Crate BX25

Same as stated in the rest of the reviews here..bought new in 2000

Ive played several diff. bases through this amp.. warlock, ibanez sd, fender p, fender mustang, I play mostly hard rock. This amp is strictly a practice amp..sounds ok for that. For jamming..no..not loud enough..and tone quality blows. for what youd spend for this..look at some more flexible options..

cant seem to break it...knobs fall off though.
would never gig with it. (practice amp)

n/a 1 year i think

Been playing for about 15 years... not into advertising for manf.. if you play bass and do your homework you know what gear is good, and it doesnt always need to be high priced..

this is a practice amp..suited as such.

This amp has the basics, a good EQ with 4 bands, and two inputs(since i play with an SDGR by Ibanez that has been severly modified, i put new EMG's with an 18V active preamp, i need the -15db feature), it is a 25 or 30 watt amp, and does me fine for practicing in my room.

Holy shit!!! this amp is only 25 watts??? how many times have i heard that?? way too many, it can hang with a drummer, nuff said. The tone that comes outta this amp is nothing to a GK, Eden, or Hartke, but hell it was 179$. By the way, I've played through it using a Carvin LB70F, my baby(Ibanez SDGR 18v EMG's P and J. nuff said), a Curbow made by Cort, a Jay Turser 5 string(with my old ibanez p and j pickups), a Hondo??(which makes noises much like a fart tipped civic), a Gibson Les Paul custom, an Ibanez RG470 DX(with EMG's, 81 and 85, with a Duncan Hot rails humbucking single), an acoustic Ovation, an old Gibson flying V, a couple of cheap ass wanna be copies, an American series P bass, and a Jazz bass... both americans, all of these guitars(im sure theres more but im getting tired of typing), and it has proven to be the BEST amp i have ever had for a practice amp. The tone is incredible, and after replacing the speaker with a carvin, it sounded even better. I play funk bass, much like a combination of Flea and Les Claypool, and have also played bass for around 9-10 years. It has never and i mean NEVER once buzzed or even hinted at a buzz, and I have had it turned on for about 7 years now because I NEVER turn it off. No distortion but through an RP-7 it sounds great, I have hooked it up with another Crate?? it was a 60watt guitar amp, and it added all the bass you could ever need, in a practice amp of course.

sorry about the caps lock here but i have a point to make. CRATE COULD MAKE A DEPENDABLE AMP OUT OF A COFFEE CAN AND SOME WIRES, IT HAS BEEN ON FOR 7 YEARS STRAIT, WITH THE OCCASIONAL MOVING IT TO A DIFFERENT ROOM. I USE IT DAILY FOR ABOUT 3-4 HOURS AT A TIME. Bar-None the most dependable amp i have ever seen, or played.

Never had to deal with them, but if they are as good as they make their amps, I'll give em a 10

I have been playing for about 9 years now, and i play thru a numerous amount of instruments. If it were stolen I would hang the fucker by his dick and beat him with the amp, and if he hurt it, which i doubt, i would go out and buy the 60 watt cousin of this amp.

My Crate amp was built in 1997 but I've only had it for 2 and a half years. It has been fairly versitile for the different styles of music I play(punk, rock, blues, jazz and funk) but I find it is only good for solo playing. It has 2 inputs which has been nice at times. However there are no effects, only the equalizers knobs. The only other feature is a headphone jack(which you can find on almost any amp). I use my amp when I play with my friends and when I practice in my room. It never has enough power for playing in a band; all the other instruments drown it out. However it has been okay for me when I play alone.

The bass I use my amp with is an Ibanez BTB 400 with humbucker pickups. The amp doesn't suit my music style very well because it has a fuzzy sound. It seems to make this noise on all settings so it doesn't matter how I play it, it sounds bad. My amp is always on clean (because it is a bass amp). The only distortion my amp makes is now that it has broken the only sound that comes out of it is a really bad crackely distorted sound which it obviously shouldn't be making.

I can no longer depend on my amp because it just broke and the only sound that comes out now is a bad crackely un even distortion, instead of the normal clean bass amp sound. However, this break down was not because of neglect, it just broke down.

Nothing at all, never had any customer support and I don't expect I ever will have any customer support.

It has been a good amp sometimes but overall I really, really dislike it. It's sound level and sound quality aren't good at all. The only thing I've liked about it is that is was small and easy to transport. I've compared it with others but the only reason I chose this on was that I didn't have enough money at the time. I'd just like to say, if you can afford a better amp, don't buy this one.

Bought it new in '95. It's a 25-watt practic amp. It has two input jacks, contour knob, four knob equalizer, head phone jack out, and a disableing amp out jack. The thing that bugged me most was the cutting out of the amp when using the speaker out. So there is no use in tring to use is as a stage monitor for open mic or smaller gigs. So it is a strictly used only as a practic amp. Even then I found that it still doesn't have enough power to get over a very loud drummer. (or guitarist)

I use a Washburn XB-100 bantum, it is a passive four sting. The tonal control of this amp is very limited. I play punk to folk rock, for slap playing this amp can hint at what it might sound like though a stack or high watt combo, but does little justice. For IM-ing it does produce a good clean sound with little to no distortions even on it's louder limits.

Well I've had it for 6 years now and it still working, through all the wear and tear I've put on it. It's still ticking with no problems.

Never dealt with.

This amp is only good for practic and small jam sesions. I still use for after hours and impromtu jams, and band practic if I don't need to carry my heavy combo (Peavy TNT 115s). The main thing that I wish it did was NOT to cut off the amp when plugging into speaker jack. So it has no use for the open mics. I've even tried direct imput (D.I. boxes), and it seems that every time I attemped that: a static hiss would be dominately present.

Its a 25 watt, solid-state bass combo-amp with a 10" driver. It has a pre-amp gain control, limiter, 4 band rotary EQ, variable contour, and master volume. Also has 2 inputs (active or passive pickups), a headphone jack, and a aux speaker jack which disables the internal speaker. Mines was made in 93 so it doesn't have the on-board effects.
Pretty bare bones. The limiter is a nice extra but it just seems to blink and tell you you need to turn down the gain, it really doesn't limit from what I can tell. Headphone jack is nice. Price here is probably the best feature.

This amp is strictly for practice. It sounds very generic. While the EQ and contour are useful, its just a sterile amp. You cannot get any warmth or grit out of it and it just doesn't thump your gourd like a bass should. To be fair it was suitable for me to learn how to play on and I really didn't know it sucked until I tired out the Mesa, Ampeg and SWR products.
Where this amp really show its weakness is when I made the step to jamming with friends. It really crumbled when cranked up. Noisey as just plain weak. Its barely audible above a drummer when cranked to the clipping point. I've plugged the aux out into my Mesa 4x10 which made it sound a lot better but it still wasn't loud enough.

For the most part its been reliable. I've had it for 7 years and it still works. The warantee is 5 years. The plastic input/output jack are rather crappy is you ask me as mine are having contact problems and need replacing. I'd expect these coner cuts on a beginner amp but now Mesa, Ampeg, and the other pro-level stuff are using them too, thumbs down!

Haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing for 8 years now and this was a great amp for learning to play on because it's cheap, yet reliable. It's also good for practice by yourself or in an apartment because it doesn't sound horrible at low volume, just when you crank it. Its made to be an affordable amp for practice and it serves that function very well. But once you go tube (or hybrid for that matter), you can't go back!

I bought this amp about six years ago, it's probably from 1995. it has two input jacks, but can only handle one instrument at a time (not very good for teaching lessons with). It has a compressor that kills almost every note you hit if you turn volume past 6 (no joke). It has a four band eq and a contour knob which only works if you switch the four band eq off. This amp isn't very versitle, it can handle a little slap with a passive four string, but definitely not with a five (The low B is almost non-existant when played through this amp). Finger style sounds decent through this amp, but it's almost impossible to get a good bright sound out of. I own many basses and the only ones that sound decent through this amp are passive (fender jazz basses). Active basses sound terrible through this amp. This amp doesn't have enough power. It says on the back panel that it is 90 watts, it's only 25 watts. The ideal setting for this amp is in a practice room with a four string passive bass. No gigs please...

This amp sounds very dead. I've never been able to get a bright sound out of it, even with a fender p-bass. It sounds terrible with every active bass I have ever played out of it with, even my Tobias (early 90's Tobias that is)! It has a very weak bottom end and an even weaker top end. No slap here! The amp also hisses quite a lot for a 25 watter, although it never distorts (even when you turn it up to 11).

The amp has never broken down on me and I have taken it to more than a few gigs. I would never reccomend using this amp in a gig, even though I am guilty of this (I coulden't help it, I was a poor high school sophmore!). It's pretty sturdy. There's no rips in the toltex and I've abused it more than I should have over the years.

I think I got a year warrinty with this amp when I bought it in seventh grade. I've had no problems with it, and I probally woulden't get it repaired even if it was broken.

I've been playing for six years now and unfortuinately this amp has been with me the whole time. It was my first amp, a christmas present. I would never buy another crate as long as I live, especially this one. I still use it, in fact I used it earlier tonight to give a lesson. Right now I own an Eden World Tour 800, I run it through a peavy cab and a swr cab (I got a job after sophmore year). I used to have an 1977 Ampeg SVT combo with a 15" speaker (that was before the merger with crate), when I was playing a lot of classic rock. Both amps I've owned blew this crate away. I hate everything about this amp and would never reccomend it to anyone!

First of all, i'm from Chile. My amp's a late '97 model, i think it's the old one because new ones have silver logos, this one is white. I bought it at Audiomusica (Santiago de Chile) in $127.000 chilean pesos, approximately US$270 at that time. It features 2 input jacks (active and passive), contour, 4-band EQ and a limiter. Pretty versatile for beginners; it was my first amp and I don't regret it. A bit heavy for its size, but doesn't matter.

Sounds great, very clear. I wish it had more power because I play with a loud drummer and i have to put the gain and volume controls all the way up (you can't even notice quality loss). I use it with a P-J Samick and a Fender Jazz, wish it had a noise gate (that's the bass's problem though).

Haven't gigged it much, but when I did I didn't have problems with it and I hope I don't, I think I can rely on it.

I own another amp, hand-made with Fender cicuitry and 100w, but I certainly prefer the sound of my loyal Crate. Recommendable for home and studying, also in studio (not professional recordings...), but not for rehearsals or gigs.

My Crate BX25 bass amp was bought new in about 1996. Has four band rotary equalizer that I set on their suggested "HArd rock" in the owner manual and leave it there. Contour on, between noon and 3 oclock. It is a 25 watt amp, not 90 like it says on the back. It is solid state. 10 inch speaker. High/low inputs, external speaker jack, headphone jack. Only thing I wish it had that it doesn't is a line out jack.

Sound is the bomb. I use it for both guitar and bass and never have to touch any settings. Leave it like it says above. This thing has a 10 inch speaker, which is most popular for bass. This makes it sound a hell of a lot better than a practice amp with an 8 inch speaker. Like I said, also great on guitar. Anyone who wants to play both guitar and bass and doesn't have room or money for two amps, BUY THIS! Don't take my word for it, try it in a music store.

Four years old(about). No problems ever. Never gigged, not big enough probably. But it has been out of the house and the tolex doesn't even have a rip.

Never needed to. Though I wish I could email them to find out something about another crate I have, a CR-110. No email address on their website!

This thing is great. I want to buy a few more and run them with stereo chorus pedals. They would make great stereo amps I think. They need to put a line out on it. All amps should have a line out.

This is an amp I bought last year. I've been playing for about 4 yrs and this amp fits me fine. The contour can hardly be differentiated from the regular sound, I've played with it and nothng seems to happen (it might be broke??). everthing else on it is pretty good though. You can pull a funk or grind out hard rock and I like it. I've used this amp at home and on stages. It can get pretty loud but the sound quality depreciates greatly after 2/3 the way up. I would like it to get louder but it is small so what can you expect. Also its about 35 lbs. and the handle on it is very small so do plan to move it far by hand w/o your hand cramping.

It has good sound. My bass has a active pick-up and it can get pretty deep but don't expect it to raddle the windows.

I've beat the hell aou of this thing and it doesn't flinch.

where I bought it I know the people and they always are willing to help but I have'nt needed it on this amp

It's pretty nice. I've played for about 4 years and I've played on lots of amps. I'd buy it again because its good for what I use it for. However you can't really blay that well with other musicians. I still have it and its a whole lot better than the Kustom I used to own (piece of crap!)

This is a bass amp with a four band eq with +/- 12 on each band, a gain knob, a master volume, a switchable on/off contour knob, a headphone jack, speaker jack, and a 0db and a -15db input. The countour knob is almost like a tone knob on a guitar, and it is kind of stupid. It is rated at 90 watts but i think that might be with an extension cab, because it is not too loud.

The guitar most commonly used with this amp, although a bass amp, is a Fender Big Apple Strat with a SD '59 Humbucker and a SD Pearly Gates Humbucker. A DOD Grunge (excellent) distortion pedal is often used as well as a crybaby and a digitech stompbox style chorus/flanger. Because this is a bass amp, and also because the way the eq is set, this amp has a huge low end. It is hard to describe the sound, but it is quite pleasing when it works. The gain knob is not actually a gain knob as most distortion addicts know it as. In fact, I'm thinkin' it's just a volume knob because that's what it does, control the volume. This amp can not get very loud at all. With the volume on 10, a Rage 158 15 watt Peavey amp is just as loud when it's on 6. I don't know what's the deal. This amp is not extremely versatile but what it does is nice. Also, it is closed back with a small hole in the bottome so the music is projected well.

Actually, this amp is not mine. It is the singer/Guitarist's in the band I'm in. He was doing some recording this weekend and asked me if he could borrow my Rage 158 because he needed a reliable amp (quote unquote). So I'm using his amp this weekend. This amp is really heavy but is strong. The structure os the enclosure probably won't break but the speaker does weird stuff. It is working fine and then the volume drops drastically. You have to wiggle(technical term) the master volume knob and then the speaker kicks back in full force. This is a pain when it happens which is quite often. It is solid state so the tubes won't ever need to be replaced. I don't think my friend or I would ever have a backup, due to or financial situation or lack thereof. It would be nice to have though. With the volume cuts, this thing is good for practice but for real critical applications is unsuitable.

This amp is overall adequate for practice even with a band. I think my friend spent like $250 or $300 for this amp I got my Rage 158 for $100 so he got ripped off a little compared to my amp. Both me and the singer friend of mine are getting half stacks as soon as we can. He will most likely keep this due to the portability compared to a half stack althought this is quite heavy. I would like to hear the music with a bass and not a guitar with this thing.