Frank Markow, Ph.D.

Last week I went on a quest to buy a new amp. I have been through several in the last 10 years:

Crate Vintage Club 30 (both the blond and brunette versions)

Peavey Classics. I loved these so much, at one time I had the whole family - a 15, 20, 30 and 50. I also had the 2×12 and 4×10 configurations of the 50.

Vox AC15 (the older, made in England version)

Fender Hot Rod Deville 40 watt

As you will note, there are several things that all these amps have in common: they are all small combo amps, and they all have tubes in both the pre-amp and power-amp section. My friend Jeff in fact calls me a tube snob. I recently ventured into the modeling amp arena with the Vox AD series. I currently have a AD30, and I was seriously jonesing after the AD60VTX. But, after much thought (and playing in guitar stores across LA) I have decided on the (drum roll) Crate Vintage Club 50.

Yes, the good old VC 50. Now, I am sure some of you are thinking, as did the ancient Pharisees, “can anything good come from St. Louis (the home of Crate)?!?” Much like my initial dislike for Zoom (so other recent blog), I was not a huge Crate fan, considering it lower end, entry level stuff. But I tried the VC30 at a music store in Berkeley in 1995 and I instantly loved it. A nice, class A grindy tone, punchy, smooth. So had this and used it for a couple of years, and thought, what else might be out there? This led me to my quest for the Peavey Classics, which I did like for a few years. And on and on. Then recently, almost like an epiphany, I thought, you know, that old Crate really sounds and played great. I had recently bought a Crate VC506 off eBay, a small 5 watt version of this map, and it is an excellent practice amp. After playing this, I realized that I missed this sound, wanted more of it, and started looking for either a 30 or 50 watter. I came across the 50 watter on Craig’s List (LA) for $250, and decided to check it out, and fell back in love, like a guy who hasn’t seen his first love in many years. (ok, I know I’m getting sappy here ; )

Anyhow, click here for a listen to my recent amp quest, let me know if you think I made the right choice.