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I see Crate's Problem with the Palomino V32
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Admittedly, wrong and persistent is no way to go through life. That said, I for one wish to thank SGM for purveying his nonsense. It's this kind of unsubstantiated rhetoric splattered about the internet that has allowed me to pick up several great sounding used amps at a fraction of the price of other "boutique" amps of nearly identical build quality and tonal characteristics."I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22
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Originally posted by The Dude View PostAdmittedly, wrong and persistent is no way to go through life. That said, I for one wish to thank SGM for purveying his nonsense. It's this kind of unsubstantiated rhetoric splattered about the internet that has allowed me to pick up several great sounding used amps at a fraction of the price of other "boutique" amps of nearly identical build quality and tonal characteristics.
Even their factory techs admitted:
"Crate amps are not intended for continuous operation."
"Crate amps are for temporary use only."
This comes directly from Crate Factory Service Department, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
I reached the point, where I would just take the board and sent it to the factory techs...
Because I don't want to take responsibility for it.
That turned out to be a very good decision...
When repaired units blew up (as usual) the blame was entirely on CRATE. And NOT on ME.
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Originally posted by soundguruman View PostFYI crate was the laughing stock of the entire pro sound industry.
Even their factory techs admitted:
"Crate amps are not intended for continuous operation."
"Crate amps are for temporary use only."
This comes directly from Crate Factory Service Department, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
I reached the point, where I would just take the board and sent it to the factory techs...
Because I don't want to take responsibility for it.
That turned out to be a very good decision...
When repaired units blew up (as usual) the blame was entirely on CRATE. And NOT on ME."Reality is an illusion albeit a very persistant one " Albert Einstein
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Originally posted by soundguruman View PostFYI crate was the laughing stock of the entire pro sound industry.
Even their factory techs admitted:
"Crate amps are not intended for continuous operation."
"Crate amps are for temporary use only."
This comes directly from Crate Factory Service Department, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
I reached the point, where I would just take the board and sent it to the factory techs...
Because I don't want to take responsibility for it.
That turned out to be a very good decision...
When repaired units blew up (as usual) the blame was entirely on CRATE. And NOT on ME."I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22
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Originally posted by soundguruman View PostEvery single music store owner I know of, dropped the crate line.
Too many (repeated/multiple) returns, too many pissed off customers.
Anyhow Ive owned numerous Crates - zero,yes zero problems. My son broke a solder joint on his VC50 input jack-(price point pcb mounted caveat).Lets see-1 Stealth 50 combo, 1 Stealth 50 head, 2 VC50 heads, and my V32 Palomino. Zero problems in the last 15 years. They have been gigged and cranked. Used but not abused. That record speaks for itself. Yeah I know they aren't the most robustly built-nothing at their price point is.
Anyhow Crate I know hasn't really been in business for a while now. After the sell out to Loud Technologies a few years back it was all over IMO. Bob"Reality is an illusion albeit a very persistant one " Albert Einstein
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The Crate Vintage Club Series amps were designed by Obeid Kahn who has worked with SLM, Reason, Magnatone, and numerous other amp builders. He was tasked to build a good sounding all tube amp at an affordable price. IMO, he was very successful at achieving this goal. Both the upside and the downside of this was/is that, because of Crate's reputation for building rather raunchy sounding solid state amps prior to this, few people gave them a listen or a chance. I say "upside" because you can pick these up very reasonably priced used on the web.
I used to be one of the naysayers until years ago Great White was playing in town. One of their amps had gone down and was brought into my shop for repair. I was quite surprised that what showed up was a Crate VC amp. At the time, these guys could have used whatever they wanted for free. So, I wondered, "Why the hell are they using Crates?". I repaired the amp (broken tube- simple repair) and then plugged into it (as I always do) to test it. I quickly figured out why they were using them...it sounded amazing- at any price. I went out and bought one. The other guitar player in my band bought two and two other friends each bought one after hearing mine. These are all picky and experienced players. Of these 5 amps, I have only replaced one tube total. NO OTHER REPAIRS after years of use.
Price back up $20."I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22
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Hello, could someone please clear up something for me:
I have the USA made v3112, I love it but the controls get super hot, isn't it the same schematic as the Palomino? I.e., will this resistor-relocation mod work the same?
(I have a clip-on desk fan that I'm going to start using with it, but I'd also like to fix the issue rather than just put a band-aid on it. Been playing for 20 years and this is the first amp that I've ever been pretty much completely satisfied with. So I want it to last.)
Thanks for any advice. I just want to be sure before I start taking stuff apart.
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Originally posted by York1066 View PostI have the USA made v3112, I love it but the controls get super hot, isn't it the same schematic as the Palomino? I.e., will this resistor-relocation mod work the same?
SteveThe Blue Guitar
www.blueguitar.org
Some recordings:
https://soundcloud.com/sssteeve/sets...e-blue-guitar/
.
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Okay, so this is a fixed-bias amp, then? I've had it for about six years, played it fairly regularly when I first got it, then it was in storage for about 4 years, and I've been playing it regularly again for about the past year, and it still has the original GT's in it, and they still seem OK. I guess I just need to open it up and see about that resistor. I thought I had read somewhere that the 3112 has pretty much the same resistor in the same location, so I'm hoping I can do the swap for the two 150's and alleviate the problem. I've had no issues because of the heat yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
Thanks Steve
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Originally posted by York1066 View PostHello, could someone please clear up something for me: ... I love it but the controls get super hot ... will this resistor-relocation mod work the same?
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Originally posted by soundguruman View PostEvery single music store owner I know of, dropped the crate line. Too many (repeated/multiple) returns, too many pissed off customers.
I ended up buying 4 or 5 V18-112's and 2 V33H's dirt cheap just to experiment with mods on them and found many problems with the physical design. Like having some of the big resistors mounted well off the pcb which was a good idea but if the resistors were bumped at all they could short out against over components (not so good.) The factory schematic for one of the amps had reference numbers which did not correspond to the pcb.
Taking everything in stride Loud Technologies decided to drop the Crate line of tube amps, and started the line of Blackheart tube amps, which seems to be a big step in the right direction. These amps are made in China as well but as long as you give the factories there good instructions, pcb layouts, etc., they can come out with high quality products at reasonable prices.
SteveThe Blue Guitar
www.blueguitar.org
Some recordings:
https://soundcloud.com/sssteeve/sets...e-blue-guitar/
.
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Originally posted by Tone Meister View PostYes it sure will, and an added bonus is that tube life can be extended also. I used a 50-watt 75-ohm chassis mount wirewound resistor on my 3112 and it idles right at 100%.
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