Buying My 1st Amp. Power Question

[TundraToad]

Hello Basstalk

Background: Never played bass before, borrowed a friends on January 2nd. Loved it and a couple of weeks later after reading and trying many different basses bought myself a Schecter Blackjack ATK C-4 which sounded the "best" to my uneducated ears.

Now I am amp shopping. My needs are very modest. I play Rocksmith on the PC and have played along with some tabs. Some of us at work have talked about getting together which might involve a couple of electrics, bongos etc. At 49 I can never see myself playing with a real drummer but hey who knows.

I have now been test driving amps. I was hoping to get a combo. After trying combos from Fender, Ampeg, Orange, Hartke and Ashdown I then moved to amp-cabinet setup. There was not a lot of choices, I tried the portaflex combo but it just ok. After a few different setups I really liked the Hartke LH500 into the Ampeg SVT15E.

Now for my question

The Hartke manual says it is 350 watts into 8 ohms and the speaker rating should be 600w at 4 ohms. The SVT15E is rated 200 watts RMS and 400 watts programmed. If I ever do crank this amp will the speaker be able to handle it?

Other than being insane for buying something WAY above my playing ability would you avoid this combo because of the ratings (or any other reason)

Thanks

[DiabolusInMusic]

You can blow almost any cab with almost any head if you EQ it poorly.

Get a small combo. It will be easier to manage and pair, and probably cheaper.

My advice is don't dive head first in, odds are you won't play in a year and the gear will either collect dust or get sold for a significant loss. I have had plenty of students just start thinking this is it for them and next month they don't even touch the thing.

[RickenBoogie]

A combo would certainly be easier, but if you like the Harke and Ampeg, that will work just fine. Don't get overly worked up on wattage specs, for amps OR cabs. They don't tell the whole story. Yes, ANY amp is capable of blowing ANY cab, including combo amps. Many youngsters think just because they're built as one unit, you should be able to dime every control, and the spkr should take it. Not true. Just use your ears. If a spkr gets farty, distorted, you're pushing it too hard. Back off the low eq and/or volume. Good luck.