Crate Blue Voodoo anyone??

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metalj

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Ok we all know most Crate amps are solid state and usually played by kids or home players for practice. I cant think of anyone famous since the 80's playing Crates live or for recording.

The two most prominant would be CC Devile and Sammy Hagar and I did see the guy from Stephan Percy's RaTT play a Crate live and it sounded good.

So any thoughts on the Blue Voodoo? I played one in a GCenter about 5 years or so ago, but it was at such a low volume I couldnt really tell what it was capable of.

Brand new someone is selling them for $399, that seems like a great deal to me. I know they are not the best, but for a back up or practice amp, Im seriousely thinking of buying one.

I normally play Hughes and Kettners so I wouldnt expect that sound out of a Blue Voodoo.

ANyways....... Thoughts any real life experience with these. Im assuming they are a Metal type amp.

Thanks for any comments
 
we used to call those the Blue DooDoo years ago. thats definitly the amp that all of the kids got as thier first big amp.
 
I believe Cannibal Corpse used or uses them as well at some point. They're nice sounding amps. Crate isn't a half bad company when it comes to tubes. They get a lot of shit for their low end SS stuff, but come on, in that perspective, Marshall sucks too.
 
It is always tough to judge just based off one encounter but I knew a guy who was using one and it sounded like pure dog shit no matter how he tried to set it. Noisy as hell! Of course, this could have any number of things to do with the condition of the tubes etc...


"I believe Cannibal Corpse used or uses them as well at some point. "
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I can't answer for their older stuff (which doesn't sound all that great anyways) but I believe since Kill they have been using Triple rec's paired up with Engl Powerballs in the studio. I would say that the vast improvement in their recorded sound can probably be attributed to the change in amps haha.
 
A guitar shop in Roswell, GA had one on consignment a year or so back. I considered it, as it was a tube amp, but the salesperson discouraged me, saying it was a metal amp, not a blues/rock amp. And then when I went to try it out, it was dead.

And THAT, my friends, is the sum total of my experiences with Blue VooDoo's.
 
Personally, I would run away from any "deal" on a Blue Voo Doo amp. I don't care for Crate much, but the Blue Voo Doos are just bad sounding amps no matter what logo you slap on it, tubes or not. They are noisy, and he the thinnest most distinctively nasty sound I could really imagine. Often times they sound like you have plugged into a one pedal does it all setup, and sent the line out straight to your speakers. There is no crunch, no tone, no power, and no clarity. If you want a bulky metal distortion peadl that sucks all dynamic and tone out of your sound though, the Blue VooDoo may be just for you ;)

Also, when I did a few shows for Cannibal Corpse, they weren't using Blue VooDoos. Now on the other hand, they may be easily modifiable, but I don't know because I have never paid any attention to them. All I know is that an engineer, they are a nightmare. You can turn them up in a PA all you want and it almost seems like they get more bland and more distant.
 
Guitarer said:
They get a lot of shit for their low end SS stuff, but come on, in that perspective, Marshall sucks too.
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Hell yeah, that's dead on.. AVT's and MG's sound like shit...

I played a BV 350 I beleive, with the matching 4x12 at a battle-of-the-bands once, they had a couple BV 1/2 stacks for the backline. We showed up, I saw 'Crate' and thought 'awww fak...' I have a couple other trashy ss Crate amps that sound like, well, Crates.. The only reason I even still have em is cuz I run POD's thru em, which suffices..

Anyway, when I plugged in and actually played thru it, I thought it sounded great. Nice low woofy chugs, good on guitar solos, good on squeals. If I could get a BV tube head for $400 I'd snatch it up in a second.. I was highly impressed, I never thought a Crate could sound that good.

You guys bashing BV's ever actually dial one in and play thru it?
 
You guys bashing BV's ever actually dial one in and play thru it?
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Yes and as I stated it sounded like complete asshole. I didn't say don't buy one though, I just gave out my experience on the one that I encountered. Maybe I am a little biased though, I have a Marshall, Mesa, and an ENGL as my main amps and I just recently relieved myself of a Framus cobra.
Perhaps MetalJ should go play the thing and find out if it works for his style of playing/needs. At the end of the day that is all that really matters right? If it sounds good and the price is right, buy it.
 
Guitarer said:
Oh, FYI, Zzounds has the BV120 for $320 new.
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Wow, Id say for that price its worth checking out at least. I could always return it.

Perhaps MetalJ should go play the thing and find out if it works for his style of playing/needs. At the end of the day that is all that really matters right? If it sounds good and the price is right, buy it.

Good advice, I think I will do just that. I can save my H&K's tube life for live.

Thanks for the feedback. I will post some sound samples if I get a chance. Most of the ones on YouTube are kinda bad quality and have the camera microphone sound at least the ones that I have found.
 
metalj said:
I can save my H&K's tube life for live.
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that makes no sense to me. tubes don't wear out that fast and besides the don't really cost an arm and a leg anyway. if you have an amp that you are happy with then why purchase a subpar amp to use instead. it sounds to me like the kind of rationale that i would use when i'm just looking for an excuse to buy something.

and yeah you guys are still saying it wrong. it's Blue DooDoo
 
I've read a lot of reviews talking about when you re-tube em, they sound phuquing phenomenal. They come stock with some generic Groove Tubes, but apparently you can get much much better..
 
second skin said:
that makes no sense to me. tubes don't wear out that fast and besides the don't really cost an arm and a leg anyway. if you have an amp that you are happy with then why purchase a subpar amp to use instead. it sounds to me like the kind of rationale that i would use when i'm just looking for an excuse to buy something.

and yeah you guys are still saying it wrong. it's Blue DooDoo
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You're probably right about the tubes, but they still will wear faster, so even if it saves me a little it is worth it to me.

Its more of a thing of lugging the amp around than the tubes wearing out. Id like to keep one at the studio(which is 70 miles away from home) for practice and my H&K's at home to throw in the car for live shows.

No, Im not looking for an excuse to buy something I dont need, I just want a head that will be fine in a studio to be heard with a loud acoustic drum set. My H&K amps are small combos that I can pipe through a PA if needed for llive.

Blue DooDoo ehhh? While that is extremely funny to say, there are a few people on this post that disagree. Do you have any evidence or personal experience with them, or are you lumping them in with the typical Crate bashing.

You gotta admit the price is right for a 120 watt tube amp head.
 
metalj said:
You're probably right about the tubes, but they still will wear faster, so even if it saves me a little it is worth it to me.

Its more of a thing of lugging the amp around than the tubes wearing out. Id like to keep one at the studio(which is 70 miles away from home) for practice and my H&K's at home to throw in the car for live shows.

No, Im not looking for an excuse to buy something I dont need, I just want a head that will be fine in a studio to be heard with a loud acoustic drum set. My H&K amps are small combos that I can pipe through a PA if needed for llive.

Blue DooDoo ehhh? While that is extremely funny to say, there are a few people on this post that disagree. Do you have any evidence or personal experience with them, or are you lumping them in with the typical Crate bashing.

You gotta admit the price is right for a 120 watt tube amp head.
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I would go out on a limb and say he is probably just parroting what he has heard from others.
every blue voodoo I have ever heard sounds phenomenal
and a buddy in our praise band plays through one every week.
 
Well, its no suprise that my opinion was not accepted by some, but thats OK. As a point of reference though, my comment was made by tons of experience with them. I have not tried retubing one yet, but every "stock" blue voodoo I have used had a very bland tone. Lots of gain, by no dynamics, no punch, no crunch. They really sounded a lot like a mediocre pedal plugged straight to a PA. The price is certainly right for a tube head of that size, but I personally would still pass just because with the other amps I have in the studio, I can't really see ever having a use for it. As to whether or not it is a good value for you sepecifiaclly, that is really for you to decide. How about looking for an older used Sovtek? They are built pretty well, generally sell used for what I consider to be underpriced, and sound decent as well. At least at that point your tone will have some character and definition. Not only that but you will probably hear yourself better at a lower volume. Generally speaking, in the probably 100 + times I have run into a BV stack, the only person that has been around that really liked the tone was the person trying to defend his/her purchase of the amp. Keepo in mind also that my experience is that you will have to play it pretty loud because its lack of any real tonal qualities allows it to get lost really quickly in the mix. The only way to counter that seems to be to turn it up even more. Also, if you do get one, maybe try a lot less gain than you think when just listening to it solo. That seems to help them not sound so hollow and gutless.
 
metalj said:
Blue DooDoo ehhh? While that is extremely funny to say, there are a few people on this post that disagree. Do you have any evidence or personal experience with them, or are you lumping them in with the typical Crate bashing.
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Roguetitan said:
I would go out on a limb and say he is probably just parroting what he has heard from others.
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you would be wrong though. back in the mid to late 90s those amps were very prevalent in my local music scene. i never owned one but i sure saw plenty of bands that had one. i think there was a local music store that pushed crate pretty hard at the time. it seemed like every young kid that started a band got one for his first "big boy" amp. there was also a band that practiced a few spaces down from mine that had one. i used to go over there and jam periodically.

they just always seemed to sound harsh to me and lack any real warmth. i fully realize that you can't account for taste or anyone elses sense of tone but thats what my band mates and i always called them. imagine our confusion when they made the red ones.

no doubt those amps were being played with the stock tubes, most likely horribly biased and through not so good speakers too.
 
My experience with the : Crate - Blue Voodoo

I know this is an old thread but i had to add some info for anyone like me who might run across this in google. I think it was maybe 2000 back when i had a Crate Blue Voodoo. I bought it new & sent it back because it had a very treble based sound to it & just not enough low. I remember thinking Papa Roach (who were just a local band at the time & from my home town) would be better suited using it (sub sounding bass Guitar & high almost scratchy distortion guitar doing the rap rock thing). I wanted to play metal with mine & was tuned down to a B & just felt it lacked bottom end & was high & grainy. Fast forward to 2003 when a friend of mine bought one used for $200 & played a Jackson soloist 2 "SL2H" through it ( with the SD "JB" & "59" pups in it & a 4x12 cab with 75watt Celestions). Great Metal guitar sound!. The SL2H has more low end than Ibanez`s (i had a cheap Ibanez with stock pups back when i had mine). It sounded best on the distortion channel with the mid & treble at 6 & the low all the way up. The guitar tone was similar to the guitar sound on "fear factory's - archetype". He also owned a original Peavy 5150 but started using the Blue Voodoo instead as we both thought it was more versatile having a decent clean & more of a regular guitar sound (the peavy sounds more saturated & mid heavy but awesome in its own right). One of the tricks ive been doing is matching the electronics in my guitars to match his Jackson SL2H electronics. CTS brand volume pot (500k) CTS brand tone pot (250k) with a ceramic disk .022 cap & have had a noticeable improvement in my guitar tone in general. I went from being unimpressed with the Crate blue Voodoo to looking for one of my own(The Jackson & Blue Voodoo combo are also responsible for bringing another friend of mine back to passive pickups & he owns a triple rec running EMG pups). The thing i notice most when it comes to frustrated guitarists is just like finding the right mic for your amp when recording is important, getting the right guitar sound fed into to the amp is probably why so many people are so divided over amps like this. The bottom line- Is this amp for every guitar with every pickup?...No, but with the right match it can sound great;) oh yeah & of course for those newer to this use the minimal amount of distortion relying on the eq of the amp to give you punch. Hope this helps somebody;D
 
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