Crate History

Crate Amplifiers is a company that produces electric guitar amplifiers. The company's offices are US-based, but its products are manufactured in Puerto Rico, thus achieving low manufacturing costs.

In the late 1970's, Crate made amps that actually looked like wooden crates. They were manufactured with the same sort of chest handles found on military footlockers.

Current products include following series:

• Tour packs — budget amplifier packs for beginners.

• Blue Voodoo — tube amplifiers with modern rock sound (high-gain).
• V-Series — tube amplifiers (A and A/B) with vintage sound, built-in digital effects.
• Palomino Series — 5, 15, 30, & 50 Watt vintage-sounding voiced tube amplifiers.

• GT series — basic solid-state amplifiers emulating tube sound using Crate's FlexWave technology.
• GTX series — solid-state amplifiers with built-in digital effects (extended control over DSP).
• GLX series — solid-state amplifiers with effects and features, optimized for live performances (built-in tuner, lighted control panels, remote control).
• VTX series - solid-state amplifiers with vintage sound and extended DSP.
• FW series - Solid state amplifiers with DSP effects and preset effects. Also, have built in tuner, 3 separate channels, and feature "Evolution 5 Preamp".
• FXT series - Solid state amplifiers with DSP effects and preset effects. Also, have built in tuner, 3 separate channels, and feature channel tracking. exclusively being produced for musiciansfriend.com

• BT series — solid-state bass guitar amplifiers.
• Acoustic series — amplifiers for acoustic guitars (XLR connectors, feedback elimination schemes, piezo / active pickup compatibility)
• KXB — keyboard amplifier (multiple inputs, linear amplification)

• PowerBlock — highly portable and lightweight amplifiers.
• Taxi series — transportable combos with internal power supplies, requiring no external power.

• Al Jourgensen
• Atsushi Nakagawa
• Billy F. Gibbons
• Bobby Adams
• Bridget Regan
• C.C. DeVille
• Edsel Dope
• Fletcher Dragge
• Freddy Castro
• Jake Kolatis & Rick Lopez
• Jerry Douglas
• Joe Walsh
• John Hiatt

Blackheart Engineering is one of the subsidiaries of Crate Amplifiers, focusing on creating cheap and affordable tube amplifiers, similar to Epiphone Valve Junior. Currently, their line of products are of following:

• BH1H - 1w ultra low power class A single ended amplifier head.
• BH5H - The first and flagship product of Blackheart, it is a low power, class A Single ended amplifier head with switch for 3 or 5 watts. BH5-112 is the combo version that comes with 12 inch speakers.
• BH15H - A push-pull class A amplifier head with switch for 7 or 15 watts. BH15-112 is the combo version that comes with 12 inch speakers.
• BH100H - A push-pull dual mode amplifier head: At class AB, it can switch between 100w and 50w, while in class A can switch between 60w and 30w.