Hartke ha3500 blown?

[kneibarger]

I'm currently running the following equipment:

-Carvin IC6 w/active pickups
-400 watt SWR cabinet
-400 watt (I think it's 400 watts) Hartke ha3500
-MTX M80 Sans Amp + Chorus Pedal

Last night at a gig I had to crank my stage sound since the sound guy didn't mic anything but the vox and kick drum (hope he didn't get paid much cause I could've done that sh*t...).

I noticed that my amp had been clipping alot even though I only had it as high as 4 (out of 10.. er.. 11... lol). It's been doing that for the past year but I wouldn't lose volume although sometimes the speakers would flutter like the sound was un-compressed.

Well, sure enough, halfway through the set I here a pop, then buzzing.. I turned the master down to 2 and although could still hear a little buzzing.. I could gradually turn it up and I'd get a clean warm tone per usual, but sometimes it would start buzzing again for awhile. Then near the end of our set after getting the volume back up to a suitable level, the amp would occasionally throw out some feedback that would get progressively louder and then regress and my warm tones would return... very strange.. I've had the amp for 5-7 year so it's been a good one and I'm in the process of replacing it with a couple of SWR micro-amps.

My question, after this long a$$ post, is this, do you think it's my amp that is fried at some level or did I blow the cabinet? I'm hoping it's the amp head since I've got it replaced... and I've only had the SWR cab for 2 years.. although it's possible the cab's tweeter is blown..

[JMac4strngr]

I'll start the 10.5 question response with....
Have You tried it with:
1) any other cabs?
2) a different speaker cable?
3) plugging into the power-amp in on the back of the head, bypassing the pre-amp?

If You've tried the following, without any good results:
1) could be the pre-amp tube on the way out.
2) input, or fx loop jacks need cleaning.
3) maybe it's tech time.

Hope all that is helpfull... I had a HA2500 back in the 90's great amp, it sounded great and was almost bullet proof.

[dbase]

Good excuse to upgrade to an LH500.

[kneibarger]

Originally Posted by JMac4strngr

I'll start the 10.5 question response with....
Have You tried it with:
1) any other cabs?
2) a different speaker cable?
3) plugging into the power-amp in on the back of the head, bypassing the pre-amp?

It happened last night so I've not been able to test some different configurations and try and figure out what the problem might be. My guitarist said it sounded to him (from the across the stage) that it was a bad cable. I plan on trying my crate 2X15 cab or my Hartke 4X10 to hopefully rule out the SWR cab.

Thanks for the suggestions/tests!

[kneibarger]

Also, I've had alot of good years from Hartke, I started off with a small 140 head and moved to the ha3500 after 5 years. Been playing for almost 13 years with mostly Hartke. You're right about them being almost bulletproof. I've been fortunate to only have 2 amps in that span.

I'm almost re-thinking my decision to switch to an SWR rig. If I liked Hartke cabs I'd be set with my rig...

[JimmyM]

The first two things I would check are the effects loop jacks and the tube. Sometimes the switches in the loop jacks can get corroded over time and need cleaning. Contact cleaner is best, but running a plug in and out of the rapidly 15-20 times should also do the trick in a pinch. If that doesn't work, try replacing the tube. 12ax7's are cheap and you can always use a spare even if that's not the problem. Beyond that, and it's time to take it into a tech. Or call Larry. Larry seems to have a real soft spot for keeping his old amps in service. Might cost you a littl emoney, but it likely won't be as expensive as total replacement.

Then again, you might not have to call him. He checks TB regularly.

[cybersnyder]

Only 15-20 times??? Heh.

[JimmyM]

OK, do it more then

[poorbassist15]

My HA 2000 did something similar, it would send an almost full power hum through my cab, then I had to turn it off, and everything was cool for a month. I'm convinced I came close to burning out the power section, so you might want to get it checked by a tech.