Crate BX200

[Les Cargill]

So tonight bass player had fambly obligations and lost his wallet.
Singer calls me "Bring your bass". Usually these days, I do six
string and pedal steel.

So I pull the Crate BX200 I bought about 20 years ago and one of the
Carvin-driver 1x15 cabinets I made then.

I still absolutely love that head. The story is - it was 1993, and I
wanted a lower powered head for smaller places. I pretty much
had figured on a Trace Elliott. My main amp was then an Acoustic 370,
on top of a Sunn cabinet with four - four! - 15". I sold that to a
really happy young guy, and ordered a pair of Carvin's
15".

Worked great, but I wanted a backup head.

So I hie down to every music store in Hampton Roads. Finally find the
Trace dealer ( this is before the Internet, kids ). I haul both cabs
and the Acoustic in.

The trace head just sounded funny. So I ask "what else you got?" and
they show me this Crate - one of the earliest with black fuzzy covering.

It sounds *amazing*. Even the very patient salesperson agrees.

You can still find them online - for $99 bucks. it's a very clever
preamp - the first I'd seen with a "contour" knob. It's not Class D
and it's a good 20 pounds or more, but it's still a fine bass amp,
good for 100 watts easy ( 200 into four ohms ) and it's plenty
with a mature drummer who doesn't kill the drums.

Everybody needs a spare; if you don't have one, I highly
recommend this:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Used-USED-CRATE-BX200-BASS-HEAD-108007814-i2656826.gc

This was a very worthwhile evening. of nothing else, new bass player
can stand aside and I will show him what the other guys are expecting.

--
Les Cargill

[Oci-One Kanubi]

On Saturday, August 25, 2012 12:55:06 AM UTC-4, Les Cargill wrote:
>
> Everybody needs a spare; if you don't have one, I highly recommend this: http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Used-USED-CRATE-BX200-BASS-HEAD-108007814-i2656826.gc

I use a little allegedly-500W Carvin BX500 head; weighs 7 pounds. I have a second one as my spare. To the gig I carry my bass, a 2x10 cabinet (rated by Carvin at 600W, but I dunno...) and a little case for business travellers that I found at Office Depot. You know, like a stewardess bag, with little wheels and a collapsible handle?

This little case, 17"x17" in section and 13" deep, holds both amps, my 3-pedal Boss effects board, an electronics toolkit, a Pitchblack tuner, two collapsible instrument stands (in case I take a second bass) a folding music stand (which I never take for gigs with my own band), my $5 circuit tester, my mic, a little maglite flashlight and a headlamp, a six-outlet power strip, two power cables, and a plethora of instrument and speaker cables. All in one convenient package that weighs 35# or 40#, and stacks safely out of the way on the cabinet below the head, during the gig!

Now, to be sure, My #399 spare Carvin BH500 set me back 4x as much as this Crate, but I just cannot overstate the value of a compact, lightweight amp. Recently the guitar player has been talking about buying a used Crate PowerBlock (150W, weighs 4.5#) as a spare. Good for him! The Crate PowerBlock, BTW, goes for a similar price to your BX200 eBay -- around $100 on eBay, depending upon the vicissitudes of the bidding.

If I break down and get an Ampeg PF500 I'll probably get both cabinets, the 2x10 and the 1x15, for tandem use (and decide after field-testing whether to continue to carry both to gigs), but since the Ampeg head can travel in one of the cabinets I'll keep my little stewardess-bag as is, and carry TWO spares to the gig! Although if the Ampeg head were as small as the Carvins, and would fit into my gear bag, I'd probably carry only one Carvin.

-Richard, His Bassic Travesty
Nothing really matters except boats, sex, and rock'n'roll