Crate B160 XL

This amp was made in the mid 90s I believe. This is a 160 watt mono bass combo with a 1-15 speaker. Controls are as follows...

1. Odb 1/4 inch input jack
2. -15bd 1/4 inch input jack (for active pickups)
3. Gain control (red peak light besides it)
4. Pre-Shape (sort of a master tone control)
5. Low Boost Switch
6. Equalization (7 band)
7. High Boost Switch
8. Master Volume (green limit light besides it)
9. Effects Loop (1/4 inch in and out)
10. Chorus Swithch
11. Spectrum (Chorus)
12. Depth (Chorus)
13. Rate (Chorus)
14. Line Out volume control
15. Balanced Output (XLR-see 14 for control)
16. Power on light
17. Power Switch

On back

2 Speaker jacks
Power amp in, and Preamp out jacks. (all 1/4 inch). This amp is also 2 ohm stable, but I don't think I'd try it.

For 93-95 whenever this was made, its pretty feature packed.

At the moment I'm playing a few Fender Precision Basses with it. One is stock, and the other has been modified with aftermarket pickups as it has a Jazz pickup in it also. Is it noisy? Yes it is, but only when it is CRANKED all the way up. I play mostly metal and its not really suited for that. I much prefer a Ampeg SVT that is humping. Being this is only a 160 watt amp, its impossible to get a really loud clean out of it. It is possible to get several different tones out of it, but nothing on the fly. It doesn't have footswitchable anything. This isn't as hi-fi souning as a EBS or Eden and don't have the 'rock sound' of a good Ampeg SVT. It does sound better to me then the Fender low end tranny stuff and the PV's as well. Just don't expect it to sound like a $1000.00 amp as its not going to, nor was it designed to. Sizewise, its a little big for practice at home, just the right size for reheasal, but not big enough for clubs, unless you mic it up. This would be a decent amp for most Church gigs though. Don't even think of playing with a guitarist that dimes a 100 watt 1/2 stack. I can get some passable 70s tones out of it (some Sabbath, Zep, Purple, ect...) but again, its not gonna nail that tone. Its a decent all around amp at any rate.

I've had no problems so far. The padded (-15db) jack for the active pickups don't work, but I don't use them if they do. The pots ain't scratchy, the speakers still tight, ect... so I can't really complain.
This is my Third B160 XL, as they make a nice low cost bass combo, but I'd NEVER pay retail for one. Crate catches a lot of shit, but some of the stuff they made wasn't that bad. You could do a lot worse.

Never dealt with St. Louis Music, but sooner or later I'm gonna have to. If this amp died, I don't think I would fix it as they are out there and fairly inexpensive.

I've been playing since the early 80s. I own too much gear to list here, but mostly play guitar and bass. If it were stolen? I'd most likely get a used EBS combo or a Ampeg, both of which I like a lot better. Again, remember its not really fair to compare this amp to a much higher end one. It does what it was made to do. I'm not in love with it by any means, but its a good inexpensive bass amp. Just don't expect it to sound as good as your Eden.