Crate Vintage Club 20 Combo

headphone jack, its convenient

and speaker out, which is cool too

and a punch button "adds heavier distortion"

its VERY loud, sounds really clean and has a wide range

and an awesome blues sound

warms up fast and never had any problems with it

if you like the sound of the amp its probably all you need

overall, its a well built amp and its the loudest combo amp anywhere near its size

and there's one for sale here, the one i'm reviewing/
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320300562847

three 12ax7s, two el84s, gain, tone, mid, "Punch" {mid boost} button, low, volume, ext. speaker, headphones, 12" 4 ohm speaker, 15 watts.

GREAT DIRTY, FANTASTIC CLEAN SOUND!

This little amp is LOUD!!

I play mostly clean, jazzypsychafunkadelic jamboliscious style music and it fits very well.

Grateful dead, Dinosaur Jr., Talking Heads, Phish, Wilco, Radiohead, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn. Get's close to them all when combined with a Johnson J-station amp simulator.

Not noisy

Beautiful Clean, Raw gritty distortion. Distortion great when a nice boost pedal is used.

I don't think it will do metal, at least on it's own.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE AMPS! Crate tube amps are so underrated!

I'm not sure what year this one was made. It has a 12" speaker, 2 EL84 power tubes and three 12AX7 pre-amp tubes (every other review on here only refered to two of these). I'm not interested in built-in effects and three different channels to muck around with. Just something that will play clean and that I can feed my pedals into to distort to my tastes. This fit the bill perfectly- one channel, gain nob, a boost button, three equalizer nobs, and reverb. The reverb on mine has never worked. It has a headphone jack that I never use and an external speaker jack that I haven't used as I use it mainly as a practice amp at home. I own a Crate V50 that I rehearse and gig with.

When I got the amp, it was very difficult to get a clean tone out of it. Had to set the gain at 2 (anywhere lower produced no sound and anywhere higher broke up to early) but was still left with less than a clean tone. I put in new EL84's and swapped out the 12AX7's for 12AU7's (electro harmonix tubes- about $70 for all). It is so clean I can barely break it up unless I put the gain up to 3 o'clock. Perfect for what I want as I use a big muff and and blues driver to distort it and a small stone, small clone, Ibanez delay and Beheringe ultra tremelo to muck with the sound. I bough low noise tubes and the amp is super quiet but with a warm clean tone.

This is a sturdy little amp. I've gigged with it but as I mentioned, I use it primarily as a practice amp. Outside of the reverb never working, it's always worked for me and it totes around nicely.

Never dealt with them.

I love this little amp. I bought it for $125 and dumped another $70 into it, so a very nice all tube amp with great tone for under $200 is a great deal in my experience. For my purposes, it works perfectly.

Got what you need. Really basic- my amp has no reverb and from trying another with reverb, no loss. Less is more sometimes. It does the vintage thing well.

I get the woolly blues tone I want. Don't care about clean, although I did try it with a 12au7 and that kind of moved it into a more of a versatile mode if you only have this one amp. With a lower gain tube in the preamp it'll really clean up, if that's what you want. I'm running a different speaker and cab so I get the sound output I want without driving the amp really hard, so I put the 12AX7 back in. This is a great club amp.

It's not a super flexible sound, but what it does I like.

Here's the thing- as built this thing runs way too hot. It was cutting out occasionally- might have some kind of thermal switch or something. I had heard that there are occasional problems with the input jack coming apart due to heat, but mine was OK. I pulled the chassis and remounted it as a head. I first tried it Fender style, in a well veltilated box with the tubes pointed down but it ran as hot as ever. Then I realized that because the tubes are mounted on the PCB, there are large holes around each tube. The hot air around the tube envelopes flows up (heat rises), right into the closed chassis. I remounted the chassis on the bottom of the head cab, like a Marshall. I repainted and relettered the control panel (it's now upside down), flipped the power switch over and lifted the chassis off the bottom of the cab with 1/8" thick masonite spacers to allow air to flow up through the chassis. Now it runs MUCH cooler, and is dead reliable.

SLM tech support was very helpful.

Been playing for about 4 years.
Great affordable small amp. I use it with a seperate 1X12 or 1X15 cab. One has a Vintage 30 for a nice basic vintage sound, the other a 1958 alnico Utah (!) 15" for a thick, dark tone. The amp as stock is OK but hot and has a crappy particle board cab. The original 10" speaker may not be bad in a bigger pine cab, but I went to bigger speakers in pine and redwood cabs. LOVE the tone now. Much prefer it as a head as I can get a totally different feel with a different speaker. If I found another I would buy it.

It fits right into my amp collection- I have a little Danelectro practice amp, and a (sigh) Silverface Twin Reverb. You can tell I'm not a Mesa kinda guy.

i have no idea when the amp was made i bought it at a pawn shop. very versital if u know how to use ur vol and tone knobs. lol most of u are dumb idiots and dont use them and u sound like crap. but sooner or prob later u might find out dispite me saying this now that u will want to use them they are there for a reason. its got reverb which i disconnected and turn up all the way and use as a presence and its got a punch button which i never use. and u gotta use a booster pedal for some slight compression and boost for more gian or it will sound muddy unless u use absolutly no bass. but u need punch from the bass. so use a booster pedal. it will rock u.

somewhat noisey but who cares when ur playin in a rock band u cant here it. plays ne thing as long as u know how. u can get ne sound from country to jazz to metal seething metal. single channle delivers all u need.the distortion can be really butal wih the right guitar pickups and tubes and a booster pedal.

stong its been dropped many times and it still rocks.

dpnt need it.

great get one u wont regret it. i've played through some many top of the line amps and u dont need those features just u and the one channle can rock every day and all night long.

you all already know the drill:

*all tube. I know little about tubes, so I'm not sure what kind.
*single channel
*no f/x
*gain, volume, and low/mid/high knobs

nobody has mentioned the "punch" button yet, but I personally think this option is pretty cool. give a bit of boost, but not too much.

wish it had some old-school reverb built in or some tremelo or something. Crate nailed the vintage vibe, but decided to leave this one dry for some reason.

I play out occasionally and this amp works REALLY well for lead stuff and fills. it just drips with blues tone.

after reading the reviews, I think I may be using the wrong guitar for this amp. I am a Strat player and have always felt that I'm not getting 100% out of this amp. maybe the single coils are not suited for this thing. don't get me wrong, I get great tones, but sometimes the sound is a bit "muddy". now I know it's likely due to my guitar. I may look at getting a different guitar with humbuckers.

I can't get this thing nearly as clean as I would like either. It overdrives really easily no matter what. again, this may be due to my guitar.

but for bluesy-type sounds, this thing really comes alive. you can nail an SRV sound if desired, but you can also get a cool indie/punk type sound if you dial in just right.

the only effects I use with this thing is a reverb unit and a Route 66 compressor/OD pedal. I don't use the OD side...only the compressor side. it really swells up the sound in lots of great ways, but tends to give me too many highs.

this amp lacks a bit of low end, in my opinion, and could use more.

you can depend on this thing. crates are tanks. I can't ever see this thing dying.

never called crate

I've been playing about 15 years. if something were to happen to this amp, I'd likely try another brand/style. mainly to try to find a great clean channel and something with built in effects. I hate pedals and hate dragging around a bunch of gear.

I'm not saying that I don't like the amp, but I would likely get a Marshall AVT since these really appeal to me for some reason.

I will continue to use the Crate, mainly because it's the only amp I own and I got it for free. I don't blow lots of money on gear and I usually try hard to get what I own to work for me. I will probably have this thing for many years to come.

Covered many times. It has high, mid and low knobs. Gain, volume and a mid range punch button. Single channel no frills. Plug in and go amp plain and simple.

I primarily play two guitars, a Les Paul and an Ibanez Talman with a Dimarzio humbucker. The LP sounds a little chunky and unclear through here but the Ibanez screams. I play mostly classic rock sounding stuff a little faster. Not punk but not far from it. This amp sounds great cranked up. It breaks up really well and will give you instant feedback if you want it. I plug it into my 4x12 cabinet and it's loud enough to play small venues with except there's no clean channel with the amp cranked like that so it's pretty much limited to recording. I will be using this amp for recording future songs.

Well I used to play with this amp at college parties and the like. My brather played with it. The guitarist in his first band played with it. We all had to mic it to the PA but it still was lugged around through different places and different bands for years. Not to mention I loaned it to a local coffee house for their open mic stuff for about a year. All told after literally years of abuse the volume pot is pretty scratchy and the tubes needed to be replaced. This doesn't surprise me at all and overall I am impressed it make it this far with zero maintenance.

When I first bought it there was something loose and I sent it in. They fixed it and shipped it back. No big deal.

I only recently put new tubes in this amp. I hadn't really looked at it in a few years but as I have been looking for a combo lately I read other reviews on it and thought I should bring it out of retirement. I put in new JJ 12ax7's and El84's and fired it up. No problems except the noisy volume knob. I cranked the gain and the volume and then screwed around with the highs mids and lows to see the range. I then decided to really see what it could do and plugged it into my 4x12 and even though I just went through band practice I cranked out a few more songs and loved it. It sounded great! Without a clean channel though it's usefulness is limited. I usually play through an Ampeg Reverrocket 50w head and it never really gets cranked up anywhere I play. It's so loud that I never get to utilize it's full potential. I also use an ADA Rocket 10 for recording. After checking this vintage club out again I am planning on picking up either a vintage club 30 or 50 to take the place of the Ampeg at smaller venues. I just would like enough power to maintain a clean channel and get the overdriven sound of this amp.

easy to use. 1 channel, bass, middle, treble, gain, volume, mid boost.
a 20w Class A all tube amp, 10' cab, have exp cab jack, headphone jack.
12AX7x2, EL84x2

I use Epiphone Les Paul Standard Limited Edition Sparkle Blue with Tak Matsumoto Type Burst Bucker.
This amp haven't clean sound, but a pure rock tone. I play all music style. Pop, Rock, Metal...etc. when gain set it max, and volume over 2, it start to hiss, but if volume over 5, the tube sound is very good.
my setting is Les Paul Standard -> Maxon OD-9 -> Vox Big Ben Overdrive -> Keeley DS-1 Ultra -> Keeley BD-2 Phat Mod -> Metal Monster-X -> DD-3 -> Maxon CS505 -> VC20
very tube sound, and when I open OD-9 & BD-2, it's almost Tak tone like.
a liitle problem, treble too much when treble over 7. and boost button makes sound worst...so I always set it off.

no

buy it on ebay

It's a good pratice amp, I will buy a better one like V1512 or V32 when I have more money

I purchased the VC20 new over 10 years ago. Wow, what a great little tube-crakin' amp. I am a professional guitarist and have done everything you can imagine with this amp from many live performances to lots of studio work. I was in Guitar Center poking around looking for a new sound. I must've plugged into 15-20 different amps. I was prepared to spend a couple thousand or more for a "SERIOUS" amp when I walked in. Luckily, I plugged into this VC20. I laughed at the fact that I immediately fell in-love with this little $200 amp. This Crate VC20 is a straight forward, 15 watt Class A, EL-84s all-tube, single channel, sweet sounding amp. No more - no less.

I play whatever style or sound is requested of me. I prefer Rock, Classic Rock, and Blues. Keep your Gain at 2-3, scoop your mids, and set your master volume at 7-8. If you need extra volume, Mic the amp and let the PA do it's job. I have played infront of 20,000+ people with this amp....Never be ashamed of great TONE. An Ibanez "Tube-Screamer" or even a Marshall "Jack-Hammer" does great with this amp. I agree this amp works much better with humbuckers than single coils. If you like to run multiple amps...this amp must be in your line-up. Seriously, with the Crate VC20, you're looking at a Marshall JCM800 in a small combo amp that you can take anywhere.

Again, I have owned this amp for over 10 years and have driven it for all it is worth every since I have owned it. I have yet to replace anything. It has never even been opened up. NOTHING!!! ALL ORIGINAL!!!! My Marshalls can't even do that!!! What more do you want?????

I've never had to...for anything. But I hear that they are great to work with.

I have played with some of the world's best guitarists and I have used some of the best gear made...period. I am extremely happy to say that the Crate VC20 is heavily considered to be one of the best I have ever played through. I have yet to play with another guitarist that hears my tone and then sees my VC20 that has not had to pick his lower jaw up off the ground. TONE, TONE, TONE!!!!
GET IT? GOT IT? GOOD!!!!!
Honestly, I have lots of toys and great gear with any name on it you want. But at the end of the day, isn't TONE really the name of the game?

1 10 inch speaker.. all tube... blonde covering "vintage look"

I play a california series strat through it " mostly bridge posititon"and, A standard tele" with hotrails" I play lead guitar at church and would highly recomend this amp... Im in Australia right now and am getting it shipped because "I crave the tone" Although I dont paly much blues, I think thats what this amp was made for... The strat just comes alive and, Its perfect for lead work. It can get a bit raspy at higher volumes. So for "bigger" venues I go with the 30.

hadnt broke yet.....

never dealt with crate personally.

Ive been playing for 9 years and I got lucky when I bought this amp.. Id seen it sitting in the back of this music shop and eventually bought it... I paid 800.00s for a line6 flextone 2 and I just dont play it anymore.. It cant touch this crate. This amp just has FAT KILLER tone and I hope to have it for a long time. Its an overall bargain, versitile, tube amp.

this is THE greater lil'amp ever played (well, the vox AC is way cool too and the Fender Blues Jr. comes in third) but keep in mind it's a single channel small amp. Not many features, but loads of "olug and play-ability". Weak reverb does not hurt anyone... It could have a footswitch to the booster...

I use a custom handmade strat, Brasilian rosewood body, brasilian rosewood neck and Pau-Brasil Fingerboard with three Fender Custom shop Texas Special AND a Custom handmade tele, ash body and maple neck, with a Fender Vintage Broadcaster (bridge) and a Gibson '57 (neck). I usually play the blues, but some rockin'stuff (lynyrd skynyrd, Gov't Mule, AC/DC) and even some '80s rock (guns, van halen, whitesnake...), but, specially for the '80s, I don't care for sounding just like the bands. I like it vintage....

Well, this is a single channel cool lil'rocker. No questions about its sounds. full punch, great tone, whole bunch of ballanced midles, enough bottom for a small amp (not a bassman...), wonder clean sounds, warm crunchy drives. Absolutely perfect for blues, old school rock and many other styles. Adding some stompboxes, I think this one may be suitable for virtually any style, but it's obviously better using its vintage side.I have the original speakers on it, wich sonds cool enough even for a bassman Jensen Addicted (as I am)

Oh! the amp is pretty quiet, even with some drive, but it's not meant for metal heads, so keep the gain below the middle for best performance...

never needed to screw a single bolt. Nothing at all for the last 2 or some years... so it's pretty reliable... Oh! i like it loud and it has its stock speaker, so I have to go for a 10.

Here in Brasil (with an "s", if you please) we just cannot rely on the customers support of ANY brand/manufacturer. So I just cannot rank the Crate support, for there is none, and it's probably not their fault.

I used it for something like 2 years now. It's the second best amp I've ever had (the best was a Bassman tweed), and a had lots of them, from fender Bassman to peavey 5150, through Hudges-Kettner, Trace elliot, other Fenders... It rocks! ya want a good "ole style" vintage tone, go for it. You want a versatile blues little hot devil, go for it. You want clean sounds with tube compression and bite, go for it.

For now, it's my very own signature sound.

not good for fuzz, metal of any kind, people who want modern crystal-clear solid-state sounds (not me), people who wants to have a bunch of different sounds (flextone-like amps users).

Really basic version, no reverb, with original 10" Crate speaker. Bought used at Guitar Center for $70. Pretty beat up, thus the low price. After reading the other reviews, it appears I'm not missing anything without the reverb. I like things simple an this is as simple as it gets.

into a Blues vibe with an Epi Sheraton, mildly overwound humbuckers. Makes the sounds I need. This little amp is a total sleeper- sweet clean, fat grind. A nice alternative to my Twin Reverb. A really hot little recording amp.

When I got this home and plugged it in I noticed a weird, non-amp smell after it warmed up. Looks like it took a beer and some other assorted drinks, and maybe a little hamster pee. I pulled the chassis and cleaned it with some spray contact cleaner and while I had it out cleaned out the pots, retensioned the socket pins and Cramolin treated the inputs (this stuff is great). I stuck the original old tubes back in just to see if it still worked, and it sounded great. Left everything as is. I need to do a tube sweep but for now it satisfies without offending. This little amp is built like a tank. Definitely gig-worthy (through a PA) and possibly without backup.

this thing is OLD. Not their problem anymore, and haven't needed any help with it.

Why isn't this little gem famous? This amp is a STEAL even at twice what I paid for it. I'll be looking for another. Super portable package with decent looks (not mine, pee stains are not yet stylin')

Early nineties manufacture. After some modification, the amp's very versatile. It's a single channel tone monster. It's got an external speaker jack and headphone jack, both of which seem pointless to me (for recording through different cabs it's cool.) Part of the beauty of this amp is it's portability. Plenty of volume, it cuts through plenty. The tone controls are very responsive. It's got a mid boost button that I don't like the sound of. I kinda wish it had reverb, but I ain't sweatin' it.

This amp sounds good with all my guitars, but it does seem to favor alnico humbuckers especially. I've got a jagmaster I installed DeArmond Gold Tone pickups in, and this amp just loves that guitar. Tons of sustain and smooth grind with that combo. I generally scoop the mids out and use the pre and master volumes to get my sound. Now here's the kicker, I liked this amp okay until I put a boost pedal in front of it. With the booster this thing came alive! I don't care what kind you use, the increase in db's is what's going to sweeten the amp. It's very sensitive to tube choice as well so it's a good test bed if you're into tube swapping. I'm running mine with a chinese 12ax7 in v1 and a g.e.12ax7 in v2 with a couple russian groove tubes el84's in the power section right now. The finishing touch for me was replacing the stock speaker with an alnico 30w Jensen, and that has put this into the boutique sound realm for me. It's like a little chunk of high-gain marshall with a splash of vox thrown in. A very rich sounding tone issues forth when you get it dialed in. It'll do a good clean sound, but it's the overdriven sound that is sweetest.

I've never had any problems with this amp, period. I've had it about four years.

I've never had to contact the company about this amp. Although I wish they would release the schematic.

I love this amp. I only liked it at first, and not that much to be honest. But I knew it had potential as an all tube el84 powered amp. After changing out the tubes and the speaker, I'm completely satisfied with it. If it was my only amp, I'd be fine with that. As it is, the crate is second banana to my bassman with a 2x12 alnico jensen cab. If I could justify it I would by another one in a second.

Dont know what year mine is but they stoped making them in 1996. From what i know, it sounds pretty kick ass. The amp is very versatile. If it isnt for you you might be an idiot. haha sucks to be you. I play Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock, 80's Rock, Alternative and Zakk Wylde Brutal Metal. And it can do any. takes a while but is great. Single Channel all you need just like Zakk (JCM 800 Rules). Pretty Damn basic and straight forward, but thats how it should be. it has Reverb not the best but alright.

I use a early late 80's-early90's Jackson and can handle lots of music. stock crappy pickups but what can i do,eh. It most certainly suits my music. sounds like a JCM 800 with out a Presence Control. I have been Thinking about Scrapping the Reverb (since it not the best) and adding a Presence control. some Noise, just buy an EBTECH trust me they are great for ground loop hum (single coil, pedal, etc, most noises). Can make you squirt its like (Oh, The Brewtality) maybe add a full frequency booster by EMG of Seymour Duncan. or a Overdrive pedal With the Just the OutPut boosted.

Just FULL TILT BOOGIE DAMN STRAIGHT CAN BE A BLODDY AND BRUTAL AS A ROBERT RODREGUES AND QUINTIN TERITINO FLICK!

Tank 10 not much else to say

dont need it

Kick ass buy one or if you cant then you should steal one. haha be like my a Pirate AARRRGGGHHH

Just got my Crate Vin-20- quit making in 1996. This amp is hot little bomb!All tube- 1 channel with reverb- headphone jack and extra cabinet jack.Not fancy- just good clean loud tube sound! I play in a regular gigging club band- blues, classic rock, some country- it will be fine for small- med clubs- mic it for bigger gigs. So nice and small- easy to carry- plus classy old style cream colored tolex- oxblood red front. Looks like 60's model fender amp!

I use a 58 & 59 Les Paul with an old Ibanez TS-9, plus a Boss chorus-Amp is very quiet- will be a real pleasure to record with. Gets a strong Duane/Dickey Betts Les Paul sound. Reverb is a little weak, but we're here for tone brothers! Has a master volume and a boost switch that pumps up another 5+ watts or so. But keep it clean and run a good quality distortion pedal- you'll be real happy.

Had it less than a month, but using it every day- these Crate amps are as strong and dependable as anything out there. From what I've researched- these don't break unless you drop them.

Crate customer support is great! Fast and friendly when I called for an old owners manual & tube chart. Folks- these aren't rocket science- they're built tank tough, but anyone can replace the tubes, and there's little else to go wrong. Any service center can work on one.

I've been playing over 30 years-had big rigs, lots of rack junk- but this is really the best sound with limited effects pedals, for club or recording work. Love the look and small size, and large full sound. Ain't fond of the reverb. It's like a $1500 boo-tick amp in sound, but keeps more cash in your pocket. I'm looking to buy a 2nd as a back up. Yeah, I'd grab another if this one was lifted, in a second! Hey gang- smarten up- quit lugging all that big amp junk and get yourself a real nice little "hot potato", go wail, take the money and go home. Mic it if need, but this lil muther really cooks! I've got a bunch of other amps and guitars at home, but this is what I'm taking out to play from here on out. Crate amps are full U.S.A. made by folks who make Ampeg- good quality, and did I mention great tone too? Buy one- you'll love it!

I bought this on ebay because it appealed to my sense of the absurd. Someone had somehow acquired an empty Top Hat box and stuck a Crate Vintage Club 20 in it. It had the Top Hat speaker and I was looking for a small amp for the occasional gig with a function band. I figured it would be worth $300 and if it sounded crappy, I could just resell it. It's actually turned out to be almost perfect. I wish I could keep it clean at just a smidge higher volume, but we all know the #1 wedidng request is "turn down", so... It's probably the upgraded speaker, but it's got a very full tone with nice bottom. I put some chicken knobs on it and many guitarists have commented on my "boutique" amp. At some point, I'm hoping to upgrade the reverb tank. I've heard that these are prone to breaking down, but I haven't experienced that in the past year over the course of 40 or 50 four hour gigs.

I bought this amp 6 years ago when a local guitar shop was going out of business for $300 Canadian. A very basic amp, so to rate it out of 10 for features is not entirely fair, but for me, I'd say it to be a 8 out of 10. I will down grade it because although it tries to give you some cool features (headphones and line out) it's not really executed very well. But for what I play (blues, jazz, rock), it's perfect. For features, it's pretty straight forward: gain, level, treb-mid-bass, reverb, and mid-boost. It's a 15watt tube amp, so it's pretty loud for it's size (and weight!!), I'd say louder than a Fender Blues Jr (and heavier) and slightly smaller.

I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Melody Maker, and when this amp's level is cranked and the gain is low, it sings beautifully!! I like to set the level to 10 and the gain to around 2-3. I play at work in a 5,000 sq ft warehouse, and it is plenty loud enough. At maximum volume, don't try hitting a power-chord though, as the speaker will crackle under that kind of pressure. But for cutting through the band on a solo, or a good blues or rock riff, it's perfect. I'd stay away from the gain going beyond 5, as it's too dirty. Better to get a good stomp box if you want real distortion. This amp is all about clean to semi-clean sound with beautiful tone. If you want a totally clean sound at high volumes (beyond 7-8) then this amp is not for you. Better get a Club 30 or bigger. At home, it's plenty loud and plenty clean. Don't use the headphone jack. It's very static-sounding and hard to listen to. Line out, you have to unplug the speaker, so it's a bit of a hassle (my speaker wires are soldered on, read on below). Again, for what it is (tube 15watt, driven hard) I'd say the sound is just perfect!!

Well, I bought a floor model, and only after a month I had serious issues. The sound was breaking up and was getting unacceptable buzzing, at first only at higher volumes, but then even when playing at home you could hear it. I had to take it in twice, eventually getting all new tubes and speakers, but after that, all was fine and no problems for the 6 years after this. The tech at the shop told me that when you buy floor models, you never know what you'll get, and that's so true. As my only amp, I play this amp cranked quite often, and I've never had problems ever since (except power-chords at max volume!!). To rank, I guess it's not fair to downgrade Crate's rating because this was a floor model, and not new out of box. I'll still take it down a few notches....

I've never had to deal with them directly, but through the local authorized repair centre. It took about a month to get the speaker, but no questions asked, just a receipt and a general description of the problem. I'd say replacing my tubes and speakers is a good show of faith from Crate, considering the dealer was no longer around, and I did buy a floor model, and they could have blamed me for it.

Overall, I'm very happy. Recently I got the itch, after having this amp for 6+ years, to get start looking for another amp. I auditioned a couple of Fender's (Blues Jr, '65 Deluxe Reverb) but for the price, I think I'll keep my Crate. The reverb's a bit weak, that's my only big complaint, especially comparing it to the Fender amps. But for pure tone, looks, and uniqueness, and price, you can't beat my Crate

single channel amp with pregain, low mid and hi, post gain and reverb level, with two EL-84 tubes and 12" speaker. tank reverb. it is pretty perfect for what it is, except it is a single channel, so I distortion box comes in handy. speaker out plug disables internal speaker, I have driven 4 - 12 cab no problem with it, man then it has bottom end.

I use a 3 single coil strat. it fits my style perfectly. it is quiet, has only one channel, but sound great clean or has a nice smooth tube distortion, which can be driven pretty hard, but it is not a metalheads amp, too smooth, not enough edge or bottom end.

pretty clean, potentiometers are old and a little dirty (because they were cheap to begin with. also, reverb is a pretty weak( unbalanced), I think there was a mod from crate to increase the tank reverb level, kind of factory recall, I am not sure.

I purchased this amp new over ten years ago for around $200.00
It blew my mind then and now. I haven't really played through it for about 5 years. I unpacked it tonight, and plugged a stratocaster straight into it. no effects, not distortion box. this thing rivals any old fender amp you could ever lay your greedy hands on, except it has balls. its like a cheaply built boogie.

I really like this amp; it works well for what I do, which is play rock and blues with my buddies in relatively small rooms and venues with drums, bass, and vocals. It's loud enough to hear over all of that but you really have to crank the level control to its higher echelons. The headphone jack was useful when I was a less experienced player; I didn't have to worry about keeping the neighbors up. Its set up is relatively simple and straightforward. It has controls for volume level, gain, treble, bass and mid, as well as a boost button, which, if I remember what the guitar shop saleman told me, increases the output another five watts. It also has an external speaker jack and the aforementioned headphone jack. I believe the speaker is a 10". The only thing I wish it had was reverb. The fifty watt model has it but I don't know why they didn't put it on the VC20.

I've been playing through this amp for six years now and I think I've coaxed every possible noise from it by now. The mid-range frequencies are what really stand out for me. I was able to get nice
Bluesbreakers-era Claptonesque tones from it almost from the get go. It has a warm,smoky quality to it. With the gain turned up somewhere in the middle, and the knobs tweaked just so, I've been able to do a pretty good impression of the Kinks. I've dabbled in mellow, jazzy tones as well and this amp handles them nicely. If you really experiment with the knobs you can conjure some nice gritty, ballsy tones too. However, with the gain turned all the way up, chords lose their definition, more so than a lot of other amps I've used at similar settings. Also, the bottom end is not as tight as I would like it. But, in amps as with women, you can overlook a flabby bottom end if there are other qualities to make up for it. One other quibble I have is that the amp never really does get very clean. There is always a certain coloration that seems to muddy up the crystal. Nevertheless, this amp has a really nice vibe

I have only had one problem with it. About three years after buying it I had to replace the jack plug, but I bought it used so I don't really know what the previous owners did to it. I've never changed the tubes and it still sounds good.

I've never dealt with Crate's customer service support. Since I bought the amp used, there was no warranty.

I've been playing for over seven years now. Besides the Crate VC20 I also have a Carvin Bel-Air 50watt combo, a Marshall JCM 800, and a 100watt Tube Works Tube Driver. I've seen a few of these VC20 amps around and I'm thinking of getting another one just because they pack so much bang for the buck. If mine was stolen I'd go out and buy one immediately. I was really lucky to have picked it out of a whole stack of other inferior amps when I bought it. I didn't know much about gear back then. It happened to fit into my price range and it was all tube, so I picked it up. The guy at the music store raved about it and now I know why. Since then, I've played a lot of small amps like this but none of them really compare. Usually, they're cheap solid state amps with really harsh distortion, not smooth and bluesy like the VC20.

One 10 inch speaker, Blond tolex, one channel, hi-mid-bass controls, gain, level, external speaker jack, headphone jack. All tube, class A.

This amp is something else. With single coils it sounds cheap and thin. Both cleaned up or with gain imposed. But here is the rub, with my pho-335,with the gain on 3 and the level up towards 5, this thing growls, groans, and screams. Not with my Les Paul, but with the 335 only. It's funny how such a limited amp that sounds like crud with a Strat-Tele, can sound so great with the 335. I would give it a rating of one for any other guitar used but with the 335, I have to give it a 7

I used the external speaker jack once and upon pulling the chord out, the jack remained in the on position. I slapped the chord plug into it and pulled it out again, and it's good to go.

Over all rating? Only worth considering if you plan on replicating a BB or a Chris Cain tone. Otherwise, skip it. I love it though,and gig with it.