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r_a_smith3530
February 8th, 2006, 12:22 AM
Well, I noticed that there are no articles on amps for the low end crowd, so I'm starting one. Hopefully, some of you others who also gravitate towards things bass will share about your discoveries.

A little history first. I am a so-so guitar player who decided after a number of years that bass is where it's at. So, the first thing I did was go out and buy a bass and a little practice amp. Well, the bass, although quite nice, just wasn't me, so a replacement was sought and found. As time progressed, my best friend and I spoke about doing a gig together. Originally, it was to be me on bass backing up his acoustic guitar, but we began to talk electric too. Oops, my little practice amp began to look kind of small.

I started to look for a replacement, and put the small amp up for sale (I'll write a separate appraisal of it). It sold. Some young man in the northern suburbs of Chicago had a nice Christmas!

Well, I realized that I would get more bang for my buck buying used rather than new. While wandering around the GC in Chicago, I came upon a Peavey TKO 65. It sounded pretty good in their showroom with a new Fender Jazz through it, so I thought I had my amp. Well, I got home and plugged old Frankenbass in, turned up the volume and tone, and, oh no, it sounded like garbage, breaking up terribly. I'm guessing a cracked magnet so, back it went. The search continued. I came across a great deal on a Firebass 700, but it was Christmastime, and money was a little short. I answered a couple of other ads, and was about to seriously consider this one SWR Workingman's 15, when I got a reply on the amp I today own, a Crate BXH-220.

I'd forgotten about this one. The price was really reasonable, and when I didn't get a reply right away, I figured that it had been snatched up quick, but that wasn't the case. The seller had gone out of town shortly after placing the ad. Anyway, it was still available, so I went into the city to check it out. Everything seemed to work just fine, and it was in pretty decent condition with but one small tear in the Tolex on the 4x10 speaker cab. We loaded amp head and speaker cab into my truck, and back to McHenry County I headed.

So, how is it? Well, I'm impressed enough. While I don't feel that it is competition for a Genz-Benz or an Eden, it's a good little amp that holds its own. I think it's a decent gigging amp, and I'll probably have it for quite some time into the future.

The BXH-220 is a solid state amp head that puts out 220 watts RMS into 4ohms, or 160 watts RMS into 8ohms (my setup). Among its features are an 8-band graphic EQ, automatic power limiting circuit, variable input gain, a switchable contour, an effects loop with blend, and a headphone jack with its own volume control.

Everything works as described. It sounds every bit as good, and then some, as the Workingman's 12 that I had checked out at a guitar store some time back. It handles my Bartolini P with the active tone turned up to the limit. Using the J, and with the treble end of the EQ rolled up, it can almost get me sounding like a baritone guitar!

Anyway, its a great amp that I would totally recommend to anyone that wants to pack a lot of punch on a budget. It is truely a "bang for the buck" champion, no doubt.

Katastrophe
February 8th, 2006, 08:00 AM
I don't own a Crate bass amp, but I do own a Crate 120 watt combo. Like you said, it's no high end boutique amp, but it's a good, solid workhorse. The clean channel is perfect for effects. The gain channel is great and very versatile. I can get sounds from mildly overdriven to full on metal shred out of the thing. The amp is LOUD. I wouldn't have any problems playing any club in my area without a mic. It's solid state, so no worries about changing out burned out tubes or problems if it gets banged around a bit.

My former rig was a Marshall 4x12 straight cabinet, MosValve power amp, an ADA MP1 with an ART SGX T2 for effects and a Rocktron HUSH II noise gate, all tied together through MIDI. The rig cost thousands. Within a few years, the MosValve blew up and became unfixable, the ADA blew out a 12AX7 tube and has MIDI problems, and the internal battery on the ART died out, not to mention changing out all the patch cables and MIDI cables. The programming to get all these units to talk to one another was a nightmare.

At this time, the Crate XT120R costs $329.99, and the Digitech RP80 costs $79.99 at MF (where I got mine). I get a good sound with a lot of tonal flexiblity for around $410.00, versus a great sound for thousands out of temperamental equipment. I do miss that Marshall cab, though.

I've been afflicted with serious GAS over the Hartke 60 watt head and cabinet, though. I found it here: http://www.music123.com/Hartke-PiggyBack-60-Watt-Guitar-Mini-Stack--i230719.music . I love the sound of a closed back cabinet. For $299.00, looks like a great deal...

r_a_smith3530
February 8th, 2006, 08:56 AM
This past Saturday, I played this amp out at a gig for the first time. The setting was a coffee house/cafe that is a little larger than your average storefront. The stage is at one end of the long side of a rectangle. It was an acoustic/mild electric, pop/folk set, and the furthest seating was perhaps 50 feet (or more) back.

Katastrophe, you mention LOUD, and yes, this thing is LOUD. I had it close to the lowest possible setting, and people in the back of the room were hearing me just fine.

I can't see much need for anything louder unless you play large venues with a headbanger band!

BTW, this amp was USA made (at the same facility as Ampeg), but I believe that its current counterpart (BT220) is built in China.

Now to find the matching 15" cab!