Crate compact 4x12 durability experiment

[gremlin]

someone traded me one of those crappy particle board, speaker magnet the size of a mini donut, crate compact 4x12 cabs for a tattoo. so me and a friend decided to see how much it would take before it melted (after a few shots of quervo)...here are the results:

Crate cab + crate head= still worked, sounds crappy

Crate cab + 50w Marshall tube head= still worked, cab still sounds crappy

crate cab + Carvin Vai Legacy head= still worked, cab still sounds crappy

crate cab + Fender twin= still worked, cab still sounds crappy


time to break out the big gun(insert evil laugh here)

crate cab + 1972 Ampeg SVT tube head= Cab doesnt sound crappy, doesnt sound at all, total destruction, smoke coming out of each voice coil, cones disintergrate, small flame..... we have a winner

[travelin travis]

come on man. no pictures? those crate compact cabs are real turds. thanks for ridding the world of one more. i owned one once upon a time. no matter what you plug into it, it sounds like shit.

[gremlin]

i think the wife took some when she gets home ill see if she can upload them. she was laughing her ass off at a couple of drunks in the back yard with a guitar and a bunch of amps trying to kill a cab. as she kept saying..." yall leave the poor thing alone it didnt do anything to you"

[travelin travis]

so now you have a big useless piece of trash. what will you do with it?

[gremlin]

it was a big useless piece of trash to begin with but,
it will make a good rest to put bottles on to shoot at.

[COOLCAT]

I didn't realize it at the time, until yesterday, I had purchased or traded for the first model CRATE amp. It was a C&W music store...why I don't remember.

It was the worst sounding, and ugliest amp I have ever owned before or since. Not only was it built like a Crate it was plastic fake wood too.

IMO, to my surprise they turned into a huge company, under SLM, built in the US, now with pure Tube Class A, Celestion...the V30, V50's are sweet....

I didn't realize they were just bought out ion 05, now under the LOUD umbrella with Mackie, EAW...ampeg, crate, Alvarez...


Here's a pic of the amp....read 'em and ......... weep

[COOLCAT]

and now this...

anyone know much about these, I'm kind of eyeing a V30 at a pawn shop (who'll trade for an old 80's transistor/discrete PV plus some $$)...the V30 is mint condition...

but if it sounds like shit whats the point. Maybe the new LOUD owners are doing some good things?

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by COOLCAT

Here's a pic of the amp....read 'em and ......... weep

When I was a kid, my friend had one of those. I thought the cab was real wood though. It sounded like dirty ass.

[Anfontan]

Originally Posted by COOLCAT

and now this...

anyone know much about these, I'm kind of eyeing a V30 at a pawn shop (who'll trade for an old 80's transistor/discrete PV plus some $$)...the V30 is mint condition...

but if it sounds like shit whats the point. Maybe the new LOUD owners are doing some good things?

Plug in and try it, if its tube and has a celestion it might turn out pretty cool!

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

When I was a kid, my friend had one of those. I thought the cab was real wood though. It sounded like dirty ass.

your right..it was actual wood!
mine looked plastic? it was the greenish/brown fake wood paint to make it look like wood grain, but instead it looked like fake greenish/brown fake wood look....maybe thats what they were going for?

too bad Gremlin couldn't get one, because it probably would actually melt or at least caught on fire.

check this out! its maintained its price at $125... I thought the bright Orange label gave it that highly desirable plastic look....aligns with the greenish brown paint. damn...it almost makes me puke.

[Lt. Bob]

Originally Posted by COOLCAT

and now this...

anyone know much about these, I'm kind of eyeing a V30 at a pawn shop (who'll trade for an old 80's transistor/discrete PV plus some $$)...the V30 is mint condition...

but if it sounds like shit whats the point. Maybe the new LOUD owners are doing some good things?

I played one in a store and it sounded decent.

Actually Crate makes one amp I sort of covet ...... the Palomino amps. They make a 5 watt and a (I think) 15 watt one ( maybe 30 watts I'm not sure) .... all class A. The Palomino 5-watt is killer sounding although a bit expensive.

[tarnationsauce2]

Crate Vintage Club amps are pretty decent, the 50w el84 3x10 is the one I've had experience with. The tubes and speakers are not stock. Actually sounded very good.
Everything else I've ever heard of Crate has been poop.

[travelin travis]

there was a solid state crate combo with a celestion speakers that i really liked alot back in the day.