All user reviews for the Crate GFX-212

I purchased this amp from Musicians Friend for $419.

This amp is very powerful and has all digital sound so it is always crisp and clean. The Flex Wave 5 Preamp's have such bite. The cleans are perfect and the distortion is equally as good. The 2 twelve inch speakers and 120 Watts of power make this amp perfect for small to medium gigs. I also have a Crate GX 412 Cab that I run from the GFX 212, it is powerful enough to hook to a cab and still produce perfect sound

The distortion has slight feedback when turned up loud (like any amp) but since no one uses amp distortion anymore it is not a problem when you use a pedal.

The GFX 212 is one of the most durable amps I've ever seen. It is all digital so there is no bulky tube accessories lugging it down. It has all the procesors bolted to the top and a very rugged outer shell. Crate has a very good reputation for making strong, powerful, durable amps

The GFX 212 id so versital and it has everything one could ask for when looking for a medium to large amp. The clean channel is its best trail with perfect crisp clean tone (all digital)but the amp is not lacking in any aspect

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this amp at Dave Anderson's Zoo Music for $378.00

I bought the amp mostly because it was loud and cheap. In both of these areas it performed well, and the included footswitch is an added bonus. The digital effects are pretty cool, mostly the reverb and the chorus. As for the others, you have to play with the knobs for a long time to get them exactly where you want them, and when your'e on stage, this can be fustrating. Many people complain about the weight of the amp, but when you compare it to tube amps of the same size, it's really not that heavy. I would say it's a good affordable amp for the beginning guitarist.

While the overdrive channels perform their duty without any problems, I constantly found myself playing with the knobs on the clean channels. The GFX series claims to reproduce the sound of tube amps, but in the end, they are still solid state. Since I play on a lot of rhythm tracks, I need a good clean sound, but this amp repeatedly failed me when I needed it most. To me, the clean channel sounds like it's processed through a computer, almost like Brittany Spear's voice - it seems to lack warmth and depth.

I found no trouble in the quality of the amp. It has a strong, sturdy chassis and cabinet. The only real problem I had was in the footswitch. The LED for the effects loop mysteriously stopped working, with no apparent way of repairing it. While not a major concern, it annoyed me quite a bit.

Crate is a respectable name in the amplifier industry and this amp certainly has its place in the market. I think that place is for beginner guitarists with an appeal for rock and metal. The overdrive and effects are highly customizable, but i just can't deal with the problems of the clean channel. On the plus side it's CHEAP!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

well seeing i'm in the middle of the united arab emirates where music gear is overpriced and very limited, i got my gfx 212 for 1,800 uae dirhams (493.12 US$). it was worth it.

the sound: the amp has got the cleanest and smoothest sound i've ever herd, i never thought it would actually be possible to play every single genre of music with this up (even though they said i would, i thought it would be some type of lie.. i was very wrong) the 2 distortion modes would give me the perfect blues tone, to death metal distortion. SWEEEET!
the effect:reverb, delay, wah,flanger, chorus.. they're all very nicely made.

its too heavy, so when i carry it in my arms, my elbow area is all red and bruised, and when i use the "carry thing" on the top, my legs get cut up because the sides of the amp are too sharp.
and the ocatve down effect, i dont like its engineering, i would prefer an octave up, but then again, maybe i havnt mastered the ocatve pitcher yet.

very solid amp. me and my buds usualy go skating around th street, i always bring my amp along for the music. it was alot easier to just put the amp on the skateboard and push it, so i did, and seeing i was going down a slope, the board started rolling faster and got away from my grip ending at the bottom of the hill and crashing against the wall, i didnt know if warranty would apply, but i didnt need waranty... not one crash.

save, go to your nearest music dealer, and buy it..

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this unit at Guitar Center because it was a lot of amp for a good price ($420-no joke intended).

The amp is BIG and LOUD. When turned up this amp puts out huge tube-simulated sound through dual 12's with cutting distortion for pure rock & metal licks. It has a tracking module that allows you to specify individual effects on all three channels which can be changed by the dsp footswitch included. There's a regular effect channel and two levels of distortion which allow you to crank the level pretty easily in mid-song.

The problem with the unit is just the drawbacks of what makes it cool. It is loud and puts out tons of sound, however when its turned down the sound is muffled and the lows dominate the levels. Its difficult to get a real good sound from the distortion this way, so it makes a poor low level practice amp. And just like on amps with on board digitally simulated effects you compromise the quality of the effects sounds. So its really only good for the reverbs & chorus sounds whereas the wahs, delays, doublers, flanges and all of those can't be individually set to the time signature of the song so the end sounding off beat and cheesy often. You would really want to buy these effects seperately to get good sounds.

This amp is pretty burly which is to say it is heavy but its definitely durable.

This amp is good for playing small venue shows when your just getting started, but you would probably want a good practice space or a smaller practice amp to save the trouble of dealing with the neighbors.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this amp used from a friend of mine who needed the money. It was about a year old. The list price for the unit at the time was $599.00. I paid $275.00. Which was a steal considering the condition it was in.

TWO TWELVES BABY!!! Built in Overdrive, Distortion, and Effects! And at over 120 watts it's the best thing short of a stack! If it's gain you want, Crate knows how to make it. Thick, thin, eerie, loud, flange, chorus, you can adjust the sound in any way you want.

Not as many effects as the newer 212T, but I believe it will sell at a much lower price than they used to. But if you're lookin' in Musician's Friend you can find the newer model for around $419, I think, maybe less. It does weigh around 70 pounds though. But thank God it's on wheels. If you get one without, go to the hardware store and drop about $20. It's worth it.

Great quality, solid, open back construction for easy access if you want to change out the speakers.

A great jump from a beginner amp and you'll blow a small club away with it only cranked up to two. I'm serious, it's that loud!!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I am a member of Musician's Friend. I saw the Crate GFX 212 Amplifier in their catalog on special for 349.99 with no shipping costs involved. When I ordered it it was on back order and I still got it in no time shipped by UPS to my front door. It lists for around $600 retail!

This amplifier seriously jams! It has two independent lead channels which can be individually assigned to the effects processor. The shape feature allows you to assign just the right thickness to your distortion. You can get that crunchy dry marshall sound with the knob all the way to the right. Or, that hollow screaming sound with the shape knob more towards the left side. I love the digital effects that are built right in to the amp. You can really make the amp sound like you are in a giant arena, or, you can keep it very clean and pure for rhythm playing. It has great sustain if you need it, or you can dry it out for funky jams. It is loud and powerfull with 100 watts of pure fury. It comes with a foot switch for channel selection on the fly! I used this amp to jam with a loud band I was sitting in with and I was able to cut through the volume and really be the feature sound in the mix!
I love this amp and would recommend it even at full price!

Overall, I really have not found any weaknesses with this unit. The only thing I would have added to this amp's effects loop would have been a phaser. The flanger is awesome though, and can cover most phasing techniques!

This is a well constructed amp. It is pretty heavy and very solid. It is user freiendly and fun to play. I have always liked Crate amps and this one is the best I have played yet! It is a keeper!

This amp is killer! I have been able to horrify the neighbors when necessary just by opening the windows. It is fun to play and easy to use. I wish I was jamming with it right now. The Crate GFX 212 Rules!!!

Sincerely,

Buck Rubin
Pasadena, Md

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I paid somewhere around 400.00 for it. I traded in my GFX-30, which I got back $110 on.
I bought it from Music-Go-Round (new, still in box)


I bought this amp as un upgrade for my GFX-30, which I also liked very much.
This amp comes with 2 12" Crate Custom speakers, and pushes a whopping 120WATTS!!
even though it is solid state, it still shakes the house with its sound. It has two gain channels with a 2 band EQ, which when tuned right, sounds like a tuba amp (thanks to evolution 5 tube simulation) and a clean channel with 3band EQ. It also has an external speaker output, dual footswitch jacks (pedal included) and a effects loop. The GFX series has DSP built in, with 10 effects types on it. With this model, you almost don't need any effects.

It weighs alot for its size. Hard to carry up 2 flights of stairs when it weighs 50 lbs and has only the top handle.

Very good contruction, it had the rubber feet on the bottom, plus the holes for casters (the metal part they fit into)
my only complaint is that they should have put two side handles on it to make it easier to move.


The sound is about as close as you can get to a half stack without spending the high amounts of cash. it is also more car friendly, meaning it will fit.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a 120 watt solid-state amplifier, open-backed combo with built in effects. It has twin 12" speakers. It has two channels and a switchable reverb/effect pedal. Connections are made through standard 1/4" cables and has an extra speaker out to connect an additional speaker cabinet and a headphone out. It does not have a means to easily disconnect the speakers in the combo, meaning it would be difficult to connect a talkbox.

UTILIZATION

The sound is pretty loud, and not too bad. It is better at being loud than it is sounding good, although it's pretty easy to keep feedback under control on this amp. When I owned one, I used a Line 6 POD for my tone and played through the clean channel.

I can't ever remember needing or even using the manual. It is a pretty simply to use amp, and the effects are easy to engage, disengage, or switch through.

SOUNDS

I used this with my Line 6 POD with FBV controller for all my effects and distortion needs. It is capable of playing a decent sound on its own, but with only two channels, there's not a whole lot of room for switching between crunch and heavy lead. It's more like clean and crunch, or clean and heavy lead.

The effects are kinda cool, but kind of useless in a live setting since the user would have to constantly set up different effects for different songs. I could be cool to have such an effect in a studio, but again, it's kind of useless because any decent studio would have better sounding effects rather than built-in amp effects.

The effects section is a little strange to have, because this amp is way too loud to be a practice amp, yet those kinds of effects would be suitable to have in a bedroom practice amp.

As for the tones, it's a low-end solid-state amplifier. If you're looking for real tone, you'd have to step it up to a tube amplifier, a higher-end solid-state manufacturer, or at least an amp with some amplifier modeling on it.

OVERALL OPINION

It was a good first live amp and I did keep it for a few years until I eventually sold it. It never went down on me and for the price was the best and loudest I could afford at the time.

I play a bit more seriously now. If I were in the market for a similar sized combo, I'd probably go after some kind of Mesa Boogie 2x12.