Straight from the Crossroads- Crate VFX5212 Combo Amplifier

I try to attend lots of concerts. Live music is good for the soul, and my soul needs it badly. But, to be honest, I really have a hard time with the larger festivals. Too many people, and you can’t get close enough to the bands. It’s usually just not my scene. Plus, the ticket prices for the Chicago market have really become a racket. That being said, I am reminded of a song lyric- “Regrets, I’ve had a few…”

One such regret is that I did not go to Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival when it came here to Chicago. It actually took place a few miles from where I was living at the time. It was an amazing line-up, and I shamefully missed it. It is now one of my favorite concert DVDs to watch, and I do so quite regularly.

Of the tons of highlights I could mention here, is one I bet many people missed- the backline. There were a few guys, most notably two of my idols, Billy Gibbons and Joe Walsh, that were using the same amplifier in the backline. Even through the DVD, I could hear amazing tone. (Having a good home theater system helps here.) What is that thing?

After a little research, I found out was… a what? Seriously? Yup. A Crate. No foolin’. It was the V50-badged 2x12 EL34 all-tube combo amplifier they had out. I was intrigued. However, It was a little pricey at the time, and I’d always been a little nervous about Crate amps.

Fast-forward a few years. I’m doing my usual scanning through CraigsList, and lo-and-behold, there sits one, in practically unused condition, for something like 300 bucks. A little negotiating prior to the deal brought it down to $275, and it was decided. Total impulse. I was going to find out now if this was everything I thought it was.

Turns out, this was even better than I thought it was going to be... Eventually. Read on.

First impressions of the amp were the cosmetics, since I hadn’t heard it (much) yet. Just enough to prove that it was fully functional. This is a beautiful amp that has a very 50’s flair to it. They did a fantastic job with the look. Second impression came as I loaded it into my car- man, this thing weighs a ton! That’s usually a good sign. Usually.

Getting it home, I fired it up with a lot of anticipation. It was hard to be patient as the tubes warmed up. I grabbed one of my Ibanez guitars off the wall, and set the controls on the amp right about where I would have my Marshall, as a starting point. Now, I flipped the standby switch. Moment of truth. It roared to life, and I struck a chord. This thing sounds…. terrible! Whoa! It’s all highs. So (ugh!) shrill.

I stopped, shook my head for moment, and started looking over things. Let’s re-adjust, shall we? Being an EL34 amp, I went into this assuming a British voice, which this does (sort-of) have, but the first thing I had to do was grab that presence knob and bring it almost all the way down, quite contrary to where I would have my Carvin Legacy or my Marshall. I brought the treble way down, as well. Alrighty. Let’s try this again. Ahhhhhh, better. But still… not quite right.

Down went the gain knob. Here’s where the action is. I wasn’t looking for this to be a metal amp, and you shouldn’t be either, but the more I brought the gain down, the more this opened up for me. This amplifier is at home playing raunchy blues, and once dialed into that, sits beautifully there. Up went the volume!

At this point, I switched guitars, too. With this new bluesy setting, and my Gibson Flying V, I was in absolute heaven. I even brought the gain back up some. “I said Lawd take me downtown…” Oh yes. This amp is fat, full, and very round!

There’s a clean channel, too. Also very British-voiced. Nice and smooth. This is where I found the built-in effects to be the most usable, also. I used the combination of the chorus, reverb, and delay, and got a nice palate there. A great bonus was, that since this didn’t come with a foot switch, my old Peavey switch from long ago works smashingly with it! Sweet!

Since then, I’ve actually come to prefer the combo of my American Strat with the Jeff Beck pickups with this amp. The two work very nicely together, and give incredible definition across the strings. But, for old-times-sake, as I was writing this, I did grab the Flying V, and crank the volume up. It felt every bit as good as you think you did.

I don’t know how hard these are to find out there right now, but with Crate no longer producing amps, there might be a chance that prices have dropped and you can get an even better steal on this incredible amp than I did. Happy hunting!