Hartke Kickback 15
 

Can I get some opinions on these amps?

Great value for money and the tiltback design helps you hear yourself better. However I have seen many withe a ruptured speaker(Mostly because of abusing the poor guy). If you need this to be a gigging amp with no PA suport, then it is not. For band practice and small jams/acoustic gigs these work quite well. Also seem to be popular with upright players and for some reason acoustic guitar players.

Did someone call me?

No, seriously: I've had my Kickback 15 for about one and a half years now. Bought it used, it has paid itself off on the first weekend of gigging.

Positive:
- very bright for a 15
- thanks to the Kickback design and the aforementioned point, I'm able to hear myself very well in every situation.
- works well with upright. The shape function is more or less a notch filter which can really be a life saver
- very loud for it's size
- great value if bought used
- able to carry a bar gig with a bit of PA reinforcement (maybe without if the band isn't too loud)

Negative:
- heavy for it's size
- awkward to carry with the single strap on top
- not much deep low end. I haven't measured it (yet), but there can't be much happening below 80hz. Most combos have that problem, though. Can be an upside when used with upright, though - less feedback problems.
- very Hi-Fi sounding, not much character to it, but works well with pedals. So I use a preamp (VT Bass or Zoom B3) when playing electric and all is well.
- dispersion could be better (it's a 15, duh!)

The downsides really aren't that big a deal to me. I've yet to find something that works as well or better in such a small package.

In short: it's a great workhorse amp.

my son ran his KB 12 for ten years before the speaker failed.

How does the kickback compare to the A100?

is the kickback not the A100?

The A100 to my ears is quite different from the kickback series, but this is all something that you should listen for yourself.

If it is what you can afford and like the sound then buy it.

Personally I would opt for a used older model A70 Kickback 12
Nice little combo.