A pleasant surprise - the Powerblock

[Spudman]

I've had a Crate Powerblock head for a couple of years now and have carried it to gigs as a backup in case my regular rig went down. So far I've never used it in a gig setting, only to play with at the house. Tonight I took it to band practice along with a Lopoline 1x12 with an ancient Celestion in it.

Boy oh boy, what a great surprise. It sounded awesome. There was a clarity and touch response that I haven't had from some of my tube amphs. I played a Strat and got every bit of Stratiness I could ask for. It even had the nice singing feedback going at a lower volume. Of course I put my M13 into the front of it and used a Tube Driver, a Tube Screamer and a Rat distortion, and with each one that full character was there probably even better than with my tube amps.

My point? If you can find one of these you might want to check it out. They have discontinued making them so they are only available on the used market. I just thought such a good piece of equipment needed a little recognition.

Props to the Powerblock. :thumbsup

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/539/crate_cpb150_powerblock_pimx_179728.jpg

[Eric]

Interesting. I bought one awhile ago and never used it. Mind you, I didn't have a cab to use, but I was not impressed when I listened with headphones. It seemed to have very little clean headroom, and the distortion was really fizzy and thrashy. I sold it some time later.

Anyway, I suppose that's good to know. How was it for volume and where did you have the gain/volume/EQ/etc. set?

[Spudman]

Eric
I don't get any fizziness running into a cabinet. Just great guitar tone like you would expect from a good amph. I know some guys have been running theirs into 4x12 cabinets with great results too. A lot of amps that I've tried the headphone outs on I haven't been too impressed with either. I think my gain was around 1 o'clock and the master around 11 o'clock so it was loud enough to be clearly heard in a trio. In fact, I felt that it cut better than my HR Deluxe and it certainly played easier. Less effort went into getting the notes to come out with the subtle nuances that I get at home yet rarely ever notice bashing it out with the band. I'm pretty sure I'm going to gig with it as well this weekend.

[Eric]

Huh. Well that's cool. Totally different experience than I had with mine, but I'm glad yours works well. Update with how it performs at your gig, if you don't mind.

[Tone2TheBone]

How many watts were these babies Spud?

[Spudman]

How many watts were these babies Spud?
I think 160 watts. I've heard stories of them being used for bass rigs and emergency PA heads. There is even more versatility involved when you start exploring all the connections on the back and finding out what tricks folks have done with them. They even run stereo.

http://texasthinktank.net/KimbroImages1/Crate_Power_Block_Back_4.jpg

[pedalbuilder]

Yeah - even if you don't like the sound quality (which I don't, personally), these are great little tools to have around for practice and gigs. Mine has served as a backup for both myself and my bass player, and even once as an emergency stereo amp for a party. They are also good for multi-effects users - I use mine sometimes with a Boss GT-8 for a very quick and portable setup when needed.

You see them pop up for pretty cheap on eBay, Craigslist and whatnot, worth picking up, definitely. Being Crate, though, they stopped making it. Useful products are not really what this company is trying to provide us . . .

[deeaa]

It seems they have a sort of a cult following, but also a lot of reports of them going bad/failing.

Seems to me they have their niche, some people report their gear works superbly with them, but since they're pretty compact and heat dissipation is not too well arranged for, they lack the reliability to be full-time use gadgets.

Indeed I would think they could make decent backup amps for many a use, and with some gear very nice home amps as well - but that's just what I've gathered from the net. In any case, interesting gear.

[Robert]

Wonder why they quit making them? There's nothing like them on the market today, is there?

[Eric]

Wonder why they quit making them? There's nothing like them on the market today, is there?
I think this was designed as a transparent amplifier for modelers, so that you could plug a GT-10 or something straight in and get the same output as what the GT-10 is putting out -- no coloration.

When they were new, I think they went for ~$300, which might have been steep for what it was. At ~$150 now, I think they're much more attractive. That's my guess as to why they quit making them, anyway.

With all of new modelers out there these days (Eleven Rack, Axe FX, Pod HD500, GSP1101), I think there are plenty of transparent amplifiers like this out there at this point like the QSC K10, Tech 21 Power Engine 60, etc. None of them are exactly like the Powerblock, but if you need something that does what the Powerblock does, I think there are still options.

[Spudman]

This is a good video about tone, but notice he doesn't mention what amp he's using.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIc7xeWeag&feature=related

Now watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs30NwTh6HI&feature=related