuff. I have 2 jacksons, 2 ibanezs, 1 kramer and 1 charvel all have humbuckers, floyd roses and are typical shred guitars. i have 2 wah pedals and am in the process of selling a peavey 212 transfex combo and an old ada mp1. I also have a digitech gnx. this amp compliments my musical taste perfectly it will do hendrix to yngwie and everyting in between. if it were stolen it would be replaced immediately. its all about tone and gain and this amp has it

Haven't submitted a review in a long time, but tried one of these today and was very impressed. Frist off, I'm a old Marshall Fender guy. My main rig is a JMP 50 watt and a 70 Super Reverb A/B'd.
The crate is a 50 watt EL34 powered 1x12 running in Class A, two channel with Crates digital mulit effects. I've done the Johnsnon, Line6 thing in the past, so was skeptical, and I don't put digital stuff in my signal chain any more either. Crate seems to have done a good job combining usable effects in a simple twist and set interface. They include a few delays, reverbs, chours, vibrato, maybe a couple more.

WOW, color me impressed. This is the best sounding Marshall that Marshall should have been making since the introduction of the 900 series. Great tight crunch unless you send the gain above 7 or 8 and then it gets a little muddy, but that's class A for you. Plenty of gain and it will do the low gain thing very very well. In addition, you have a clean channel that sounds great considering we're using EL34 powertubes. This is no Marshall clean (thankfully), it's not quite Fender but it reminds me of my Bogner Shiva. I know blasphemy, but it's true. The amp breathes great and the gain channel has tons of squishy harmonics. The eq has a great range and the prescence is not overwelming. The effects sound a bit steril and there is no control other than a mix knob, but I don't use many effects usually. The real story here is the amp and the quality of tone this thing puts out dry.

Well what do you expect? Unless you pay major money for a botique amp you are going to get similar quality whether you go Marshall, Fender etc.. They are all mass produced even though Crate is made in the USA vs a 3rd world country. Who knows. You might get lucky and get a good one.

N/A

I tried a couple of these over the last few days, and will probably pick one up this weekend. This amp is pricy for a Crate G/C is selling them for $799.00. I imagine they will sell well. I'd be interested to hear it through a sealed 4x12 cab and at high volumes to see if it retains its character and can cut through the mix. Anyway it's worth checkin out if you need a 1x12 that has good clean, a great Marshally crunch and enough gain to make the kids happy. Throw in a few well thought out effects and I think they'll sell a ton of em.