Half-Gainer, Direct Drive, or something else?

[David Barber]

Hey Jules,
What kind of speakers do you have in the Crate?

I agree the SR/SS combo is easy to recommend, you can cover a lot of guitar history with that setup.

[Jules-RM]

It's not the V3112 with the Tone Tubby speaker - it's the Celestion 70-80. I've heard there's better speakers for that amp, but it sounds pretty damn good on it's own, I have no reason to experiment with it.

It's the all US made St. Louis version. Crate discontinued it a couple years ago an started making the new V series in China (I believe). They are in no way the same amps. It's such a shame because the V3112 is really one of the best amps they have ever made. I'd take it over a hand wired AC30.

[David Barber]

I always check speakers when "fizz" gets mentioned. Bright switches and speakers can lead to collecting overdrive pedals superfluously.

[hobbyist789]

I always check speakers when "fizz" gets mentioned. Bright switches and speakers can lead to collecting overdrive pedals superfluously.

Amen to that, David. I'd been ruthlessly cycling through high-end overdrive pedals until I removed C10 on my '65 DRRI's Vibrato channel, as per your suggestion in a write-up on speakers & air gaps (I think). Made all the difference in the world--moreso than swapping through different speakers, too. Probably no surprise that I ended up settling on Barber overdrives after that, though...

[Jules-RM]

BTW the Half Gainer and Super Sport stack pretty well. I prefer the sound of them separately, but stacking is an option.

[Humancapo]

It's not the V3112 with the Tone Tubby speaker - it's the Celestion 70-80. I've heard there's better speakers for that amp, but it sounds pretty damn good on it's own, I have no reason to experiment with it.

It's the all US made St. Louis version. Crate discontinued it a couple years ago an started making the new V series in China (I believe). They are in no way the same amps. It's such a shame because the V3112 is really one of the best amps they have ever made. I'd take it over a hand wired AC30.

The V-Series amps and Vintage Club amps were all made in the US until the company was sold about four years ago, at which point all production moved to Asia. This is also true of the Ampeg brand. They were great sounding amps.