Crate Blue Voodoo

[Shotgun]

I liked my BV120 very much. I mostly played an SG through it, with the stock pickups (but I added covers and potted them). Played a seven string beast through it a little, too. Not much.

I liked it. A lot. I liked the clean channel. I liked the distorted channel. I especially liked it for what I paid.

I sold it because I had a chance to get a XXX for stupid cheap. I love my xxx, and don't plan on getting rid of it. But I wouldn't hesitate to own another Blue Voodoo, or another Crate, for that matter. (In fact, I've been looking at those little class A combos... but that is a WHOLE different story...)

My cent.
Keith

[Racerx2k]

How's the Triple XXX, at high volumes, Axe? I love my Crate, but am considering a Peavey, down the line, as I tried out a whole slew of them, and fell in love. I REALLY like the JSX, too. Even the XXL was impressive, in my book.

[Norton]

I've got one more question about the amp.Is there a switch for changing the voltage(110/220) on the amp or I just should buy a transformator?Cause we use 220 V in Turkey.

[zeegler]

WOW...seems I`ve stumbled into the lair of the "defenders of the almighty Blue Voodoo"!?!? Too bad u guys can`t just delete any reply that is negative towards the BV so then u could make it sound like the greatest amp ever!!!
Norton,
to elaborate on my first reply(that apparently was so offensive to others),
Have I used them? Yes (stage and studio)...Do I like them? It wasn`t my preference for my applications but who knows, it might be perfect for you!
So as mentioned in my first reply...Good luck in your amp shopping!

(weird, I thought they only let adults in here...Oh well)

Actually, what you said was that it was a glorified practice amp. Sounds like dissing for the sake of dissing to me, since you can't back that statement up with anything intelligent. Other people have mentioned in previous threads that they don't like the sound of the Blue Voodoo, for whatever reason, and that's a fair enough. Tone is subjective.

What you said wasn't offensive, just stupid.

[Gio]

the blue poo poo is a piece of shit

crate amps sound like a fat woman dropping a duece on a warm sunday afternoon.

[zeegler]

the blue poo poo is a piece of shit

crate amps sound like a fat woman dropping a duece on a warm sunday afternoon.

I certainly hope this is an attempt at humor.

[Racerx2k]

Of course it is. And a piss-poor, thinly-veiled one, at that. Come back when you have better material, stupid.

[hippietim]

I had a Blue Voodoo. I didn't think it was that good or bad. I've got amps I like better so I flipped it.

But to any of you that say you can't get a passable tone out of it then YOU suck. Seriously, it's not *that* bad by any stretch. I got a couple tones I could use to within a few minutes. Were they the holy grail of guitar tones? No, not really. Would I plug into it at a gig if I had no other choice and be able to get satisfactory tones ? Absolutely.

[Racerx2k]

Thank you, Tim, for a fair, and open-minded opinion. Much appreciated, here.

[SoCal]

lol...you guys still rattled?

[Racerx2k]

No, we've moved on. Try it, you might like it.

[hippietim]

No, we've moved on. Try it, you might like it.

...he says posting again...

[Racerx2k]

LOL. You gonna start, now, Hippieboy?

[wicked_lester]

I just love "Crate" threads on the net...whenever I see one I know it's time to make some popcorn and watch the... LOL

Anyway, Norton I've played a friend's BV 60 combo some years ago and I wouldn't exactly characterize the overdrive tones from it as "soft". Actually I thought the amp was was a bit spikey-sounding on the treble side. Of course, I adjusted the eq section but I thought the BV sounded thinner (and a bit harsh) overall than my old, trusty Crate VC2112R that I use for practice.

Now *there's* a line of Crate amps I would recommend for getting a softer overdrive sound. The smaller Vintage Club amps use EL-84 power tubes which are nice for that fat, greasy overdrive sound...especially when used in conjunction with an overdrive pedal for a clean boost. I can get some really sweet hard rock lead tones from that little beast, nice and fat with that soft attack to them.

Well good luck with your search, I just thought I'd throw that out there just to help you decide.

[zeegler]

I'll try to add a little non-guitarist, non-biased opinion here. At band practice on Saturday, my friend Kevin was hanging out while we jammed. He said to me during a break that Shawns guitar/amp sounded very thin and hollow. He also said that mine sounds "big". That was the word he used. Now, remember, this is coming from a guy who doesn't really play guitar, and doesn't know a thing about gear. Shawn plays a Peavey Odyssey with stock pickups, through a 5150 head/cab. I am by no means bashing 5150s since I know many, many people love them, and many pro players use them. However, Kevin's comment is pretty much the same as everyone else who comes to see us play. What does it all mean? Well, IMHO, it means that I know how to set up my BV120, and I'm running the right combination of guitar and pickups through it. It also means that Shawn likely doesn't have an ear for setting up his 5150, or he needs to think about swapping pickups, or guitars. Basically, I'm just saying that, there's a lot more to consider when your trying to get a good sound, than buying a brand X amplifier, and voila!! Some amps might be easier to dial in, or might be less sensitive to the pickups and guitar you're using. I remember trying out a Mesa Single Rectumfryer not too long ago, and I spent 20 minutes at most with it. I COULD NOT get a bad sound out of it. Granted, I couldn't get a truly awesome sound out of it right there, but I'll bet I could, given a few hours to mess around with it. By the same token, I could probably get Shawn's 5150 to sound MUCH better than it does.

On the other hand, the Blue Voodoo, seems to be more sensitive to what you're running through it. I can hear a huge difference going from my USA Rhoads, to my Xaviere, to my Lado, to my Weddington, etc. Even guitars with the same pickups, sound very different depending on the wood, construction, bridge, strings, fretboard, etc.

Another good example of how amps vary in sensitivity is my B52. Some people really seem to like theirs. I bought one because
A: it was cheap
B: curiosity
C: it was cheap
D: it's always good to have spares
E: it was cheap
After a great deal of farting around with the controls, talking to other B52 owners, trying different guitars, etc, I found that I could get an almost decent sound out of it. I couldn't get a sound that I would be happy with on stage, or even at practice, and the worst thing was, if you moved the controls at all, the amp went back to sounding like a huge pile of dung. The only thing I haven't tried yet, is using different speakers. Who knows, maybe that's the magic bullet.

My point is, some amps require more tweaking, where some are easy to get a good tone with, and some just sound horrible no matter what you do. I would say the Blue Voodoo is easy to get a passable tone, but requires a little more time, and experimentation to get a real killer tone.