A friend and I were sitting in a terminal at the airport waiting for our flight home from the summer NAMM show, and as we thumbed through a trade mag we happened to notice a picture of the new Powerblock, from Crate. "That looks cool," we said. Then another acquaintance overheard us talking and said, "Hey, are you talkin' about that Crate Powerblock? Yeah, it's pretty cool."

It turns out this guy had tried it out at the NAMM show, and he had plenty of good things to say about it. So, obviously I was eager for a test drive. Imagine a 150-watt head with a size of 10” x 5.6” x 3.2”, weighing in at a mere 4.6 lbs.! Well, prior to my test my phone rang, another friend asked me if I had tried out the Powerblock yet. Just like the other guys, he said, “That thing looks pretty cool!"

Okay. So, one thing was very clear from the start: Crate had scored a solid "10" in the styling department. The Powerblock is simple, clean, solid and tuff, and it comes with a nice array of features too.

This little unit has some nice buzz going in my circle, but I should mention that in most cases that buzz has been based on the general esthetic of the Powerblock . . . which is to say its sexy good looks. But you shouldn't ignore the simple ergonomics of it. The Powerblock also comes with a groovy, high quality black shoulder bag, and still it takes up no more space than a small shoebox. Just put it on the passenger seat, and you're off to the races.

But you're probably wondering what it sounds like. Let's put it this way: I plugged it into a couple of Bogner 4x12s and I was immediately very impressed. The EQ section is lean, mean and simple, even by guitarists' standards. It doesn't present an overwhelming variety of sounds, but instead offers clean and overdriven tones that are very useful. The Midrange control has a nice sweepable range, but equally beneficial is the degree of sensitivity to playing dynamics that you get with the Powerblock. Set the Gain control between 12 o'clock and 2 o’clock, roll down your guitar volume to get clean, and then dime it to solo. (If "bitchin'" were a word I use, I'd use it here.) I should mention that this pup has enough gain to solo comfortably with nothing other than a cord and a guitar. I did try it with an old Ibanez TS-9 tube screamer, and I even ran a Line 6 POD in front if it. It works nicely as a clean solid-state power source. The head is rated at 150 watts RMS into 8 ohms (mono) and 75 watts RMS per side at 4 ohms (stereo). It's a bit more focused running a single cab, but I preferred it running a pair of 4x12’s, simply because it delivered a wider, thicker sound. It kicks out enough overall volume to keep up with a full band.

The additional features are very thoughtful too, making the Powerblock an extremely functional unit for players at any level. Remember, this little monster is a stereo guitar amp, and features a headphone jack on the front panel. That makes it great for travel, pregig warm-ups and late-night jamming. Plus, there are line-level RCA CD inputs, which are awesome for the working musician or just rehearsing along with pre-recorded music. The effects loop and line out are designed for direct recording or sending the signal to a PA mixer. We'd all have to agree that a great design offers a blend of form and function. Well, the Powerblock is an excellent example of that. In the utilitarian sense, it's an amazing tool that any player could afford to keep in his arsenal. I'll be taking one along to every gig, and to every session.

Item: Crate Powerblock

Retail Price: $299.99

Street Price: $249.99

Review Results: Bitchin

Contact: crateamps.com