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Author
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Topic: Anybody use a Crate amp for pedal/lap steel?
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Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 02 May 2001 06:01 PM
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Does anyone on the forum use a Crate amp for pedal steel or lap steel? Which model would be best in your opinion?------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
Everett Cox
Member From: Marengo, OH, USA
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posted 03 May 2001 12:59 AM
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Brad-- I have a Crate Vintage Club 50 that is not too bad with steel. It's all tube, of course, with a decent spring reverb and a couple 12in speakers. Seldom plug anything into the dirty channel. Seems to have plenty of power - too much for 'at home' playing. Now that weather's nice, I do sometimes roll stuff out on the deck and wake up the neighbors. (My house sits on 12 acres so there's nobody closer than 300 yards and the sound has a nice natural echo thru the trees.) I'm not really good enough with pedals yet, and a better player might demand a more steel-oriented amp than a Crate. For my ears, tho, it's acceptable. Recently bought a Fender Champ 25 that is much lighter than the Crate and I believe sounds better.
--Everett |
Dave Zirbel
Member From: Sebastopol, CA USA
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posted 03 May 2001 05:08 AM
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My band did a show with BR-549 a few years back and the steel/mandolin/fiddle player was going through a Crate. I didn't notice the model. It was a combo with one 15" speaker if I remember correctly. The mandolin sounded great. He played great, too but I didn't care for the steel tone from that amp. He played a Fender T-8 Custom that night.DZ |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 03 May 2001 11:54 AM
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Thanks for the replies. I had a request for information on their suitability for steel guitar, but I didn't see anything they offered that seemed appropriate.------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
D Schubert
Member From: Columbia, MO, USA
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posted 03 May 2001 01:10 PM
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I have a Crate VC-508 amp -- 5 watts, 8" speaker, two tubes -- that I use with lap steel when playing with all accoustic instruments. Or as practice amp. About the same size and weight as an old Fender Champ. Three knobs -- preamp gain, tone, volume -- and a line out jack. Sound ranges from moderately clean to just plain ol' nasty, with surprising amount of volume for its' size. |
Jerry Overstreet
Member From: Louisville Ky
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posted 03 May 2001 04:18 PM
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Hi Brad, I once had a VC5115 [50 watter w/ a 15] that I tried unsuccesfully on pedal steel. It was good for guitar and ok for a second amp in a stereo set-up, but just didn't have the sound or punch I want for a main amp. I think I gave it a fair chance, tried a blue tube in front of it, along w/an echo box, but I was never happy with it for steel FWIW. |
Kevin Mincke
Member From: Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
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posted 03 May 2001 07:37 PM
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I had a VC 2110R just for home use. It was ok |
Chris Walke
Member From: St Charles, IL
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posted 04 May 2001 08:01 AM
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I have a Crate VC-3112. I've played my lap steels through it, it's "ok," but I prefer the Blues Jr. Plenty loud, tho'. |
Roger Miller
Member From: Waterloo, Ia.
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posted 11 May 2001 03:34 PM
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I have a Vc5115 and I have spent more time in the repair shop, and now even the store I bought it from won't trade me for another. I would say, it might sound ok, but stay away from Crate. |
Keith Hilton
Member From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721
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posted 11 May 2001 03:47 PM
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If you called, or could call, the factory would there be anyone that would talk with you? At least Mike Brown is available at Peavey to help people. |
Jack Stoner
Sysop From: Inverness, Florida
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posted 11 May 2001 04:24 PM
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Crate and Ampeg are both owned by the same company (St Louis Musical Supply). If you call for support for Crate or Ampeg you get the same place.I have a friend that bought one of the new modeling amps and it works but we had to "customize" it. They used a ribbon cable to connect between two circuit boards but did not use connectors on the cable - just tinned the wires on the ribbon cable and stuck them into a PC board connector. They don't hold - too cheap to use a connector on both parts. And then to make it worse, instead of having a plug-in cable, because they are cheap they soldered the wires to the circuit board. If it had to be worked on and one of the boards needed to be removed you would have to remove both boards. |
Keith Hilton
Member From: 248 Laurel Road Ozark, Missouri 65721
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posted 11 May 2001 07:26 PM
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Jack,correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think St. Louis Music Supply makes anything. They are a big sales distrubution organization, but they may have stuff made for them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought Crate was a "contract made" amp, made overseas. I may be wrong. If it is made in the U.S.A. then where is the factory? Assembled in the U.S.A. don't count. |
Jack Stoner
Sysop From: Inverness, Florida
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posted 12 May 2001 03:24 AM
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Keith, I don't know where they are made. I didn't think about that when we had the amp apart, but I got the impression it was a USA made unit. St Louis Musical Supply owns a lot of brands, including Alvarez guitars and the Ampeg and Crate brand name amps. Since the Ampeg tech support also handles tech support for Crate, they could be made in the same plant. (Crate did not list a tech support phone number - we called Ampeg trying to find a Crate number and the guy told us we had reached the Ampeg/Crate support center).However, just tinning the wires in the ribbon cable and pushing them into a PC Board connector is typical of a lot of "imported" electronics so this may have been made - or at least the chassis - somewhere other than the US. It would be great to say "I only buy US" but in reality, in most items, you can't "only buy US". |
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