Crate Blue Voodoo 120H Demo

[@Dr_Lipschitz]

I bought one in 2009 before I knew anything about how “bad” they were and it is one of the best metal amps I have. No joke

[@Durkhead]

Have you boosted it with a metalzone?

[@mikelovesguitars402]

With all that gain, it should be perfect for a metal amp.

[@dakistle]

I never heard about the internet opinion and only remember the Blue Voodoo from when Crate was proud to offer them. I would buy one if I needed to push a cab and a good deal came along without a second thought.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@dakistle they're so cheap when you come across them

[@JDStone20]

I have a Crate GFX-1200H and it is a beast.

[@UseTheSupeRsonic]

This amp was my introduction to tube amps, so there's always going to be a reverence for them on my end. When I started playing guitar in 1999, these things were EVERYWHERE in the guitar magazine ads.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

It's a shame that they never really took off.

[@HoundofillOmen]

I have owned the Blue Voodoo 120 not the 120H since the early 90's. It sounds amazing and I played everything from Clapton to thrash metal. I still have it right now sitting in my living room.

[@RomeoG39]

I had the BV60H. It sounded pretty awesome from what I remember. I'd get it back if I could.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I wonder if the 50 watt would be any easier on my old back... 🤣

[@thriftsnriffs291]

@@mikelovesguitars402probably not, only weight difference is 2 tubes. I just finished fixing one and it has the same transformers and boards as the 120, they just nixed the tube sockets, tubes and some parts and wiring

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@thriftsnriffs291 good to know. If only there was a lunchbox version that I could carry with one finger. 😁

[@brianbarnett100]

I love this, my 1st amp was a Gfx 65. I had a BV60h and I was able to make it scream lol

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I think it sounded great. I feel like I want to be a champion of misunderstood gear. lol

[@lycancatt4248]

i was the drummer in an acdc cover band and we had this amp as our main guitar sound, diled in right it was sfully and crunchy and extremely usable

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@lycancatt4248 with just a little effort, it's a great sounding amp.

[@Metallex]

Man, you got this sounding way better than I remember them! I think this amp is almost like the Metalzone in a way. As teenagers we buy them and we have no idea how to dial in the sound correctly, so it sounds like crap. It's easy to make modern 'good' amps sound terrible too. Knowledge is porridge, right?

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Indeed, "knowing is half the battle" 😁

[@JDStone20]

exactly!!!!

[@Lola_Santoro]

I had a Crate solid state back in the 90s. Can't remember if it was 100W or 200W. Man, that thing was badass! I used the onboard distortion with an OD pedal and other effects, it was incredible. Turned heads. It lasted me 30 years.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

When I was a young man and still had a good back, my rig got pretty out of control. I used my JCM 900 for my main tone, and a Crate solid state half stack (couldn't tell you the model number of the amp if my life depended on it) for my clean tone. I eventually let the Crate go because I got tired of small club soundmen always giving me a hard time over the giant rig

[@vorpalblades]

The old FlexWave 5 preamp was killer.

[@jasonsapp792]

Now you got me wanting to look for Blue VooDoo vs Peavey Valve King videos

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Find someone who will loan me a Valve King and I'll make one for you. 😁

[@ronnielobosmith4870]

I love all 9 Crate amps i own

[@mikelovesguitars402]

What all amps do you have?

[@JDStone20]

You sir are my idol!!!!

[@KalosPVP]

Had one as a young teen. I loved the thing but it was difficult to get high volume without serious feedback. Coupled with a sonic maximizer it sounded even better. If only I knew of noise supression pedals back then. I eventually sold the head but still have the matching cabinet. Now im rocking a Peavey 6505+ :]

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Yeah, I think a 4 cable noise gate would be awesome for it if you're running a lot of gain on it.

[@goobiecaro8135]

Had the head and matching cab. Picked them up real cheap around 2008. Didn't fully know how to dial it in back then. Sold them in 2018.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Luckily they're still really cheap when you can find them 😁

[@davej8045]

I had one of the last versions but sold it to a friend after getting a Friedman BE-100 deluxe. I would have kept it if there was room but I would actually consider getting the BV150H if one ever showed up at a reasonable price that was in suitable condition.

[@mathisto21]

I just picked up a 90's era production model of one these badboys for $400 Australian which is approx $300, maybe a bit less. Damn I love this thing. I also have a Mesa Dual Rec Multiwatt and a Marshall JVM, however I would have absolutely no problem gigging this to save the risk of busting one of those. I love this thing and worth every cent. Great demo mate! Some really great tones you got out of this thing.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

These things are insanely cheap for how good they can sound.

[@bpabustan]

I tried this amp back in the day. It was pretty good!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

It's definitely better sounding than it's reputation suggests.

[@jackarmistead5353]

I had an opportunity to try one about a year ago, and while it certainly wasn’t the worst amp I’ve played through, I didn’t care for it either. With a boost and maybe an eq in the loop I could get it where i want.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

That's fair. That's why it's good that we have so many choices for amps.

[@ClifHaley]

"A holy crap amount of gain" needs to be trademarked ASAP. Lmao.

[@LuisJimenez-pb3ge]

I used one as a teen in a hardcore punk band and it sounded great!!!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Did you have the matching cab or something else? Just curious.

[@LuisJimenez-pb3ge]

@@mikelovesguitars402 I had a crate cab loaded with Celestions that I got separately

[@memor5514]

I like your videos dude keep them up!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I intend to! Much appreciated. 😁

[@roberteffler3382]

I am a marshall user for over 40 yrs, primarily non master models. I could easily dial this in to use for the 70's 80's hard rock I play

[@mikelovesguitars402]

You would probably need to keep the gain around 1 for 70s and 80s hard rock, but it's 100% doable.

[@darrenwilliamsahs2211]

I picked up a Stealth 50 combo the other day and when I ran just the preamp through one of my tube power amp!!!! Hello!!! Hot Rodded Marshall all the way. Sounded great.

[@JulieAvant-j5f]

Always informative! 🤘🤘

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I do my best! 😁

[@jonwanrocks]

i had one when i was like 14 yrs old and i loved it then

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Man, I wish I could have had this kind of amp when I was 14. I didn't get my first half stack until I was about 19 or 20.

[@smeemusic]

A buddy of mine had one back in the early 2000’s. I learned very early on with this head that amps are cab/speaker sensitive. Meaning the cab you use matters. The BV cab sounded like fried booty but when I paired the BV to an old Marshall cab it came alive. It also sounded pretty good with my bugera cabs. I feel like the tones here in this video are a bit anemic. While you got the mids sounding great and the highs tamed appropriately, I felt like I wanted much more low end. It worked okay with the full mix but it was still just a tad bit weak. Overall I think this amp definitely has its place and is useable for many types of music. I’m more into Gojira style tones but I know when something is useful and almost everything is useful one way or another. This amp is definitely useful.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

To be honest, with the cab IR I was using, turning the bass up any more just made it really boomy and unpleasant. Might have been able to get better bass with a different IR. Maybe next time.

[@smeemusic]

@@mikelovesguitars402 bro IR surfing can be an ENDLESS wave for real!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@smeemusic for sure. That's why I tend to stick with just the Marshall 4X12 IR. I tend to get option paralysis if I have too many choices, so I like to limit myself to see what all I can get out of it.

[@smeemusic]

@@mikelovesguitars402 I have a collection of like 5 that I gravitate towards. 3 of which I shot off my own cab.

[@becominghuman3561]

There was a 300 watt version too that actually did get quite a bit of praise back in the day.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a 300 watt Blue Voodoo.

[@becominghuman3561]

There’s literally only two KZbin videos of it in action 🤯

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@becominghuman3561 wow

[@k.h.1587]

Pretty sure the bv300 didn't come out until the 2000s it was basically an svt with a blue voodoo front end. I know DI was endorsed by them, and Greg hetson had a free one as well. Back in 93 I was using a peavey classic series 120/120 power Amp and rockmaster preamp into a Marshal 1960B stereo cab. I do still think crate is cheesy and an acronym for Can't Really Afford The Equipment, and Peavey is Poorly Engineered Audio Visual Equipment, Y'd ya buy it :) But in the right hands and ears, anything can be dialed in, and the rest is just squier stigma

[@becominghuman3561]

@@k.h.1587 Thank you! 2001-2006 for me was back in the day! Haha

[@felipecardenas1039]

My first amp was the BV60 combo. Marty Friedman was at the time endorsing this amp if I remember correctly. Then in 92 the 5150 came out. Crate tried with the red Voodoo. This didn’t help in my opinion. Later I bought a used Marshall 1960 and hooked the voodoo to this. I got a great sound. I still have both till this day. It’s not a mess and other high gain tube amps of today. But every now and then I play that amp. It was my main rig for years. It did well in band and practice and solo settings. In my opinion it got bashed because EVH was now endorsing his 5150. But if I understand the Voodoo and 5150 are from the same designer Jim brown. Not sure if this is true. Until you play it don’t knock it.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Yeah, I have no idea who designed it. I saw one post saying it might have been Lee Jackson, but I haven't seen anything official. It would be interesting if James Brown designed the Blue Voodoo.

[@shelbyavant5081]

Blue Voodoo was released in 1995, just so we're all clear.

[@bburritt666]

I had a black tolex version for four years and loved it. I regret selling it but I needed money. I preferred it over the blue tolex only cause the ones I tried sounded a bit fizzy. Could have been just bad settings.

[@bburritt666]

Ran a smart gate in loop and had an overdrive but only for solos since it had stupid gain.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I've seen the black tolex versions online, but I've never actually seen one in the wild. I guess if I ever come across one, I might have to check it out, too.

[@Feverdream7777]

I have the newer chrome-dome knob version with the new silver/black panel. It's the best amp I've ever used. To me, it's like a Mesa Rectifier and an SLO 100 had a cheap baby, dropped it off at the orphange (Crate brand) forgot about it, and now it's back to find out who it's parents are.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Hahaha. That's an awesome analogy!

[@ClifHaley]

My first amp was a Crate solid state. Sounded terrible but I didn't know any better so I thought it sounded amazing.

[@dakistle]

First thing that comes to mind when i hear Blue Voodoo? It's the drunk dude that lives in a storage unit, rides an old Goldwing, and hangs out at the liquor store. Someday we will shred, buddy, someday.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

🤣

[@dakistle]

@@mikelovesguitars402 "Man, do you know what a Blue Voodoo is?!"

[@cliffanderson7544]

I played one for years! I wish I still had it!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I wish I had picked one up sooner.

[@jasonsapp792]

That Peavey Wolfgang though!! SHWEEEET

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Yeah, it's frikkin awesome 😁

[@troygriffen9200]

Megadeth and ZZ Top used them for awhile.

[@lowtonezf104]

It’s a shame that SLM Crate/Ampeg isn’t around. I’ve had a Crate GX130c, Shockwave, VTX200s, BV150, Stealth GT100/Stealth gt50 and the Ampeg VL1002. The stealth was the best “Marshall sound” I’ve ever had. I’ve had a JVM410 and others and the Stealth was just more alive. I just wish they stayed around like Peavey

[@vorpalblades]

I have a VL-503. Fire-breathing.

[@MercutioUK2006]

It's really not a bad amp........it's had a few notable users (I think Glenn from Judas Priest used one, and Marty Friedman?) and can be dialled in for a variety of tones. Probably quite the sleeper if you can snag one cheaply :)

[@mikelovesguitars402]

They don't pop up as often as they used to, but they're usually really cheap when they do. Definitely an underrated amp.

[@MercutioUK2006]

@@mikelovesguitars402 £100 for the cab over here in the UK right now, but no heads ^^

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@MercutioUK2006 wow, that's insanely cheap...😳

[@ClifHaley]

The amp overall has a sort of "tin can" sound to my ears, but I could definitely see using it specifically for that reason. Sounds cool.

[@franciscogonzalez113]

I love my blue voodoo. Have it through a dime 4x12. Sounds good to me

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I really appreciate how much love for the amp I've seen in the comments here.

[@usynthesis4749]

What Tubes do you have in it? I happen to have one. Always wanted one when they first came out. I also started out using crate. I like it. Not as good as my JCM2000 DSL50, but sometimes I feel it comes pretty close. I got JJ 5881's in the power section, a Sovtek 12AX7WC in the first gain stage and Sovtek 12AX7WA in the rest of the pre-amp section. I also feel the wrong tubes can make this amp sound pretty bad. JJ ECC83s don't sound good in this amp for example, in my opinion.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

It's got GT 6L6 tubes in the power section, never even looked to see it's running for preamp tubes.

[@D00MSDAYDANNY]

My bandmate uses this head and I can't stand his highs, their ear Piercing. I said F-it and told him I'm gonna play with his tone and now it's beastly.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Just takes a little tinkering to dial it in

[@DreidMusicalX]

I owned this map back in 1997 and man it sucked balls! The one I had must have been defective because I could get no gain from it at all. The shop even switched tubes and still it was just a muddy clean amp. Distortion pedals I had sounded like crap though it. For the price I put out another $400 and got my Marshall JCM 800.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Interesting. Definitely sounds like it might have been defective because this amp has LOTS of gain.

[@MsChristyCox]

They are super dependable. I like them .

[@mikelovesguitars402]

They're absolute tanks

[@thriftsnriffs291]

I just finished fixing one. It was pretty clean and well made inside. The transformers are massive. The only issue I had was the power switch had gone bad but after swapping it out it was good as new!

[@MsChristyCox]

@@thriftsnriffs291 good to know, cheers 🥂

[@JD-vj4go]

I think Crate's biggest weakness was their cabs. They were an affordable half stack but the included cabs weren't the best. I used crate and randall heads throughout the late 80s to mid 90s because it's all I could afford. Once i got a better cab they sounded as good as anything. I played thrash and death metal though so my needs were simple.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

My first 4x12 cab was an old Crate that I found in a pawn shop back in the 90s for $110. Swapped out the speakers and it was my main cab for years.

[@JD-vj4go]

@@mikelovesguitars402 I honestly didn't know how important the cab was back then. I went to jam with some friends and used my crate head but one of their cabs and it was like a different amp.

[@vorpalblades]

The original BV cabs are great. Solid birch with Eminence drivers.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@JD-vj4go I'm not sure any of us realized how much difference a cab makes in tone back then. I know all I ever worried about back in the 90s was if the impedance matched... lol

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@vorpalblades I would love to find one to try it out against some other cabs.

[@GlenHyden]

Glenn Tipton has this amp in his home studio. And a video using it. No endorsement!

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Awesome!

[@vorpalblades]

I've been playing Crate amps for 35 years and I will until I'm dead.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I don't have any experience with their newer overseas made stuff, but the older stuff that had when I was younger was always solid.

[@Only2genders43]

I had one. It was decent on its own. But put a boost in front of it, and put a six band eq and sonic stomp in the loop and you won't believe what this head can do.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I've never tried an EQ pedal through any amp. Might have to give that a shot.

[@Only2genders43]

@@mikelovesguitars402 I find that most high gain tube amps have a scooped sound to them. I use my eq as a mid boost for the preamp. I was ready to sell my Peavey until I tried this. Now it's my absolute favorite amp. Highly recommend a bbe sonic stomp in the loop as well.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@Only2genders43 I'll definitely have to give it a shot. I feel like I've always struggled to get tones I'm happy with from Rectifiers.

[@Only2genders43]

@@mikelovesguitars402 same. I didn't know how boomy or flubby my time was until I tried a friends advice. I was bored with my sound and stopped playing for a while. I'm currently playing a Peavey ultra plus 120 with a ts9 and gate in front, and a joyo 6 band eq, delay, and bbe sonic stomp in the loop. In fact, there's a video on KZbin of a guy demoing my exact rig other than the guitar itself. I'll try to find the link. Great demo.

[@Only2genders43]

@@mikelovesguitars402 lol he's not using an eq pedal in this video.🤦 Still a great demo.

[@Desecrator6]

What’s with the 300 jump cut edits… holy a.d.d. Visualization

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Just trying to keep things visually interesting. 😁

[@whatarefriends4]

If this doesn’t work out you can fall back on that collection of Marshall heads you got going there

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Marshall, Mesa, Fender, EVH... I dabble in a little bit of everything. 😁

[@mrmackee123]

My bud had the crate g40 c . The chorus was sweet for us teenagers. I had the g60xl😅

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Back then you just DIDN'T play clean without a chorus effect. 😁

[@shawnbeaghan9809]

I had bought one new with the matching cab right when they first came out. I changed the tubes, put an overdrive in front of it a rocked it for a few years. I had quite a few compliments on my tone.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

The internet knows nothing. I still get compliments on my live tone with my JCM 900 and when they see the amp up close and realize what it is, they get all confused. 😁

[@shawnbeaghan9809]

I remember that I had to roll the high, presence and gain back. The overdrive was set up like a boost with a little touch of gain in it.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@shawnbeaghan9809 I kept the highs up to around 2 o'clock, but yeah, I had to dial the gain and presence WAY back.

[@totalbullion5882]

Next time slap an overdrive or boost upfront, that's the key with Crate amps.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

The audio demo starting at 5:10 has an OD in front.

[@typedeaf]

You have to condider this: *) Guitar forums most active posters are retired people, so they are probably fairly old. These people think anything beyond light breakup is garbage. Like most people, they generally have a secret agenda to convince you of their opinion, so they go to extremes to trash talk things that challenge their opinion. My favorite amp for a while was the Peavey Triumph and Rockmaster, and everyone trash talked the amp because Peavey has to suck. But, when I played, everyone wanted to know how I got that sound.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I completely understand. My favorite amp is my JCM900. If I listened to the internet, I would think that there's no way it could ever sound good. But for YEARS people have been complimenting me on my live tone without realizing it was a 900. 😁

[@jleote]

Back them mine got the job done more then fine.

[@Chrisshallperish]

i had one sounded good

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I have to admit, I'm loving all the positive comments that this amp is getting.

[@cobrakai9969]

It's not in the amp, it's in the riff. If a bands riffs are sick, then the amp shouldn't matter. It just elevates it higher. People are just listening to bad bands playing an amp that makes them sound the way they are trying to.

[@chasingtone5748]

Crate was the amps back in the 80s

[@bluntforc3studios198]

Sounds fine to me

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I think so too

[@riffsnoleads]

It's a pretty good SOUNDING amp, but at 120 watts it's incredibly quiet until you get to 7-8 on the volume with a full band unless you have a kitten for a drummer.

[@brianbonner5554]

It sounds like a rockman to me. For better or worse. The rockman drove alot of hits in the 80's. It really just sounds like it has to much 1K frequency. Push a lower mid frequency like 250 and it would probably sound pretty good.

[@stephenjohnson899]

Most people out here talking trash about them can't even play a guitar and have no knowledge about how to dial a amp in for tone..Alot of the non playing whinny ass wanna be players had them but couldn't use them..Blue voodoo is a heavily modded JCM 900 is all it is..I'll out play any Marshall with it..I've been playing 35 years and traved 1000s of miles hitting the clubs through the 80s and 90s and killed it with mine..Middle finger up to the wanna be sissys.

[@sweezyjackson4935]

Anyone that has a Crate tube they dont like feel free to send it to me

[@JohnWiku]

The most hated amp of all time has got to be the line 6 spider or the JCM900 dual reverb 😂😂 Surely there's a close contender and that is the Marshall valvestate mk2, I had one and it was atrocious!!

[@MoosicDude]

Chuck Schuldiner of Death made Marshall Valvestate amps sound pretty awesome.

[@JDStone20]

Crates are great amps. People are too picky, and don't practice enough. The reason you sound like garbage isn't your gear, it is your playing. You can get a good sound out of almost anything if you try. I have a Crate GFX-1200H, Solid State amp with DSP, and it works fine. Cork sniffers are douches or shills for guitar equipment companies that need to sell you the latest and greatest gear. I have enough gear to last me three lifetimes. I need to practice, practice, practice. Nothing wrong with a little tone chasing, that helps you learn how to use your gear. But still it is practice that makes the difference in your sound, not a pick, strings, pickups, tonewoods, amps, speakers, pedals. If your playing sucks it doesn't matter what gear you are playing out of.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I've been playing for almost 35 years and I still suck. That reminds me, I need to go practice...

[@JamesOnSite]

Needed a different song version on your demo. You played the same thing. Hard to get the difference.

[@electricgypsyblues4761]

I had a crate vintage club 30 Worst decision I ever made

[@AngryTruckerBob]

Chainsaw sound ? WTF ? Dude Were not playing Jackyl

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I guess it's safe to assume that you're not familiar of all the modern Boss MT2 inspired pedals and plugins specifically to get that sound for "modern metal" tones? Glenn Fricker did a whole video about using a plugin for that sound in the same way that I used it in this video.

[@brianice9846]

Pretty scooped tone

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Not from an EQ standpoint. Mids are actually pushed a little on the EQ.

[@brianice9846]

@@mikelovesguitars402 i’m talking about the tone stack.

[@jeremytones]

A cool relic but yeah it doesn't sound very good lol

[@trevorD1156]

My first and definitely worst tube amp ive ever owned.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

I guess this is the great thing about choices and tastes. I absolutely got a better tone from it than I was expecting from all the internet hate.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

Just out of curiosity, did you use the Blue Voodoo cabinet with it? I've heard a lot of people in recent years saying that those cabinets were a big part of the tone that people didn't like. I used a Marshall 4x12 IR for this video and thought it sounded great.

[@trevorD1156]

​@@mikelovesguitars402I had a 6212 combo that I cut down to a head and used with a 1960a cab. I did some mods on it but never really got a sound I liked.

[@trevorD1156]

Some of The bv412 had vintage 30's I believe, Which can be polarizing. I'd like to play one now with more knowledge, experience, pedals, and equipment.

[@mikelovesguitars402]

@@trevorD1156 the gain can definitely be a lot to deal with. It's definitely fuzzy, and just... a LOT. For me, a low gain setting with an OD in front just worked on this amp.