Hartke Hydrive 410 too much cab for Hartke 3500 head?

kne_austin · #1 02-22-2011, 03:34 PM

hey guys, i'm looking at plunking down for a Hydrive 4x10 cab (rated 1000W) from a fellow TB'er here. i'm wondering if anyone has feedback/experience on pushing these cabs w/ their Hartke 3500 (or downstream, 2000, etc) heads, & if so, were you still able to pull the full tone of the cab out of it, incl at lower volumes?

ie: would this 350W amp underwhelm this 1000W cab? i read a couple guys complaining about just such a thing, but then early on Hartke had a promo where they gave away 3500 heads w/ the Hydrive 410 cabs, so it can't be that much of an ill-conceived notion, right?

you always see guys pumping 750/1000W thru the Hydrive stacks, but i'd like to be sure running the 350W head at vol levels say b/t 3-5 on the dial will not leave these speakers wanting for more to draw out their sound & tone out & push some good umph & bottom

thx in advance for any feedback

GrowlerBox · #2 02-22-2011, 05:18 PM

If you're asking whether your head will be "underpowering" the cab, the answer is no. It's possible that a 350W head won't make the cab as loud as it can be, but as long as it's as loud as you need, then no problem. Don't decide on a dial number for volume beforehand -- just turn it up to where you need it to be, short of causing your speakers to fart and complain (which would indicate that you have plenty of power, of course); not all volume pots are calibrated the same, and most are not linear. My guess is, it'll sound great.

spaz21387 · #3 02-22-2011, 05:25 PM

Im running a hartke ha 2500 into a swr 6x10 and its loud and i dont even have to turn it up past like 4 on the master and its loud enough for large bars and most venues in portland. most of them will have pa support anyway so they will want to mic up your bass cab anyway.

Jeff 66 · #4 02-22-2011, 05:28 PM

Isn't that an 8 ohm cab?

If so, you'll likely be getting about 250 watts max from the 3500.

bassplayerbob · #5 02-22-2011, 05:36 PM

i just bought one and yes it is 8 ohms, but i ran it this past weekend at a gig as an ext speaker to my Genz shuttle 3.0 10T combo which is 300 at 4 ohms and it ROCKED the stage very well. You should be fine.

kne_austin · #6 02-22-2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Isn't that an 8 ohm cab? If so, you'll likely be getting about 250 watts max from the 3500.

yes, head is rated 240W @ 8ohm (350W @ 4ohm) & cab @ 8ohm. so yeah, my concern is that this thing won't stir the cab into it's full potential sound w/ that much headroom in the speakers/cab. Hartke goes out of their way on their site to say the cab is designed for loud volumes

i've just recently been trying to get a handle on the whole ohm/resistance thing too..

Quote:

If you're asking whether your head will be "underpowering" the cab, the answer is no.

yes, thx growler, this is what i'm asking; so i've got a couple of "you should be alright"s.. i'm not a newb player but have never delved too deeply into techs/specs, just enough to get by on. thx to the others who have chimed in; any further feedback is welcome

DanNowhere · #7 02-22-2011, 06:27 PM

You should read the second stickied thread from the top. The answers lie in there.

You won't hurt a cab by "underpowering" it.

frankieg · #8 02-22-2011, 06:28 PM

All depends on your needs. I run that combination quite often in alot of the local places I play and it can get plenty loud!

jjk2007 · #9 02-22-2011, 06:46 PM

Yeah, you should be fine. I have this cab and love it, but I also push it with a LH1000. Since these cabs are sealed I guess it takes some more power to get them to "sing" than compared with a similar cab that is ported. Enjoy.

kne_austin · #10 02-22-2011, 07:01 PM

so jjk, how does that cab sound w/ ur LH1000 at a vol of b/t 1 & 2? or am i oversimplifying to think this would be a similar volume to setting my 350W head b/t 3 & 6, perhaps b/c the vol pot is not linear as prev mentioned by growlerbox here?

i'm basically trying to figure out if you can have too much cab overhead & end up sacrificing tone & bottom & vol & everything else we value in bass sound, by having an amp that doesn't 'push' the cab enough, w/ this much of a disparity b/t their ratings?

thx again for any input.. btw, thx to dan for pointing me to that stickied thread, lots of (overwhelming?) info there, but just trying to cut to the chase here

canadian*eh · #11 02-22-2011, 07:44 PM

I have never ran ether one of those heads or cabs....but i have had lots of other combinations of different speaker cabs and amp. Use to run a 300 watt gk 800 rb head through a SWR Goliath Sr 610 cab ratted for 1000 watts loud as hell!!. The thought that you can under power a cab is quit silly really. The watt ratings on a cab are just a thermal...thrust me you will fry that cab way before you will ever put a full 1000 watts through it...if you took that head you are looking at and cranked your low eq and volume and stared hammering a low b string through it you would without a doubt low one if not all the speakers in that quote 1000 watt ratted cab!! the states really mean not a whole lot of anything...I am not a an expert on these things but but have been running running different head cab setups for the past 13 years... currently have a 700 watt gk 1001 rb II head through a "1200 watt SWR Megoliath 810 cab and trust me i will blow that cab all to pieces way before i will ever come close to getting the full power out of that head!!. Check out JimmyM's thread called Hey, listen up, cab manufacturers! Rant coming! Deals with all this stuff...there is a lot of great insight on that page!! All The best!! Cheers Mate!!~Elliot

kne_austin · #12 02-22-2011, 08:30 PM

Thx for the helpful feedback and link Canadian. I'm not worried about harming the cab, which some here may be misreading, but just wondering if it will do my amp justice, given the spread b/t their ratings. ie: is the amp enough to make the cab sing, sound it's best & hit its sweet spot, given that I usually play w the vol set b/t 3 (rehearsal) and 4/5 (gigs) w/ a cab rated at < 1/3 the wattage (300w) as the Hydrive

Btw Canadian what is the gorgeous bass u r playing in ur avatar?

jjk2007 · #13 02-22-2011, 08:47 PM

Hey kne. Here is a vid I shot today of my rig. I was running out of one side of the amp (350 watts or so) and the volume was on 3. Not the best playing or quality, but hopefully it gives you a better idea of what to expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0u1oaBSEtA

jaywa · #14 02-22-2011, 09:00 PM

Are you talking about an older 3500 MOSFET or the newer HA line? I rocked an early 90s MOSFET for years and those things will get as loud as you can stand... with one 410. The HA line OTOH doesn't appear to have the same oomph.

canadian*eh · #15 02-22-2011, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kne_austin

Thx for the helpful feedback and link Canadian. I'm not worried about harming the cab, which some here may be misreading, but just wondering if it will do my amp justice, given the spread b/t their ratings. ie: is the amp enough to make the cab sing, sound it's best & hit its sweet spot, given that I usually play w the vol set b/t 3 (rehearsal) and 4/5 (gigs) w/ a cab rated at < 1/3 the wattage (300w) as the Hydrive

Btw Canadian what is the gorgeous bass u r playing in ur avatar?

Yeah No Worries man...alot of the volume also has to do with the cab it self and what its SpL ratings are...some cabs are tuned louder then others!!

And The Bass I am playing which is my one and only right now, is a Carvin LB 75 neck through body with a Quilted Maple Top!! By far the best bass i have ever owned....has one of the fastest and slimmest necks of any 5 string out there....It is a Beautiful Work of Art both in looks and sound!!

billfitzmaurice · #16 02-23-2011, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kne_austin

i'm basically trying to figure out if you can have too much cab overhead & end up sacrificing tone & bottom & vol & everything else we value in bass sound, by having an amp that doesn't 'push' the cab enough, w/ this much of a disparity b/t their ratings?

The entire notion is just plain silly. Think about it. Does anything you listen to, from car radio to TV to iPod, sacrifice tone & bottom if you don't listen to them with the volume turned all the way up? Whatever sources have told you otherwise haven't the slightest notion about how sound gear works.

perogato02 · #17 02-23-2011, 06:27 AM

You are safe: play it loud and play it proud!

HeadyVan Halen · #18 02-23-2011, 06:39 AM

Was alomst in the same situation. Had a 2500 for my 4x10 Hydrive..And yes, I had to push the amp pass the sweet spot to get it right. I upgraded to the LH1000 and WOW!..I would get the LH500 if I were you. The tube + the power gets you right where you need to be.

<side note> with PA support, I'm usually at volume 4. Bright switch 'on' Limiter sometimes 'on'..Bass at 8--Mids at 5.5--High's at 5-6...Simple!!!!!