Crate PowerBlock

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Author Message Wildfield Username: Wildfield Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 5:37 pm:    Have any of you tried the Crate PowerBlock yet? I would be interested to hear your comments. I tried one a few times at my local GC. It seems like it may not have enough clean headroom for jazz. Even the clean sound has an edge probably more suitable for rock and blues. Eastmongo Username: Eastmongo Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 8:17 pm:    I was interested in that one,too. It is vert portable!But there are no reverb. I guess I ended up carrying reverb,over drive, and maybe chorus pedals. I havn't tried one yet. But if its clean sound isn't useful enough for Jazz,then it isn't for me. {I'm tired of carrying amp!!!} My Polytone Mini BRUTE II is small and light enough......but I want even smaller.................! ...........................................!!! Small powerful,mucho clean..... Recently I got a used Mega Brute!on ebay(one ten inch) I'm fixing it now. I hope it helps some of my gigs and jam sessions. Eastmongo Username: Eastmongo Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 4:10 pm:    Hear is some jazzer say about it!(Harmony Central) Price Paid: US $188.00 Features: 10 Bought this new. It's a 150 watt stereo/mono solid state head that is a tiny size and 4.6 pounds. It has an effects loop, line in, RCA in and an XLR out for recording or slave amp. Front panel has an input, headphone out, and knobs for gain, high, mid, low, and level. I play a variety of styles but have been looking for a good dedicated setup for straight ahead jazz gigs. I've been using the Rivera tube amp I use for pop/rock gigs but it breaks up a bit when the volume comes up when working in an organ trio setting. I bought a Raezer's Edge Stealth 12 cabinet and have an Acoustic Image head on order but thought I'd try the Power Block for the same purpose. The thing is so inexpensive why not. The features are exactly what I was looking for. It's loud and stays clean, great effects loop, and very, very small. It has no verb or effects but I tried an Alesis Nanoverb with it and it sounds great. It also comes with a carrying bag that has a side pocket that fits the Nanoverb perfectly. My entire jazz head fits in a bag the size of a binocular case. It's even smaller than the Acoustic Image bag. Sound Quality: 10 With the Raezer's Edge cabinet, Nanoverb, and Gibson jazz box I can get the straight ahead tones I'm looking for. It's incredibly clean and clear and really let's the guitar speak. I'm blown away for the $188.00 I payed for it. I would be surprised if this doesn't take off with jazzers who are looking for a great compact rig. I'm not sure if that was the intention but it's fantastic for that. I haven't been able to compare it to the Acoustic Image yet as mine is still on back order but it has got to come extremely close for a much smaller price tag. Even if the A.I. becomes my main jazz rig it will be good to have this around for backup. I tried it briefly with a start and a Reverend Drivetrain and Fulltone Full Drive 2. It was surprisingly good with pedals and I could see some one getting good R&B and rock tones with it. I'm pretty stuck on my tube amps for anything I do other than jazz gigs so I doubt I'll try it for that but that's not to say someone couldn't do it well. Reliability: N/A Seems pretty solid. My only experienc with Crate has been a few little practice amps I bought for my teaching studio that turned out to sound like garbage and quit working. This thing seems to be built well but we'll see. I'd be very disappointed if it turned out to be troublesome as it sounds great and is so useful. Customer Support: N/A Overall Rating: N/A Been playing 20+ years and about 16 professionally. I generally play 2-4 gigs per week in a variety of settings. This amp will definitely get used. I love the size and it has the sound and features I've been looking for in a jazz guitar head. Wildfield Username: Wildfield Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 4:15 pm:    Thanks for posting that review. I did happen to see that as well - I frequent Harmony Central User Reviews when shopping for stuff. The review you posted was particular interesting because the guy used the powerblock with a RE cab. It's hard to tell from this review just how much clean head room he really has. Anyways, thanks for posting the review.

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