Vintage Crate Mini Stack - Should I ?

[LevinFan]

Ok, I saw this minutes after it was posted on my local CL. I called the # and it's mine if I want it, but I have to wait till tomorrow to pick it up. The price is firm he says.

So, I'm just looking for opinions on it. I just want a practice amp and it looks so cool.

Obviously, my bass and my ears will tell me whether to grab it. But has anyone owned one ? Is it a fair price ?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[LevinFan]

lol, I googled it and this thread was at the top of the list. See post 6

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352754

 

[KramerBassFan]

I say go for it.

I like old Crates.
Yes, I like old Crates.

 

[RickenBoogie]

Yeah, that's when they were still made in a wooden crate. Good price, decent amp, go for it.

 

[LevinFan]

I say go for it.

I like old Crates.
Yes, I like old Crates.

I probably will, unless it has issues. If the info on that old tb thread is correct, it will do 60 watts at 4 ohms and 90 at 2.

I checked the Crate site, and no manual is archived. It looks so cool though. The guy just called me back and said he forgot it was Labor Day weekend, but he caught someone still at the church after their evening service and he ran over there and got it. Still can't get it till tomorrow though because he's got family at home doing the holiday thing. Great thing is, I'm only about a 7 minute drive from his house, so if it turns out to have any issues, I won't have to waste a lot of time.

We'll see.

 

[LevinFan]

Yeah, that's when they were still made in a wooden crate. Good price, decent amp, go for it.

Oh yea, if it wasn't the original design, I'd probably never called lol.
I looked at everything new at MF for under 150 bucks, and I'd rather have the Crate. It's around 30 years old though, so it might need caps ?

 

[KramerBassFan]

It may, but if its used regularly at a church it *Should* be good to go.
That will blow away anything else new at $150.

 

[LevinFan]

I passed on it. It hummed and the limiter didn't work. Also, when I took a look around back, they had some sort of audio/video cable with molded jacks instead of a speaker cable lol.

I asked if that cable was picked up by mistake and the guy said it's the one that was hooked up to it when he went to pick it up. So no telling how long they were running it like that.

Perhaps the cable was causing the hum, but there was also intermittent sizzling and crackling while the amp was sitting idle.

Bummer.

 

[johnk_10]

personally, i think that you were wise to pass on it. as an amp tech for 35+ years, most crates that i've worked on have not sounded very good and were not reliable amps as they weren't designed very well since they were made to be an entry-level amp (no flames please!)

2 cents.............

 

[KramerBassFan]

Well, my first amp that worked longer than powering it up (don't ask!) was a puny little crate 10w guitar amp.
I modified it, and put it in the housing of the amp that blew up...
So now my 10w Crate runs two 12's.
Old school.

But yet it still sounds great to my ears.