Hartke Hydrive 410 or 4.5XL for standalone?

bassomane · #1 05-31-2010, 01:03 AM

Does the sealed Hydrive 410 have enough bottom end for use as a standalone cabinet or would you recomend me the 4.5xl for this application?

If weight and money are no issue, what would be the better sounding cabinet?

Style: Top 40; medium loud drummer

JimmyM · #2 05-31-2010, 03:10 AM

hydrive and it's not even close. it kills the 4.5xl tonally imho. it's got a pretty big bottom end for a sealed cab, at the very least as big as the 4.5xl.

bassomane · #3 05-31-2010, 03:18 AM

This is was I wanted to hear, because some reviews told from a very tight bottom end.

JimmyM · #4 05-31-2010, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassomane

This is was I wanted to hear, because some reviews told from a very tight bottom end.

hartke claims some ridiculously low number for low end response on the hydrive 410, but even though i don't think it's THAT low, it's pretty low. but it's still tight, too, so those reviews aren't far off the mark.

walterw · #5 05-31-2010, 08:14 AM

besides, doesn't the hydrive have more than twice the power-handling?

JimmyM · #6 05-31-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

besides, doesn't the hydrive have more than twice the power-handling?

they claim it. i think their specs are awfully optimistic*.

*polite way of putting it.

suraj · #7 05-31-2010, 01:35 PM

I'd like to differ a little. Im selling my hartke hydrive 4x10 cuz its just not loud enough for me.. At a loud level, its just mids. The lows are bigger and tigher than the 4.5 xl and is actually a little warmer..but the 4.5 xl feels much louder and retains that low end. Adding more lows from the amp doesnt fart it out that easy either. No matter how loud you crank the Hydrive, you wont feellike turning it down cuz it doesn't reach that volume satisfaction point..FOR ME, YMMV

If your playing finger style and dont need a lot of volume, the hydrive sounds fantastic with a big bottom. Else go for the 4.5 xl..it retains low end even with pick style.

Hope this helps.
Peace.

cassanova · #8 05-31-2010, 01:59 PM

I've lost bottom end on every type of Hartke 4x10 I've played through when I had to get loud. They reminded me much of my old Carvin RL410, whenever I tried getting loud through them they'd distort and fart. At low volumes I've thought they sounded quite nice.

logicman69 · #9 05-31-2010, 02:08 PM

I have been very impressed with the Hydrive. while I can't make a good comparison to the 4.5xl, I did run it side by side with an Ampeg 410he. The Hydrive sounded tighter and punchier. I was able to get it fairly loud without braking up or loosing low end (I was using the Hartke LH1000 head for a power sorce and a Peavey Cirrus).

My only concern is replacing speakers. I shudder to think how expensive the half aluminum speakers are.

murphy · #10 06-01-2010, 04:37 AM

I toured with a 4.5XL and loved it, but sorry I cannot comment on the Hydrive.

Washishimi · #11 06-01-2010, 06:18 AM

I have done my last few gigs with my LH1000 into just one of my HyDrive 410's, and it has performed beautifully. Huge, tight bottom end with some great clarity. And it carries throughout the room phenomenally. 2 of the gigs where I would normally go through the house PA, I was taken out by the sound man because he liked the tone/mix he was getting straight from the cab. I have never gigged the 4.5, but have played through it numerous times. Nice cab, but I just can't compare it in a gigging situation. Sorry.

JimmyM · #12 06-01-2010, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by logicman69

I have been very impressed with the Hydrive. while I can't make a good comparison to the 4.5xl, I did run it side by side with an Ampeg 410he. The Hydrive sounded tighter and punchier. I was able to get it fairly loud without braking up or loosing low end (I was using the Hartke LH1000 head for a power sorce and a Peavey Cirrus).

My only concern is replacing speakers. I shudder to think how expensive the half aluminum speakers are.

if you don't push them, you won't have to worry about it.

cassanova · #13 06-01-2010, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

if you don't push them, you won't have to worry about it.

When I used to work at Thoroughbred music the Hartke 4x10XL and 4.5 XL were the most common cabs to come back for warranty work for blown speakers.

JimmyM · #14 06-01-2010, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassanova

When I used to work at Thoroughbred music the Hartke 4x10XL and 4.5 XL were the most common cabs to come back for warranty work for blown speakers.

why is that, cass? was it a design flaw? was it the owners thinking they were indestructible because they were made of aluminum?

not trying to be a hartke apologist here, btw...never was a fan of anything they made but the hydrives. but most hartke cabs i've seen have been through the mill and still sound good...well, as good as they can, which imho is only ok

jaywa · #15 06-01-2010, 02:18 PM

Our church has a 4.5 XL and it's OK... but doesn't come close in any respect to my own 410XL, c.1993 ("Transient Attack" era).

In your situation I would recommend the Hydrive just cause I've been underwhelmed by the 4.5.

cassanova · #16 06-02-2010, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

why is that, cass? was it a design flaw? was it the owners thinking they were indestructible because they were made of aluminum?

not trying to be a hartke apologist here, btw...never was a fan of anything they made but the hydrives. but most hartke cabs i've seen have been through the mill and still sound good...well, as good as they can, which imho is only ok

Either indestructible or just plain ignorant on the owners part. They'd come into the store and play them so loud that you'd hear the cab barking and distort something fierce. Many a time I told people "if you buy this don't be surprised when you blow it." They'd also try and pump out more bass than the cab could realistically handle.

I also have a good friend that owns the discontinued 1410 combo. His crapped out twice on him. I'm not 100% sure if it was faulty design or from excursion. I did see him play out (in a very small room) with it and he was so loud that the speakers were distorting quite badly. Based on seeing him that night, I'm leaning more towards speaker excursion being the culprit.

It's also worth noting that I used to own a 1x15 XL and never had an issue with it.

You might actually know if this is true or not. I had a friend that left Sam Ash about a year, year and a half ago, tell me that Sam Ash owns Samson/Hartke.

gnjpowell · #17 02-01-2011, 12:58 PM

HX410 hands down. Need more volume? Add a second HX410. These are sealed cabs and they need a lot of clean power! 900W from one Ch of QSC PLX1804 works great!

jjk2007 · #18 02-01-2011, 01:43 PM

I just bought the LH1000/Hydrive 410 head and cab. I've had it out on a few gigs and church too and it has performed like a champ. I tested this setup in my local Sam Ash before buying, and did the low B test. That pretty much constisted of me giving the bass knob a little twist on amp and bass, cranking the volume and letting it rip. Very impressive!! A couple other things to note are: The Hydrive is very shallow, so I am able to get it in the trunk of my Civic, with the head in its case, my backpack for cables, bass, folding handtruck and instrument stand. With the Wifey and 2 kids, (one being a 1 yr old) there isn't much room up front for anything else right now. The cab is also an easy schlep. Weighs somewhere in the sixty pound range I believe, but with the narrow profile it is easy for me to carry around, and that's after back surgery just over a year ago. Love the tone of the cab, and there is a couple of rooms I play in pretty regularly that the hydrive has sounded the best to me in than any of the other cabs I've previously owned. As always, YMMV, but one other factor for me was the customer service that Larry Hartke has been providing for some time now. I feel secure that if something goes on with my gear that LH will make it right ASAP. Sorry if this sounds like a Hartke add, but I've been burned on gear in the past one way or another so CS is in the same department as tone, etc for me.

bassomane · #19 02-01-2011, 11:40 PM

Finaly I ended up with the HX410 and the LH1000. It is the best sounding and feeling setup I have played. Even at the acusticaly worst locations I am able to achieve a tight and punchy sound without getting too loud. Even at very low volume levels the sound is focused and the feeling is lively, opposed to my EBS 410, which feeled stiff and lifeless. Thank you guys for all your input.