Hartke Cabinets

colbyAKAbobby · #1 09-25-2011, 10:32 PM

Hello,

I play in an indie rock band and am graduating from high school this year. I have a $1000 CDN budget for my graduation present and am in need of a new bass rig. I am leaning towards a Hartke LH1000 which takes up roughly half of my budget, but I'd be willing to pitch in around $200 CDN of my own bucks. So, the question is which cabinet would go best with the LH1000 and why? Feel free to ask me what kind of tone I am looking for. I'd describe it but I do not know the terms very well, such as 'punchy', 'warm' and 'round'. If you'd like you could explain these terms to me as well.

Thanks! I am a young bass player seeking for knowledge!

grendle · #2 09-25-2011, 10:40 PM

I have one of the hartke vx cabs (115) and am happy with it so far. I picked it over all the other 1x15's I tried. I had also planned on having 2 from the get go. Their not too pricy either. If you wanted to stay with hartke.

There is a lot out there. Try some different cabs with the same head. See what does it for you and is in your price range. In the end its all up to your ears.

colbyAKAbobby · #3 09-25-2011, 10:42 PM

So the 15" inch speakers are great for low-ends correct? Is there other terminology for low-ends?

colbyAKAbobby · #4 09-25-2011, 10:53 PM

Does the Hartke LH1000 have two channels so I could stack cabinets in the future?

LegoBass · #5 09-25-2011, 11:30 PM

I have to put my vote with the Hydrive 15, if you want a 15. It can handle the power put out by one channel very easily and also weighs so little. The HX115 cost $499 USD, and the LH1000 $599 USD, just over your $1000 CND limit. (Barely, your extra money could cover the rest.) I love my HX410 as it really makes a great sound, letting every part of your bass be heard. Great cabinet for the money.

The LH1000 does have two channels. This is not like a Marshall guitar head where you have a clean and distored channel. It means there are two seperate 500 watt power amps inside. You could buy just one cabinet and use only (about) 350 watts from one channel or buy two and use all 500 from one channel. Unless you buy four cabinets or two 4 ohm cabinets, you would not be able to use all 1000 watts. It can kinda suck that way.

A 15" speaker does not produce lows better than 4 10s or 2 12s, just a rumor. All speakers can produce the same frequencies equally, it is the way the cab is built around the speaker that makes it sound differnt. In this case, one 15 will not sound "lower" than any other cabinet, it is all just user opinions on which speaker size to use.

Hope I helped,
Robert

60bass · #6 09-25-2011, 11:37 PM

I have to agree with LegoBass on the HyDrive HX-115.

I'm running two of those with an Ampeg PF-500 Portaflex head and the cabs are killer.

There's enough paper in the cone to deliver some nice thump and the aluminum part of the cone gives good midrange punch. Turn on the tweeter if you need highs that cut through.

The cabs are built like a tank too. Solid, braced, and fully lined with felt. PRO quality cabinet all the way.

Keep Low

colbyAKAbobby · #7 09-25-2011, 11:37 PM

You really did help Rob. I'm just confused with how all this power, wattage and ohms between the heads and the cabinets work. If you or someone else would take some time to explain it all thoroughly to me, I'd appreciate it a lot.

Snakeman1066 · #8 09-25-2011, 11:38 PM

Best bang for your Buck Cab wise...Go here and buy

Avatar Speakers

grendle · #9 09-25-2011, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colbyAKAbobby

Does the Hartke LH1000 have two channels so I could stack cabinets in the future?

Not sure if its 2 channel, but yes you can run at least 2 cabs. I'll have to look. Generally speaking, with cabs you find in most music stores , 15's tend to have more lows, 10's are also good (4x10 cabs are common). They generally have more mids and highs than 15's , but usually have good lows too. 12's are in the middle, some like em some don't. Once you get into different cab designs though all that goes out the window. Try everything and let your ears, wallet, and back decide what you like best.

grendle · #10 09-25-2011, 11:44 PM

+1 on the high drive, but if he wants 2 cabs it might break his budget. I'll take the vx's over the all alum cone xl's though any day.

colbyAKAbobby · #11 09-25-2011, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60bass

There's enough paper in the cone to deliver some nice thump and the aluminum part of the cone gives good midrange punch.

Would you explain what midrange punch is?

colbyAKAbobby · #12 09-25-2011, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grendle

+1 on the high drive, but if he wants 2 cabs it might break his budget. I'll take the vx's over the all alum cone xl's though any day.

For now, one cab will do. I'll save up for another later on.

grendle · #13 09-26-2011, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colbyAKAbobby

For now, one cab will do. I'll save up for another later on.

Then I would seriously consider either the hi drive 4x10 or 1x15. But that's if you wanted to stay with hartke. There are lots of great cab makers for that kind of money. Imo as far as bang for the buck goes $700 will get you more elseware.

LegoBass · #14 09-26-2011, 12:08 AM

Let's use a simple metaphor to describe the dieffence between Watts and Ohms. Say you have a hose, the water coming out of the end is like watts, it is the power. If you use a small head or something like a combo amp it is like turning the hose on like 10%. The bigger the head, the more watts, or the more open your hose valve the more water can come out.

Ohms are kinda werid. If you turned your water on all the way and put your finger over the end what would happen? This is resistance, what Ohms basically mean. A cabinets wiring can only take so much power, they restrict how many watts go through them. Cabinets and amps usally operate with 2, 4, or 8 ohms. 2 Ohms being the least resistance, or just a little bit of your finger over the hose. 8 or 16 Ohms is like a lot more of your finger covering up the hose tip.

So let's look at the LH1000. One channel can run 500 watts at 2 Ohms, 320 watts at 4 Ohms, and 225 watts at 8 ohms. This is basically saying the more (think 8 Ohms) you cover up the tip of your hose the less water can come out. The Hx115 can handle 400 watts at 8 ohms, which the LH100 only produces 225. In this case, you have no chance of blowing or distorting your cabinet.

I am going to go a little more into detail here. Let's say you bought two HX115s. If you ran them each into their own channel, each would only get 225 watts. (2x Channels with 225 watts at 8 Ohms.) This would be much louder than just one cabinet.
But if you got two cabinets into the same channel it gets much more difficult. Two 8 ohm cabinets creates 4 ohms, (werid system of formulas used to get that, google would be your friend here.

) This would mean that one channel can give you 320 at 4 ohms, so each cabinet would get half of that 320.

If you were willing to spend a little more money and really get the biggest sound and volume, I would go with the HX410. You coud use it with both channels and push a massive 750 watts into that one cabinet! (It can handle 1000 watts at 8 ohms.) This cabinet does cost $699 USD but would sound huge, probablly as big if not bigger than the 2 15 option I put above.

I hoped I helped a little bit and maybe gave you new ideas or plans. Remember, GAS can be a good thing, some times you have to go all in and buy that bigger and better thing.

Just ask if you have anymore questions!
Robert

LegoBass · #15 09-26-2011, 12:11 AM

Here is the link to the LH1000 page on the Hartke site. Why don't you look at the manual and see if you comepletely understand what I said. There is a lot to take in and some times a bland old manual can really help.
Hartke — LH1000

colbyAKAbobby · #16 09-26-2011, 12:17 AM

Thanks, LegoBass! That was extremely helpful. So it'd be safe to try out a HyDrive 410 with an Ampeg PF500?

LegoBass · #17 09-26-2011, 12:17 AM

Answering another question that poped up in the time it took to post my novel up above.

Midrange punch is basically just how much Midrange frequienies are in the sound. Some brand of cabinets do not produce very good mids and therefore have a very home stereo style sound. Mids add clarity and defination, but too much can be overkill. I personally use a lot of mids and get a very bright sound that sounds like it will punch you in the face. A good example would be Geddy Lee of RUSH. Listen to Fly by Night or 2112 and you will get a great understanding of what Mids are.

colbyAKAbobby · #18 09-26-2011, 12:19 AM

Shaweet! Also, what would be the difference of getting two 4x10's as opposed to one big 8x10?

LegoBass · #19 09-26-2011, 12:21 AM

Oh yea, that would be work just fine. The PF500 is a great head with a great vintage sound. Keep in mind that it is no where near as powerfull as the LH1000 and would not push the HX410 near as hard. If the Pf500 is intresting to you, I would get the matching cab ( 2 10s or 1 15 which ever you prefer). These amps and cabs were designed to go together so sound best in that setting. The Portaflex cabs also just look so amazing in the first place!

LegoBass · #20 09-26-2011, 12:24 AM

There is no big differnce between two 410s or an 810. I prefer two 410s because they are lighter and easier to move. Plus, you can buy one, save up and buy the other, and not have to wait such a long time. I also like two 410s because I run stereo outputs, two dieffent signals to each cab. This makes my sound much fatter and interesting. Stereo is something you can't really explain without experiencing it.