Crate PowerBlock

The Crate Power Block can be use in Monophonic mode at 150 watts at 8 ohms or in Stereo at 75 watts at 4 ohms.
On the front of the CPB, are the Gain, Treble, Mid and Bass knobs, an Input plug and Headphone input so you don't disturb neighbors or your significant other.
The back features an input for RCA Jack's to plug in any outside source like a Tascam CD-GT2 Guitar Phrase Trainer to play along or learn music from . And there is a knob to control the volume .
It has a mono switch , monophonic output and two stereo out put, in case you want to play in stereo .
The Effects Loop needs a "Y" chord to work properly.
I placed a BBE 482 Sonic Maximizer for proper phase alignment and Hush / Rocktron Super C Noise Reduction Unit to act as a Noise Gate in the Effects Loops of my CPB's .

I use mine as if it were a Hiwatt amp : a clean pedal platform to translate what various distortions or clean tone are sent in from my Decibel Eleven Loop Expander, Digitech RP-12, RP-1 and rack processors.

I gain stack my distortions, Overdrive , Fuzz and clean sounds from my multi effects units and set the gain knob in my CPB's at 2 or 3 O'clock, set my guitars volume knob at 6 or 8 for clean sounds .

My Digitech 2112 SGS has 12ax7 tubes and from the left and right balanced out puts they go into two VHT Valvulator 1's before going into my two Crate Power Blocks. I have 100% tube dynamics and sound, I no longer have haul my heavy tube amps around to rehearsals or venues .

This came out way before Quilter, Seymore Duncan Power Stage or Orange Tiny Terror.
In my opinion, this was Crate's greatest / most versatile amp ever and it was way ahead of its time .

Some people use them as a backup, just incase their main amp goes down during a gig, but I managed to get the sounds of my Fender , VHT, Carvin, Peavey, Mesa Boogie and Marshall amps, I keep those aforementioned amps at home safe .

Two years ago, the Crate Power Block was usually selling for $ 80.00 to 120.00 US Dollars, but have doubled in price and when you try one, you will see why .

Crate has been more or less synonymous (for good or bad) with solid state guitar amplification for over two decades. It would make sense then, that they know a thing or two about making them sound good. In some cases yes, and in some cases not so much.

The PowerBlock is very much a case of the yes. It's a small unit, with a heat-sink style top, pushing 150 solid-state watts mono or 75 watts per-side stereo, and it also features XLR line out w/ level control and stereo cd inputs. It works with any standard rated guitar cabinet, operating easily on 4 to 16 ohms, and can drive multiple cabinets with no problems.

Oh, and there's even a headphone jack on the front for you bedroom players.

UTILIZATION

The PowerBlock is very simple to operate, and features Gain, Bass, Treble, Mid, and volume controls. It's very well built, and comes with a soft travel case with a side pocket for storing cables, pics, and whatever frilly undergarments fly up onto the stage during the course of a show.

SOUNDS

Many people are surprised by the quality of the tone available in the Crate PowerBlock, and indeed it doesn't respond or sound much like a solid-state amp, thanks to Crate's tube response-replicating technology. It actually sounds very akin to a big, loud Fender Twin Reverb. The touch sensitivity, compression, and soundstage are impressive. The EQ controls are very responsive, since this is still a solid-state amp, and volume and EQ behave more linearly with the power transistors.

OVERALL OPINION

The Crate PowerBlock gets a huge, clean sound, up into a not-unpleasant mild overdrive. It takes pedals very well, and fellow players will be shocked at the tone you're able to evoke from this little monster. At 150 watts peak power, it can keep up with and even overpower the rest of the band in some cases, all in a package that's smaller than a loaf of bread and weighs merely 5lbs. It's small enough to easily fit in the overhead compartment of a plane if you're gigging overseas, plus it operates on 100v-240VAC, so there is no need for a voltage converter.

The PowerBlock is currently discontinued, but rumors abound of a new model emerging in the next year, so be sure to check it out when they do hit stores. The Crate PowerBlock makes a fine backup or travel amp head for those who need great tone, horsepower, and durability in a small format.

This is a 150 watt solid state amplifier that can be run in mono or stereo. It uses the standard 1/4" guitar cable jacks with an auxiliary section with RCA inputs to plug in a CD or MP3 player. There is a headphone output, a balanced line out, and the amplifier has controls for gain, low, mid, high, and output level. There is also an effects loop. The main appeal of the amp is it's very small, very light-weight size.

UTILIZATION

The controls are very simple to use, and it provides a decent sound at full, loud volumes quite easily. I don't think I've ever needed to crack open the manual for this amp.

SOUNDS

The tone out of this amplifier is decent, but relatively flat due to the limited controls. It's basically got the same tone as a small practice amp, only on a much more powerful scale. It is fairly quiet and doesn't produce much hiss. However, if pedals or other pre-amp equipment is placed in front of this amp or as part of its effects loop, the tone vastly improves. At this point, the PowerBlock essentially becomes a cheap power amp.

OVERALL OPINION

The main appeal of this amp is its very compact size and weight. Because of this, it makes an excellent backup amp, which is what I used it for when gigging. Fortunately I never needed to use it live because my main rig never went down. I have used it in practice through a half-stack and a 1x12 combo and it works well, so long as effects equipment is used on the front-end for tone shaping.

I've never had any problems with the amplifier. In all honesty, with the right front-end effects gear, 90% of the audience probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference in tone between using this amplifier or a high-end amplifier like a Mesa Boogie.

For the character's and rglages, I refer you to the official website ...
The 150w and 75w are 2 times Submitted, we get along well!
The big highlight is the sr weight and height of the vehicle, 2.5 kilograms and few prs the size of a pod.
It supports 110 and 220v, practice.
J'apprcie what really is the fact that you can connect a stro prampli and thus "bypass" SETTING THE all the front panel. Bother to ask whether it is necessary to rework his prampli SETTING THE SETTING THE with the amp, which is the fate of his prampli amplifipeut just be a little color but very little, vrifier with more time spent playing it).

UTILIZATION

Very easy (euphmisme. ..) use, or you plug a guitar into it and thanks the technology WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) it's easily the RULES (d ground for redundancy, p) or it goes through a prampli. In the latter case is all about prampli RULES. The manual is clear and succinic nothing to write a novel about this amp ...

SOUNDS

My config: line 6 4x12 cabinet, guitar luthier and type PRS LTD MHB-400, pod xt live.
The sounds are clean honntes and can relatively easily according to their fawns sound and DSIR gots the time. Clean the quality but it remains in the world of transistors ... it's good but not as fat and alive than the lamps Obviously.
The crunch are saturated trs good quality and the gain will lead to much satursans reach mtal however). I quite agree with his leplussauvage when compared to the JCM 2000 (me too I got a, p). For some extreme styles (from mtal ...), it will add pedals or other prampli.
If you plug a prampli Stros in the entries, the amp controls are inactive and we are left with the sound of his prampli inaltr.

OVERALL OPINION

I did not long ago and I will correct the notice if ncessaire. It's a good little amp that will satisfy the budget and users who like practical things.
Which is really what are its capabilities, headphone amp home power amplifier or simply amp for rpt, XLR outputs with adjustable level for home studio or live application, compact and ger, sounds very convincing (but still ...). transistor
Caution should not expect the soft lights but still really good especially the price trs l