Crate Vintage Club 50?

shoeless

shoeless

Riffin'
So this popped up on my local FB Marketplace for $50. The tubes glow, but no sound. He guesses a blown fuse, but if that were the case, I doubt the tubes would heat up, right? Anyway, here's the description and a pic. It's been gigged hard. I'm tempted, but don't really need an amp project to deal with. The $50 price tag is very tempting though.

Anyone every play through one? With 3 10s, I'm guessing it probably weighs almost as much as my Twin, which is kind of a turn off. He's also in downtown Baltimore, which is a good hour away from me.

His ad:

This was my favorite amp ever. I used it on every Great Mutatnt Skywheel (1997 - 2004) show and recording and for the 1st 8 years of TELESMA (2004 - 2012) shows / recordings. I loved this amp so much I bought 3. I stopped using Tube amps live in 2012. When I moved to my current location I gave the other two to friends and kept this one Here's The deal: It doesn't make a sound right now. I believe that's because it has a blown fuse. I believe that bc that's happened before. HOWEVER - the fuse holder is on the circuit board - inaccessible without removing ~ 11 screws. I have no patience for that, especially for an amp I'm no longer using. It has 3 good 10" speakers (2 celestion and 1 original) and all the tubes are working (you can see them lit up in 2nd pic) and reasonably fresh. This is a heavy, loud, brilliant sounding amp. It weighs 69 lbs. Working it goes for $299 used at guitar center. I am moving in Jan and want it to go to a loving home. I will let you have it for $50.

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I should not buy this amp. Change my mind. :grin:
 
Well, the cabinet and speakers are worth $50. Do you have a use for them other than as a part of this amp?
If, not then I would pass unless you have a great tech who works cheap. I'm pretty lucky in that regard, and I'm a fan of USA Crate VCs so I'd probably grab it. I have a little 21110r that I bought new in 93' and still love it. It quit on me about 2 years ago, but my tech fixed it really easily(short at a pot).
 
The vintage clubs were an internet form obsession for a period of time. As a result everytime I see one in a shop and check it out, I go in w/ pretty high expectations and leave pretty underwhelmed.
If you were looking for a project (and you're not), it'd probably be worth the $50 to play around with and sell or part out, depending on the result.
 
I doubt the "probably the fuse" is true. Speakers and tubes worth way over $50. I still love my V16 but, like already mentioned, if you don't have a tech that does pro bono work...
 
Sounds like the output transformer went belly up. If so, it could be worth replacing, but probably not, plus it sounds like that thing was rode hard over the years, so who knows what’s gonna go next?

May be worth it as-is to use as a cab, perhaps?
 
I don't have anything with 10s in it, so while the speakers alone are worth the $50, I don't have an immediate use for them. I could sell the parts, but that also sounds like a lot of trouble to make a few bucks and I'd be left with a carcass that'd likely end up in the dump. I'd rather someone else get it working again and use it.

I also doubt it's just a fuse and it'd be a DIY project to bring it back to life. I already have a heavy amp that I don't like dragging anywhere. My go-to amp for the rare occasion of playing out is the Classic 30, which is plenty loud and much easier to tote than the Twin.

I'mma go with my gut and pass on this one. If a few of you had raved about how great the VCs were, I may have been tempted, so I appreciate the honest opinions. ...and thanks for not changing my mind. :wink:
 
Those things are heavy. The cab with no chassis and no speakers still weighs a ton. Should have casters on it. I have a VC-30 (3112). These amps share a common design flaw; the tube sockets aren’t mounted to the chassis, they’re soldered to the board. Some older Ampegs also used this design. Over time, with normal usage of wiggling tubes in and out and causing the board to flex, the solder joints fail, along with the heat those EL84s produce. Just my thoughts. I love my VC, but I’ve constantly had to chase issues with it over the years.

And if it was just a fuse, it wouldn’t power up at all.
 
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